Day In The Extreme

What a wonderful cornucopia of extremes in a day! I am delighted to report a baker’s dozen of contributors and their extreme creations:

Cheryl enjoyed . . .

I spent the day shivering in a snowy storm, skiing trails that went from powdery snow in fog, to cream cheese snowy views across the valley where there was sun.

Gail Poulin busied . . .

I spent a busy day with my husband as we worked like soldier ants lowering stumps, covering the area in wood chips, transplanting bushes, and finally relaxing peacefully on the deck with a beverage and watching nesting birds at the feeders.

Virginia completed . . .

I started the day with an empty calendar for the month of May and now every day is filled with at least one thing and many times two.

Mr Wood experienced . . .

The day began cold and grey, then became hot and sticky, and just after it got wet and sticky, it became sunny and warm.

Kabod facilitated . . .

I delicately discussed "Stirrings" in The Giver over and over today with silly, pubescent Seventh-and-three-quarters Graders.

Ken waxed . . .

In 24 hours, our bathroom was transformed from a functional facility and possible retreat to an empty wooden box with holes in all sides that the wind whistled through.

Anonymous sighed . . .

Yesterday morning I got to play with my granddaughter in the morning and had to kiss her good by in the evening. I wouldn't get a chance to see her in person again till June.

Gail Desler expressed . . .

I spent the day with 6 dedicated, innovative, caring 5th grade teachers, 5 of whom received "pink slips" this month (where in the heck did the expression "pink slip" come from - and what's the terminology in your district?). Difficult times in California.

Bonnie extemporised . . .

Could there be anything more extreme? We left on a plane from Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday night at midnight and arrived at Newark airport, New Jersey at 5AM and there's a 7 hour time difference. So getting back to normal, well what's normal anyway?

Elona announced . . .

My students were working away quietly at the begining of the class and then the fire alarm went off.

Tracy activated . . .

A flurry of activity to get parent permission for 25 students in 15 minutes for a last-minute opportunity to attend a day-long literary festival, after which I stayed at the school in the quiet of my classroom for the day :)

Kevin initiated . . .

Between coaching youth baseball, writing a grant proposal, composing daily poetry, working on some educational pieces for a website and watching my three boys run-run-run, the week of school vacation has been anything other than restful.

Cynthia ebulliated . . .

The air was already oppressively humid at 7:15 a.m., and then the rain began; however, the seniors were able to have their crawfish boil at 1:00. Yum!

Extremes In A Sentence

Yes. I know. It's been over a month now. I have been immersed in resource development and other things - overseeing bathroom and kitchen refurbishments at home, while catching up with my family who have been on leave recently.

This week I am, once again, privileged to be hosting Kevin's Day In A Sentence. Kevin Hodgson (aka Dogtrax) has kindly let me host this week's DIAS.

Just to put you in the picture, Kevin is an energetic, community minded teacher who is forever creating new ideas to involve people in people activities. One of his most successful ventures in this direction is his weekly Day In A Sentence. People are invited to summarise in one sentence a day out of their week.

There's been a lot in the news lately about Earth's, now famous, gastronomic eruption in Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull. This amazing phenomenon stirred again most recently, a clash of the Earth's hottest and coldest elements, to bring about a truly global effect.

This week's theme for Day In A Sentence is to summarise in one sentence the extremes of your day. So sock it to us, hot and cold, wet and dry, happy and sad, whatever . . .

. . . just give it all to us in a sentence by clicking here, or by leaving your sentence in a comment at the foot of this post.

You Are Sentenced To A Day In A Comic

This week's Day in a Sentence is shaping up to be a real Toondoo follow-the-leader event. And what a leader! Kevin Hodgson led the scene with a fantastic idea in a comic:

Gail followed suit with a double whammy:

Not to be outdone by buzzy Illya who decided to have a break and sniff the flowers:

while Bonnie put up a Big Show:

put to music by Anne

a sound second only to Ken's fireworks . . .

that unfortunately put him on the Moon and the blast probably didn't do anything for Jo Hawke's SOL testing for he said this,

"Those cartoons are great! I tried to make one for mine, but it lagged too bad, and I got frustrated. So I'll write it out instead:

Students were in and out of class all week for SOL testing, and the only way to figure out who was *really* absent was to spend a good quarter of a class sorting through multiple PDF attachments of rolls and then checking the list of students who didn't actually show up -- for all three sessions each day! And we get to do it again all this week, too!"

