2016 Resolutions Review

With 2016 past the midpoint, I thought it might be a good idea to review my resolutions from the beginning of the year and see how I am doing.

• Turn my kindergarten classroom into a miniature nature center  - Well on the way. I've acquired lots of cool items and am just starting to prepare my room for the next stage

• Revise some of my picture book manuscripts and maybe start submitting them a bit more regularly. You can't get published if you don't try. - I wish. While I have added many ideas to my picture book chart, my revising has come to basically a halt while other priorities have taken over. I have more recently dipped back into my writing.

• Less pizza and more push ups! - I plead the 5th.

• Learn how to type - Does hunt and peck really fast count? If not, then no.

• Restore a prairie (bit by bit)  -Yes, with the help of my forest kindergarten friends.

• Expand the forest kindergarten program I am blessed to lead -Definitely!

• Less soda and more sit ups! - Can you plead the 5th twice?

• Blog at  DADventures or Tales from the Trails daily -Maybe weekly. Maybe.

• Tweet better  (@TykeHiker) - Not so much.

• Wake up earlier so I can better reach everything mentioned above :)  - Yes. With the help of my daughter (at least the waking up part).

Looks like I have some serious work to do in the remaining months of 2016. here we go.

The Easter Duck

On the first official night on vacation with old friends, what do you do? Get a babysitter and head out for a night out on the town. But with it being the night before Easter, the dyeing of eggs was essential before any adult festivities could commence.

After the eggs were all decorated, two sets of parents looked forward to a kid-free evening and were excited until about 8:30pm hit and we all were ready for bed. We did mange to make it to double digits before returning to the children and calling it a night. With an action-packed holiday ahead of us, we treasured any sleep we received.

In the morning, while enjoying bunny-themed pancakes, the rains that dominated Saturday held off long enough for an outdoor egg hunt and retrieval. In the excitement of searching for the Easter Bunny, we found the Easter Duck. She stuck around for a bit of the hunt but eventually flew off, leaving a multitude of plastic colored eggs behind. much to the appreciation of the two toddlers roaming the yard.

Once the egg hunt was completed, the rain returned and forced us all inside. Taking turns searching and finding baskets, the girls were incredibly patient during the presentation of Easter presents. Once all gifts were opened, the activity of finding baskets morphed into the game of "How much candy can we eat?" before it is taken away. With one girl being a PEZ connoisseur and the other eating anything she can get a hold of, it wasn't long before the candies were "re-hidden" until further notice.

Once the weather cleared, it was off for an Easter hike at James Island County Park. Check talesfttrails.blogspot.com tomorrow for that wet and wild adventure.

The Carolina Chronicles Introduction

Being on teacher time means that taking a vacation means when the kids are out of school. Subsequently, you are joined by everyone else and their mothers. . . .literally.

Despite being on teacher time for the last decade, my family and I have been very fortunate to take some of the stress away by having generous friends strategically located throughout the country. This offers us a safe haven from the hustle and bustle of the "touristy" places and more of a "home" feel on our trips. This has been especially important sicne fatherhood took over just under three years ago.

This time around, we headed to the Carolinas for a week with family and friends.

After landing in Charlotte, it was into the rental car for the 2+ hour trek to our first home away from home in Charleston. Traveling to see close friends, their two daughters. and two dogs, we were entertained by listening to our beloved Badgers in the Sweet Sixteen. Sort of. Actually, we played a game of switching through every radio station possible in a desperate attempt to hear the broadcast, repeatedly attempting to get a signal to receive updates on our phones and failing miserably, and ultimately having a textfest with a friend to keep connected on the game's progress. Luckily for us, the radio did eventually emit a clear signal. Unfortunately, the first words we heard were the final score of the game, a dramatic but heartbreaking loss.  We didn't let that dampen our spirits. Charleston was juts a few miles away.

I usually only give my students nicknames, but for some reason, I nicknamed my friend's dog a few years back. When we arrived, Bearance Von Waggerson III greeted us with boisterous barking. He was accompanied by another furry friend named Randall, our good friends Shawna and the Doctor (apparently his real name is Ryan), their toddler Ruby AKA Ruby Duby and their sweet newborn Matilda, affectionately nicknamed Tilly Furtado later in the trip.

A week of adventure was ahead of us. Follow this blog the next few days and get a feel of all  this excursion had to offer.

Sneak peek:  it involves lots of turtles, fire ants, the Easter Duck, enthusiastic naked mole rats, and many other non-animal things.

Work Hard. . .Play Harder

This has been a transformational year in my teaching career. Besides starting a Forest Kindergarten program (and absolutely loving every minute of it, see Tales From the Trails ), my teaching style, beliefs, and implementation have all evolved to include something many consider taboo: play. 

Walk past my classroom at any point of the day and you have a high chance of seeing children at play. While the increased rigor of required curriculum and the ever-increasing expectations put on children at an earlier and earlier age, one might think I am wasting my time and putting my students at a disadvantage.

