The Other February 27th Birthday

How many mamas give birth to babies on the same day, yet the babies are not twins? Sarah did!

Happy 20th birthday, Isaac! It is a blessing to have you in our lives.

Happy Birthday, Trinity!!

Happy 12th birthday, Trinity!!

I am so proud of you and the wonderful young woman you have become. I love you!!

Scrolls!

Pam Green was a marvelous mentor teacher to me when I began my career. It's been seventeen years since I was her student teacher, but I still use ideas she gave me so many years ago. One of those is Scrolls, an activity that elicits cheers from my students when I announce we will be working on them.

Scrolls, simply put, are strips of cashier's tape with a Greek or Latin root as a beginning point with words made from that root (or prefix or suffix) listed below it.

The kids have a target number (this time it was 101 words in honor of the classic book, The One Hundred and One Dalmatians) and have to mark on the list when they quit using their brains to come up with words and turned to a dictionary.

Only rarely does a team of two do the bare minimum. Most kids get several hundred, and a few go over 1,000! (The highest this time was 1,601 words for the root "ped.")

Not only do we count our words, we measure the length of our scrolls.

 That necessitates working in the hallway so we can unroll the scrolls completely.

 MM's really was long!

 GCD clearly is excited about the scroll she did with TM.

After measuring our scrolls, we make 3x5 cards with the root, number of words found, and length of the scroll written on it. These cards is used in the display we make in the hallway.

We also document on the board - that helps me sort the scrolls and gives me an idea of what was accomplished.

Thanks, Pam. I was lucky to be your student teacher and am glad to call you friend, too!

Extracting DNA from Strawberries

On Tuesday, five students from Purdue came to our classroom and led us through a procedure to extract DNA from strawberries.

 Waiting excitedly while materials are given out and the procedure explained.

 First, we had to crush our strawberry slices without breaking their plastic bags.

 It was harder than it looked - the berries needed to be completely broken up into mush.

 We squished and squished and squished!

 Some of the materials brought for us to use (and we got to keep them!)

 The little capped tubes are for storing the extracted DNA.

 After the strawberry slice was sufficiently liquified....

 ... we poured it through a paper towel filter and into a large test tube.

 Making the paper towel filter was tougher than it appeared, too.

 We wrapped the paper towels around our fingers and then tried to gently insert the towel into the large tube.

 Then, a partner helped us to pour the strawberry juice into the tube.

 If you had a tear in your paper towel, you had to begin again as the filter would not work if it was torn.

 After the juice was filtered, we added a solution - surprisingly, it was simply dishwashing liquid.

 And then we watched....

 ... and watched...

 ... until it was time to add ice cold ethyl alcohol.

 The DNA formed into strands and then a ball of matter in the smaller tubes.

 We then used the plastic pipettes to suck up the matter...

 ... which we squirted into the tiny capped tubes to store.

 The DNA is the cloudy matter at the top of the tube.

Finally, we added yarn to the tubes and wore our strawberry DNA as necklaces!

A Surprise Honor

Pam Smith, the mother of two of my former students, did something nice for me.

She nominated me to be honored by the Public Schools Foundation of Tippecanoe County!

With all the negatives that have been happening in Indiana concerning education, it was a real breath of fresh air to be honored. I got a nice certificate and some notepads with the honor logo on it, too, plus the Facebook announcement on their web site.

Imaginative Kids

This year's class is VERY imaginative. They're also not shy about using their imaginations when they play, and since it has been such a cold winter with a lot of indoor recesses, I have had the chance to observe them at play.

Inspired by Dr. Emert's visit a few weeks ago and the easily accessible stuffed animals in our Classics Connections Corner, they have set up a veterinary hospital!

 EK treats an ill bird. I love the stethoscope around his neck, just as Dr. Emert wore hers. And he's used tissues to make a surgical mask!

JB and HS also are veterinarians and "treating" patients.

 A few of the patients in recovery.

Some of the instruments used to treat patients.

The entire class is participating. They have even made business cards and divided the room into wards - the maternity ward, a canine section, one for felines, another for exotics, and so on.

The focus of our Science unit is the human body, but since they are so interested in the animals (and I sure don't want them playing "doctor" on each other!!) I have invited Dr. Rose Robertson in to speak to us tomorrow. She's bringing a three legged cat and some other goodies - should be fun!

Our Valentine's Day Date

(This is a little late, but better late than never, right?)

For Valentine's Day, my sweetie surprised me with a visit to Kathie's Kandies and a romantic "Death by Chocolate" fondue for two! (It was very romantic... except for the NASCAR race that was blaring over the sound system. We had a good laugh over that!)

 A view of the candy shop from our table. Craig scheduled our party late enough that the other customers had mostly bought their candy and left.

 We had an assortment of dipping items - my favorites were the pound cake, strawberries, and the brownie bites. But it was all good!

 Look at that luscious melted chocolate!!

Craig, you sure know how to treat a girl right. Happy 39th Valentine's Day together!

