Good Weekend

For running and at camp.

Yesterday and today I was up at 7:30 to work in the kitchen during meals. We had a belly dance camp and I did dishes with Kim and Will. It feels really good to work at camp.

Saturday I did a 1600m time trial. I ran a 4:45. Pretty good time considering my training  and running alone. I just wanted to break 5.

Today I did 20 miles @7:30 pace. Legs were a little tired but it felt easy and I was able to pick it up at the end instead of bonking.

Also, the men's 4 miler, my goal race is happening on December 15th and the course is in town instead of UVA. So that kinda changes things. I think I'll sign up for the Richmond 8k on 11/10. It's gonna be great!

Another Day

Haha! Safely made it through another day. I guess you aren't supposed to talk about things like being safe because that's supposed to increase your risk of danger. Like you can only be safe if you aren't actively thinking about being safe. Or rather, if you aren't constantly reminding yourself that you're safe or PROUD that you're safe, as if you've gotten away with something.

You ever look at your hands right now and think 'woah, is that what my hands look like?'. I guess you're supposed to know things like the back of your hand but I kinda surprised myself with the back of my hand just now. There's new lighting in the Annex and I think it's making my hands look old.

Woops, better not talk about having old hands or I'll jinx it and wake up with tiny smooth baby hands. Wouldn't that be terrible.

Would not that be terrible? Would it be terrible? I can't tell.

card #140

sneaking past the door troll

sweet talking the door demon

taking out the door guy

Things are going well

I let the auto suggestions on my phone make the title.  And it's true!

Having a good week this week. The last time I worked at afterschool, in 2016, I would have been very nervous to have groups of 15 to 20 kids entirely by myself. Now it's just normal and they're a great group. I'd take more. Occasionally I'm spread too thin but more often than not the kids choose the right thing on their own. So that's great.

Qnxious

I'm worried about doing enrichment at after school. Mostly because I like the program being more of a chill after school hang out than an enrichment focused program.  But without programming I feel like a fraud, in a way. Or guilty.

I also know it's going to be an uphill battle to get the kids together as a group and get them to listen and be engaged in something and I'm having a hard time convincing myself why they should care. I don't know. I think for now I just need to focus on having some positive experiences and not get too focused on what's constraining me or what isn't going perfectly. I think it's that point of the year where we're settling in and storming a little and some kids are starting to push back and push limits.  And that's okay. There's no rush to get anywhere.  We're after school.

Trying to Better My Smoothies

Fall Break, Byrtle Meach 1945

Today I left my phone at work because when I was leaving work I thought I had left it at home. So I went back to work to look for it and talked to Rigobert and he had found it and put it in his office and the unique experience of driving back to the school at 8:30 and listening to new radio programs and different songs and the joy of finding my phone after thinking it was lost and getting to talk to Rigobert who was very nice---all of that was way better than the stuff I waste my time with on my phone.

So, go figure. 

wednesday, spetember 91 twony18

my fish is broken.

analyzing the crumbstacean

buying a new computer

going to the market

servicing the soda machine

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I'm trying to think of ways to make enrichment fun at after school. The major challenges are making it different than school and also the kids are pretty content and have gotten used to a schedule where we don't ask much of them. It's gonna be an uphill battle of getting buy in and figuring out how to keep them off their computers or get them off their computers and be engaged. 

The enrichment runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday so I need to fill 3 days a week.

For Tuesdays I made this giant grid out a 5'x3' piece of paper with 540 two inch squares. I'm going to call it the Kingdom of After School and it's going to be this ongoing project where they make characters in the world and react to things that are going on. On Tuesdays when we meet we'll talk about what's going on and what people want to do with their pieces. That could last for a while.

And then on Wednesdays I had this idea for a weekly competition where they design a plant, like a tree, bush, flower, whatever, and every week different weather and environmental effects are going to occur and based on how they've set up their plants preferences and stuff they'll earn different points and there will be a leaderboard and stuff. And then every week they will get the chance to modify their plant and adjust how it's doing. So Wednesday will be presenting those results and giving them the chance to make changes and stuff.

Thursday I was thinking that some of them already really have projects that they like doing so Thursday could be about checking in on what projects they are doing. Some of the kids are really into making a play. Some of the kids like to craft and make things. Some like to do reports and present things. There a few that just want to play games and beyond that they're sticks in the mud but I bet I can find a project they might enjoy. The focus is on ownership of something and presenting it to the group. And then maybe I'll build in some sort of incentive to it to entice the recalcitrant ones.

yeah yeah yeah!