"Noodles are the Keys to Success"

When you have the life of a 6th grade LA teacher, you will hear All. Kinds. Of. Things. Some things I hear, make me laugh so hard I start crying. Other things, I'm just thinking, "What in the world?". However, I love what I do, and the people I work with every day make life so wonderful! These are just a few things I have heard this week alone, some from students and some from college friends......


My favorite quotes of the week:


#1-To his fill in drummer of the band: "Yeah, I'm talking to my friend Ashley Thomas, yeah...she's so awesome if she were a firework, she'd be the most brightest, biggest, and most beautifullest one that lit up the sky" -Isaac Vigil.


#2-Student:"Ms. Thomas, I can't say 'stastistics'".
Me: "Yes you can...say 'sta-tis-tics'...go..
Student: :"Sta-stistics"
Me: "Now say it five times fast"


#3-Me: If you need a No. 2 pencil, please tell me now...
Student: Wait, I have a No. 3 pencil (I'm thinking, "are there really such things as No. 3 pencils?")
Other student: Whaaattt??? Oh wait, he sure does Miss.


#4-"Statistics show the ThomaSneed show is boring, yeah...that's what you would say in an ALTERNATIVE universe!"

#5-"So, your car totally made me change my mind about Mustangs, I want your car...wana sell it?!!!"
               -Sears dude that changed my oil.


#6-"Hey Ms. Thomas guess what?... my dad caught a dolphin, the fish kind not the kind that goes hehehehe" (I'm like "Thanks for the clarification")


#7-"Over Spring Break, my friends and I wrote songs....However, I cannot verify these songs because we haven't make them ready for the republic yet."


#7(Setting: in the middle of the road, right beside a pasture)
-Meredith: "Look at da baby cows...Hey wittle cows, how areshu? Ur so cute yes you are, yesss you are"..........
Me: "CARRRRRRR"


#8-Student doing a dance yelling at the top of his lungs: "It'sss calleddd the Calllifforrrniaaa Shhhufffflleee"


#9-"Ms. Thomas, it's really dark outside.....is the world gona end?" -Student


#10-Me to my student: "Did you really just take that popsicle in the bathroom with you?.....Really?"
 Student: "uhh, yeahh"
Im thinking, "What in the world?"




ThomaSneed Episode 7:
EOG test tips--
#11-"Noodles are the keys to success"


#12-"Absolutely...mmm yeah"


#13-"EOG test tip #1 is to breathe in 7.38276953 times deeply before taking the EOG"


#14-"A good breakfast to eat before EOG's is oatmeal............with noodles and maple syrup".


#15-"Never lay your head down during an EOG...if you do, you brain will completely cut off, therefore you will not be able to finish the EOG"


#16-"Breathing 7.38869392 times before the EOG, will help you get a 3.782873821 on the EOG"

All of the past 6 quotes comes from the beginning of the episode below! Chek it!

Learning from Cousins

I love holidays! They are a time for getting together with family, catching up on where they've been since Christmas, and setting a new world record for kite flying. However, I always learn new things about myself every time I am with this family of  mine. You see, I live in a small county and I see my family every so often (even if we do live approx 15 miles from each other), but there's nothing like having all the family together at once! I'm tellin ya folks, there is Never. A. Dull. Moment.

Things that made Easter Sunday Great:
1. Had a packed row at church of nothing but family members.
2. Tried to set the world record for kite flying with my cousins ages 3-35.
3. Learned that since I'm a teacher, I can apparently read minds (according to my 6 yr old cuz's).
4. Got to visit Bro. Edwin's Sunday School class (with my cousins).
5. I know He is Risen!


Things I Learned from my Cousins:
*These are just a few things I learned from my cousins this past weekend alone; I'm just saying family get together are always a learning experience for me!
Teachers are mind readers: Haleigh says to me, "You're a teacher, read her mind and tell me if she's gonna throw that ball at Jewel". I say, "No...She's not", and Haleigh says, "Cool, thanks". Finally, her mind was at ease!


Mayo is REAL: Stone says in the midst of our most vital search for mayo in Randleman Food Lion, "If this is Real Mayo, then what does Fake Mayo look like?" I replied with, "Hmm, that's a good question". Folks, our minds are still baffled by this!


World Record of Kite Flying: the world record for the highest kite ever flown is over 12,000 ft. We (all cousins ages 3-35) thought we had it beat with our 1,400ft. (14 football fields away) kite we had to cut loose because it was so far away that you could even see it from the Food Lion in Biscoe, NC... no joke.


Ultimate kite flying is where you have to have binoculars to see the kite!

Maximum Capacity of a Mustang: My cousin Caitlin and Jewel crammed in my Mustang to go to church with me. We were quite cramped to say the least, but it worked. A Mustang is not a passenger vehicle we soon found out. It is for two people...maybe!

