Well, summer is almost over and I haven't accomplished much that I really wanted to! I did get someone to paint my mother's house - but in the process found many things that need to be fixed - rotting window frames, holes in door framing and a rotting roof - UGH!  Now I'm in conversation with a contractor to deal with that list and then the painter will be back to finish afterwards. We also have a plumber coming out to replace her corroded (read that as can't replace the faucet handles!) outdoor faucets and at least one bathroom faucet (and hopefully the insides of a toilet tank that I'm getting tired of dealing with).

I took three Grad. credits to renew my teaching license - including the blogging course that got me started here, and found out that I could apply for a four-year resident educator license WITHOUT taking any credits - go figure! I was waiting for all my credits to make it to transcripts to renew my license, but snet it in as soon as I found out about the other license.  I sent my application the beginning of July, they cashed my check shortly afterwards and when I checked online at ODE - they said it could take 6-8 weeks to process, and up to 2 more to receive through the mail. Fortunately, it only took them about 5 weeks to process and about 2 days to get it in the mail, so I am back on the list as a sub.

On a positive note, my hubby only has 12 more days of work before he officially retires from the City of Akron. Not sure what he is going to do after that - he's looking for another job. He decided it was time to get out of public employment in Ohio before the governor reinstates all the pieces to SB 5.

My Classroom Blog is a work in progress...

Well, I think I have managed to complete most of the assignments although some are definitely works in progress such as my Blogging guidelines.  My 'next' blog is my classroom blog, Mrs Dremann's classroom.  While I have had the name saved since the beginning of this course, I hadn't done anything with it until now.  My RSS Feed is there and is to The Scientist which is a Lifescience magazine.  I still have to do my About Me page for my classroom blog.  I plan to add a calendar to that blog also which would include assignments/ projects and due dates.
Google docs training is next on the horizon and then incorporating that into my classroom blog will be important to me.  Having just recycled a ton of photocopies of stuff and the reliability of the school copier,  I would really like to put more things online for the students to access instead of printing out enough copies for a least a class set.  I can also see how this could be extremely useful for keeping the more chronic absentees up to date if they chose to use it.  I am also interested in audio files and possibly video or just powerpoint type presentations with audio to go over vocabulary.  Science is full of words that are just not used much in normal conversation, and something like that would be helpful for all students but especially struggling learners and ESL students.
I haven't figured out exactly what my classroom blog will be like because as a substitute, I never know what I'll be teaching or where.  This past year included extended assignments as a 6th grade science teacher, a middle school gym teacher, and business management before I landed in a Biology classroom.  I also covered quite a few 7th grade language arts classes, some chemisty, some middle school math and algebra and of course last years stint as a Librarian.

I made a concept map with bubbl.us for an immunolgy unit for Biology.  I actually had the students create their own concept maps with the terms trying to get them to see how it was all conected.  I could see using bubble.us to have them make them - might entice them more to do it and be creative about it.

I could also bring up the site and create the map with them.  I'ts much neater than my hand scrawled map all over the white board - times 3 classes!

Disappointment on the star front!

Rick went off to PA as planned and even was in a scene right behind Hal Holbrook, but they decided there were too many people in hte scene and cut some of them.  He was one of the ones cut.  They paid him for Monday, and said they migh tbe able to use him on Wed. and Thurs.  He and a friend who also went out with him and got cut too drove back Mon. night.  They tried getting hold of the casting people on Tuesday to find out if they would be needed on Wed. but couldn't get an answer, so they chose not to go back.  So his star career is on hold until the next call for extras!

Check out the Dremann family movie star!

I started a new page to blog about my husband's experiences being an extra in movies.  While this started as a family experience, he has gone beyond that to being visible on the BIG screen.  Check it out at my  'A Star in the Family' page of my blog.

Opening Night of The Avengers

This summer I plan to ...

plan a trip to Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man and England....Ireland would be great too, but we think we will run out of time. My husband is retiring (early - from public employment) at the end of July and we would like to travel across the pond.  That is the dream.  The reality is we are trying to plan this around the schedules of our two at home children and their work/ college schedules and before my husband finds his next job (or I find a permanent one).  But for now everyone is making a list of their 'must see' sites.  Kevin - Oxford, land of JRR Tolkien; Erin - Scotland and Platform 9 & 3/4;   Rick - Isle of Man, his grandfather's homeland, and Scotland and me - Wales, land of song and my ancestors, and Scotland.

I made it this far!

So glad i didn't have to come up with a title. That was a real killer the last time we tried this. Your enthusiasm was not enough to get me through it.