Three Random Friday Things.

First of all, I would be all over my students if they ever used the word "things" in their writing as I did to entitle this post.....but that's OK, I'm the professor. And this is not a formal academic paper. So, I'm breaking the grammar rule and I'm fine with it!

Here are three random things from today. First, I spent my morning with my daughter in kindergarten, helping out with a science lesson about the Earth. While I am typically there to assist with literacy activities, today was actually fun as we learned about the Earth's water-land composition. The kids had a lot of fun with the globe activity, and it was fun to teach 5-and-6-year olds as opposed to college students for a day. I love being there to directly observe my little girl and her classmates engage actively in the learning process and to be excited about their world.

Second, YAY! My copy of "Living Artfully" arrived today, and I can't wait to get into it. As soon as I finished this post, I plan to begin savoring the first chapter. Two years ago, I actually met Sandra M. in person in Grand Rapids and had a wonderful conversation with her about play and art and therapy. I stood at her booth at the Great American Scrapbook Convention for a good 20 minutes just chatting....she was so warm and gracious. She signed a copy of her book, "When I Grow Up I Want to Be Me" for Kennedy and is just a delightful creative spirit. I have a vintage glass jar in my studio filled with her little clay-and-bead plaques with words such as "play" and "dream" and "joy" on them--so colorful and happy and inspiring. I am looking forward to how her insights will inspire and enhance my creative life, and my life overall for that matter. I will give a review later as I get further into the book.

And, third, who else can remember the FunDip from their childhood? Those hard white candy sticks to lick and dip into the colored sugar. I remember my best friend and I getting these from the little candy store--"Harolds"--in my hometown, and we enjoyed every last grain of sugar. My kids saw these at Michael's today, and it struck a nostalgic chord for me, so I splurged and let them have a little "Happy Friday" treat. Pure sugary fun at our house this afternoon.

I'm exhausted and still have some reading to do. So sleep in a bit tomorrow if you can...I know I plan to!