Sunday, August 02, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Camping in the Kiabab Forest
Addyson was so excited that she could hardly sleep for the week leading up to her camping trip. Daron and Addy joined our friend Rob aka. Recycle Guy and his girlfriend Katie who is a HORSE CAREGIVER AT BEST FRIENDS plus other horse caregivers and their families and horses and our friend Kat from Germany. I stayed home with Opal who has diabetes and who is very bonded to me. To be honest sleeping on the ground in a tent sounded like a nightmare and a big migraine trigger!
Addy was in Heaven! She LOVES horses and Katie let her ride her horse Isabelle two different times. Her dog Blue would follow along behind. Rob called to tell me what a delight it was to have Addy. She thanked Katie for taking her for a horse ride and then thanked Blue for keeping them safe. She also rotated the hot dogs and pork chops on the barbeque and hung out with the three boys that aged from 9 - 12 yrs old. Daron said she did great but that he was so uncomfortable on the hard ground and in the cold that he could barely fall asleep. Needless to say they slept great when they got home!
Addy was in Heaven! She LOVES horses and Katie let her ride her horse Isabelle two different times. Her dog Blue would follow along behind. Rob called to tell me what a delight it was to have Addy. She thanked Katie for taking her for a horse ride and then thanked Blue for keeping them safe. She also rotated the hot dogs and pork chops on the barbeque and hung out with the three boys that aged from 9 - 12 yrs old. Daron said she did great but that he was so uncomfortable on the hard ground and in the cold that he could barely fall asleep. Needless to say they slept great when they got home!
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| Kat and Addy |
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
A Teacher for the Ages
This is the "Letter to the Editor" I wrote about Addy's First Grade teacher, Mr. Willardson. He LOVED it!!!
A Teacher for the Ages!
Um, mostly (5-7)
I am writing this letter to avoid taking for granted one amazing first grade teacher at Kanab Elementary School. Let me preface this by saying that my wife and I have only one child, and by every standard measurable we are overly protective of this one child… First grade is a tough one for parents like us (not to mention the actual students) as it is the first kind of forced release of our child into the big world for 7 hours a day every day. Thankfully on the day they drew which students would be assigned to which teacher we got Mr. Willardson. Everyone I talked to about him said nothing but great things about this teacher. I have come to know now that they were absolutely right! I would even say they didn’t say enough good things to fully prepare us.
Mr. Willardson has an incredible knack for handling those trembling lipped, watery eyed, right on the verge moments in little kids’ lives. He has made up important jobs for kids that are apprehensive in the mornings when dropped off for school. He’s scheduled meetings with my daughter to allow her to vent or give him suggestions on how to make her day at school better. On your birthday he’ll run you around the room on the chair with rollers! He has handled with great empathy some moments that could have been embarrassing, frightening, sad, or lonely for little kids. He shows up to support his kids even in their after-school endeavors, and they’re excited to see him! He talks to his students in a calm, caring, supportive, and reassuring tone as their teacher. He lets you bring your child over to ride one of his horses as a reward for doing well in reading or even if they just need to feel special.
All of these wonderful attributes heaped on top of the fact that he has done a remarkable job in providing the education needed to complete first grade. It’s amazing how much is covered and learned in first grade. I am sure that there are so many more amazing teachers at Kanab Elementary, but for me and my family it’s hard to imagine Mr. Sheldon Willardson will ever be topped! Thank you for all you do Mr. Willardson.
A Teacher for the Ages!
Um, mostly (5-7)
I am writing this letter to avoid taking for granted one amazing first grade teacher at Kanab Elementary School. Let me preface this by saying that my wife and I have only one child, and by every standard measurable we are overly protective of this one child… First grade is a tough one for parents like us (not to mention the actual students) as it is the first kind of forced release of our child into the big world for 7 hours a day every day. Thankfully on the day they drew which students would be assigned to which teacher we got Mr. Willardson. Everyone I talked to about him said nothing but great things about this teacher. I have come to know now that they were absolutely right! I would even say they didn’t say enough good things to fully prepare us.
Mr. Willardson has an incredible knack for handling those trembling lipped, watery eyed, right on the verge moments in little kids’ lives. He has made up important jobs for kids that are apprehensive in the mornings when dropped off for school. He’s scheduled meetings with my daughter to allow her to vent or give him suggestions on how to make her day at school better. On your birthday he’ll run you around the room on the chair with rollers! He has handled with great empathy some moments that could have been embarrassing, frightening, sad, or lonely for little kids. He shows up to support his kids even in their after-school endeavors, and they’re excited to see him! He talks to his students in a calm, caring, supportive, and reassuring tone as their teacher. He lets you bring your child over to ride one of his horses as a reward for doing well in reading or even if they just need to feel special.
All of these wonderful attributes heaped on top of the fact that he has done a remarkable job in providing the education needed to complete first grade. It’s amazing how much is covered and learned in first grade. I am sure that there are so many more amazing teachers at Kanab Elementary, but for me and my family it’s hard to imagine Mr. Sheldon Willardson will ever be topped! Thank you for all you do Mr. Willardson.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
I Rock! Yes I am tooting my own horn!
I am on the Kanab City Art Council. We are creating an 8 ft by 8 ft mosaic mural to put on the floor of the Performing Arts Terrace. The problem was we have four folks from the art council ready to glue over 11,000 tiles on 64 12 inch x 12 inch mesh squares. So we sent out a Facebook event to get the community involved. That didn't work so great so I called my wonderful friends and included my Kids Art Discovery Class. About 8 kids participated from my art class but the awesome part was when 27 a Yes TWENTY SEVEN friends came over two days to help! We actually ran out of tiles and glue. So when those come in we will finish! My friend Lisha was the first to show up on Friday with her sister in laws, mother in law and kids in tow! They were having a family reunion. I yelled " the Calvary is here!" Saturday was a steady flow of more and more friends showing up to help!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
My Art Class and the Kanab Art Council Project
I wasn't sure how the kids would respond to an hour of lining up 165 tiny tiles on a 12 inch by 12 inch mesh square so I had a second project for the students. They made bracelets out of toilet paper rolls, string, ribbon, crafting duct tape and washi tape. I loved to see the difference in bracelet styles the kids came up with. Art is so good for kids and adults. I read a great article in the Harvard Review that mentioned how art can help students learn the value of deceleration and immersive attention. It may take some kids a little longer to settle into a project but it is very gratifying to see them concentrating, enjoying, and creating once they focus. Most of the kids chose to do both projects.
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