and this little princess...

and this little princess..., originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

This was from the flight I took to pick up Joy and Gus.  We had a lot of fun at the airport and in the plane with only a few minutes toward the end of the flight where they were both a little grumpy and possibly in pain because of the shifting in air pressure.  That always gets me too.  I fell asleep in the airplane on the way to Texas and woke up in a ton of pain because I hadn't yawned or done anything to let my ears pop and there was a ton of pressure built up. 

The only hitch was that on my way through security the machines I had to go through indicated that I might have explosives.  The only thing I had on/with me at all was Gus and I while I know for a fact he can be explosive I don't think it was the kind they were talking about.   

It was so nice to have the whole crew up here (Symph and Caleb too) for mom's birthday and just at all.  I didn't realize just how much I missed having them around.  It will be nice when they move back in February to this area. 

 

wolf spider

wolf spider, originally uploaded by noel_harmony.

I love it when teachable moments happen.  I think they are so much more fun sometimes than the lessons I plan because they are unexpected and very relevant to what the kids are interested or need to learn at the right time.  Spiders just happened to be one of the lessons that we have been learning about lately. 

It all started at nap time a few weeks ago and I was just about to turn on some quiet music when I looked down and saw this "little" guy/girl and thought that someone must be playing a joke because there definitely wasn't a real spider this big in my classroom.  Upon closer inspection however it was definitely real.  I immediately grabbed one of our many bug boxes and began the chase.  I had to move a few cots (with sleeping children on them) and get down on my belly to find it under the heater but I was able to capture it unharmed.  When I turn around with my prize one of my students who hadn't fallen asleep yet was watching with wide eyes and said in a very impressed voice "That was a good catch Miss Harmony, a good catch." 

Well that good catch went on to help us learn about peoples fears (of spiders) and how we should be respectful of them and help them not to be afraid of them if we can.  We also learned basic facts about spiders and how many legs and eyes they have and how they shed their skin as they grow.  After researching for a few days, we found out that this was a wolf spider (the eyes placement was the biggest help) and that they're harmless.  One interesting thing about wolf spiders though is that they carry their babies on their back (the mommies do anyways) for about a week before the babies go off on their own.  We read some really good books with spiders in them (A Diary of a Spider, Charlotte's Web, and Once I Knew a Spider), and had fun making spider webs with yarn and paint.

Such fun!  I love my job:)