The Hoofprint staff started another fantastic tradition this morning with our first ever Bring Your Own Cereal morning workshop. The group wanted to get close to finishing their new member handbook, so they gathered at the school at 6:00 a.m. with their favorite cereals and got right to work. I provided the milk, bowls, and spoons. Two people even ate cereal in real coconut bowls in honor of Kala’s acceptance to college in Hawaii.

I was really dragging when I got to the school, but by the time they were done I was beaming and full of energy. Part of it was due to the Krave cereal sugar bomb I had, but most of it was from pride. They accomplished so much and did it with their typical energy and cheer.

After meeting the new staff for The Hoofprint (48 people strong!) at the end of the day, I couldn’t be more excited and optimistic about the state of the newspaper.

We got two more surprises after school, but I may have to save those pictures for tomorrow’s post, since this one event was more than good enough for today’s entry.

Plus – Keith arrived today and he’s even better than I thought he would be. Some people will understand what that means, but I can’t say any more than that.

Today’s activity: A late-night walk for two miles.

The end of May is always brutal, but the past two days have been extra exhausting.

I needed to escape a bit this evening, so Aver and I took a walk down to the lake together with Shakey. It was excellent. Aver and I got to talk, and I just followed his lead. It was fantastic.

Today’s activity: A 2-mile walk with Aver.

This photo is from Monday. I know I always post the giant knot pretty much every time I do it, but it usually represents a good day, because 1) it’s awesome outside, 2) my group is doing something great surrounding it, 3) and I get to see people connect with each other.

Today was another really good day at school. I had an amazing meeting this morning, read some incredible blogs by my students, and talked with some great colleagues about projects. My J2 class got to go outside again, and they had so many awesome ideas about next week’s blog post that they actually came up with 10 questions on their own, on the spot. I am really starting to see what makes this group so good. I’m starting to wish we had more time together.

Huikkos was running a sweet $3 Mini Golf promotion today only, so I took the boys and watched them have more fun than they’ve had in a while. They loved it. One of my favorite students ever was working there, so we had a great talk while the boys ate ice cream after golfing.

Aver and Koben watched me play some Half-Life 2 while I biked, and then I had a blast reading books with Aver at bed time. I’m exhausted but happy.

I got to spend part of my morning helping out with Aver’s kindergarten class. I got to take photos of all the kids for a video project that the teacher is working on and then I got to work with a few kids one-on-one, which was pretty fun, too.

When I first wanted to be a teacher, I wanted to be an elementary teacher, so anytime I can do something meaningful with elementary students I feel really energized. So, the morning was pretty great, and I got to spend some time with Aver.

It was a pretty great morning.

Aver and Koben love their mom more than anyone or anything in this world. She has made them the center of her world and has sacrificed more than they’ll ever know to give them the very best. She inspires me to be a better father. She knows exactly what they need and how to provide it for them. She’ll stay up all night, just to be next to them when they’re sick or patiently coach them through any obstacle. She is amazing.

Being a father has been the most fulfilling and incredible experience. Mandy has showed me what it means to truly be alive. Parenting has been more rewarding than I ever could have imagined, and there’s no one I’d rather parent with.

The boys share their love of her so freely in the video we made for her. They’re also hilarious.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mandy. We love you.

Today’s activity: 50 minutes on the recumbent bicycle and time at the park.

I spent the whole day with my awesome kids today.

We took a few trips around town, stopped to see Mandy at work to deliver her lunch, went to school for five hours while I shipped out the Spring Supplement for the yearbook, hit up the park in Monticello, swooped into Home Depot for some stuff, and then picked up supper and a treat for Mandy on the way home. We ended the day with a fun bed time book about the world’s Deadliest Animals.

Shipping the Spring Supplement was exhausting, but the boys were great throughout the whole time. I’m very glad to have that done with. It’s like a fifth deadline every year.

My activity for the day was playing at the park with the boys.

Today was pretty exhausting.

This photos come from a class activity. Students came up with many different ways to present information in print as quickly as possible. Partners had 3 minutes to come up with an idea. It was great for inspiration, so I photographed all of the whiteboards.

Today’s activity: 30 minutes on a recumbent bicycle.

I mowed the lawn today. It was the first time mowing the lawn for me this season. Mandy did it once before. That was pretty neat.

I had an interesting discussion with one of my students about attention today. The talk lasted perhaps two minutes, but it resonated with me the rest of the day.

We were discussing the term “Pay attention.” “Pay” is such an interesting verb, but it’s incredibly important. To pay for something is to exchange something of yours as compensation for the services of someone else. I was wondering where we get the attention to pay.

Was it like money, where we bank attention from a supply of attention that has been paid to us? He didn’t think so. That’s good, too. Because students are often asked to pay attention for 80 minutes at a time without any guarantee that attention would be paid to them.

He said that you really couldn’t ask someone to pay attention; that our attention comes from interest. He said that teachers get our attention in exchange for giving us something to be interested in and that our supply of attention is replenished by having something to be interested in.

The attention dynamic in a classroom seemed like a plant turning CO2 into Oxygen. We convert humor, competition, variety, interaction, human interest, and challenge into attention. It doesn’t do any good to ask people to pay attention. In that situation, I’d be asking for something for nothing.

Granted, sometimes I need to ask for attention upfront in order to begin delivering the elements that deserve it. If students aren’t used to having something to pay attention to, that task gets much more difficult for teachers.

It was an interesting conversation. I’ll remember it the next time I think of asking someone to pay attention.

Today’s activity: Mowing my lawn for 45 minutes. Sort of wimpy, I know.

Today, a wonderful former student who is now officially a doctor came back to visit and talk with my Journalism 2 class about what it takes to be a doctor, her experience in Uganda, and the role of creativity in the profession.

It was awesome. She could only stay for 40 minutes, because another teacher wanted her to speak.

I have a lot more respect for doctors and a new appreciation for residents after listening to her.