Laundry, Lewis & Clark, and Linear Equations

Before I head to bed with my first cold of the season, I thought I'd share some random tidbits from the weekend. Ethan studied the letter "L" in pre-school last week, and apparently "L" has been on my brain as well! 

Today marked officially the biggest "Laundry Party" in the history of the Bellm household. Both boys get super excited when they hear that it is about to commence. Loads of laundry are dumped all around the trampoline on the carpet downstairs... and I'm not talking one or two loads... I think I dumped seven buckets FULL of clothes all over the floor. Not only did it all get sorted, but some actually got put away too! I have clean underwear in a readily accessible drawer! Wrinkly work pants and button-down blouses have been tucked away for a future zombie ironing frenzy in 2-3 months.

Also of note, I finished my first actual turn-the-page, hard cover book in... oh... I don't know, eight months??!? Since joining Audible.com, it has become increasingly silly and unthinkable to sit down and devote myself to reading words on a page. When instead I could be listening to the words in dramatized form, while driving, doing dishes, sitting outside watching the kids... so I don't regret it, but in a weird way, I think I missed it. 

The book was called New Found Land, and was loaned to me by a dear colleague, looking for feedback on what parts of the Lewis & Clark fictional history novel would be good to share in a language arts class. Now this is not my typical genre of YA sci/fi or modern fiction. I normally DESPISE reading history, whether fiction or non... but this was something totally new and different. 

In New Found Land, the Lewis & Clark adventure is dramatized, from beginning to end and back, jumping back and forth between characters, including the famous adventurers, their slaves and soldiers, Sacajawea, and even Lewis' DOG! It reads a little bit like Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. The pages look like poetry more than novel. I will sadly admit, that once the party reached the Native American peoples of the pacific northwest, I had an obnoxious desire to hear a shout out to the Quileute nation of the Twilight saga.

Now that I am through with the book, I am hoping it will fill my dreams tonight of far off mysterious lands and peoples; compared to last night, when I spent many fitful hours tossing and turning about the linear equations lessons I am scheduled to teach in math class this week. I am not sure why! The students are ready for it. But I guess all caring, involved teachers have the same tendency to worry as much about our students and our curriculum while we're sleeping as we do when we're awake. 

Maybe it's the stress of standardized tests. Or from differentiating menus of homework choices for two separate math classes... but despite the tiredness and the fragmented sleep I may or may not get tonight, there is always coffee and cold medicine awaiting me in the morning! So I will bid good night, hoping the zombie-inducing cold symptoms magically disappear overnight.