The last post was all pumpkins, mums and corn stalks, this one is all haunted house, Grim Reaper and tombstones.

Here it is in closer detail…

You can’t see it in the picture but there were 3 cars parked in the driveway, well two cars and a hearse.

The other day I showed you one of the homes in our area that were decorated for Halloween.   Since then I’ve had the opportunity to walk around and get some more shots of Halloween decor.  Over the next few posts I will share them with you.  This lovely home is all decked out for Halloween, but not in a scary way at all.  It is all very Autumnal and pretty.

This house just looks so cozy and inviting and really little kid friendly.  We look forward to trick-or-treating here.  Francesca’s been practicing saying “Trick or Treat” over and over again.

This is Ross and his sailboat, The Eliminator.  Sam and Ross worked together to put this kit together and then to paint and decorate it.  The Tiger Cub Scouts had their Rain Gutter Regatta, where all the scouts got to race their sailboat across a rain gutter.  The Eliminator didn’t exactly eliminate the competition but in the end, fun was had by all.  Lessons about sportsmanship, good and bad, were also learned.

He is really proud of the sailboat that he and his dad built.  The biggest joy was seeing them working together on building it.

I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday.  It was a bit chilly and the Market is nearing the end of the season.  I went specifically to get our knives sharpened.  They have an older man that comes to the parking lot and sets up his knife sharpener contraption.  He sits on this thing and pumps the pedals and the wheel turns allowing him to sharpen the blades.  I wish I had gotten a photo of him, but I didn’t want to be rude.  He was really busy, you just drop off your knives (or garden tools, scissors, etc)  and he takes them in the order in which they are dropped off.  It took about an hour and an half, during the wait Francesca and I shopped the market.

They had the typical locally grown produce, some beautiful flowers, pumpkins and gourds, baked goods and handmade soaps.  They even had gourmet doggy treats and some seasonal doggy scarves.  We had fun looking and buying.  We bought some butter cookies to munch on while we walked, some mini pumpkins and gourds and a Scooby Do neckerchief for Moose for Halloween.

On the way home, I was driving along and was stopped in my tracks by the Halloween decor on this house.

This is a HUGE display and the biggest spider I have ever seen.  Here is a close up of the carnage.

A little too gory for our house with little ones and all but I applaud their creativity!  I hope to capture some other neat Halloween displays around here - I’ve seen so many - now I just need to get my camera and go for a neighborhood walk.

I did decide to go for it and sign up for the MATC - Masters in Education / Teaching Certification Program at North Park College.  I know that there are more certified teachers graduating these days than there are jobs to fill.  I do hope that in a couple of years school districts will be anticipating openings as the early baby boomers will be retiring.  Gosh, I hope so.  I’ve always wanted to teach but never pursued it.  I’m not sure what grade level I’d like to teach but I do know I am looking at  Elementary Education.  I also have enough classes/credits to be endorsed in Social Studies for middle school so that’s a plus.

I need 3 classes for Special Ed and am considering that as an option as I know it is a specialty in demand - that and Reading Specialist which really interests me but is not an option at my school.  Perhaps after I get my certificate and Master’s Degree I’ll pursue that option.

My first class is almost over.  I just started and I only have one more week - time flies.  We studied how the Brain learns and WOW.  A lot of it was common knowledge but so much was such an eye opener.  It also made me do a double take at our education system since much of what we learned about Windows of Opportunity (best learning times for children in different areas - musical instruments, foreign language, etc.) contradicts when we teach them.  The system is getting better but we are still a long way off.  All this and only one class.  It makes me wonder how teachers reconcile what they know about best teaching practices and the realities of the curriculum and class options available.  My guess is that they work with what they have and try to be the best teacher they can be with the resources they have. 

I have really enjoyed this class and look forward to the rest of them.  I also received my substitute teaching certificate and just got my mandatory TB testing done so I can apply to be a substitute teacher.  The job market for Marketing and Public Affairs is abysmal so this might be a great solution, plus it will give me an insight into different grade levels, etc. and maybe point me in a particular direction.  I look forward to subbing my first class.  I also hope it is a great way to network so that when I am certified as a teacher I might have a better chance to get an interview if I know some of the school personnel.  I’d love to work in our district here, how fabulous would that be?  I do know it is a difficult district to get into, but I sure will try. 

This class has taken me back to some of the great teachers I have had in the past - the ones who knew how to engage the children, and to some of the not-so-great teachers like my High School Geometry teacher who called our row (including me) “no-brains”.  All of us in the row did not do well in the class and I for one know that I shut down after a few of those comments. It wasn’t until college, many years later that I was able to overcome my math issues and start fresh.  From Elementary Algebra to Intermediate Algebra to College Algebra, Finite Math, Calculus, Statistics I and Statistics II, I finally felt I was able to do it.  Okay, maybe not Calculus (my only C in college and happy to get it!) but that’s okay.  I strive to be the teacher that can make a significant learning impact on my students, at the very least I want to be the teacher that does no harm to her students, by words or by actions - I want my students to know that each and every one of them “can do it”.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

So we’re watching Cartoon Network the other night, and this comes on.  Thumb Wars.  I have never seen this and it was hysterical.  Ross is a huge Star Wars fan, we had just finished watching Clone Wars.  Thumb Wars is just like it sounds.  It is a show about the Star Wars characters made with thumbs.  Uh huh, you heard me right, thumbs.   The characters faces are drawn on thumbs.

It seems that this has been around for a while but since I never had a boy before and my girls were not  taken very much by Star Wars, this escaped my path.  Ross is smitten - I think Thumb Wars will be a new favorite in our house.  May the force be with you.