Enjoying Science

It is a darn shame that with all the emphasis Indiana puts on testing in Reading and Math that it has become more and more difficult to teach Science and Social Studies well. I am fortunate in that my curriculum is supposed to be different from general education classes, and that allows me to get in more of those two subjects than my gen ed colleagues do. Still, I wish I could do more.

Tuesday I invited five Purdue students come to my classroom and help my students extract DNA from strawberries. I will write another blog post about that later, but in the meantime, I wanted to post this picture.

This is my student, KR. She loved the DNA project, and was in heaven when the Purdue folk told my students that they could keep the test tubes and other paraphernalia we had used in our experiment. KR's mom sent me this photo of her daughter, saying that she had set up her own experiments that evening at home.

I'm not sure just what she is doing, but knowing KR, it has been well thought out and executed!

Stefon's Obituary

Finally, Stefon's obituary has been posted.

CENTRALIA – Stefon DeShaun Baker, 22, of Centralia, formerly of Urbana, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday (Feb. 19, 2015) at St. Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon.

Visitation will be from noon to 4 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, at the Urbana Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene, 1808 S. Philo Road, Urbana. Funeral services will immediately follow the visitation at 7 p.m. at the church. Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Eastlawn Burial Park, located on Cunningham Avenue in Urbana. Pastor and close family friend, Wayne Clevenger, will officiate both services.

Stefon was born Aug. 10, 1992, in Joliet to parents, John Louis Baker and Stephanie Tosheka (Maborn) Gray, who will continue to cherish his loving memories.

Also left to cherish his memories are his loving stepmother, Ruth Baker; paternal grandfather, John Baker Sr. (Ruby); and maternal grandfather, Cleva Maborn, all of Illinois. Stefon is also survived by his siblings, Tyrease, Talisha, Lanaiydia, Charlie and Kemora Baker, all of Illinois, Tyra Carey of California, Davina Woods of California, and Amanda and Azia Maborn, both of Illinois. Also surviving are special aunties, Melissa Maborn and Carrie Miles, both of Illinois; special uncle, Antwane Maborn (Tara) of Tennessee; and many other aunts, uncles and cousins.

Stefon was preceded in death by his paternal great-grandparents, Nancy Ann and Nathaniel Baker Sr.; paternal grandmother, Geraldine Baker; and maternal grandmother, Linda Sue Maborn. He was also preceded in death by his uncle, Joel Baker; and cousin, Andrew Baker.

Stefon graduated from Urbana High School in 2010, where he was a star football player. He also played baseball and basketball. Sports were a huge part of his life, and he enjoyed volunteering as a coach and referee for youth teams. Stefon attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, where he played as an offensive guard on the football team.

Though he was young, Stefon touched many lives through both his leadership in sports and his participation at the Lighthouse Church, where he was a member since the age of 11. He attended youth groups, ushered at services and was an assistant teacher at Vacation Bible School. Stefon loved helping the pastor in every way that he could. Because of the strong influence from the church and his family, Stefon was a loving and caring young man.

Stefon worked two jobs - as a clerk at the Circle K gas station on Philo Road in Urbana and in the mail room of The News-Gazette. He then moved south to begin working as a brownie ingredient mixer at Pinnacle Foods Inc.

Stefon worked hard to earn respect from others and in return respected them as well. He loved his family dearly and held dear the time he spent with his siblings and parents.

Contributions may be made in Stefon's memory to the Urbana Lighthouse Church of the Nazarene. Condolences may be offered online at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com.

A Former Student Dies - Stefon Baker

There is a part of me that understands that life isn't fair, that the Lord has His plan, and that things will be okay in the long run. But still, it never seems fair when a young person dies without having the opportunity to live their life to the fullest, marry and have children, and contribute to this world.

Stefon came into my 5th grade class at Yankee Ridge School mid-year. A big teddy bear of a boy, he told me he was from Cairo when I asked him to tell me about himself. He had what I thought was a very strong accent and was difficult to understand - but being Egyptian, that made sense to me. It wasn't until several days into his time in my class that I realized I was mistaken.

I asked Stefon a question about Egypt and got a very puzzled look in response. Then he said, "I don't know anything about Egypt."

"But you said you were from Egypt," I countered.

"No, I'm from Cairo," he replied.

And then it hit me - he meant Cairo, ILLINOIS, and what I was assuming was an accent/second language user pronunciation was really a very major speech impediment! (Thankfully he did not realize the reason I thought he was from Egypt.)

 Stefon as I remember him - they later dubbed him "Big Bake" in high school.

Stefon was a bit rough around the edges when he arrived. But he settled in nicely, and after a few recess dust-ups, began doing the right thing and making friends. Telling the truth, an issue for him initially, soon became second nature, to the point that, one day when two girls from another class accused him of hitting them, I had enough trust in him to believe his side of the story.

As they pointed fingers at him and told me what he had supposedly done, Stefon turned to me and quietly responded, "I did not do what they say I did." I believed him, much to the anger of the girls' teacher.

Well, it turned out that the girls were falsely accusing Stefon. He was telling the truth. I had backed his side of the story based on the fact that he had come clean many times before that. Simply put, I trusted Stefon's honesty.

