staying on course.

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The Thorington Schoolhouse, in use 1859-1955 Washington Township, Michigan, USA

 

“there is an old saying that the course of civilization is a race between catastrophe and education.

in a democracy such as ours, we must make sure that education wins the race.”

-john f. kennedy

 

 

image credit: jeff bondono

partly cloudies.

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when walking by the river

 

“today is one of those excellent january partly cloudies

in which light chooses an unexpected part of the landscape to trick out in gilt,

and then the shadow sweeps it away.

you know you’re alive. you take huge steps,

trying to feel the planet’s roundness arc between your feet.”

-annie dillard

 

 

huron river, argo park, ann arbor, mi, usa – january 2023

daylight.

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north manistee, michigan lighthouse pier

As days drag on and the sun still sets relatively early, you may be left wondering are the days truly getting longer? The short answer is, yes. But only by a few minutes. Each day in January we average an extra 2 minutes from the day prior.

By the end of February, we can expect an additional two hours and 30 minutes. February 28’s sunrise is at 7:20 A.M. And the sunset is at 6:30 P.M. The first 6 o’clock sunset of the year arrives on February 5.

As we ease closer to our longest day, June 21, we’ll gain an additional 6 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. The longest day of the year, the summer solstice on June 21, is 15 hours and 21 minutes long.

We’re on our way!

“run for daylight.”

-vince lombardi

 

 

credits: wxyz-tv detroit, isabella hulsizer, photo: john l. russell

handwritten.

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“i love handwritten letters. the way the words get jumbled up when the writer’s excited.

the way the words get neat when the writer is trying not to make a mistake.

the way the words get pretty because the writer’s in love.

i love handwritten letters.”

-word porn

 

January 17th is National Send a Handwritten Letter Day.

The idea is to save the dying art of letter writing and help the ailing Post Office

by sending a letter(s) to someone you care about.

Who will you surprise with a letter? Saving the world one letter at a time.

birmingham.

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Letter from Birmingham Jail

In the spring of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. organized a demonstration in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. With entire families in attendance, city police turned dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators. King was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, but the event drew nationwide attention.

In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King eloquently spelled out his theory of non-violence:

“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community,

which has constantly refused to negotiate,

is forced to confront the issue.”

 

credits: biography, history channel, photo credit: the atlantic

wedding.

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such a beautiful wedding celebration

lots of love, and dance, and music, and friends. and food, and flowers

and a bride i’ve known

since she walked into my school in kindergarten. 

 

“growing up, I had one very specific idea of what a wedding should be,

and that was the wedding of Fraulein Maria and Captain von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music.”

-ellie kemper

awake again.

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even if your day was a bit crazy or didn’t go as planned or was tiring or..

here you are again

awake in a new day.

“yesterday ended last night”

-john maxwell

under the rainbow.

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my classroom is chock full of

multi-age kinder (3s-young 5s)

who stay with us for two years.

one of the very best things

is watching the older kinder

who were the younger kinder

just one year before

as they quite naturally and organically grow

to become the leaders/teachers/helpers/mentors

to the new group of younger kinder

who were at home

just one year before.

what a joy it was to watch someone older

spend a very long time

finding all the special markers she needed

to create an easy to see linear rainbow

for someone younger

who wanted to create

her very own rainbow picture

in her very own style

using all the special colors.

judging by their faces

when she finished her very own rainbow

they were both equally proud of the results.

 

“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”

-anatole france

bueno come il pane.

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“buono come il pane.”

this Italian idiom refers to someone who is “as good as bread.”

that is, someone who is caring and loving and a person of the heart.

i really, really love this phrase and am definitely going to start using it. such the perfect words.

no joke.

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not me, but the same look i get when i realize i’ve forgotten a part of my only joke, yet again.

i love to tell stories, laugh, talk, improv, and share amusing tid-bits

but for the life of me

i absolutely cannot tell a joke

forgetting a line

mixing up the order

messing up the punchline delivery

all that

and

i only have one joke

 and that’s no joke.

“i don’t know how to tell a joke. i never tell jokes.

i can tell stories that happened to me… anecdotes.

but never a joke.”

-lucille ball

 

image credit: pinterest