January 27, 2014

There were only two MAP tests today, one first thing in the morning and the other in the middle of the afternoon, but it felt like I was testing all day. Unless I put some effort into the thought, I would say I was testing all day. But I wasn't, there were some breaks. I got to help out with second grade reading groups for the first time in awhile. My first group was the listening center but the CD wasn't available so we sat on the carpet and the kids took turns reading. It could have gone better but it also could have gone way worse. I think it helped that the principal was in the room, only a few feet away at the time. My second group wasn't really a group. I just watched kids playing a game where they had to draw words from a pile, pronounce them, and then put a token on a game board depending on the type of word it was (ex. ir, er, ar, or , ur). I watched two kids and then a group of three. I've done it before and I enjoy it because a tiny group is easier to handle, and I like annoying the kids by asking them after every word if they know what the word means.

The afternoon MAP test was first grade and it was a bit rough. At least for a few of the kids. One kid was having a massive allergy/boredom attack so he was finding it hard to focus. One girl got caught up on how hard the test was and spent most of the time crying. She eventually finished. And then there was a kid, blissfully ignorant, answering maybe a three or four questions right out of the nearly forty questions in each part of the test. The teacher and I were standing behind him at the back of the room watching as he got question after question completely wrong. A lot of times you can see the thought process behind a wrong answer but with him there weren't any connections. And you would think that, even guessing randomly, he would get more right. But he didn't.

During that test I had three fourth graders come down to finish, and then a fifth grader. She ended up staying down there the rest of the afternoon and is still somewhere in the 30s, out of 53 questions. She took forever last time and that appears to just be her thing.

After work I went to Target. I planned on just getting bread and trail mix, because I have a very sad diet, but then I also picked up some saltines and Sprite for my mom because she's sick. And I got some orange juice because I have been in the mood for orange juice lately. I got on a kick several years ago where I was drinking a lot. To the point where my dad was worried I was going to hurt myself. I don't think I'll get to that point but I need to change things up every now and then. The only thing I really drink is water.

Last night I think, I decided that I need to read more. I get in at least twelve hours a week thanks to working at the theater Friday and Saturday, but I could be doing a lot better. Especially considering the number of books I want to read. And the number of books I haven't even heard of but probably want to read. So, the plan is to read when I get home for work, and go until dinner time. That's about an hour and a half, depending on the day. That's a decent amount and I can add in more if I read before bed or something. Today was the first attempt so I didn't turn my computer on when I went into my room, I sat down on my bed and opened up the latest issue of National Geographic that arrived in the mail today. I read all the random stuff in the beginning and then started reading about the human brain. One of the random bits was about elephant teeth. Humans have two sets, starting with baby teeth and then going into adult teeth. Elephants have six sets. They have two teeth on the bottom, two on top, and they start growing from the back of the mouth and move forward, until they get ground down and fall out, with the next teeth growing in behind them. They can reach the size of a phone book. When they're kids the teeth last about three years but as adults they last about ten years. But once they make it through the six sets of teeth, that's it. Apparently older elephants in captivity often die from starvation after they lose their teeth and are unable to chew. Asian elephants eat about 300 pounds of food a day and African elephants eat between 400 and 600 pounds of food a day. That is incredible.

Before Christmas I ordered some Doctor Who prints and the order showed up on my bank statement a few days later, but it didn't show up on the website. I little while ago I emailed them to find out what was up but never heard back. I emailed again last night and got a response this morning saying they never got the notification from PayPal but when they went in manually to check they did have the money so they updated my account. And they finally mailed my prints so I have that to look forward to in the next month or so (shipping from Europe). On a slightly unrelated note, I almost got two things in the mail today, not counting the National Geographic, which would technically make it almost three things. The thing I did get was the book my mom got me for Christmas, but a textbook was sent instead. After going around and around with them, the book arrived today. It looks a little beat up, and I think some of that is an intentional design choice, but I also think part of it is just a poorly handled book. Sometimes third-party Amazon sellers are garbage. The thing I didn't get in the mail today is a mystery. In it's place is a card saying they attempted delivery and that I can pick it up at the Post Office tomorrow, because I guess I need to be present to receive it. I've been trying to think back on anything I may have purchased recently that would come via USPS and require my presence, but nothing is coming to mind. The only thing are the Doctor Who prints, but it obviously can't be those. I'll have to wait until tomorrow.