Back in the Saddle-Gene Autry

It’s been awhile since I’ve been blogging.  There have been many times over the past year that I’ve thought, “Wow, this was so cool, I should do a blog about it!”  But alas, I allowed time to get away from me and before I knew it, the event or idea had long past and it seemed silly to blog in retrospect. 

So, in my efforts to catch up, here’s a quick list and photo montage of things I thought about, that maybe I’ll get back to in the future:

1.     Importance of school spirit and sense of community in schools

2.     Political crisis in Ukraine

3.     Snow days around the country

My yard on a Saturday in March

Every winter I love hearing about snow days around the U.S.  As a result, I found this map of how much snow it takes to cancel school fascinating.  It is mentioned in the comments section, but even though this map says it takes 2 feet (24 inches) of snow to cancel school where I live, I have never had a snow day in Bozeman, and have actually not even had a full "cold day" since I started kindergarten.  Several years ago the boiler broke at Bozeman High School, the high for that day was going to be 15 degrees below zero (Farenheit) and school was still not cancelled.  Kids came to class in coats and hats and the thermometer in my classroom showed it was only 43 degrees!

Me shoveling my driveway on a below zero morning

Despite the cold, the winter is beautiful and here are a few snow pictures to prove my point.

snow drifts

I love when the snow sparkles like glitter!

Winter makes some beautiful sunrises

4.     Montana Economics Challenge

5.     Having fun in class making balloon animals

I always think it's important to teach life skills in addition to social studies skills and content.  Throughout the semester I tell my students to pay attention to key "life lessons."  I also think it's important to add a bit of fun to stressful things.  That being said, after the AP Microeconomics exam, we spent a day in class learning how to make balloon animals.  It was fun, relaxing, (except for all of the popped balloons!) and I'm pretty sure each student will use this skill at some point in their future.

So get ready, eschnee.blogspot.com is back in action with regular posts coming soon!