Projects

So much to do! I've got a writing deadline for the end of this month. I contribute to a project that analyzes student work (math, of course!) and makes 'tools for teachers' to help us look at how students are approaching problem solving situations, and how we can create experiences that improve student understanding.

I'm a ludite when it comes to looking at student work. I use paper and tally marks and I insist on looking at every paper they write on. There are so many scantron/standardized/multiple choice hey-can't-the-computer-sort-that-for-me kind of options that it may seem pathetically old-school to do it the way I do, but you can't beat it for really getting your head around what is happening in a seven year old kid's mind.

In the picture above, you can see the one nod to technology...my new iPhone! A completely necessary tool for writing, as it allows me to listen to the This American Life podcast. Nothing would happen without it!

Tonight I took a break from writing to force myself to make a decision about the round robin block I'm working on. The last one! Don't let it end! Jessica doesn't read this, so I feel assured that this won't ruin any surprises. Besides, all the steps leading up to mine have been documented.

Here's my new sewing nook. LOVE having the ironing table right next to the sewing machine, with this silly swivel chair! The table is long enough for the cutting mat, too, so I just wheel around, from place to place, measuring and cutting/sewing/ironing. I can't recommend this set up enough!

You would not believe me if I told how lucky I got with the measurements on this border. I was supposed to measure for repeats and there was some talk about 'coping strips', but in the end, after staring at it for three days, I just started cutting and sewing.

The borders? Fit like a glove. It's truly unbelievable. I'm not EVEN done, there is a major design element I haven't even touched yet, but I was just so pleased with how this 'folded ribbon' border came together...I love it! It's my first crack at a pieced border. I'm a fan.

And, for your listening pleasure, I present Babysitting, which is easily one of the funniest things I've ever heard. If you've ever been babysat by an older sibling (or Honie, who lived with Gram), then you'll love the first story. I can remember being left with Honie, and he had a 'three strikes you're out policy'. He lined us up like suspects on Gram's scratchy green couch in East Oakland, and if you talked, fidgeted, or breathed wrong, you'd get two warnings and then, on the third one, he'd whip you with a wet handtowel. The last story on this segment is truly mesmerizing. It's old, like a few years old, but I go back and listen to it a couple times a year.

Don't you just love a good story? Me too!