I am a life long learner. I know this because I still enjoy looking for, obtaining, and synthesizing new information. Then, I like to put the information to use because I know if I do that I will remember it better. When my husband was in medical school, they had a saying. It went something…
What have I done to celebrate the earth, I ask myself? Mostly, it’s involved informing others of the precious resources the earth provides. In the past, for celebrations of Earth Day I’ve presented to whole schools on topics such as the forest and monarch conservation. I’ve presented on the prairie as an ecosystem, and helped…
Yesterday afternoon, I ran around town to four different stores, including Walmart, Home Depot, Farm and Fleet, and Rudy’s – a small farm and feed store about a mile from my house. I was on the hunt (excuse the pun) for one of those “ugly fake owls” that are used to deter birds and other…
My husband and I moved to Maryland early in our marriage. He had obtained a research job at a Delaware hospital and I just finished my child health – pediatric nurse practitioner degree and was working at the esteemed Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. It was 1990. We enjoyed living outside one of the major…
Trees have always fascinated me. From childhood climbs to chestnut gatherings to planting hundreds as an adult, you could say I have affinity for these living, breathing magistrates of yards, forests, and parklands. When I think about trees of my youth, several species pop into my mind’s eye. The scotch pine in the yard I…
I’ve been meaning to clean out my files. However, it’s one of those jobs that keep getting put off. I have 16 years of curriculum, lessons, and grad school materials sitting in my filing cabinets. I have four cabinets in my home office and two more in the basement. Two of the four in my…
What a difference one week makes! Today, we are finally getting some rain. It’s been a very dry spring so far in West Central Wisconsin. Fire risks are high so there’s been a ban on any burning. And, even with that ban, there have been several wild-fires within 100 miles of us, some right in…
This is an odd title. What do I mean – forgetting what you did not know ? I’ve been working on a video presentation for first graders on phenology – or more specifically, the seasonal changes associated with spring. I very much enjoyed working on this project. However, at some point I felt I was…
It’s April! Happy National Poetry Month! I just read a post by fellow blogger Laura Purdie Salas on equation poems. It seems like a fun, easy introduction to poetry! I hope to try it with some students later this month! But, as per my usual routine, I like to write what I ask my students…