Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands
Making hearts with hands.
We’re working on decorations for the Spring concert next week, drawing friends.
The theme is friendship. I’ll make a photo for each student in this third grade and thought that maybe notecards would be nice, too. Several were absent today so it was easier to fit everyone in.
How they helped me out this afternoon after the weekly photo challenge was posted: Hands. We had a lot of fun. I told them the problem of creating a heart with all of their hands. This is how they experimented with me.
They were very excited to help and try to accomplish the objective. Working together and all being part of something was a good exercise in friendship. The only part I was directing was reminding them to not let their heads get in the way so I could see their hands from the chair where I was standing. All students were engaged in learning.
Trying individual hearts
Note to Self: Leave Home Ten Minutes Earlier
Two school buses and a garbage truck stopped on the narrow street as I made my way to school. A standstill, brake lights on. Do you worry? No, you photograph the scene. Write a note to self.
Tie-Dye With a New Generation
Eighth graders in the art room.
Rubber bands and string. Buckets of color. Vinyl gloves.
Bought more shirts tonight to take to school to try again.
They’ve got the hang of it. The practice.
I tell them - no design turns out exactly as planned.
Friday morning in the hallway a blur of t-shirts walked by.
I felt satisfied.
Did you ever tie-dye anything in your life?
What I Found on the Sidewalk by School
I walked on by-
nearly passed it up-
even thought it caught my eye.
It’s a rush and a hike between schools.
Time’s always short.
But after I stepped past, I turned around
got down on one knee and shot this little gift
to me- hard boiled yolk, a bit dried,
rolled in sandy crumbs,
abandoned on a sidewalk, fell from a lunch bag
or on the way to the nearby dumpster, missed.
Easter is over.
Didn’t make it to the egg salad bowl.
I drove by after school, to see if it was smashed
maybe rolled an inch, more dry, but still there
all those hours later, just not in as good a light!
This School Dictionary Lacks Empathy
Last week I had told an 8th grade student how I appreciated her showing empathy to me.
She smiled.
But then I asked her, do you know what empathy means?
She said she didn’t think she did. Not sympathy. So I wrote it on a piece of paper for her to look up in a dictionary later on as we were downstairs.
Later she brought me this dictionary. She told me empathy wasn’t in it. What? Let me see that.
I took it from her and looked and stared.
She was absolutely right!
It has emotion, but not empathy.
I think empathy is an important quality to possess and needs to be taught as well.
Yikes- You’ve Got to Pull Over, Get Out of Your Car and Shoot It!
In the distance you can see the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt.
The sparkly Christmas Tree caught my eye . St Patricks’s preparation?
And as I returned to my car, I saw the sidewalk/stairs in the shade.
Look What Jackie Baked for Mikey’s First Bday
My friend Amy ( mother of Mikey) brought in the leftover cupcakes her friend Jackie made for Mikey’s first birthday. Here they are on the counter at school for everyone to share
What Exactly is an Informal School?
My sister read the sign on the building as we were driving back and forth from La’s and James’ home. Next time she handed me the camera and I pulled over and shot the facade. I went to read about what it meant by informal school. The building reminds me of growing up. Someone has restored the building for sure. Click Here for info about the school.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Possibility
The challenge spoke of doors and paths, travel. This is what Arlington Avenue looked like on the way to school Thursday morning. The October light made the brick building seem to glow. That is the color it was when I saw it. No retouch on that brick. Just morning sun. I like to think that the start of the day offers POSSIBILITY.
What I saw on the way to school Thursday morning. Shot through my windshield.
What I Found Across from School
If you have followed me in the winter you might have seen the pink toilet in the snow. I saw that one on the way to school. This one not quite as dramatic and a different season but the view is directly from the school parking lot and the art room. You know how people’s garbage fascinates me!
What I Saw Out the Window at School
The cropped version and the original. You get a better feel for the place in the second, original, full size.
WILD turkeys but they seem fairly domesticated and brave ( or not too bright?). There are a lot of them in the area (remember my first day of school post with the family of turkeys on the sidewalk.)
Urban turkeys.
Sally Said, Things Come in Threes
Drove to the Post Office at lunchtime to mail a package. On the way back to school I saw this horse’s head. Not the whole rocking horse, it’s true but a horse nonetheless. And Sally had said how things come in threes and to look for that third horse. One block from school. He was waiting for me to find him? There he was. How many times had I driven by him before? Who knows. But today I saw him.
What his story is I do not know.
The Old Gray Mare (or Stallion?)
Ain't what she/he used to be.
Green Eggs and Ham & the Cat in the Hat I Am at School Today (scroll down for image 2)
Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham?
Another day celebrating Dr. Seuss at school. My friend and neighbor across the hall, Ms. Plummer, took the photo of me in the borrowed Cat in the Hat costume. A friend, Ms. Manganas. down the hall knew I had the red and white Seuss hat and brought in her aunt’s cat costume. What a surprise. After a moment of hesitation, I put in on and went down to the cafeteria as the kids were eating breakfast. 3 Kindergartens and 3 First Grades classes went crazy, screaming with delight as I made my entrance. And entrance it was! Oh my. They were so excited. It was a great way to start the school day. They were so happy and got a big kick out of my outfit. I had to take it off as I started the teaching day and they were so disappointed. Just too hot. I would never make it in a theme park character job. My friend V suggested the photo of me as The Cat in the Hat at school today and I have been trying to get fit at the gym this past year and the costume seems to add a bit of girth but here I am today at school in the hall. I didn’t know The Cat in the Hat was written in anapestic tetrameter
Did You Ever Wear a Toe Sock?
