Snack Time

The other day my daughter noticed the chickadees going crazy at the bird feeder.  Her father insisted, if she held some bird seed in her hand and held very still, she just might get one to land on her hand. It took a good 15 minutes but, he was right!

2017 Valentines

As always, my kiddos wanted personalized Valentine cards to pass out to their friends at school. This year Miss K wanted cards with this Sans character on them. (Apparently Sans is a little skeleton guy in a game called Undertale - which, of course, I've never heard of. Nor has she ever played.) We packaged him with SweeTart skulls and bones. Most of her friends didn't get the tibia joke, but that's OK.

S has been addicted to Swedish Fish lately and wanted something with a fishy theme. Nothing too fancy, but they sure looked cute in bags with the red fishies. I hadn't had Swedish fish in years - I'd forgotten just how good they were...

Feel free to download these and use them. The high resolution versions are below; just right click and save to your computer. Only part  the image shows, but it will all be there when you save it.

Homework

My students think I just assign homework; little do they know that I often have to do homework as well. Though, I am most definitely not complaining about having papers to grade; I adore my job. The drudgery of inputting grades is just one small part of the wonderful whole that is teaching. Getting to spend my days with great kids is worth the time I spend at the keyboard.

In case you're wondering about the small sheet of paper that reads "Get Comfy" in the photo, it's a prize the kids can earn. A Get Comfy Pass entitles to bearer to get comfy all day - he or she may sit in the soft arm chair, wear their PJs and have a stuffed animal friend at their seat. It's my daughter's all time favorite prize. She chooses the Get Comfy Pass over the Homework Pass every time.

Just Ask

Recently, I got a message with some questions about snowmobiles and it got me thinking - my guess is that lots of folks are curious about them. So I thought I'd take a moment to answer a few questions.

Fist of all, snowmobiles are a little like motorcycles. However, they have a lower center of gravity and the driver doesn't need to shift gears. They're so easy to drive that at 12, kids in Michigan can get a license to drive one after taking a driving course. (Which my son just finished and is now a licensed driver.)

1. Do snowmobiles have very big gas tanks?

I'm not quite sure how to answer that. The gas tank on a snowmobile is smaller than the tank on a car, but snowmobiles are much smaller than a car. Both of our snowmobiles have eight gallon gas tanks. Our older machines get just over eight miles to a gallon of gas. That translates to around 60 miles on a tank of gas. Given that I drive one mile to school each morning and then one mile home, I don't fill up all that often.

2. Where on the island do you get gas for them?

We buy gas at the hardware store. (It's on the Coal Dock, which is sometimes called UTP or Union Terminal Pier.) It's small, but can usually get anything we need. Gas there costs more than it does on the mainland, so when we can cross the ice, we usually fill up in St. Ignace.

3. When you drive across the ice bridge and reach St. Ignace, are there trails open for snowmobiles to get around town?

We can drive across the ice and then across the street to the gas station to fill up, and using some back roads access the snowmobile trails. You can't really drive around town on your snowmobile - we just hop into the car if we need to do that.

4. What's a groomer an how do you groom snowmobile trails?

A grooming machine smooths and levels out a trail. They are generally pulled behind a tractor or something similar. None of the snowmobile trails on the island are groomed. However, the cross country skiing trails are groomed using a small groomer that's pulled behind a snowmobile.

5. An article I read talked about snowmobiles going 55-70 mph. Do they really go that fast? Do you go that fast on the island?

Yes, many easily go that fast, some go even faster, but we don't ride that fast on the island. The speed limit on much of the island is 20 mph, not to mention that you don't want to drive on narrow twisty trails going much faster than that. That said, there is no speed limit out on the ice. Out there, there's plenty of space and on a clear day, great visibility. Once, on a very smooth ice bridge Allen and I crossed doing about 80 mph. (Without kids, of course.)

If anyone happens to have any more questions, leave a comment or email me, and I'll do my best to answer. And if the formatting of this post seems a bit off, my apologies. I am done fighting with Blogger about it!

Tomorrow!

Mackinac Island's annual Winter Festival starts tomorrow! My daughter's cardboard sled is all ready and both of my children are all looking forward to making s'mores. I hope they decide to play a round of snow golf.  

