I am pretty busy right now with school and my scrapbooking hobby. My next scrapbook will be of John Deere's broken head--it has only taken me a year to get around to it. Sunday I typed up the pages from my journal that I kept while he was in the hospital. I considered putting it on here, but I have some pretty specific and personal details. So I guess I will just have to print copies for anyone interested in reading it.
I also have spent a lot of time getting ready for the Meats Judging season. Yes, I'm an English teacher, but I help the FFA chapter at my school with a Measts team. People look at me pretty funny when they walk by my room after school and see giant pictures of raw meat and animal carcasses projected on the screen. Last Saturday we had a "Meat Meeting" barbeque at my house. It was cold and windy, but fun! We grilled steak and hung out. I was glad to have a chance to meet many of the students' parents.
My Master's Degree has kind of taken over my free time as I am in week four of my 6th course. Only four more to go and I will be finished--I will be a much happier person in April when I am done!
Parent teacher conferences are this week--sarcastic--yeah! Next week I am taking my students to see a live production of Julius Caesar--then we have fall break.
Over fall break, I am going to a 24-hour scrapbooking "crop" with CJ. I can't wait! I just got a Cricut Expression--actually it should be delivered sometime today. I am sure it could keep us occupied for 24+ hours.
John Deere is working harvest hours (7:30-6 weekdays and 7:30-4 on Saturday). He now has fireman training two nights a week, so there are some days when I don't see him at all. I miss him and worry about him working so much. Today I said it would be nice to have a day to sleep in and do nothing--he said maybe Christmas!
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
A Busy Week
Wow-- has this ever been a crazy week! I was hoping to upload some pictures of lots of things yesterday, but the camera and computer were not cooperating--maybe next week.
So--this is how it went this week:
Monday: it was a Monday--ugh! But, it was also my birthday--yay me! The husband took me out for dinner and then we visited with some friends until past my bedtime.
Tuesday: The husband had a meeting, so I tried to catch up on grading, housework, etc. Not much was accomplished because I wanted to go to bed early.
Wednesday: Woke up at 4:30 because John Deere had to go to work early--he was headed south with a coworker to try and complete a two day project in one. I was headed to Chicago with a group of students for a field trip--what a day we had ahead of us.
My class went to the Hull House Musuem at the University of Illinois--Chicago campus. It was a cool experience into the life of Jane Addams, a social activist and welfare pioneer in the 1900s who worked with the very poor immigrant populations of Chicago at the time. It made me think of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle when we were there. After that we took Chicago's downtown walking poetry tour. I was in charge of leading 15 15-year-old students through downtown Chicago, but it was awesome--they are such a good group! I will post pictures later of all the cool city sights. But now, my class is making a poetry tour of our town. They had to pick a place and write some poetry, later we will record it in our own voices and make an MP3 file and map that anyone could use. We hope to give it to the Chamber of Commerce and public library so others could take our tour! I am soooo excited about this!
Thursday: Last night we closed on our mortgage re-finance. We have cut our payback time in half with almost 1/2 the interest rate. We are super excited to be saving tens of thousands of dollars, and we will have our mortgage paid before we are 40!! Awesome
Friday: The goal is just to make it through school today. Lots of vocabulary quizzes and jeans day mean I am pretty comfortable. I also have to post my last assignment for the course I am currently taking. I am now officially 1/2 way done with my Master's degree! Thank goodness for one year online programs!
It is cold-- 42 now, high of 60 today, so when I get home I am going to make some chili and unwind from this crazy week--maybe do some scrapbooking!
Tomorrow it is off to Indy to see Chellie for Parents and Family Weekend-- Maybe Sunday will be relaxing?!?
So--this is how it went this week:
Monday: it was a Monday--ugh! But, it was also my birthday--yay me! The husband took me out for dinner and then we visited with some friends until past my bedtime.
Tuesday: The husband had a meeting, so I tried to catch up on grading, housework, etc. Not much was accomplished because I wanted to go to bed early.
Wednesday: Woke up at 4:30 because John Deere had to go to work early--he was headed south with a coworker to try and complete a two day project in one. I was headed to Chicago with a group of students for a field trip--what a day we had ahead of us.