One of the Kindergarten teachers wore rainbow toe socks and colorful flip flops for Wacky Wednesday, celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I had this same pair in 1972 (approximately). Well, a pair just like them. And Mrs. D said exactly what I remember, how it feels thick in between your toes and they are humorous looking but not something you want to wear all the time. The floor is the cafeteria linoleum. Friday afternoon it’s going to be GREEN EGGS and HAM in the cafeteria and if anyone drops green eggs they will blend in with the flooring. I guess they’ll leave the ham pink?
I wouldn't want to knit a toe sock!
If the Tree is Straight, the House is Crooked
A couple of blocks from school there is a tree that grows out of the ground on a angle. This is the effect it has on the object below, when I straighten it out in the viewfinder and shoot.
Angles
There are the geometric ones-
acute, right, obtuse or
how we look at things.
Differently.
Almost looks like it is floating away
What a First Grader Gave Me as a Little Present Today
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season. A wonderful student gave me a little present today. I can’t tell you how it touched me. Two Trefoil Girl Scout Cookies, held together by pink Silly Bandz. One cookie looks like there might be a little bite out of it. As you all know I am trying to watch what I eat ( forget the burger, pizza and milkshake posts) I am back on track. So I didn’t eat them. But I held them in my hand a long time and thought about the heartfelt gift. When I took it across the hall to Ms. P’s room to show her, she was touched by the sight of the two little cookies bound together by the Silly Bandz. We both said “awwwww. sweet.” Good to have nice neighbors at school to share these moments –thanks to everyone for looking today!
Presentation
The end of the week
and you’re whipped.
Happy to turn off the alarm for Saturday.
You review the week–
it can wear you out
but sweet moments come to mind.
There’s satisfaction.
To know a child was moved
to go to her locker and
bring a little offering to the art room.
p.s. If you get a minute, go and vote on my Keep or Pitch blog post to help me downsize. 
School Chairs & Chain Link Shadows in the Snow
Someone left the chairs out in the snow. Today the sun came out. I photographed these a couple of weeks ago and they just looked uninteresting to me. So not the whole chair, just a part. It was the shadows that attracted me today.
This morning I saw my first sundog*.
I was unable to photograph it properly.
It was a stunning sunrise from the Birmingham Bridge.
I didn’t even know what a sundog was until Joanne
sent me a photo of one.
It was clear and cold, blue sky and a magnificent sun.
It is amazing how you can feel when it is light.
The view of the sundog from the school parking lot seemed less dramatic.
I was trying to show our librarian. Definition below.
*from good old wikipedia
A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, from Greek parēlion, (παρήλιον), παρά(beside) + ήλιος(sun), “beside the sun”; also called a mock sun or a phantom sun) is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.[1]
Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low.
A classic assignment for beginning photographers- Capture the shadow!
By the (Ominous) Dawn’s Early Light
On the way to school, a bus stops. Traffic stops. I take a photo of the scene. One streetlight on, one streetlight off.
A massive cloud–
a golden light
The school bus’s red lights
Everyone stops.
The dawn reflected
in street signs.
Filmstrip Projector Paired with a Record, I Can Hear the Sound to Advance the Frame
School. Ditto machines and drinking in the smell of the purple sheets and filmstrip projectors. Who remembers?
Little canisters of filmstrips are still in cupboards. Ding!
Nike the Service Dog, Named For Greek Goddess of Strength, Speed & Victory
- Ms. P’s class had a visitor today. The Art Room is just across the hall. Lucky me!
Email Kirk Sciarretti to arrange a visit- kasciarretti@live.com
Acme Thunderer and Pink Pearl Eraser Still Life
A teacher's pocket contents. Used to blow the whistle when I had playground duty and worked the After School Program. Now it is just on my key ring.
Emptied my pocket and saw these two items under the light on the desk in the front hall. Bonnie, the gym teacher (now retired) told me about the Acme Thunderer. Click here to learn how to choose a whistle. Some of the listings are safety, marine, refereeing, sports, orchestral-you can buy a tugboat whistle or one to lead the band. There is a collector’s model with the words TITANIC engraved on the side. And most everyone remembers Pink Pearl Erasers.
Fact 1-
“Eberhard Faber began to manufacture the Pink Pearl in a factory he started in 1861.
Fact 2-
“In 1996, Eberhard Faber sold more than 4.7 million Pink Pearl Erasers. Laid end to end, that’s enough erasers to reach from Washington, D.C., to Philadelpha.” By the way, the small print says the eraser was manufactured in Malaysia. There are buildings in Brooklyn where the factory used to be.
Underneath the whistle and eraser is a note I found outside of the school listing the Fruits of the Spirit (last one is self-control) with a penciled math problem on the back.
Who Remembers Kickball?
You have to have a good ball to play. One with some bounce. Similar rules to baseball they say. But you could get the ball thrown at you as you rounded the bases and be called out. Everyone wanted to pitch. I left school Friday afternoon and saw this kickball on the playground in the snow.
The rusting chain link surrounding the playground. The red rubber ball birghtened the scene.
First Snow
As I left school, I saw the snow on the tree. When I walked across the street I saw the Scarecrow people and the ever-blooming flowers in the hanging pot! Happy December
I didn't get the Blessed Mother in the shot, but she was there!
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