Mosley and Standardized Testing

I told my students that I would be puppysitting Mosley last week, so several students contributed to a welcome sign on the white board for him. After only two school days, Mosley is now the most popular student in my classes.

This is the second week of state core standardized testing, so my students are less than enthusiastic about coming to my class. Can you blame them? I hate to teach during standardized tests because all I do is sit at my desk and stare at my students filling in bubbles all day.

Mosley has made all the difference for core testing this year. Students who always stagger into my class at the last minute are showing up early to pet the puppy. Others’ sleepy eyes wander towards my desk where Mosley is tied down; then a grin literally spreads all the way to those same eyes. It is amazing to watch the instant transformation.

On a side note, every year art students make sculptures of themselves out of packing tape. Today students walked the halls taking pictures with their sculptures in different locations. Two students I've never met before noticed that it was my preparation hour, so they came in and took a picture of their sculpture sitting on a chair with Mosley at its feet.

Hopefully Kyle is as well received next week as Mosley has been thus far this week. Several students are so excited about the idea of training guide dogs that they are already talking to their parents about raising their own guide puppies. We’ll see if any end up attending puppy classes. Kyle might have puppy friends at school next year.

Mara, Mosley, and Moving

If you haven't figured this out yet, my life has recently been ruled by my love for guide dogs. For anyone who knows me personally, you know that is not the way I typically work. I'm a logical thinker who takes forever to make well thought out decisions. However, back in about February I decided to raise another puppy. Everything I've done since has been a bit unlogical, but has helped me meet that goal.

At the top of the list of unlogical decisions was the choice to move. Until now, I've always had roommates. Only eight days before Kyle's arrival, I moved into my own townhome. Thankfully amazing friends moved everything from my old condo to my new townhome in less than two hours. A few even stayed and unpacked most of my boxes.

During Saturday's moving adventure, I puppysat a beautiful fourteen-month-old lab, Mara. She was a great sport about the time she had to spend kenneled while we moved heavy items. However, Mara especially loved playing with all my friends during the unpacking stage. I'm sure a few of them would have happily taken her home.

After most of the unpacking was completed, two friends accompanied Mara and me on a major shopping spree. While Mara didn't find the housewares section of the store too interesting (aside from lollipops kids had dropped on the floor), she was well behaved and earned lots of complements.

Mara had the most endearing habit in the car. She didn't like being stuck in the backseat alone, so she placed her head between the seats and rested it on my arm. My friend captured a picture of the two of us together at a stoplight.

Mara went home Saturday evening, but Mosley arrived Sunday morning. Mosley is an adorable 12-month-old yellow lab. Only a few minutes after getting dropped off, Mosley and I headed to church. Mosley settled at my feet and slept through the meeting while the kids around us had fun watching him.

After church Mosley helped me tackle the last of the unpacking in my office. He loved laying in all of the packing paper and peering into each new box. Having Mosley around made the chore fun.

Mosley will be with me until Saturday's puppy meeting, so I'll post more of our adventures together later.