My class went to the Hull House Musuem at the University of Illinois--Chicago campus. It was a cool experience into the life of Jane Addams, a social activist and welfare pioneer in the 1900s who worked with the very poor immigrant populations of Chicago at the time. It made me think of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle when we were there. After that we took Chicago's downtown walking poetry tour. I was in charge of leading 15 15-year-old students through downtown Chicago, but it was awesome--they are such a good group! I will post pictures later of all the cool city sights. But now, my class is making a poetry tour of our town. They had to pick a place and write some poetry, later we will record it in our own voices and make an MP3 file and map that anyone could use. We hope to give it to the Chamber of Commerce and public library so others could take our tour! I am soooo excited about this!
Thursday: Last night we closed on our mortgage re-finance. We have cut our payback time in half with almost 1/2 the interest rate. We are super excited to be saving tens of thousands of dollars, and we will have our mortgage paid before we are 40!! Awesome
Friday: The goal is just to make it through school today. Lots of vocabulary quizzes and jeans day mean I am pretty comfortable. I also have to post my last assignment for the course I am currently taking. I am now officially 1/2 way done with my Master's degree! Thank goodness for one year online programs!
It is cold-- 42 now, high of 60 today, so when I get home I am going to make some chili and unwind from this crazy week--maybe do some scrapbooking!
Tomorrow it is off to Indy to see Chellie for Parents and Family Weekend-- Maybe Sunday will be relaxing?!?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Are you ready for some football?
Today is an historic day--today is our school's first home football game in 53 years!! In previous years we had a practice area, but no bleachers or press box, so we were unable to hold our home games at our school. Instead we had to pay an exorbitant amount of money and move all football and marching band equipment to the local college every weekend for the games. Also, our high school was not allowed to sell concessions, so fans were supporting the college rather than the high school when coming to the games.
Tonight that all will change! Those Friday night lights will shine on OUR high school campus and OUR players will run out onto OUR field for the first time ever! The spirit in our school has been amazing this week and I know it will only continue to grow as students will be more encouraged to attend games. I don't have any pictures right now, but take my word for it--something awesome is happening here.
Although I am not an alumni of this school and have only been teaching here for 2+ years, I feel such pride in our school. I truly believe that we are an awesome corporation and I love seeing the excitement in my students' faces. I have never really been a fan of football before, but as I sit here in my "Home Field Advantage 2011" T-shirt I am ready for some football.
Note: Our entire community has supported this venture. We will have free tailgate food for all home team fans, live music before the game, a tunnel of former players to welcome our current team onto the field, a special half-time show by our marching band (who is also excited about being at home), and a firework show after the game. It will truly be the event of the century at our high school!
Tonight that all will change! Those Friday night lights will shine on OUR high school campus and OUR players will run out onto OUR field for the first time ever! The spirit in our school has been amazing this week and I know it will only continue to grow as students will be more encouraged to attend games. I don't have any pictures right now, but take my word for it--something awesome is happening here.
Although I am not an alumni of this school and have only been teaching here for 2+ years, I feel such pride in our school. I truly believe that we are an awesome corporation and I love seeing the excitement in my students' faces. I have never really been a fan of football before, but as I sit here in my "Home Field Advantage 2011" T-shirt I am ready for some football.
Note: Our entire community has supported this venture. We will have free tailgate food for all home team fans, live music before the game, a tunnel of former players to welcome our current team onto the field, a special half-time show by our marching band (who is also excited about being at home), and a firework show after the game. It will truly be the event of the century at our high school!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Teaching Boys
I teach a class called 10th grade Inclusion--where our school has placed all students who struggle with English (not just those who get bad grades--some of them fail by choice--but those who really don't get it). When I met this class on the first day I quickly realized that out of 15 students, 13 of them are boys! Fortunately I have a husband and a brother-in-law who didn't love English either, so I can relate pretty easily to what I would call the "good ole boys."
But, I have quickly learned that no matter how much I personally can find in common with these students--who prefer working outdoors, motor-sports, and hunting to sitting in a classroom--I realize that the English curriculum is not friendly to them.
