Musings from a middle school reading specialist. I encourage my students to read, talk, write, and have fun!
I parent two amazing young-adult daughters with my husband of 30+ years.

March 16, 2022

Ice cream #SOLC

 

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Today it was 70 degrees in the Chicago suburbs.  Some of my students had spring fever (7 days til spring break!) and my classroom was warm and stuffy. This made for a long day.

After dinner, I mentioned that the whole town would probably go out for ice cream today, especially since it's the warmest day so far in 2022.

"Ice cream?" asked my husband.

Even the 23-year-old daughter's ears perked up, "Ice cream?"  she replied.

I sent them to the new Dairy Queen a few miles away with orders in hand.  They returned with a bonus Blizzard.  "I think they are still training people - we will just put this in the freezer!" announced my husband.

Dairy Queen cones always remind me of a favorite book, Duke the Dairy Delight Dog, by Lisa Campbell Ernst.  I no longer have a copy (I need to fix that) on my shelf, but this delightful story was a pure joy to read aloud to the kids at elementary school.  The vocabulary was super-duper, so I bet even my middle school kids would not feel like it was too babyish.

In a nutshell, the story focuses on the very detailed, cleaning Darla (ice cream store owner) as she deals with a dirty and determined Duke, a stray dog who has found his destiny at the Dairy Delight.  The two don't see eye-to-eye, but an encounter with wax and a floor cleaner manages to nudge Darla to more acceptance of Duke.

Here's to more ice-cream filled 70-degree days this spring!

2 comments:

  1. Here’s some more 70° days. They are coming for sure. Dairy Queen just always makes me remember my childhood and getting special ice cream treats. It also reminds me of the time I taught fifth grade in West Virginia and the school was located right beside Dairy Queen. That is a good and bad thing. Lol thanks for sharing your slice today.

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    1. Yes, DQ next door to school is great until you want to treat yourself too much! I wouldn't have the ability to stay away!

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