If not, they might join in a game of broom hockey,

or bowl a few frozen chickens.

I don't think there will be a "Glow Ride" this year, but back in 2015, both of my children loved it.

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by Great Turtle Park tomorrow and join in the fun!

Back in the Day

Back in the day my Grandpa was a police officer. Once, I accidentally referred to him as a "cop," and I was immediately and severely reprimanded. 

"A cop is a constable on patrol; They can be found in England. I am a police officer," he explained. He was always very proud of the years he worked as a police officer in Detroit. 

A friend of my father's came across this photograph while perusing an article on the history of the Detroit Police Department. My dad's friend noticed the caption: "Detroit Police Officer Reyniear Staats addresses students in the Chalk Talk school programs at Nichols School in Detroit in 1940." All the images in the article are interesting, but this one caught his attention because he recognized my grandfather's unusual name. So, just for fun, I searched for my grandpa's name on Facebook and the same photo came up. Down the rabbit hole I went. After a bit of Googling, I found this photo from March of 1968:

Apparently, after Grandpa retired, he got involved with AAA (The American Automobile Association.) In this photo he's posing with an Albion Police Officer who attended a bicycle safety seminar put on by AAA. 

I tip my hat to the lovely people who wrote on the back of those old pictures. Otherwise I would have never gotten to see them...

Pea Soup

For the past week and a half Mackinac Island has been shrouded with fog; odd weather for January in northern Michigan. Thankfully the boats are still running - though not on Sundays. Lots of folks ended up having to spend the night in St. Ignace this past Sunday since the planes just couldn't fly safely through fog like this. The fog and the warm days are making these last weeks in January feel more like early April.

Highly Recommended

Ten years have passed since the last book in A Series Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket (also known as Daniel Handler) was published. The tale contained within the 13 volume series is, at times, so heart wrenching, one must take a break from reading, lest he or she fall in to a pit of despair - the word "despair," as you well know, means a complete absence of hope.

If you have yet to read these books, plan a quick junket - which here means "a pleasurable excursion"  - to your local library and check out all of them. Yes, all 13 books; if the librarian will allow it. (There are actually 14 books if you include the Unauthorized Biography of Lemony Snicket which was published between The Hostile Hospital and The Carnivorous Carnival.

These books chronicle the woeful tale of the three Baudelaire Orphans (Violet, Klaus and Sunny) as the abominable, (which in this context means "completely awful,") Count Olaf attempts to steal their inheritance and dispatch, or kill, them. And while the books are extremely unpleasant and may bring a reader to tears, I highly recommend them all, the whole kit and caboodle.

Avoid the film at all costs. While Jim Carrey does a top-notch job of bringing the treacherous Count Olaf to life on screen, the screen writer encapsulated, or mashed together with complete disregard of chronological order, the events of the first three books.  (For shame Robert Gordon, for shame.)

However, Netflix has recently added The Series of Unfortunate Events to their library.  The show is  the complete antitheses of the film. The use of the word "antitheses" here indicates the Netflix show is as incredibly good as the 2004 film is awful.  In other words, the series is very, very well done.

If you haven't watched it yet, take a moment to view the trailer:

But, don't say I didn't warn you. The life of the Baudelaire orphans is, quite literally, a series of unfortunate events. But on the bright side you will learn the meanings of numerous interesting words including ersatz, penultimate, austere and feign. Which may be of some assistance if you happen to be a member of a secret organization.

Oh yes, and after you do read the books, go back and rewatch the series to see just how many Easter Eggs you can find.

I hope you are a very fine detective...

Unfortunately, My Kids Hate Me Tonight

Fortunately, the Mackinac Island Medical Center has always provided flu vaccines to island residents - shots for adults and nasal mist for the kiddos.

Unfortunately, this year, they weren't able to get any of the nasal mist.

Fortunately, they had plenty of doses to vaccinate us when we arrived this afternoon.

Unfortunately, my children were not mentally prepared to get shots today.

Fortunately, the nurses did a great job putting the kids at ease about having to get a flu shot.

Photo via

Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to Mama, each of the kids were due for additional shots. (Two additional for S and one additional for K - ugh.) 

Fortunately, it was over quickly, despite the pain.

