June Stats

 June was a big month for me.  My wife and I went on a trip to Greece.  We left the Chicago area on June 6th and did  not return until June 21st.  It certainly was a trip of a lifetime and an amazing wat to celebrate 25 years of marriage to my best friend.  

It was not a big month in regards to blog output.  I put out 2 posts prior to our trip and exactly 2 more after we got home.  Last June I posted 19 times before posting only 16 times for the rest of the year.  I finished 2022 with 102 posts on the strength of my April A to Z posts.  If I only achieve 16 posts again in the 2nd part of 2023, I will finish with 2 posts  less than 100 for the year.  When May ended I was on track for 178 posts, with only 4 last month my projection is down to 164 by New Years Eve 2023. The problem is,  if I match my  16 posts  from the 2nd half of 2022 this year I won't get near 164 and not even break 100 by years end.  

No need for doom and or gloom.  I am a man with a plan.  Starting on July 6th, I plan to chronicle my trip to Greece with a daily recap a month late.  I did the same thing years ago when our family went to Washington D.C. If I am successful, I'll finish July right around 100 posts and be back in a posting groove.  

By brunobarbato, CC BY 3.0, Linkity: Prodromos 

Island: Paros

Country: Greece

I was in this city on a hike, but don't remember seeing this.  More coming soon.  

Dave Out Loud: Poetry Friday - Aileen Fisher's Rabbits Rabbits

Note:Aileen Fisher wrote the poems in this book but did not do the illustrations.  I did several takes of this video, and this was the only one where I omitted mentioning the fine work of illustrator Gail Niemann. 

Poetry Friday is being hosted by Irene Latham.  You can find it by clicking here.

Avengers: Infinity War Cast Sings "The Marvel Bunch"

Have not posted for awhile. More on that later. Now that I'm back, let's get righ to it with this Brady Bunch Avengers parody which is just a little bittersweet as it includes the late Chadwich Boseman.  Just a little in the box thinking from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

 

Reflections on the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee Winning Moment

I just finished watching the finals of the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Before I announce the winner and the winning word I'd like to talk about my involvement in the bee.   

I spent the first semester of the 2022 2023 school year as a long term substitute teacher in a 6th and 7th grade autism classroom.  My group of students studied the same curriculum as the rest of the students in our school.  All my 6th graders and 7th graders  participated in a classroom spelling bee, which is the first step in the Scripps spelling bee program. 

I drilled my students for several weeks held a few practice bees and even had a scrimmage with another classroom.  It was exciting to see all my students grow in their spelling during this process.  At the end of the semester they found someone to take over the class and I moved on to my current position as a building sub in a k-5 building.  When the 2nd semester began my 6th grade winner and my 7th grade winner participated in spelling bees for their grade.  Unfortunately both of my former students got out on their first word.

Tonight I was turning off the television when I saw that the Scripps final bee was about to air live.  This brought up memories of my former class.  As a substitute teacher I may never get another opportunity to conduct a bee, but it was one of the high points of my educational career.  

The finals were amazing.  The students were polished, poised and prepared.  I especially liked the parts where the judge would affirm the incorrect speller on the amazing run they had just finished.

Dev Shah of Largo, Florida win the competition.  Here is how it happened.  

 

The winning word was psammophile.

May Stats

 The Month of May can be a low posting month for a blogger who has participated in the A to Z challenge. After posting 38 times in April, I really had no where to go but down.  I did make 14 posts in May for a total of 52 for April and May.  This amount is exactly twice the number of posts for the first 3 months of the year. I am on track to finish 187 posts by the end of the years.  That is only 5 less than it was at the end of April, which means that My May was not much of a letdown as it could have been.