Sunday, November 30, 2014

Celebrating Each Moment

       As my daughter-in-law said, why does the time go so fast!  Thanks to Ruth Ayres at Discover, Play, Build  I'm sharing my week of good times.

            At my school we don't take the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, but have a half day of celebration, named "Grandpeople's Day". Although some students are absent, on their way to family celebrations far away on this holiday, others have their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close neighbors come to visit, take a tour of the school, attend an assembly of different classes sharing, and finally visit classrooms. For this visit, I've already had students complete what is called the "Thanksgiving Visitor", where they choose any three people, past or present, to invite to their table. The guests this year ranged from Michelangelo, a grandmother never known, an unknown soldier who died in the Civil War, and on. The guests are always as diverse as the students. We gather in a group to share, and after student sharing, invite the visitors to tell us who they might invite, and why. It's a contemplative exercise, inviting our visitors into the classroom again for this brief time, always satisfying. I celebrate the students who were thoughtful, and the visitors willing to add their own ideas.


           I am fortunate to have my son, daughter-in-law and grandson close enough to drive in for the holiday. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my daughter's house. The grand girls, Ingrid and Imi are always thrilled to be with their older cousin, Carter! Since late Wednesday night, we ate and visited and shopped, they skied, and I had the pleasure of seeing some of their friends still living here. It was a good, good time. 


With Carter, love being with him.


Everyone here, ready for good company and food! Ingrid decorated
the back of each chair with masks or turkeys.

Carter and Nathan, and a family friend, Claire.

          And, the sky every evening was gorgeous. It might be because of the warm weather (in the 70's the past few days), and we celebrated shirt sleeves this time, instead of down coats. I hope you all have a good week back to work this coming week. I feel like it's going to be a whirlwind in the few weeks before winter break!

20 comments:

  1. So fun to read about your holiday and see the pics. Love the gorgeous sky! I missed a sunset last night that I wish I could have captured at Slater Park, but we were on the bus coming home form a play in Seattle. I laughed when I read your comment on Ruth's blog about "pink stuff." My brother's family has pink stuff or green stuff. It's jello, cottage cheese, Cool Whip, and pineapple, I think! Definitely a tradition at their house.

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    1. I can't seem to stop with the sky pics-am in awe most of the time, Ramona. I always love yours, too.

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  2. Hi Llnda,
    Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures of the events from your week! It looks like everyone had a great time together! Like Ramona, I love seeing the sunset colors blending to create such a pretty scene!

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    1. Thanks, Amy. As I said above, the sunrises & sunsets here are so often beautiful, I can't seem to stop. It was a good week!

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  3. How special to be able and gather everyone together! Gorgeous sky!

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    1. Yes, we're lucky, Elsie. Thanks, so happy about your latest terrific news!

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  4. Truly a lot to be thankful for. I love your classroom idea!

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  5. So nice to sit down with family and friends and relax a little before the holiday frenzy. Love your sky pictures.

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    1. Thanks Margaret, I agree. These days were special.

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  6. I love the idea of inviting four people to your Thanksgiving table, and it seems like your kids had some really interesting ideas. It also sounds like you had a great time with your family. And I agree with you- the sky has been spectacular this week!

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    1. Thanks, Carol-the sky has been marvelous, hasn't it?

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  7. Man, that sky. Chris and I visited Snowmass, Colorado, for our anniversary several years ago. I kept taking pictures of the sky. It was unbelievable each and every day. And what a fabulous holiday you had. I think you're right, this month will be a race to the finish.

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    1. Happy you like the sky, Katherine, & yes, these next weeks-Yikes! Hope you enjoy them all, despite the craziness.

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  8. What lovely pictures. I'm so glad that there was much to celebrate for you. I'm gearing up tonight for the whirlwind! Hang on tight!

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    1. Thanks for thinking it's going to be a whirlwind, Kendra. So much going on, so little time!

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  9. So wonderful to have family nearby. I'm glad that even though the time was short, the quality was excellent.

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  10. Seeing your holiday photos made me smile, Linda! Yay for happy holidays :-)

    I think Michelangelo would be a nice choice! That's an interesting exercise.

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  11. Linda, your holiday photos make me think that your holiday was filled with sunshine, smiles, and good memories. I really loved the sky shot and I bet you could come up with a beautiful poem to accompany it. I am thinking that your Thanksgiving writing task would be a great one for teachers to try out when I present my writing workshop. Thanks for the idea.

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