Absence of logic, school "daze", my classroom up for underwire support, and my hair, of course!

I admit how incredibly sucky I have been with this blog. My baby started kindergarten this week, my other baby is a.....(I'm choking up here, trying to get it out...)....FOURTH grader, and the first day for my students is in two days. I am not ready yet, even though I spent 5 hours today in my classroom. That's right, on a Saturday. Thankfully, I brought my crew. I violated child labor laws with Christian helping me transfer some junk from the artroom to an empty classroom for storage of the "stuff".

Isn't this adorable? Chris helping his daddy put up a shelf for me today: Chris also helped with some computer issues that IT never responded to with a work order I filled out earlier this week. Therefore, I just dragged Chris down there to fix the problem. I love my husband!

I still don't get why the school years have started earlier and earlier in the summer. When I was a kid, we started in late August. It was the 3rd or 4th week in August, at the earliest, that I have memory of. Now? Teachers are due back in the classrooms in July and students start at the end of July (like Mikelle and Christian) or beginning of August (such as my students). There's never money for education, but they'll start school at a time that will add more weeks of horrendously high electrical bills due to the air-conditioning being cranked to the max. Go figure. That's the kind of "logic" (<--and I use that term lightly) that exists in this backwards state of Arizona.

This is the same state that our Republican Legislature is cutting more education from the budget (the same Republicans that spout of "family values" but are quick to screw over our children in the classroom). This is the same state that has a Wal-Mart every 3 miles along the 202 in the East Valley. This is the same state that will be building new businesses even though closed down vacant spaces are a stone's throw from the new builds. And why for the vacancy and so many businesses that have closed? Over building and planning on the economy to be rosy all this time. However, more building continues. I.just.don't.get.it. Instead of "getting it" I just have to get out of this state. However, we've been through that. It's probably not going to happen. I have an entry in my January archives with that explanation. Our Wickenburg plan is still in the works, but still not in the near future.

There I go again. Once again, I get on my soapbox of my frustrations with the political and nature of the climate in this state. However, when it comes to the classroom, my students deserve the best Art Education I can give them. Supplies are scarce, and I am looking for additional grants and other resources to help get some funds and art supplies into my classroom. A grant I had good feelings about sent the rejection letter about a month ago, and as much as there are a lot of grants out there, it is difficult to find one that my classroom qualifies to even apply for. There are so many stipulations that often turn what looks to be a promising grant into another brick wall. See? There I go again. That is why I haven't updated my blog like I should. I get into the downers again. I promise it's not permanent.

For information about helping out with my classroom (no donation is too big or small!), please click on the "support my classroom" icon on the top right hand side of this page.

But hey, there is happiness! Last week I got my hair cut and colored again! Well, I couldn't start a new year with scary roots, could I? But I can't get my brows waxed again for another week. Oh well. That's where the tweezers come in. Ouch!