A quiet Sunday on the farm...

We have just nineteen instructional days left in the school year. We're out of school on May 26. After that, there are some professional days and such, but there will be no students in the building. Our standardized testing lasts three more days and then we have two days this week and then three additional weeks. It's quite strange to try to fill the last seventeen days of the school year. There's a sense of urgency to get in whatever instruction I can combined with the same urge my students have to quietly resign myself to the joy of summer vacation.

Last year in the post-CATS test time, I got my students focused on one final project for the year--writing their own student handbook for our school to be used by ESL students the following year. This year, my students are more advanced, and I'm trying to design a project that is a bit more multi-media oriented--they'll be doing a welcome video/handbook video for students who will be new to the school next year. I'd actually like them to orient it towards new speakers of English so I can use it with my newcomer's but I've not yet worked that out, either. I have to work out the details of it, and I'll start that process on the run I'm about to go on, but I think it will be an interesting way to end the school year. If only the technology will cooperate.

But today is a quiet Sunday on the farm. Last night I had a dog follow me home on my run that was just adorable, but Kevin took her back to the house where she started following me from. They don't seem to own her, either, but they also don't seem to mind her being around. They told Kevin that she's been hanging out at their house all week, so it was fine by them if she stayed around there. She's an adorable chihuahua/beagle mix. And if it were up to me, we'd take her in here. But Kevin is the voice of reason in the family because we both know that if it were up to me, we'd have a house of MANY dogs. And we have a house that is tiny--too small for two people, really...let alone the two people, two dogs, and a cat who already live here. And having another dog is expensive because we really do take care of our animal companions (Annie's bills in the last month alone have been over $500). Honestly, I just want every animal (and human, for that matter) in the world to have a place where they feel like they belong, and I like the chance to provide that place for them. So whether it's a new friend on the farm or a new friend in my classroom at school, there's an instinct in me to provide that place... sigh. No new dogs for now.