Unfortunately, I am most definitely not my childrens' favorite parent tonight.

Fortunately, I can live with that. And, they'll live with out getting the flu, tetanus or HPV, which fortunately, is a very good thing.

Inspired by one of our favorite books.

New Tricks

I love learning new things. Sure I've been teaching a long time, but things do change. That's  part of the reason I am really enjoying the professional development I've been working on lately. I get frustrated when I have to miss school for just so-so PD, but this class is totally worth missing one day each month. The Next Generation Science Standards are taking science instruction to great places, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Furry Fun

While we were in the Salvation Army Thrift Store over Christmas break, my son spotted a Furby. What was left of the shredded box was held together by tape, but the little guy inside looked brand new. The price tag said it was $10.00, but all toys that day were half price. "Can I get it?" he asked. My husband quickly agreed, knowing full well that Furbies are hackable.

The kids have been having a lot of fun playing with it, though my daughter is not keen on sleeping in the same room with it. (She felt better knowing the army guys would keep her safe.)

After paying five bucks for the thing, I was shocked to see this at Target a a couple days later:

Sure it's been fun, but not that much fun...

Happy New Year

May your 2017 be wonderful; full of happiness and love.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Mackinac! 

My son drew that picture of me on the card he gave me for Christmas. It puts a smile on my face every time I look at it. I hope something is making you smile today, too. Another thing making me smile lately - the Huron decked out in her holiday finest.

Wishing you and yours a day that is merry, bright and full of smiles.

Ho Ho Ho!

Did you know that when Santa visits Mackinac Island (other than on Christmas Eve) he travels by fire truck? You see, Mackinac Island is the perfect place for those hard-working reindeer to take a little break. They hang out and get pampered at the barn for a while while Santa visits with the Island kids.

Stocking Up

Most people who live on Mackinac try to stock up, at least a little bit, for winter. The ferry company doesn't charge for freight such as boxes and tubs, but the plane charges $2.50 per tub.

So this time of year you'll often see luggage carts on the dock that look like this; filled to the brim with all kinds of necessities to get through the winter.

In case you're curious, lots of us use those Rubbermaid tubs for hauling groceries. They nest for taking the empty ones off the island, then stack easily in the car, and are a good size for the dray drivers to load and unload...

Memories

Every afternoon, as the kids and I walk home from school we pass by this lovely little statue of Mary. One day, back when the kids were much younger, one of them asked, "Who is that lady?" 

"It's Mary," I answered, intending to explain why Mary was important enough to merit a statue of her in one's yard, but before I could, the kids started serenading her with "Mary had a little lamb."

I still smile every time I walk by that house. Needless to say, since then, that misconception has been cleared up.

One Guess

I'll give you one guess about what the weather on

Mackinac Island was like today...

WINDY!

Proud Mackinac Moment

On Saturday seven of Mackinac's finest, also known as the Lake-n-ators, participated in the UP's only First Lego League Qualifying Tournament. This year's theme was Animal Allies.

Everything the kids did revolved round interactions between human and animals.

Mrs.B, the kid's coach (and also our high school math teacher,) has been coaching the island's 5th & 6th grade team for many years now. She's amazing by the way!

The group's first task was to work together as a team to build something to improve an interaction between humans and animals. They had a total of four minutes to organize, plan and build. It was really challenging.

Task two was to put on a skit for the judges. But not just any skit- it had to relate the groups research. Oh yes, did I mention that each team had to choose a problem that is occurring because of a human - animal interaction? Teams also had to come up with a solution to that problem and convey all their information in a five minute play; a play they wrote. 

(The Lake-n-ators choose to research Michigan's little brown bat. Thousands of them use to flit around Mackinac at night devouring virtually all of our mosquitoes, but due to white nose syndrome the bat population on the Island has plummeted.)

After the kids finished preforming, each team member had to answer questions about the team's research. The island kids really shined here; they knew more about Michigan's little brown bat than most adults - including how to pronounce pseudogymnoascus destructans, the scientific name for white nose syndrome. 

After their presentation, the Lake-n-ators had three practice runs with their Lego robot before the competition missions began. 

