Just thought I would let you know that I am slowly building a new blogging site and trying to lay the foundation for it. I have just added a Christmas message to it and would love for you to see it! I hope you enjoy!
Ready, Set, Balance!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
GRATITUDE ATTITUDE
Thanksgiving has come and gone! I was blessed to have spent
it at my Aunt’s house in Inman, SC. It
was the first time since 2004 that I was able to attend this family event and
what a joy it was to be back there! Nine years is a long time to be away and
the changes were significant.
Since my senior year of high school, cousins have been
married, babies have been born, and some are on the way (not us-don't worry)! My cousin actually had a baby
shower after the Thanksgiving meal! And why not? People had already flown
in!
Today’s invitation is to reflect on what you’re grateful
for. I know that Thanksgiving is past,
and maybe now that the turkey’s been eaten! You carve out a moment to make a
list of what you’re grateful for.
Here’s mine!
GRATITUDE ATTITUDE
Family
Marriage
Holidays
Changing seasons
Snowglobes
Christmas lights
The Savior
New beginnings
Students
The ability to learn
Technology
My mother and father
Birth
Medicine
My husband serving me when sick
As we remember our blessings and ways to appreciate them more, somehow
some of our other problems, both big and small, can seem more manageable. And if nothing else, giving thanks gives us a
mental break as we manage stress.
I would love to hear what you’re grateful for! It be fun if you shared
in a comment below!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
We interrupt this Sunday evening with breaking news! Sarah has done it! She has baked bread! Her last attempt was in the winter of 2006, which ended up in golf-ball like, dense rocks instead of rolls that could successfully bounce off a wall, make a thud sound, and still not break apart. (Yes, we threw them.) (Yes, I think Allison Hall--now Allison Diehl-- may have been the accomplice chef.)
Today, however on September 29, 2013, success seems possible. Though untasted and cooling, those loaves look edible and just may have risen. See picture below.
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Today, however on September 29, 2013, success seems possible. Though untasted and cooling, those loaves look edible and just may have risen. See picture below.
Story holds that while said bread was raising, Sarah went for a walk on a curvy road with no shoulder to see the hay bales nearby:
She returned home safely and resumed the usual routine of preparing for the coming week's lesson plans until the timer sounded the success!
This message brought to you by a medical student's over-tired wife, teacher and cookie baker.
(People warned her to get hobbies. The bread was one attempt.)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Dear new teachers,
I am still a new teacher. This is my third year working as a novice who is supposed to be an expert. There are a few things that I have learned in the past two years:
1. You have to find balance in your life. You have to draw a line in the sand, separating your personal life from your work life. Teaching can be like a black hole. You can throw everything into it, being up until 1:00 in the morning only to be met with apathy the next morning on the lesson you slaved over...
2. You need to be you as a teacher. Be yourself. Don't make comparisons. People tend to compare their weaknesses to other people's strengths--what a recipe for depression!
3. You really don't get paid much so be a wise consumer.
4. Be consistent with your expectations and rules.
5. Communicate with parents.
6. Become friends with the media center specialist, the receptionist, the resource/special ed teacher of your IEP students, and the head guidance counselor.
7. Understand that The Dead Poet Society really is a movie. And Freedom Writers, though based on a true story doesn't show the harder times in the classroom. Don't feel like a failure just because not every day is as riveting as the films make it seem.
8. You will face apathy from some students and flat out dislike from others.
9. You will also see students who are happy.
10. Your class is just a small part of students' days. While they can be your entire focus and your world, you are just a spec in theirs, one that might not be the most important in their situations. You don't know what's going on at home: some are the breadwinners, some are abused, and some are depressed. Does English really matter that much to the kid falling asleep because he worked until 12:00?
11. There are politics in schools. Be nice to everyone. Avoid drama. Don't gossip. Be loyal to your principal.
12. Don't settle for mis-treatment. If you are working in a negative environment, try finding a new position. Teaching at a new school seems like new teaching.
13. Strive to find points of common interests with your students. You can win some of them over in this way.
14. Eat lunch with others. The 30 minute break will do more for your mental sanity than powering through. You need adult time and "you" time during the day.
15. Have high expectations for yourself, but don't expect perfection.
16. Have high expectations for your students, but don't expect perfection.
17. Have a happy place. Go to your happy place when you are feeling overwhelmed.
18. Mark your calendars for when grades are due. Don't assign major assignments or tests that week; grading is a nightmare.
19. Have set procedures in your classroom; students like and need consistency.
20. Completion grades are sometimes okay.
I am still a new teacher. This is my third year working as a novice who is supposed to be an expert. There are a few things that I have learned in the past two years:
1. You have to find balance in your life. You have to draw a line in the sand, separating your personal life from your work life. Teaching can be like a black hole. You can throw everything into it, being up until 1:00 in the morning only to be met with apathy the next morning on the lesson you slaved over...
2. You need to be you as a teacher. Be yourself. Don't make comparisons. People tend to compare their weaknesses to other people's strengths--what a recipe for depression!
3. You really don't get paid much so be a wise consumer.
4. Be consistent with your expectations and rules.
5. Communicate with parents.
6. Become friends with the media center specialist, the receptionist, the resource/special ed teacher of your IEP students, and the head guidance counselor.