Such a big lesson in the value of always telling the truth, or in changing and being honest, even when it is hard! I actually share this very story every year with my new students as a way to teach about that value of being honest. (I hope I can still tell it next fall without crying.)

Stefon and another one of my former students, Kristina, at Urbana's Prom a couple of years ago.

I have not been able to find out too many details on Stefon's passing. It was actually Kristina who messaged me via Facebook and let me know that Stefon had died of severe diabetes. She said it stopped his heart. Another friend, a parent of one of Stefon's classmates, confirmed the diagnosis and said he had had a heart attack. I am hoping to learn more.

Rest in peace, Stefon. I will continue to share your story of honesty with my students, and I will always remember you fondly.

My Former Bus Driver

When we moved back into the Tippecanoe School Corporation in 1970, I began riding the bus to and from school. I had two bus drivers during junior high and high school, Wade (whose last name I can't remember but who was a good man) and Mrs. Coddington.

EVERYONE wanted to ride Mrs. Coddington's bus and she often drove the fan buses to basketball games or to speech meets and other outings. She was friendly and kind, and enjoyed being with the kids. When Wade left to take another job, I remember shrieks of excitement when we learned who our new driver was to be.

Martha Coddington

Part of our daily route home was through Soldiers Home and down the twisty, winding road that intersects North River Road by the Wabash River and Jackson Island. There used to be a trolley line from the top of the hill straight down the side to the bottom back in the late 1800s/early 1900s (Mascoutan Park is at the intersection and across North River Road. The trolley took people up and down the hill to the park.) Back then, you could still see its old rail bed, and the groundskeeping crew at Soldier's Home kept it mowed and tidy. (If you know where it was and look hard, you can still see its outlines today.)

In the "heck if I know why I did this" department, one day I told Mrs. Coddington that I thought I could beat the bus down to the bottom of the hill if she would let me out at the top by the trolley lane and challenged her to a race. I would run down the lane and she would drive the bus, and we would see who was faster - me or the bus. (See what I mean? Where did THAT idea come from??)

Mrs. Coddington was game, and so the next day, she stopped the bus at the top of the hill and opened the door so I could hop out.

I remember FLYING down that trolley lane, pausing to look for cars as it crossed the road she was driving the bus down, and then running as fast as I could go to the bottom of the hill, all the while keeping an eye on Mrs. Coddington's bus and its progress down the hill.

Who won? I don't remember. I think it may have been a draw. But I do remember her opening the bus doors for me when we met up, and both of us laughing about our little race while I caught my breath.

Nowadays, society is too worried about personal safety and liability to even consider doing such a thing. And truth be told, it probably wasn't the best thing for her to have allowed it. In her defense, I was a pretty responsible kid who knew to look for cars at that one spot where the two roads overlapped, and she knew I would be careful. (I believe I was in high school when our little race happened.)

Today Mrs. Coddington's obituary appeared in the Journal and Courier along with the photo above. I smiled as I looked at her - she had not changed much over the past forty years! 

Good-bye to a lady who loved children and knew how to connect with them. She made our school days that much brighter, just by being our bus driver and loving each and every one of us.

Rest in peace, Mrs. Coddington. Godspeed.

----

Martha Coddington Patterson, 94

Martha Coddington Patterson, 94, passed away on Friday, February 13, 2015 in Mulberry.

Martha was born December 20, 1920 in Frankfort, Indiana to the late Fred and Goldie Downing Bell. Martha and Bill started the Coddington Mobile Home Park on Klondike Rd in 1954. During her career, she worked for the Tippecanoe County School Corporation as a school bus driver where she retired after 25 years of service. Martha loved to be outside, and enjoyed mushroom hunting and gardening.

Martha is survived by her dtr-in-law; Joan Coddington, sons; Jim (Jan) Coddington of Lafayette and Bob Coddington of Brazil, six grandchildren; Richard Coddington, Jeff Coddington, Debbie (Joe) Honn, Sally (Tim) Hedden, Brad Coddington, Randy (Heather) Coddington and eight great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents; first husband, William "Bill" Coddington; second husband, Thomas Patterson; son, Dick Coddington; sisters, Lu Gephart and Florence Ramsey; brothers, Frank Bell and J.R. Hanson.

Visitation will take place from 5-8 PM Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at Hippensteel Funeral Home. A Celebration of Martha's life will follow on Wednesday, 10 am . Interment will take place at Tippecanoe Memory Gardens. Hippensteel Funeral Home is entrusted with care. Please share remembrances and condolences at www.hippensteelfuneralservice.com. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/jconline/obituary.aspx?n=martha-coddington-patterson&pid=174154727&fhid=3966#sthash.QktHOhv6.dpuf

Happy Birthday, Whitney!!

Happiest of birthdays to this little Florida cutie pie!

(Photo by Ashley Isenbarger.)

Hard to believe you are one year old, Whitney! See you in March!

Dave Sattler Does it Again!

Dave Sattler rocks!!

He has absolutely NAILED the current flap over Indiana's sad testing woes.

And I love how he includes his wife and former teacher, Nancy, as the teacher!