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2019

I had a chance to go with Harriet and her grand girls and attend a pasta making class in Nebraska City at Whispering Pines B&B. I got to stay at my favorite resort, the Lied Lodge!

Mother Nature had to show us how futile our plans can be…I had to reschedule our Chorus trip to the movies and our Music Club trip to see Aladdin.

I buy season tickets, so got to see the show twice! So much to see on stage I’m sure I didn’t see it all!

Our book club jigsawed this book and had a lovely tasty treat as well!

A previous student wrote to say hi! Well now I can teach for another 50 years! 🙂

I made an escape room activity for trees for the Ecology Club

Not everything was very easy, but their joy when they got things open and figured things out was well worth the time I put into making the experience.

This young man was especially intrigued by the puzzle boxes!

Full of tree knowledge and pizza, it’s time to go home!

These are Chandler View’s Singers for All-City 2019!

Dr. Tuesink’s Tenex left elbow patient, Friday, February 15th at UNMC.

It has been a very long and cold short month. We’ve had 6 snow/cold days at school! Will have to make one up yet. Lincoln has had 55+ inches of snow this season. Poor Chandler View janitors have snow drifts way above our heads as Omaha has received more snow than Lincoln.

I got so tired of the snow I started a sweet potato and the Amaryllis has made 2 seed pods! Anyone know what an Amaryllis combine looks like? 🙂

Sherri and I went to see “On Your Feet” the story of Gloria Estefan. Great music!

March 1st was a big day at Chandler View. We had “For the Love of Reading” where community members and parents came and shared a book with the classes. I’m sure there were close to 100 people there to read! It was great to hear previous students talk about the importance of reading in their lives! Classroom teachers decorated their doors with book themes and we had popcorn for every student to munch on during their stories.

Just a few of the readers at the book fair, selecting books to read to the classrooms.

One of these students did not speak until she was in the 3rd grade, and now she was reading to our students!!! 🙂 Very cool project!

Then the 4th graders stayed after school to hear Jeff Barnes talk about Nebraska Landmark Buildings. He was sponsored by Humanities Nebraska. We also sang the state song and the UNL fight song. Then the 4 classes went in a rotation to experience what Lewis & Clark saw with a park ranger; they played an Omaha Firsts game with the representative from the Douglas County Historical Society; Nebraska Bingo was called by one of our very own teachers; and children enjoyed square dancing as it is the Nebraska state dance! Then it was time for vitals: (all Nebraska products) Runzas; green salad with Dorothy Lynch or Ranch dressing; chips; kool aid; and Elaine’s cookies. The students were very excited about the evening and knew they had experienced something very special!

Now it’s time to get ready for Emily & Drew’s wedding shower 🙂

On Saturday, March 16 we gathered at my house for a couple’s wedding shower. We introduced ourselves and then told our favorite tree story. Then it was time for Name That Tree Tune – there are lots of songs with tree references! We ate, thanks to Harriet and Leanne for helping in the kitchen, and then opened presents. One more game, to make a tree out of wires that took skill, balance, and patience…not bad qualities to have in a relationship:)

Ecology Club members took to the school grounds and garden to plant 2 blueberry bushes, and potatoes, onion from seed, radishes, and kale. Even though it was a brisk morning, the students were excited to be planting!

Saturday, March 30 ~ I took my mentee to the Joslyn Museum to experience “The Playground.” We got to meet the creator and she explained her work this way: With all the pollution we are putting into this world, the only things left for children to play on will be oil drums. I’m trying to make people see we need to leave the world in a far better state than it is in today.

She also said she’s a composer and is writing a piece for the NY Philharmonic for The Playground and the orchestra! This exhibit is part of the One Festival run by Opera Omaha.

Ecology Club members did a service project for Laurie Voss’ mom. They picked up sticks at the residence on Beaver Lake south of Plattsmouth.

It’s spring time around Chandler View. Planting, weeding, cleaning up involves many Cougars!

I had a visitor and then two Martins. But now the house is empty. Maybe next year I guess

April 27th, I spent the morning at the NE Science Olympiad on East Campus. I proctored tests and our team of 4 volunteers heard these students’ constructed instruments play a scale! It was fun being around smart kids!

I also went to see my dad get his quilt of valor. He’s 92 and was the only Veteran not using a wheel chair.

Harriet and I went to see “Something Rotten.” It’s a laugh a minute and very clever!

Our Music Club went to Walnut Creek Retirement home to sing with the residents. We always have so much fun talking with these folks and the kids always tell me, “That was so fun” or “I want to come back!” So we will:)

May means yard work and our Ecology Club has been busy! Can you find the before and after picture of our bird sanctuary?

Our school has a mentor program, where teachers just volunteer their time to see a student each week. We celebrated our year together with the whole crew going bowling.

I’m trying to get some Martins to come to MY house!!

And then it was time for Emily & Drew to get married…every detailed had been planned and the ceremony and dinner & dance went like clockwork! Beautiful event for 2 beautiful people.

Closing down the school year…

Packing boxes, getting sweet notes from students, sharing computers 5th and K together while risers are up for graduation. We put together a new big plant pot with screw pines and a palm. Those pines are 30+ years old!

As you see below our renter made the news with the first autonomous tractor planting in the state of Nebraska. That tractor planted our field just west of our farmstead! Good work Shane Bristol!

Savor the Bohemian Alps Farm to Fork meal was held at Pine Crest Bed & Breakfast on May 30th. My left elbow wasn’t up to tugging and pushing the bellows, so my teacher, Dolen Freeouf, came and played some nice Czech music while 50 people enjoyed appetizers and then we all moved to the meal tables. Very nice evening!

My spider wort, and pictures of a fir tree cones, a tulip tree in bloom and gardeners on a tour of East Campus Arboretum.

For the first time in 11 years, I decided to rest during the summer months and I am not teaching Camp Cougar. However, I go back and have kids help pull weeds and pick strawberries! The NE State Arboretum has what they call a Bloom Box for schools. We planted over 20 plants in our track dedication garden. It will take time before we see the benefits, but that’s just another thing gardening teaches!

On Sunday, June 9th our B&B Book Club met at Harriet’s for breakfast and then we went to Ohnoutka’s 5 hole golf course, and came back to the B&B for lunch. Our author, Garry Clark who wrote Unlikely Viking, joined us for the entire event. What a strong leader Garry is and how lucky Fremont is to have him leading the Greater Fremont Development Council.