My Somewhat Unplugged Getaway

 

Recently, I went on a somewhat unplugged mini vacation. By "somewhat unplugged," I mean that I still streamed my favorite TV shows and listened to Spotify and took pictures on my phone and turned on my laptop for blogging purposes.

 

But I've been thinking a lot lately about not making myself available 24/7. For instance, when I receive an email or a text message, I have always felt like I have to answer it right away. I've found the best way to fight this compulsion is to turn my notifications off. 

 

"I can't wait to get to a place where people can't contact me," I told my husband, Dan, as we packed for our mini vacation last weekend.

 

"We're staying in a condo, not a yurt. We'll have cell service and WiFi," he said.

 

"Yes, but I will be on Do Not Disturb," I said. "I'm drawing healthy boundaries."

 

So, I wrote vacation responses for all of my email accounts (especially my work account) and turned off my text message notifications and headed into the mountains.

 

The snow just happened to be perfect for Nordic skiing that weekend. It was so perfect that I only took one picture the first day while I was getting ready to leave the trailhead. I spent the rest of my skiing days enjoying my surroundings instead of reaching for my phone.

 

 

In the evenings, Dan and I binged Andor. It required WiFi, but my rule was I could use WiFi as long as it was for fun.

 

 

We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. 

 

Fun fact: The microwave in the condo was on top of the refrigerator (that seems safe). When I warmed up my leftovers the next day, I had to stand on a chair to reach it.

 

Dan went snowboarding one day during our stay, and I spent the day doing my favorite things, including Yoga. I had to use the Down Dog app on my phone, but, again, it was for fun. It didn't count against my healthy boundaries.

 

 

Then I blogged while taking in beautiful views from the condo window. (For fun . . . still not breaking my rules . . .)

 

 

 

A snowstorm rolled in around the time I finished my blog post and started reading my spooky book.

 

 

Then I finished my day, while Dan was still snowboarding, by watching an episode of The Crown.

 

 

Even though I skied 10 miles during this short getaway, I returned more refreshed than after a major summer vacation. I love going on Do Not Disturb. 

 

On Tuesday, I was ready to answer my emails again.

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

School Funnies: Little Kids Edition

 

This week, in looking over my notes, I realized I have neglected to tell some of my funny little kid stories from the school year. This is probably because I have been so preoccupied with preparing my 5th and 6th graders for their upcoming musical. But everyone who works with kids knows that the little kiddos are the best ongoing source of entertainment.

 

The class is GONE!

At the beginning of the year, when the kids were just figuring out their routines, a couple of first graders ran to my classroom one morning in obvious distress.

 

"Mrs. Duggan! Mrs. Duggan! We CAN'T find our class!" 

 

"Where are they supposed to be right now?"

 

"We thought they would be at recess! But there's NO ONE there!" 

 

"Where were you?"

 

"We went to the bathroom. We went back to our classroom, and they're NOT THERE!"

 

"They're just . . . GONE!" the other boy chimed in. 

"Let's go check outside. Maybe you just missed them," I suggested.

"Yeah, maybe it was just our imagination," one of the boys said.

 

But no one was outside. So I walked them to their classroom. Their class was in the room like they had never left.

"Whoa! How did this HAPPEN?!" the little boys said.

The teacher explained they had been outside for a very short time, then came back inside while the boys were still in the bathroom. They had just missed each other due to a shortened recess.

 

 

Help! I Need Somebody!

One afternoon, during my lunch break, I was busy answering emails. In the back of my mind, I was vaguely aware of a tiny voice coming from the hallway. 

 

My classroom is right by the bathroom, and I hear all kinds of weird sounds coming from there throughout the day.

 

I soon realized what I was hearing was, "Help, help!" similar to what I imagine the Whos of Whoville sounded like in "Horton Hears a Who." 

 

I checked the hallway bathroom and found a first grade boy stuck in the bathroom. The bathroom door, usually held open with a doorstop since it is very heavy, had closed on the child. His face was squished against frame. He had one arm hanging out, and he was waving it around, calling, "Help! Help!"

 

I opened the bathroom door for him and asked him if he was okay, trying not to laugh.

 

He grinned, gave me a thumbs up, and skipped down the hall back to his classroom.

 

 

Most Trusted Puppet

The school counselor was giving a lesson on trusted adults. The students were supposed to come up with adults they could trust in their homes and at school. I even received a few notes from students who said I was their "trusted adult" at school. 