How Fast a Mustang Will Go: When your middle school cousin first of all ask to drive your car, don't let her. Especially, when it's already been in the body shop twice.  Also, when she wants to know how fast you Mustang will go, don't test it! It's not worth it! I haven't been crazy enough lately to test either of these theories...and I don't want to!


Boring Ole Statue Places Can Turn into Quite an Adventure:  My cousin Margie and I sent shopping at the statue place for some amazing concrete benches in Rockingham. We ended up with some pretty interesting pieces, including a statue of a Boston Terrier. However, we both felt the presence of gnomes. This led me to wonder if the gnomes and other statues come alive at night!?

When Your Cousin Asks You to Take Her to Walmart, use EXTREME CAUTION: When your 6th grade cousin asks for a ride to Walmart to get two bouncy balls, beware of extreme nonsense! LOL, We always know how to have a good time in public places!



My uncles dog Buddy telling me a secret no one else knows!



 Favorite Quotes of the Day: “Sticking with your family is what makes it a family.”-Mitch Albom

“Jesus Christ’s mercy and power indwells us and gives us the strength to make a positive difference.” -Jon Foreman

“Entropy is one of the laws of thermodynamics. It’s a physical law that says everything in nature is moving from order to disorder. In our lives this same principle is at work. As time moves on, things break down as we make mistakes. This is the ‘letdown’ every person experiences because of sin. For Christians this concept doesn’t end there because we realize God’s ‘beautiful’ mercy and grace restores the order in our lives.” -Jon Foreman

Life Lessons Learned When Walking a Great Pyrenees Mix

When walking a Great Pyrenees mix named Smokey, you can learn many things like:

1. Ant hills must feel somewhat awesome to a dog's paw, cuz Smokey stepped in 4.

2.  Afternoon walks with a Pyrenees mix is quite stress relieving........until he finds a scent, then my arm is nearly jerked out of socket!

3. You can find half a hamburger patty in the middle of the road if you smell hard enough.

4. Mud puddles are apparently the best water a dog's ever had, full of vitamins and minerals...A dog's Vitamin Water!

5. Stopping every few seconds to "mark your territory" is a MUST, and will NOT and shall NOT be avoided at any cost. Also covering up your "territory" is a MUST by digging up half the Earth to cover up your smell you just created.

6. Having one way conversations with your dog will NOT make him walk "civilized" or go where you want him to go.

7. Chihuahua's can be quite intimidating when they cannot be seen to a Great Pyrenees mix.

8. The winterized pool is the best place to go after a tiresome evening walk, there a Great Pyrenees mix can get unchlorinated water, and the water is extremely cool to it's belly.



More serious moments:
9. Walking on a quiet street, when the sky is turning pink, and the sun is going down is when I have my most quiet moments with God.

10. Every time I walk down the hill from my house I relive the moments when I retraced blood splatter all the way up the hill into the woods from where my former German Shepherd Zeke had been bit by a timber rattler, and ran off to find comfort in the creek. That night I learned a very valuable life lesson, never take any life for granted. We rushed him to the emergency vet in Greensboro, but the vet said the damage was too severe.

Quote of the Day:

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

Figurative Fiascoes

Well needless to say...it has been a l...o...n...g week! However, after our Student of the Month assembly this morning, Meredith and I decided to put a little Figurative Language Fiasco together! Now, when we put video's together for our students to learn from at the Very. Last. Minute there are bound to be a few blunders to begin with. In our defense, it was still early in the morning, and I hadn't had my energy drink yet...so this is the result...

Blunder #1

Blunder #2

Now, the real deal (See how much figurative language you can find!):

Today was quite a day to say the least, but we LOVE what we do!

Quotes of the day: **Shout out to Meredith Sneed** aka my partner in crime!

"It sounded like the train was about to roll through the classroom" -Meredith Sneed

"Thomas, I'm terribly twisted and torn on this terrific, ticklish Tuesday in Troy" -Meredith

"Thomas, we've got to do this now...we've got like 2 minutes before class...Now, start over...she's so old, what?"

-Meredith

"The lawnmower backfired, something like that would only happen with those MoCo people"

-Meredith

Things to Remember When Teaching 6th Grade

Things to remember when teaching 6th grade:

*These are things I learned just yesterday, that I thought I would share with the world of middle school teachers!

1. Pray before reading scary reading passages.
Story: With my 6th grade students we always ask them to use RUNS strategies when taking a reading comprehension test: R: Read the questions first, U: Underline key words, N: Number the paragraphs, and S: Select the best answer. 

So...I asked a boy to read the R.L. Stine reading passage today in class, so he started to read as asked. Then I interrupted him by saying, "WAITTT", really loud. I then said, "We totally forgot to do something first" (which would be read the questions first). The boy that had now stopped reading said, "Ohh I know...We forgot to pray first". It was quite hilarious at the moment, but how true that is in our Christian lives. We often forget to pray and ask the Lord's guidance about the simplest things in life before doing them. The boy then precedes to tell me that he prays everytime before reading scary stories. I learn so much from my students...even spiritually!

