Oh, I don't even think about the jillifonts. Our house is like their headquarters, though they are primarily outside. They love our porch. I think they text each other our address. And since they eat mosquitoes, as long as they stay outside, we have an understanding. When they come in, though, all bets are off.

They generally stay outside, except for those hunting the bugs inside. I generally have wolfs, which Hubby loved--fuzzy, blue-eyed, I think I caught him petting one once. Call it a wolf, and he loved it. The one thing I hate about this time of year is that their coming in to set up nests.

Great. A homing mouse.

She was an incredible baker, so the mouse was no fool. I think they ultimately trapped and released it several miles away, and then it didn't come back. I love that story, though. (She was also a terror to the moles. They ruined her yard, so she had no mercy. She knew when they were most active, and she would watch the yard at that time, and when she saw movement, she would run out with a shovel and a spade; she would jam the spade behind the mole so it couldn't go backwards, and then with the shovel she'd dig in front and scoop out the mole with the dirt, and the poor thing would die of fright.)

She was a wee tiny woman (5'1" or 5'2" and very petite), so the image of her as the mole slayer is THE BEST. I think there's a photo somewhere of her proudly showing off a trophy mole after a successful stakeout.

When I was in college, one of the guys in the dorm had a cat. He couldn't figure out why the cat kept getting fatter ... until it turned out the cat was catching and eating moles, mice, etc. Made the guys who worked on the grounds happy. Guess it made the cat happy, too.

as long as they stay outside, we have an understanding. When they come in, though, all bets are off.

Same in our house, and it was one of the things Pete was worried about when he was in the UK for a month. But the first night he was gone, Vlad trapped a jillifont, and I beat it to death with a shoe.

After that, every jillifont Vlad displayed was very dead. I guess I just needed to show mighty hunter cat what to do?

Maria, I'm happy for you about the EMT!

What if they don't have a phone? Is it a school requirement that they do? Or is it a fairly well off school, so you can assume the families have money to give their kids phones?

It's a theoretical lesson plan. No actual students. And I had these questions, too, but just about every sample assignment assumed that all the students not only had phones, but also had Twitter and Instagram accounts that they used regularly, so I figure I can do it.

I made it to the library bookstore on time and with food to eat. Considering what a sloth I have been lately, I am considering this a huge accomplishment.

Hil, could you try using information on sports, or music, or TV or something kids would likely be interested in? just an idea ...

How many times they click the channel changer on the remote in an hour--or is TV on an actual TV passe these days?

Hil, we have them plan the collection of less personal but personally relevant data.

Count the number of people smiling on the way into a math class versus the number smiling on the way out of a math class. Ask 10 random people to rate their happiness on sunny/cloudy days, or the day after sports win/day after loss, ask random people for ratings of the appealingness of a picture of beer on Monday versus Thursday,ask people to listen to different songs the class hypothesizes to affect mood and rate their mood...

These are just things that classes have chosen for themselves in the past.