They had a great time - especially beating the college team from Lake State, who did manage to bring their score up from negative infinity to negative Pi. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and  Electronics Engineers) team got together the night before to work on their missions and skit to provide a little "friendly competition." The kids really got a hoot about watching the score keepers get creative with the IEEE's scores. In addition to the IEEE team, the island kids competed against teams from Petoskey, Charlevoix, Sault Ste. Marie, Cedarville, Menominee, and West Branch, Michigan. (Petoskey and Charlevoix each brought two teams.)

While their mission scores weren't high enough to go on to the next level of competition, the team did win a trophy because they did such an outstanding job on their presentation. All those practices and hours of research paid off! 

As the mom of two team members and the teacher of the entire team, I can't put into words just how incredibly proud I am of all of them. The seven of them came together as a team, put in long hours after school, and worked tirelessly on their missions and research. I hope that every time each one of them walks by the the trophy case at school, he or she stands up a little straighter and feels a sense of pride seeing that Lego trophy sitting on the shelf. 

Five Pounds of Sour Cream?

Every fall, when the Island's hotels close, many donate leftover food to the school. Our cook is very good at menu planning with the random food items that appear, but sometimes she gets things she just can't use. Often it's the it items that have already been opened, or that will expire before she can get to them; those things she passes on to the staff and parents. 

This fall she got tons of sour cream - in five pound tubs. One of which, came home with me. Luckily, I knew about this little gem of a recipe: Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes - from the Pioneer Woman. 

The recipe seems off, but trust it - the measurements work. The pancakes are light and fluffy, and they're delicious. According to my daughter, they're the best pancakes in the whole world. If you make them for more than two people, you'll want to double the recipe. A double batch made the perfect amount for my family of four.

Field Trip!

Teaching at the Mackinac Island Public School is pretty amazing. Not only because it's Mackinac Island and our kids are fantastic, but because we have so many groups supporting our school...

Last week my co-teacher and I (with the  help of some super parents) took our 21 fourth, fifth and sixth graders to Lansing - Michigan's Capital city. Most of our trip was generously funded by the Mackinac Island Community Foundation. You may remember this trip they funded for us a couple of years ago.

Our first stop was dinner at Shaw Hall - a residence hall at Michigan State University. For many of the kids it was their first visit to a college campus. I went to MSU and regularly ate lunch at Shaw, so it was fun for me to see just how far dorm food had come.

Then, thanks to the Mackinac Arts Council, we walked over to the Wharton Center to see Wicked. 

(Photo: The Wharton Center)

A few of the kids had seen it before, but for most of us, it was our first time and we were not disappointed. It was AMAZING! If you live in Michigan and you can get to Lansing in the next week or so - go! I know the play was spell-binding because several fourth grade boys insisted it was the best part of the whole trip!

After a good night's sleep we were off to Impression 5 Science Center for a morning of exploration.

There were so many interesting things to play with, the kids were in constant motion -

until it was time to come together to build electric circuits. 

Next, we had a private tour of the Capitol Building.

Did you know one of the floors in the Capitol is made of glass? The kids were surprised to learn it was only about an inch thick.

They laid on that floor and marveled at the dome 160 feet above them. 

One of my fourth grade girls loved the incredible light fixtures in the Capitol. "Look Mrs. B, even the lights match Michigan's flag." I love it when kids notice things like that.

And, as if that wasn't enough to cram into the trip, when we left the Capitol we drove over to Potter Park Zoo for their overnight program. Yep, we got to spend the night at the zoo!

After touring the zoo, the kids got up close and personal with reptiles, a Eurasian Eagle owl, a tenrec and the most adorable three-banded armadillo you've ever seen. 

We had time for a campfire complete with s'mores before it was time to settle down for an animal movie (Andre - a true story about a family that rehabilitates an injured seal.) Finally, it was time for bed. Which was a good thing because we were all ready for a little rest.

We had intended to visit Abrams Planetarium in the morning before we headed for home, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. The National Weather Service issued a gale warning for the Straits area (50 mph winds) for Friday afternoon through Saturday, so we decided to leave Lansing early. Hopefully we would miss the worst of the storm and get back to the Island before they possibly closed the Mackinac Bridge or shut down the ferry. 

We arrived in Mackinaw City to find the bridge open, the ferries running, and happy parents eager to hear all about our adventure...