Last month: stinky rotten cheese

So I'm not sure how it got started, but for the last month or so the boys have had a game where 'the last one to [a place] is stinky rotten cheese!'  Well, sometimes it isn't the last one, sometimes it's the first person.  Or the middle person.  Really, any person as long as Ben or I ended up being the stinky rotten cheese.

The first person gets to smell like fresh flowers.  (Or again, which ever person is Isaac or Joshua.)

The rules can change in the blink of an eye, usually when Ben or I thought of a creative way to not be the stinky cheese.

It was a good way to get the boys to move quickly, which is one of the only good things about this whole game.  Isaac might be getting sick of the game, as he doesn't want to smell like fresh flowers anymore.

Saturday: fun run

Here they are, ready to run!

Isaac ran by himself for the first time!

He was near the end of the pack by the end.  He walked for a while and the decided that galloping was more energy efficient than running and so did that for the last little bit.

Ben and Joshua ran the whole way for their shorter race.

Comparing ribbons.  They got different colors and it was the subject on conversation for way too long.

Friday: running

We had a small amount of time between picking up Isaac from school and doing packet pickup for the fun run tomorrow.  So we went to a nearby park.

It happens to also be the sledding hill.  The boys were excited to run down it.
(I had a picture, but it isn't uploading.)

Anyway, on the way back down to the car Joshua was running and fell.  In the mud.  Oh, Joshua and his mud problems.  He was so distraught.  Luckily, I had Isaac's backpack still in the car so I was able to dress Joshua in Isaac's clothes for packet pickup.  They were too big, but they were at least dry and mud-free.

He was wearing the same socks as he was last time he had a mud issue.

Thursday: grading

I'm sure everyone is waiting with much anticipation to know: how much grading is left?

Well, some, but not too much.  I finished all the final exams and half of a homework.  The homework goes pretty quickly, so maybe an hour or two left with it.  One grader responded and said she'd finish up the labs (like I had been expecting her to do), so I don't need to worry about those any more.

After that I need to calculate grades, but that goes pretty quickly.  And then...start prepping for the fall!  I find I'm much less stressed in August if I just finish most of the work now while the kids are in school.  I can come in on the first day of classes, finish a few things up, and be ready to go.  There's a new textbook though, so we'll see if it works as well as normal this coming semester...

Wednesday: summer?

I gave my last exam today.  It was odd to say, "have a good summer" as students left when it is cold and rainy out.

Also, I gave an exam Monday and Wednesday.  I usually teach Tuesday and Thursday.  Needless to say, I really feel like the week is one day ahead.

There's a lot of grading to do tomorrow.  I'm {obviously} hoping to finish a lot of it tomorrow...at least enough so that I can finish grading Tuesday if needed.

Tuesday: learning

Today I graded.  Almost all day...well, all of my working day.  I was pleasantly surprised that more students got the hard part of the exam correct.  It makes it much easier to grade.

I took one break to visit the curriculum library and check out a fraction game.  The game itself wasn't super fun, but Isaac played with the game, moving fractions around, for quite a while.  Math homework = done.

Monday: perfect

I gave an exam today.  The class sits in two circles (at computers) and I usually give out four stacks of exams...two stacks to each circle, with each stack going in opposite directions.  Then I pick up the extras.

Today, for the first time ever, I gave the exact amount needed to BOTH circles.