Update 11 May 09
Then Gail H said,

"I wish that I could design a cartoon that would make visible the two-way tug many teachers must feel because they are torn between "test-prep" pressures and the desire to offer their students 21st century venues for learning."

Here's my best effort Gail. Maybe you could improve the captions at Make Beliefs Comix.com.

courtesy Make Beliefs Comix

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Comic in a Sentence!

Kevin Hodgson (aka Dogtrax) is having a week off DIAS. He is great at writing and designing comics.

Let’s have a rave-up while he’s out!

So let yourself go!

Put on your funniest persona, and write your side-splitting

Comic in a Sentence!

Get your giggle-pot bubbling, chuckle out your day in a sentence, and post your words in a comment here. Your hilarious product will be posted E O T W.

(For those who'd like to follow Kevin's innovative example, here's the link to ToonDoo).

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A Symbol of Peace

This has been a week much in need of peace. Our contributors have done well to embrace their thoughts on this theme in a sentence.

I put their words in a Wordle blimp.
It didn't quite come out looking like a dove of peace. Perhaps nearer to the shape of a dove's egg - some nice word-combinations hatching.



Karen whispered...
Peace: a feeling, a statement, a goal.

Murcha murmured...
Peace is a word that has been on my mind lately - world peace that is - as I am about to go to Qatar with three students from my school to look at some of the issues we face as a globe, and as our globe 'flattens', how we can work together to achieve and maintain world peace.

Paul breathed...
Peace is enjoying an 'Alberta Clipper' sprinkle an additional five centimeters of snow on twenty.

Eric murmured...
Reminding myself to breath and listen this week has provided glimpses of peace.

Karen S whispered...
Peace is one child helping another, a smile of friendship, a sparkle of understanding and relationships that are the foundation of learning and living.

Ken sighed...
A blackbird’s unforgettable chronicle graced our garden today, but the gentle bird-song they heard in Gaza will not be remembered.

Kevin breathed...
It was a peaceful, easy feeling that came over me this afternoon as I realized that I was going away on a four day weekend to a warmer environment with only my wife (kids, left behind).

Diane whispered...
I am at peace with myself, no matter the tempest that at times surrounds me.

Mathew sighed...
Wishing peace for the world and the probationary teachers in my district who may be losing their jobs.

Amy rippled...
Falling snow is always peaceful to me no matter how much my friends complain about the driving and the shoveling.

Shaun murmured...
Letting go of old things has allowed a sense of peace to seep into me this week.

Cynthia sighed...
Tramping through the woods in front of my house this afternoon, avoiding the limbs and briars that reached out to stop me, I finally found the bed of native daffodils that always bring me hope and peace.

Gail murmured (after the second Wordle blimp was cast)...
I'm watching a beautiful sunrise here in the Sierra foothills - and hoping to hang on to this peaceful moment as I return to work next week and learn how California's budget woes will play out in my district.

Paige sighed...
The rain falls steadily from the dark sky in shades of grey; drinking coffee and gazing through the window, I am at peace.

And Bonnie breathed (out two contributions)...
Peace for this week is peace of mind as I immerse myself in learning for my digital creation. And by Monday I will be on the road to Washington with warm clothes, to celebrate a hope for peace beyond myself.

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Peace in a Sentence

Kevin Hodgson (aka Dogtrax) is an amazing teacher, blogger and friend who continues to impress me with his energy, enthusiasm and inventive ideas that are put into action; this man walks the talk.

He was the first person ever to post a comment on my blog. He reads 500 blogs a day on his RSS Reader. I awarded him the Fantastic Commenter Award during my first month of blogging because of the ubiquitous way he permeated the blogosphere posting relevant comments everywhere I looked.

He involves his students in some of the most remarkably innovative activities and he and his students are well known for their claymation movies.

He started his own published cartoon series, Boolean Squared. He has also been running a blog activity called Day In A Sentence for years and it gives me a lot of real pleasure to host Kevin’s ‘Day In A Sentence’.

This week’s challenge, true to Kevin’s principles, is to use the theme peace in your day/week in a sentence.

So get your thinking furnace roaring, forge your sentence, and post your words in a comment here. Your innovative product will be posted
E O T W.

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