I couldn't disagree more.

In our classroom, we work hard and play harder. In fact, for chidren, play is work. Play is not something too avoid or push aside, It is to be embraced, implicitly practiced, observed, and practiced again and again and again. I am not just an observer. I am a participator. I am a player too.

Play allows for creativity, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. These concepts are at the core of the buzz words 21st Century Skills. Its not rocket science though. Children can reach these goals when they are allowed to be children.

I could present research-based articles and insight from professionals in the field until the cows come home (where'd they go anyways?) but instead, I invite you to come to my indoor or outdoor classroom and play. You might just learn something. My kids certainly are!

Magnetic Memories

Analyzing one's refrigerator magnet collection can certainly tell you a good deal about a person. Their current life status. Their interests. Possible insights about their financial capabilities. I can't help myself but enjoy checking out the magnets of people I visit but at the same time, I wonder what the collection on my fridge tells them about me.

If I were to guess, I'd say that it tell them alot. And not just because my fridge is essentially hidden behind a sea of magnets.

For one,  I have a hard time getting rid of my childhood. I have somewhat old and withered magnets of my childhood sports heroes.

Secondly, I must like zoos and animals as there are over a dozen form various zoos and aquariums from all over the country.

Thirdly, I am a sports fan. A smorgasbord of current and past team schedules are patchworked all over the place.

Lastly, a true analysis must be done as part of a longitudinal study because while some aspects have stayed constant, the magnets are consistently evolving.

From childhood creations to magnet memories from tourist traps.

From wedding save the dates to birth announcements.

From second birth announcements to full blown family photos.

I find magnetic collections unusually fascinating. It has been fun seeing my own collection evolve from being a child to having my own. I can only imagine how it will evolve in the future. 

Either way, I am looking forward to it.

A New Start. .Yada Yada . .Blah Blah

Every new year brings new resolutions that tend to be forgotten about before January even ends. While I am very guilty of failing to live up to my goals with each passing year, I usually end up having fun in the attempt.

2015 was pretty awesome for me, but that doesn't mean I don't have high hopes for 2016. Besides being a better father and husband and taking care of myself, there are some other not so traditional goals I have in mind. In no particular order, I hope to accomplish these things in 2016;

• Turn my kindergarten classroom into a miniature nature center

• Revise some of my picture book manuscripts and maybe start submitting them a bit more regularly. You can;t get published if you don't try.

• Less pizza and more push ups!

• Learn how to type

• Restore a prairie (bit by bit)

• Expand the forest kindergarten program I am blessed to lead

• Less soda and more sit ups!

• Blog at  DADventures or Tales from the Trails daily

• Tweet better  (@TykeHiker)

• Wake up earlier so I can better reach everything mentioned above :)

Wish me luck!

Discovering Dargatz #154- As Close to a Golfer As I Ever Wanted to Be

Golf bores me. . .and I am not easily bored. However, playing mini golf was something I did growing up. A lot. Many summer evenings were spent at a variety of local putt putt ranges. Many colorfully dimpled balls charged through green carpeting, roared through plastered characters, caromed off of rocks, and took occasional dips in chlorine-coated waters on their way to the elusive hole. All for the purpose of beating my fellow golfers and being king of the clubs until the next round. I may incriminate myself, but not every golf club made it back to the clubhouse in one piece due to what I'll call equipment malfunction. These summer rounds were important practice for the Wisconsin Dells Invitational, a mini golf marathon held annually in the Wisconsin's famous tourist trap. Before adulthood and the responsibilities that came with it took over, I along with three other gentlemen took three late summer days and headed to central Wisconsin for a weekend of feasting on food, imbibing, and releasing pent-up frustrations on a tour of the Dells' mini golf paradises. With a seemingly continual flow of money and insults, golf took over. For that weekend and that weekend alone, golf was everything.

Memorable Seattle Museums

Overplanning can be a vacation killer. While a loose structure is beneficial, trying to plan it all to a tee destroys the discovery and adds stress and anxiety.

When we had a day of freedom in the beautiful city of Seattle, we opted for letting the adventure find us rather than go searching for it through planning. We certainly found adventure and more when we visited the EMP Museum and the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum.  The EMP had many very intriguing and attractive displays and collections, many near and dear to my adolescence. The Chihuly Garden and Glass was an unexpected surprise. Not being the most avid art museum attendee, this one may have tweaked a new desire to visit more.

Rather then try to describe it all and destroy your discovery, enjoy the photographs and let the adventure find you.

The Experience Music Project, or EMP Museum

Fantasy Exhibit

Fantasy isn't my expertise, but I love The Princess Bride

My name is Inigo Montoya You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Video Game Exhibit

Guitar Exhibit

Jimi Hendrix Exhibit

Nirvana Exhibit

Horror Film Exhibit

Science Fiction Exhibit

I can;t believe I missed out ;)

Seahawks Exhibit

I plead the 5th.

The Chihuly Garden & Glass Museum