Happy Groundhog Day

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday...

Groundhog Day is a very important day. There are many versions of the prophesy concerning the Groundhog and his shadow. Some say that if he doesn't see his shadow, winter weather will stick around, but if he does see his shadow, spring is just around the corner. My grandfather always said, "If he sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter; if he doesn't, six more weeks until spring."

I think we up north just need a reminder that we are half way through winter and a reason to celebrate something.

This winter I am feeling the drag of the season a bit more. Perhaps it is because I don't get to ice skate, which was one of the reasons I love winter. Perhaps it is because all the school days really mess up my weekly schedule. Perhaps it is because Kindergarteners don't remember daily procedures after a day off. Perhaps they also would rather be at home doing there own thing, rather than at school working tediously.

The lessons right now are tedious. They have learned the basics: counting to 100, all the letters, reading short vowel words, and how to write their name. But we haven't begun the next step of expanding on that knowledge because we want to make sure that what they think they know really is sticking. Soon they will learn two vowel words, and they will be terribly confused because they aren't paying attention now to the review of one vowels.

It doesn't help that there are a lot of various illnesses that keep making their rounds. I really haven't gotten sick, which is simply by the grace of God, because I have been exposed to enough germs to kill me. I am trying to teach sanitary habits, but there are always those times when someone sneezes in my face or wipes their nose on my shoulder or such things. I love these little germ pools, though they wore me out last week. Oh goodness! We even had a snow day and it felt like an incredibly long week. Now grades are due, and of course I am behind with grading, though my house is cleaner than it has been in a while. Maybe someday I will catch up and maybe even get ahead - or work on those on going projects of wedding scrapbook and sewing. Maybe when summer comes.