7. Understand that The Dead Poet Society really is a movie. And Freedom Writers, though based on a true story doesn't show the harder times in the classroom. Don't feel like a failure just because not every day is as riveting as the films make it seem.
8. You will face apathy from some students and flat out dislike from others.
9. You will also see students who are happy.
10. Your class is just a small part of students' days. While they can be your entire focus and your world, you are just a spec in theirs, one that might not be the most important in their situations. You don't know what's going on at home: some are the breadwinners, some are abused, and some are depressed. Does English really matter that much to the kid falling asleep because he worked until 12:00?
11. There are politics in schools. Be nice to everyone. Avoid drama. Don't gossip. Be loyal to your principal.
12. Don't settle for mis-treatment. If you are working in a negative environment, try finding a new position. Teaching at a new school seems like new teaching.
13. Strive to find points of common interests with your students. You can win some of them over in this way.
14. Eat lunch with others. The 30 minute break will do more for your mental sanity than powering through. You need adult time and "you" time during the day.
15. Have high expectations for yourself, but don't expect perfection.
16. Have high expectations for your students, but don't expect perfection.
17. Have a happy place. Go to your happy place when you are feeling overwhelmed.
18. Mark your calendars for when grades are due. Don't assign major assignments or tests that week; grading is a nightmare.
19. Have set procedures in your classroom; students like and need consistency.
20. Completion grades are sometimes okay.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Driving Across The History Of The Land
When you drive across the country, you see the history of the land; it's marked in the snow drift barriers, the train tracks that parallel the highway, the cornfields and windmills, the museums and rest areas that tell the story of those who settled these regions.
In Wyoming, I looked at the rock formations, dead brown and sandy tan, expecting to see Tonto, peeking over the edge at the top where the sky meets the rock hill. I looked out at the cattle, expecting to see cowboys, only to farther down the road actually see two cowboys, on horseback, rounding up cattle. Winding rivers and pioneer monuments like Fort Bridger reminded me of the Oregon trail game I played as a child. Those rivers were the ones where my ox would drown in the game or my wagon tip over.
We passed the Danish immigrant museum in Nebraska. Barns and silos. Small metal weather vanes in a lone field. Corporate powered white wind mills next to big business farms. We watched tractor trailers each pulling one arm of a windmill on its way to somewhere. While I was awake, there were at least farms. My father-in-law kept saying, "they don't waste a speck of land; they plant it right up to the back of their house and up to the ditch."
The power lines along the interstates and highways were straight, disappearing into the distance. And parked trains and moving trains occasionally appeared in your peripheral vision.
This the expanse of our country. So mobile and historic. We left Salt Lake City, where Mormon pioneers landed, and on our way back east, saw the remains of pioneers of many religions and histories marking the route west. Even the gas stations tell the story. Casey's General Store sells Dutch Letters, a local pastry.
There's so much I don't know. So many details of those people who traveled here and lived across this country. I know quite a bit about Utah. Quite a bit about Tennessee. And I'm about to learn more about South Carolina.
What kills me is that so many people, mostly from the younger generations don't care. So many people drive these roads and highways, without a context or frame of reference for their existence.
Ps. I love Parker so much that I even share my diet coke with him. :)
In Wyoming, I looked at the rock formations, dead brown and sandy tan, expecting to see Tonto, peeking over the edge at the top where the sky meets the rock hill. I looked out at the cattle, expecting to see cowboys, only to farther down the road actually see two cowboys, on horseback, rounding up cattle. Winding rivers and pioneer monuments like Fort Bridger reminded me of the Oregon trail game I played as a child. Those rivers were the ones where my ox would drown in the game or my wagon tip over.
We passed the Danish immigrant museum in Nebraska. Barns and silos. Small metal weather vanes in a lone field. Corporate powered white wind mills next to big business farms. We watched tractor trailers each pulling one arm of a windmill on its way to somewhere. While I was awake, there were at least farms. My father-in-law kept saying, "they don't waste a speck of land; they plant it right up to the back of their house and up to the ditch."
The power lines along the interstates and highways were straight, disappearing into the distance. And parked trains and moving trains occasionally appeared in your peripheral vision.
This the expanse of our country. So mobile and historic. We left Salt Lake City, where Mormon pioneers landed, and on our way back east, saw the remains of pioneers of many religions and histories marking the route west. Even the gas stations tell the story. Casey's General Store sells Dutch Letters, a local pastry.
There's so much I don't know. So many details of those people who traveled here and lived across this country. I know quite a bit about Utah. Quite a bit about Tennessee. And I'm about to learn more about South Carolina.
What kills me is that so many people, mostly from the younger generations don't care. So many people drive these roads and highways, without a context or frame of reference for their existence.
Ps. I love Parker so much that I even share my diet coke with him. :)
Friday, June 7, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
I am moving
To the land of:
Hush puppies
Chow chow
Rocking chairs
Strawberries and peaches
Wagons
Ice cream
And a quieter way of life.
Hush puppies
Chow chow
Rocking chairs
Strawberries and peaches
Wagons
Ice cream
And a quieter way of life.
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