Candy Lei Tutorial

One thing that I love about my school is how diverse it is. We have a large population of Islander students (Guam, Chuuke, etc.) In island culture, people celebrate with leis. Traditionally they are made out of flowers or shells, but really they can be made out of anything. Last week was our 8th grade promotion, and the Islander families came out in force with all kinds of leis. Probably the most common was the candy/money leis. My nephew just finished 8th grade, so I thought I would bring him a little something to celebrate. In just under 6 minutes, I had made two separate candy leis.

This is so super simple, I just don't even know where to begin.
Materials needed:

various candy, plastic wrap, ribbon, scissors, tape (not pictured)

Optional: photo bombing cat

Step 1-3:

Lay out the plastic wrap. 

Place the candy down in small groups.

Roll the saran wrap over the candy (kind of like a tube.)

 Step 4-6:

Tie the ribbon around each section of candy. 

Curl the ends of the ribbon.

Tape the two ends of the tube together.

 Tada!

These are super simple and quick to make. They also can be as inexpensive as you need them to be. You can trade out the ribbon color to go with the school colors. Also the candy can be switched with little trinkets or what ever is appropriate for the occasion (mini alcohol bottles for a bachelorette party?) I think they would be really cute favors for a baby shower.

Do you have any quick go to gifts/favors?

1st Weekend of Summer

This weekend I proved a complex math problem:

Why summer > the rest of the year

1. Roasted/grilled farmers market veggies

Thank you Picky Cook for the picture.
I ate mine before I could take one.

2. Summer movies

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245492/

3. Weekend hikes at the coast

4. Early morning runs

5. Fetch in the River

I admit that a couple of these happened on Monday, but sometimes my weekends bleed into the week now :)

How was your weekend?

The real reason I teach middle school

Today is my last day of work for a while. (Well, that's not entirely true. Tuesday I am going to a 2 day training on critical reading skills for non-fiction text, so that's a hoot.) For the last week or so of school, my students have been working on a final project, so there was a lot of them working and talking, and a lot of me listening in on their conversations. Here are some gems.

"Suck it Amy." (about how to cut paper)

Boy: "Is it hard to wear high heels?"

"My dad is Pablo Escabar."

Ben: "Will you adopt me?"
Me: "I don't think my husband would like that."
Ben: "Why? He doesn't like Islanders?"
Me: "No, he just doesn't like middle schoolers."
Ben: "I get that."

Student 1: "Have you ever heard of a red panda?"
Student 2: "Is it a bloody panda?"

"I don't have life insurance. I hope I don't die."

@ 10:07: "What time do we get out?"
Me: "10:17"
"Cool, we have a half hour left."

Finally I will leave you with two conversations that were brought up in my leadership class. To preface this first one, you have to know that I teach in a very ethnically diverse school. Many times I am the only white person in the room.

A few weeks ago I jokingly asked the class whose mom was making me tamales. A few kids said they would bring some in when the one Caucasian boy in the room asked what a tamale was. This sent the majority of the class into a little frenzy describing what they were and then asking him if he had other types of Mexican food (carne asada, carnitas etc.) One of the other boys looked at him in all seriousness and asked, "What do white people eat?"
"Chicken. We eat lots of chicken."
Me: "Meatloaf." Then a girl raised her hand and asked this gem of a question: "Mrs. Coleman, don't white people eat a lot of pasta?"

This next one I had to sit back and laugh during the whole conversation:
Boy 1 raises his hand: "Do girls check out guys butts?"
Girl 1: "Sort of but its not like we turn all the way around like you boys do when you look at girls."
Girl 2: "But we can't really see anything because you guys always sag."
Girl 1: "Except when you wear basketball shorts."
Boy 1: "So are basketball shorts like yoga pants?"

I have always said that one reason I love my job is that it makes me laugh everyday. My job is pretty stressful, but its conversations like these that get me through the tough parts.

To the Class of 2017

Last year I wrote a letter to the class of 2016 (it's still one of my favorite posts!) . Today is the last day of school for my kiddos. If I were to speak at promotion, (8th grade graduation) I would try to tell them something like this

To the Class of 2017:
You have the power to change the world. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
Do not let fear stop you from trying something. If it sounds like fun, go for it. Even if none of your friends are doing it.
Take risks.
Be silly. Don't grow up to fast. Enjoy this time. You will want to relive (parts of it) this time later.

Get outside and explore. The Internet can only show you so much. You need to experience it.
While you are outside, stop texting!
On that same line of thought, try talking with your parents and siblings more.
Pictures on Snapchat are not secrets. Don't be dumb.

Class of 2017, the next four years have the power to shape your future either way. Don't forget that. You will make mistakes, but what you do from those mistakes will show what kind of adult you are becoming. This is the start to the next chapter in your lives.

What advice would you give to any of the graduates this season?