Tie a Day (Year 2), Number 125

The tie I wore on Tuesday, September 21^st, was one of my all time favorite ties. This was the best tie picture that my new Droid X has taken of my ties. I think Calvin kept a steady hand on this one.

Purple is one of my favorite colors, and I love paisley so it is easy to see why this tie ranks high on my “Like” scale. Matched with the purple dress shirt and this was a very good tie day for me.

Tie a Day, Number 80

I have been in a pretty good mood all week. Maybe it is because I have been picking my favorite ties to wear, or my perhaps good mood causes me to pick ties I like. I haven’t figured out the cause and effect relationship between my mood and my ties yet…

The tie I wore on Tuesday has been one of my favorites for a long time. I remember wearing this tie when I was first hired as a Kindergarten teacher in 1990. I would wear this tie, and at 23, I felt like a serious grown up going to work. I know, I am old now.

Kindergarten, as I have explained before, is rough on ties, and this tie has suffered through its share of wear and tear. The back tie loop that holds the skinny part of the tie in place is gone, and the white silk backing on the tie is discolored from dipping the end of the tie into coffee, water, paint and whatever else it collided with in its travels.

But still, this tie shimmers in the light and looks pretty good with the amoeba like paisley designs scattering the deep blue background. I have no idea if it is in or out of style, but I do know that I love this tie because it reminds me of when I was young and foolish. It always makes me smile.

Tie a Day, Number 16

Today's tie is one of my all time favorites! The tie has a repeating pattern of Calvin and Savannah sitting in a little car. Calvin was 4 years old at the time, and Savannah was only a year old (he is 11 now, and she is 7). Amy gave the tie to me in 2003, as a beginning of the school year present.

Needless to say, but I will do it anyway, I think this tie is beautiful. It has made me smile all day. People have stopped me to look at the tie and I am allowed to talk about my children. There isn't anything better than that.

I have two ties like this, the other tie has a younger Calvin that repeats all over the tie. But I don't have a tie with Sam on it. I think I might need to break down and buy one- I already know the picture I want to use. I can't have Sam feeling left out on the ties!

If every tie made me feel this good, I would wear ties every day of the week- including the weekends. And with nothing else on- even in the shower.

The Grinch

Every year, since I became a kindergarten teacher in 1990, I have shared one of my favorite books of all time just before the winter holiday, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This means I have shared this story for possibly 17 years with a couple thousand children or so.

I think that I became struck with the story when I was a child watching the Chuck Jones adaptation of the story. I love the book because it shows that even if you make a mistake in life there is a chance at redemption. It is also a reminder to me that Christmas really is more than shopping, and getting stuff. It is more about the joy of being with people that you love and showing kindness to those you don't even know- just because it is the right thing to do.

Now that I am a computer resource teacher in an elementary school, I share the story with around 22 classes every year (K-2 grade). I have created a lesson around the Grinch, and I would like to share it.

First, I read the story.

I read this story to a group of kindergartners today. I thought it was appropriate considering where I began this tradition.

After the story, I explain to the children how they can use tools in the program Kid Pix to create their own picture of the Grinch, or another character from the story.

The tools in Kid Pix allow the children a chance to be creative in expressing their own vision of the story with some pretty good graphics tools. I have created slide shows in the past of student's pictures and they generally turn out to be pretty good for pictures made by young people with only 15 minutes or so to make one. I will try to add a slide show tomorrow...

It seems like such a small thing to do, but it is my way of sharing something that I truly love with students that I work with at my school. It is a pretty lame Christmas present to get, but it has a lot of meaning for me when I share the Grinch with children. I hope the web enjoys it, too.

Merry Christmas!
:-)
Al