 

However, during her lesson in one of the first grade classes, one of the kids shouted out, "Copy Cat!" 

 

Copy Cat is the music class puppet who teaches the little kids how to sing. He occasionally shares words of wisdom with the kids via the music class message. Often these messages have to do with kindness, empathy, and (most recently) the importance of silence.

 

Apparently, one of the first graders considered Copy Cat his trusted adult. All of a sudden, the counselor's lesson was derailed as the kids exclaimed in agreement, "YEAH! Copy Cat! He's my trusted adult!"

The counselor tried to bring them back to reality, "Do you mean Mrs. Duggan could be your trusted adult?"

"Well . . . yeah . . . but we like Copy Cat as our trusted adult!"

 

The many "trustworthy" faces of Copy Cat

 

Little Kids Can Be Gross

Working with little kids is not all fun and games. They can be pretty gross too. We all know about their snotty noses and throw ups and that they cough and sneeze all over everyone and everything. 

 

But did you know they also put maracas up their shorts when given the chance? Or sometimes they just start lifting up their shirts or dresses for no reason, and you have to constantly remind them not to remove their clothing.

The newest trend, however, is little kids licking other humans.

 

The first I heard about it was from my nephew. His best friend at school had been giving some kind of caught-you-being-naughty ticket for licking another student. 

 

Then one of my music teacher friends said his entire group of kindergartners spends half of their music time licking each other. 

 

"I've never had to say, 'Susie, stop licking Johnny! Not you too, Mikey!' so many times in one class," he told me after an especially harrowing lick-a-thon. 

 

The next day, in one of my kindergarten classes, an upset little boy raised his hand, then shouted, "Kevin just licked me!"

What the heck is going on?

Oh well . . . at least we do some fun music learning in the lower grades! Enjoy this snowflake dance.

 

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.

I Can't. I Have Rehearsal.

 

 

A few years ago I posted, "The Most Popular Door," about the excitement surrounding my school's fifth and sixth grade spring music program. Then COVID hit, and live school performances disappeared for a few years. 

Live elementary performances are back, baby! And even though these kids were only second and third graders the last time we had a spring program, the students are more excited than ever.

I didn’t sleep the night before I posted the cast list. 

 

Yes, I had given the students my "you-get-what-you-get" lecture prior to auditions. But I still worried about kids being sad or throwing tantrums outside my classroom (it has happened before) or parents sending me nasty emails or refusing to talk to me for the rest of the school year (also has happened).

 

 

It turned out I had no reason to worry or lose sleep. All of the kids (and adults!) were excited and gracious . . . at least around me, who held their casting in my hands . . . 

 

The first week we returned from break, students gathered around my classroom door everyday, checking out the cast list.

 

Then they started referencing their roles every time they saw me in the hall. 

 

One sixth grade boy walked by with a spoon balanced on his nose and said, “This is your stage manager."

 

One of the students I had worried about upsetting was the most excited.

 

“I get to wear a bun in my hair and be prim and proper!”

 

I kept hearing kids call out, “Mrs. Duggan”and “I’ve got a question!” over and over, whenever I ventured out of my classroom.

 

Their questions were usually along the lines of, "When do I come in for rehearsal?" or “Do stage managers come in today? Do we ever get to come in?” or “Can I just watch?”

 

 

 

Sometimes during that first week, as classes walked by my room to the cafeteria or gym, kids would say to me, “Can you just stay right there? I’ll be right back!”

 

As reality set in, and students realized they were going to have to hang out with me A LOT, I showed them this picture:

 

 

Every theater nerd knows this saying. We all have the T-shirt.

 

As we went over the rehearsal schedule in class, I made the kids recite it back to me.

 

"What if your friend asks you to play in a huge basketball game during your assigned time? What do you say?" I asked them.

 

And they all (in theory) answered with, "I can't. I have rehearsal." 

 

One sixth grade boy, my villain in the program, of course, started to joke, "I wish I didn’t have reh—" and stopped when he saw THE LOOK I gave him.

 

He quickly changed it to, "I wish I HAD rehearsal . . . "

 

 

The first time we put the blocking together with the music in class, I heard several of the sixth graders exclaim, "Today was so fun!"

"Friends, theater is so fun!"

 

 

For the latest blog updates, visit and "like" Rebecca Turner-Duggan.