Naked Face Project

It's funny how ideas get put in my brain. Last weekend I was hanging out with my wonderful coworkers/friends up in Charlotte when we found an abandoned newspaper on the Lynx Train. The style section was on top, and there was a HUGE picture of Molly Barker, creator of Girls on the Run. I happen to be the assistant Girls on the Run coach at school (which basically consists of me hanging out with some super fun girls while Miss Rokos does all the real work), so I asked my friend what the article was about.

The Naked Face Project. For 60 days Molly and her friend are giving up all things feminine. No makeup, no hair products, no shaving, no deodorant, no perfume, no jewelry, no primping, no uncomfortable "girly" clothing. None of the things we all do everyday as a part of our "beauty routine." When the article was being read out loud to me I was thinking, "No makeup. Sure. No hair stuff. Ha, I go to work with wet hair all the time. No shaving.... hmmm.... No deodorant. No way! That's too far for me!"

Then yesterday, I was talking about the project at Girls on the Run with Rokos. Laughing about how I don't think deodorant is "feminine," I think it's just polite. And how my classroom smells funky enough without adding myself to the mix. She mentioned that she saw the blog where Molly was writing about her Naked Face Project experience - and of course I wanted to check it out :)

Seeing things from Molly's perspective made the whole thing sound so much more normal. Introspective. Self-Aware. The project isn't about "Down with products! Down with feminine expectations! Boooo on the establishment!" It's just about thinking about "Why?" Why do we do the things we do? Why are we motivated to practice certain behaviors? Why are these things important to us? The behavior analyst in me went crazy over that. "All behavior serves a function" or "All behaviors communicate something" are ideas that were thoroughly ingrained into my brain in my undergraduate experience. So, why do I wear makeup? Why do I put on the clothes I wear? Why do I feel more comfortable looking a certain way over another way? I wanted to analyze the heck out of this behavior - Functional Behavior Assessment style! (But then I calmed down the hyper Special Ed teacher that lives inside of me and got ready for bed....)

So, I wake up this morning. Pulled my hair up into its ever-present ponytail. Brushed my teeth. Washed my face. Put on my deodorant. Opened my makeup bag - and stopped. I looked in the mirror. Studied my freckled and acne scarred skin. My darkish circles from a night of insomnia. I smiled in an attempt to look less weary. I picked up the mascara. Then shrugged, put it down and thought - "A day at work without makeup?.... Hm... How bad could it be?"

Well, as soon as I walked out the door - I didn't give it another thought. (And it probably helps that I barely wear any makeup as it is). I looked in the mirror just a little bit ago - and to be perfectly honest, I look exactly like I do every other day. I guess 7 hours of my students is a pretty quick makeup remover. And my self-esteem doesn't seem to be too badly bruised by the sight.

Watch out! Shrek is on the loose.

My latest favorite post-school activity - Documenting the predicaments my children leave for the Little Tikes Family. Apparently Shrek is on a killing spree.... and no one is safe.

So far casualties include: Mom, Baby, Cat, Sister, Little Person, and My Little Pony.

Dog somehow managed to escape to the roof, while Brother and Dad are still missing.

There's nothing better...

.... than interpretations of the show "iCarly" as drawn by one of my students.

I've never seen her attempt at drawing people before! Love!

... than being such a nerd that I make holiday calendars to help my students deal with their upcoming change in routines.

Oh Boardmaker. How I love you!

Precious. Just precious.

In my 3 years at York Road I've been privileged enough to have a few regular ed student who totally get what my class is all about. One of these students is an awesome little boy in the 2nd grade class next door. As a first grader, he went home and told his mom, "I really want to help one of Mrs. Simmons's students. I wonder if she'd let me come read or something." He was too shy to ask his teacher, but thankfully the mom passed the message along - and because of this one empathetic child, I now have a group that comes to my room each week for "Reading Buddies." Most of the same kids who read with my crew as first graders are back to read as 2nd graders, and it's been so much fun watching their friendships grow.

All of the students here at York Road are working on a writing prompt this week about diversity for a PTA project. Here is an excerpt from that little boy's entry:

"Just because they have Down's Syndrome or autism does not mean they do not have feelings. They laugh and play just like we do." I could not have said it better myself! I am constantly thankful for students like him.

(As I was writing this post, a first grade class passed by my door and I heard this gem of a statement from one of the students - "The Special Needs class is so cool! They play while they learn AND they get to do sign language!!!!")

Mr. Tree Frog

I came home Sunday night to find this little guy hanging out on the storm door. Tree frogs automatically take me back to my childhood. Just like when I was a kid, I was fully consumed for about 45 minutes by watching this frog and taking pictures of him. It was a nice way to end my weekend.

I love tree frog toes!

He was such a good little model.

He's starting to lose his patience with me. I love his grumpy face and how his hands are clasped :)

Funny things from the week.

This has been a rather entertaining week in my classroom. (Thank Goodness! It's rained all week and we've been cooped up together too long!) Usually these stories don't translate well in writing, especially if you don't know my babies, but I have a couple visuals that might entertain some of you out there.

#1 - One of my students and I had a LONG argument about Spiderman and if he wears a cape or not. It all started when we were out drying the slides with towels we keep in our room. When we were done, she wanted me to put one around my shoulders and "be piderman." And I said, "Silly! Spiderman doesn't have a cape!" Well, she disagreed. And I (being as stubborn as a 10 year old with Down Syndrome haha), HAD to show her the error of her ways. I had her ask the boys. I had her ask other teachers. Nope, "Piderman cape!" When we got back in the room I still could not let it go. So during snack I put this up on the board.

After a few repetitions of "Superman has a cape. Spiderman does NOT have a cape" from the crazy teacher, my precious baby now says "Duperman - Cape. Piderman - Naaaah." Seriously? Love! 

I wrote in her folder about how we had this funny argument and her parents wrote back, "Who won? We all know she's stubborn."

Every now and then since this argument she'll look at me and say "Piderman - Cape." Then giggle. She knows it drives me crazy haha

#2 - Today I had a big envelope in my school mailbox. I had NO clue what it was, and when I opened it I found some certificates and dog tag necklaces. I was still confused. Apparently there had been an anti-bullying assembly for 5th graders that we were not invited to did not attend. I tossed the certificates in the trash, and was going to send the necklaces home. I'm glad I read them before I shoved them into their bookbags. It gave me a nice laugh this morning.

Really? "I am a Special Kid!"? Bless. Yeah... the Special Ed teacher decided NOT to send that home after all. However, I thought it was pretty hilarious that someone thought that was a good idea. Thankfully so did my assistants because everyone else I showed it to just looked at me like I was a horrible person.... and maybe that's what all of you are doing right now... oh well. I still think it's pretty darn funny!

Sensory Center

This school year I have been all about some sensory activities for my students. The newest addition to our sensory center is our "Ocean Box." It's filled with water beads used in floral arrangements and some ocean friends bath toys. 


My kids absolutely LOVE it! Even my ones who usually have an aversion to "icky" things (hate to finger paint, play with play-dough, etc...) have been in the box. I've even seen some imaginative play without prompting (making the animals swim and chase each other)! And that's almost unheard of with some of my babies.


This cutie was catching "bubbles" on the crab and started counting them... in SPANISH! I have no idea where that came from (my guess is Dora), but seriously. Counting. In. Spanish. 

I can't wait to find the next fun thing for our sensory center!