In the midst of week 4, day 25 of "remote school days", I have finally come to where the tears are falling. I know some of you might think "How is she just now getting to the point of crying?" while others will think "Why would there be tears? We are all living the same … Continue reading Today is The Day I Cried
Can I just say....teachers are amazing! While I want to definitely share more of my thoughts in the future, I feel that today's most helpful information is resources. Whether your school is cancelling classes, prepping for remote learning or will stay on campus through the duration of this current virus outbreak, I want to offer … Continue reading Resources for Distance Learning
Sometimes teaching is hard. Who am I kidding? Teaching is always hard. Over the recent Christmas break, I received a very short but to the point email from one of my sixth grade students. "Thank you for being a good teacher ". While this does not seem like much, I found myself re-reading this message … Continue reading Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done
My 6th grade physical science class recently completed their year end roller coaster project. This is one of my favorite projects each year. Students combine their understanding of forces and Newton's Laws to create a paper coaster with the goal of incorporating as many "point earning" elements as possible. While I do love a good … Continue reading Lessons From a Roller Coaster
In the course of each day of my life, I have many encounters. Some are with people I see daily. Some are new faces that I am meeting for the first time. Some are positive. Some are difficult. I walk away from some encounters having grown as a person, some show me people from a … Continue reading Encounter With a Savior
Growing up in what the south describes as "tornado alley", I learned early on that destruction can come rapidly in a person's world. Houses that stood strong the night before could quickly succumb to the powerful winds that a tornado could bring. Families that felt success through acquiring of earthly possessions could lose that confidence … Continue reading Rebuild and Restore
Achievement testing week. Senior trip week. Week before spring break. Snow day on Monday (yes, in April). Covering classes for teachers that are absent. Year long projects coming due. Many things to finish in our classes. Limited number of weeks to complete those things. Kids that needed spring break three weeks ago. Teachers that needed … Continue reading The Teacher Crunch
This past week in math class, we have been studying the art of tessellating. A tessellation is defined as "an arrangement of shapes closely fitted together, especially of polygons in a repeated pattern without gaps or overlapping" (Oxford Dictionary). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GiKeeWSf4s "What is Tessellation? by M.C. Escher This project has turned out to be one of … Continue reading Tessellating In Our Lives
A few weeks back, my Bible class and I started diving into the Gospels. Each week we specifically study one of the lessons that spans across all four Gospels. This has allowed us time to develop our understanding of Jesus throughout these stories. During each story we add descriptors of Jesus (God come to earth) … Continue reading Lessons from the Gospels
Welcome to the "stone tired" part of the school year. If you have not already arrived, you will soon. What is "stone tired" you might ask? It looks slightly different on all of us, but it focuses around this time in the year where we have exhausted our new strategies, great ideas have become old, … Continue reading Be Wary of the Weary
Teaching Beyond the Norm 