2. Know the military's flight schedule before taking your class outside to read a book.
Story: I took my classes outside to read a very serious/heart felt book on Holocaust survivors. In the middle of our seriousness, the military flies their really loud planes over our school. My teacher "wing it at the last minute" mind thought..."here's a teaching moment". Therefore, this is what I tell them, "These planes are flying over your school in order for you to get the full effect of how it sounded in Germany when the Holocaust was taking place"... "The military is doing this for you so you can use your senses and feel and hear this real life effect". Now, they are 6th graders so some of them believed me while some of them didn't.

3. Statistics show that 98% of faculty and staff at SWRMS put on turn signals before entering a parking place.
Story: A co-worker of mine randomly took a poll (while we were on an important mission) on how many staff members actually do this, after another co-worker actually did do this in real life.

4. Contrary to popular belief, when Fox 8 News comes to your school, they're not there to interview the hosts of the ThomaSneed Show.
Story: Fox 8 came to SWRMS today (I first was a little worried they were there to interview Meredith and I, the host of the ThomaSneed Show...the newest and hottest YouTube sensation). Anyway, I had to tell my students to act normal and get in line. However, they wanted to be seen so....yeah.
http://myfox8.com/2012/03/21/randolph-co-schools-prepare-for-more-budget-cuts/
Above is the actual video. I am seen in it with my students walking up the hall from lunch.

5. Telling personal stories about your Mustang going 0-80 in about half a second will get the students engaged  and quiet 100%.
Story: We were discussing hyperboles. As you know, hyperboles are over exaggerations and obviously it is not possibly to go 0-80 in .5 seconds. However, MY students think it's possible (in my car); therefore, discontinuing the theory of hyperbole with this statement. I told them it could only have a possible chance of happening with nitrous boost, but I won't go into that story.

Oh and 6. Statistics show that 100% of all teachers in the entire world (including the US, and NC) are ready for Spring Break!

Needless to say, I LOVE what I do!


I also enjoyed revival this week! It was such a blessing!

Quotes of the Day:

“It’s a strange book and I’m inside it. So I’m trying to pin down the details about the the plot in this book. The one where I’m the protagonist in a plot much larger than I am. A book that I can’t simply put down when I’m frustrated. With no bookmark, no remote control. The pages write themselves with very little effort of my own. And yet I’m in there. I’m written into the book.” -J Foreman

“If we spend our time obsessing with the future or regretting the past, then we will never live. Tomorrow will always be tomorrow and yesterday cannot be changed.” -J Foreman

“Well, the funny thing is, you are never the same person that you were the day before.” -J Foreman

Marvelous Middle Mania

Let me start out by saying, the world of Education is a very interesting place. There is NEVER a dull moment in any part of a given school day! Therefore, I found this random website to invite a whole new light onto the subject of Education. It is quite amusing and I picked out the ones that applied specifically to my life.


You may be in Education if:

1. You find humor in other people's stupidity.
2. You give the person an evil look who says, "Must be nice to work 8-3 and
have your summers free."
3. You believe chocolate is a food group.
4. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
 6. You believe the unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy,
the kids are sure mellow today."
7. When out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at a child.
8. You have no time for a life from August through June.
9. Putting all "A's on a report card would make your life SO much easier.
10. You think caffeine should be available to staff in IV form.
11. Your personal life comes to a screeching halt at report card time.

You may be a Middle School Teacher if:

.... you know what the ventilation fan in your room sounds like when whirling small objects, usually folded paper or wrappers
... you tell subtle jokes in class just to see those few smiles of the ones that catch on
... you clean desks yourself just to keep the place looking nice and to help your own morale

 http://www.teachingheart.net/funny.html#You Might be in Education

Quote of the Day:

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
John Dewey

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#ixzz1poO9lbrg

Comfort in Rainbows

Today was the day...that I had to break out the Rainbows. You see, when you're a sixth grade teacher with approx. 120 students and teach 5 classes you have to go for comfort. It has been seemingly hot in my room these past few days as well.  Therefore, comfort, skirts, and Rainbows are at its upmost importance in 602 Cougartown.

Now, along with comfort it is also very important for me to be well awake when my bright eyed and bushy tailed students walk in. I don't know why, but Monday's mornings are their most exciting time of the entire week. I really don't understand this. Times surely have changed since I have been in school.  However my point is, I totally forgot my V8 Fusion Energy drink this morning and...yeah.

I would have to admit the very best part of my entire day was revival at church tonight with Bro. Beaver. It is truely a blessing to have him with us this week!

I am also very excited that the Spring solstice is in two days. Peace out Winter....What up Spring!

Quote of the Day:
"Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world". ~Virgil A. Kraft

When discussing me going under a yellow light in the middle of MoCo:
          "That girl went 0-80 in about half a second"