Happy Birthday Grandma

Last night we got a chance to celebrate my grandma's 85th birthday at the Ringside Steakhouse.  We had a great time, enjoyed some great food and told lots of stories. 

Enjoying a slice of Myer Lemon Cheesecake

Grandma and Grandkids before dinner

Mother and Son moments

Happy Birthday Grandma, glad we could celebrate your special day with you!

Fraction Factory #2

This past Wednesday, our classroom was once again transformed into a "fraction factory" and Captain Denominator came back to teach.  This year, CD wore a cape, headband and super hero T-shirt!  The class worked with fractions using Hershey bars.  They were able to explore equivalent fractions like 9/12 = 3/4.  We also took time to subtract fractions 12/12 - 2/12 = 10/12 (it's amazing how quick they can be, when eating chocolate is involved).

The kids had to prove their work for Mrs. Rubrecht, in order to be paid (eat candy) for their hard work.  They had to work in groups of 3, open a package of Starburst, tell me the total # in their whole and then what fraction was orange, red, yellow and pink.  They also had to add their two smallest and two largest colors together.  They really worked hard and seemed to solidify fractions a bit more!

This class was a bit less gullible than my class last year, so instead of the turned puppy dog head tilt and Captain Denominator having to field a million questions about why we look alike, have the same hair cut, same shoes, etc..., this year I got a lot of sympathetic smiles and giggles,  a few questions, and a few trying to convince CD that she was really Mrs. Rubrecht.  I think the highlight was when a girl stood up at her desk (at the front of the room), turned around to face the class (specifically the kids that were stating over and over that it was really me) and state "Hey guys, it isn't even 9:00 yet, we are playing with and eating chocolate for Math and the adult is allowing it....who cares, just play along!"  Then she innocently smiled at the class, sat down and asked "Captain Denominator" to continue teaching.

I absolutely love this job! 

Dunk Tank

Who would have thought that an hour in the dunk tank would be so much fun!?    I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I can honestly say that being in the dunk tank at the Hoop De Do is now one of the top highlights of my life...Wedding, Graduation, Disneyland, Parents Surprise Anniversary Party, Dunk Tank.  I was nervous for the first one, as I had no idea what to expect.  The water was warm, the company was great, I had a long line of kids wanting to dunk me!  I also brought a water squirter (Thanks Jennifer R. for letting me borrow it) so I could retaliate.  Such a fun way to raise money for our school!  

Easter

For lent this year; I choose to take a small hiatus from Facebook to see if I could live without it.  I'll be honest; I cheated about 4 times to look at baby photos of colleagues newborns and snoop on a couple of pages for various reasons.  Through the last 40 days, I was reminded of the strength of the power of friendship. I learned to lean on my friends and family through phone calls, texts and face to face conversations and dinners.

Bottom Line: I decided that I will be keeping my facebook account for the time being however, I will be cognizent on the amount of time I spend on it; and if I can communicate using more personal means; I will!

Whether you were visted by the Risen Lord, the Easter Bunny or the Easter Beagle; I hope your day was everything you wanted it to be!

Spike Videos

Here are some updated videos of Spike....if you have a few minutes; take a look!

Spike Vs. The Waterbottles

What's In Those Pants?