Our school curriculum guide says I have to teach them poetry and that is where I have started in the past--just to get it out of the way. These boys (yes there are two girls in the class, but I sometimes forget about them) are expected to learn basic literary devices and we started talking about simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia (word for a sound in case you forget), and hyperbole (exaggeration). I actually used a Montgomery Gentry song "Gone" to teach them many of these terms. After that song we went into discussion of a fish poem, but I am running out of "boy material" for my poetry unit.
I have read them some Baxter Black poems--my favorite cowboy author! Unfortunately they do not understand some of his lofty philosophy and Baxter doesn't exactly focus on use of literary technique.
They seem to be focusing on the material that I have worked so hard to make relevant for them--unfortunately, yesterday when I asked them to apply what they learned to writing their own poem, it didn't go so well. I asked them to write a poem about an animal and use the literary devices we have been learning. Their similes, in which they are supposed to compare two unlike things using the words like or as looked more like this: Deer like to eat grass! I was so frustrated.
Any advice on material I can use for these boys or how to help them apply what they have learned? I have a feeling it is going to be a long year with these guys--I am lucky that they seem to like me, because if they didn't I don't know what I would be up against.
But, I have quickly learned that no matter how much I personally can find in common with these students--who prefer working outdoors, motor-sports, and hunting to sitting in a classroom--I realize that the English curriculum is not friendly to them.
Our school curriculum guide says I have to teach them poetry and that is where I have started in the past--just to get it out of the way. These boys (yes there are two girls in the class, but I sometimes forget about them) are expected to learn basic literary devices and we started talking about simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia (word for a sound in case you forget), and hyperbole (exaggeration). I actually used a Montgomery Gentry song "Gone" to teach them many of these terms. After that song we went into discussion of a fish poem, but I am running out of "boy material" for my poetry unit.
I have read them some Baxter Black poems--my favorite cowboy author! Unfortunately they do not understand some of his lofty philosophy and Baxter doesn't exactly focus on use of literary technique.
They seem to be focusing on the material that I have worked so hard to make relevant for them--unfortunately, yesterday when I asked them to apply what they learned to writing their own poem, it didn't go so well. I asked them to write a poem about an animal and use the literary devices we have been learning. Their similes, in which they are supposed to compare two unlike things using the words like or as looked more like this: Deer like to eat grass! I was so frustrated.
Any advice on material I can use for these boys or how to help them apply what they have learned? I have a feeling it is going to be a long year with these guys--I am lucky that they seem to like me, because if they didn't I don't know what I would be up against.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Back to School Night
During the summer I am a hobbit--if you read the hobbit the description of their physical appearance resembles mine (at least that is what my sister said). I live in the wilderness and try to make the smallest carbon footprint possible.
During the other seasons, I am an English teacher, and tomorrow is the first day back. Although most teachers begrudge this day just as much (if not more) than the students, I am excited. This is my third year teaching 10th grade (mostly) and I feel prepared-- I am pretty organized anyway. Unlike other teachers who spend time with their children or grandchildren during the summer, I am alone. And unlike others I cannot afford to take a bunch of vacations--so I am glad to have something to do besides napping (sometimes 2x a day). I am glad to be around people again, and most of my classes are small.
I just met some families at back to school night and I am excited about building relationships with new students. I have some exchange students from Taiwan and Austria, and I have already learned so much from them.
Teaching is fast paced and the high-stakes make is stressful, but I have a great school system and a wonderful community here. I will write more about them later I'm sure, but for now I have to go get a good night's sleep-tomorrow will take a lot of energy!
During the other seasons, I am an English teacher, and tomorrow is the first day back. Although most teachers begrudge this day just as much (if not more) than the students, I am excited. This is my third year teaching 10th grade (mostly) and I feel prepared-- I am pretty organized anyway. Unlike other teachers who spend time with their children or grandchildren during the summer, I am alone. And unlike others I cannot afford to take a bunch of vacations--so I am glad to have something to do besides napping (sometimes 2x a day). I am glad to be around people again, and most of my classes are small.
I just met some families at back to school night and I am excited about building relationships with new students. I have some exchange students from Taiwan and Austria, and I have already learned so much from them.
Teaching is fast paced and the high-stakes make is stressful, but I have a great school system and a wonderful community here. I will write more about them later I'm sure, but for now I have to go get a good night's sleep-tomorrow will take a lot of energy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)