School Year 2011-2012 Goals

 So tomorrow is the first day of my fifth year of teaching. I can't believe Year 5 is actually here! Typically, teachers begin to feel like they are hitting their stride in years 3-4. I had to switch grade levels and had several change of curriculum and change of teaching partners so I feel like I am just now hitting my stride.


We had Meet the Teacher last Friday night and I am so glad I am at the point in my career where I have built a reputation for myself. I remember taking my little brother Calvin (who tomorrow will be a senior in high school!) to see who was his 5th grade teacher. While we were there I could hear kids saying, "I hope so and so is my teacher". I remember thinking that I want to be that teacher that kids are hoping for. Friday night I had several kids say that they wanted to be in my class. I also had a former parent who told me she pushed for me to be her other son's teacher but for other reasons, he had to be in a different class. Luckily, you can't go wrong with any teachers in my grade level at my school in my unbiased opinion. ;) I also had a cousin and aunt of one of my former students stop by and see me. They told me that he is doing well and it is partly because of me. :) I cannot express how much that meant to me. Teaching is not one of those professions where you get immediate results. It can take years for the fruits of your labor to blossom and we many times don't even hear about it. Now that I am a teacher and realize this, I praise my former teachers and past and current mentors to their face and behind their backs. :)

Ok, on to my goals for the year.

1) Effectively balance being a teacher, a student, a wife, and all my other hats.

This is one I have been working on for the last 2 years (at times more successfully than others).  Luckily, I have an amazing, supporting husband. He is VERY patient with me as I try balance everything as much as I can. There is no way I could be the teacher I am and have a 4.0 in grad school if it wasn't for him. That does not mean I can keep going the way I am devoting most of my time to work in his expense. I want to work smarter and not harder this year. I have to figure out how to lessen my distractions and be productive in my work life so I can be a better wife at home.

2) Encourage my students to think deeper and more critically

This is something I was thinking about before we found out that the STAAR would require this of us. More than memorizing math facts other math concepts, my students need to be able to decide WHEN to use certain math concepts and WHY they need to be used. I hear about grown adults who can DO the math, but they have to be told step by step what to do! I also recently become interested in brain development and how the brain works. I won't go too much into it but I really want to teach my students about their brain and thinking and help them become independent thinkers.

3) Math and science writing

I would like to have my students do more writing in math and science. This goes along with thinking because when writing, they have to explain the thinking behind their math. My students in the past have doing writing assignments but I want to concentrate more on it this year.

4) Technology

Last year, I became more passionate about not only teaching WITH technology but teaching ABOUT technology. Being on the curriculum writing team helped this. I would like to continue teaching my students WITH and ABOUT technology because they will need this learning to be successful in this day and age.

I know it is still early but I should start getting all my stuff together for tomorrow and getting ready for bed. 5:30 will come early tomorrow and I still have things to get done before my students enter my classroom in the morning!

Summer Slimdown

So this post will need to be short and sweet because I am way overwhelmed with grad work.


I (unfortunately) have gained weight ever since I started teaching. Yes I do walk around the classroom a lot and am on my feet, but I am a stress eater. Kids are frustrating me, grab some Hershey Kisses. Too much to do, too little time, here come the Cheez-its. Not enough time or energy to cook, hello Whataburger. On top of that, I rarely have time or energy to work out in the evening and I am NOT a morning person. I know these are a bunch of excuses but they are my excuses.

I also have migraines (I forget if I have mentioned this on my blog or not). Part of my migraine triggers is that I need to eat enough food and eat every few hours. If I go a long time without eating or don't eat enough, I get a migraine.

Some more background info. I am 5'2'' on a good day. This means I should weigh anywhere from 102-130 (according to some website). In high school, I weighed anywhere from 105-110 (thank you high school metabolism and dancing all the time). In college, I was anywhere from 110-120. Not bad I think. Then I started working :) My heaviest I think has been 135 (I am not sharing this info so people can be like, 135, that's nothing, I weigh such and such. I am doing it so I can document my (hopeful) weight loss. Also remember, I am 5'2''! 135 on me probably doesn't look the same on someone who is taller). The summer I got married, I was able to get down to 118 for my wedding. I am now back in the 130-135 range. The past 2 years have been VERY stressful (and not because of my marriage, because of my work). Last summer I tried working out but I was taking my first grad classes (excuses again, I know).

This summer, I am determined to lose weight! I am still taking 9 hours of grad school (more on that in a later post) but I feel like I have a better handle on then. Plus I'm tired of the excuses and it is now or never. A couple years of go, I downloaded an app called My Fitness Pal. It tracks your calories and then subtracts how much you work out. I have it set for me to lose 1 pound a week. I would like to lose more but I figure I'll start slow. I have been doing it for a whopping 3 days now. :) It has been interesting to track my calories and really think about the food I am putting into my body. My workout has consisted of Just Dance 2. :) I don't know exactly how many calories I burn but there someone who weighs about the same as me put on a calorie counter and burned 190 calories in 30 minutes! This game is a huge plus for me because I am not good a traditional workouts unless I have a trainer kicking my butt. When I am dancing, it is fun and I forget that I am working out. Just Dance 2 really gets your heart beating and is exhausting.

So speaking of, I am off to work out. This week will probably be the easiest because it is my only week this summer where I have nothing to do besides grad work. Hopefully I will start seeing results soon!

Bluebonnet books, tigers, and curriculum, oh my!!

Since I have started teaching, it has been a goal of mine to read ALL of the Bluebonnet books. For those of you non-Texans, these are 20 books chosen by committees from TLA (Texas Library Association) as outstanding books for elementary aged students 3rd-5th grade. Students in Texas can read 5 books of the 20 books and then vote on their favorite. Bluebonnet Books Website 

Yesterday, I finished reading all 20 for this year!! I know, such a nerdy thing to be excited about but it felt so awesome to have read all of them! When I was student teaching, there was a teacher who had all her students be eligible to vote which is NOT as easy as it sounds. I am really hoping that this is the year I can also do that. :) There is also a Lone Star list for teens and I have been reading some of those but I'm not sure if I will finish all of them.

Now onto the tigers part. Like I mentioned, Friday was Blake's birthday. Our niece and nephew called him to wish him a happy birthday. Kynleigh proceeded to sing "Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!" Then Austin (3 years old) gets on the phone and yells "Happy birthday! You smell like a tiger!" :) So cute. I adore them and since they live 6 hours away, we don't get to see them as much as we would like. I would love it if someone would go ahead and create a teleportation system... 

Curriculum... so my coworker has been sick and she needed someone to fill in for her on the technology curriculum writing team tonight. She asked me to go for her and I was excited and also nervous. Curriculum is something that I am interested in (obviously since that is what I am getting my masters in) but didn't sign up for this team since I already have a lot on my plate.:) I really enjoyed getting to work on writing the curriculum and thinking about how we could write the lessons and assessments to not only help the students learn in the best way but also to help teachers. Teachers have SO much on their plate (pardon the repeated expression) and we need all the help we can get. For instance, I did not find out about the UT shooter until 7:30 tonight when I got home. I felt so dumb reading through all the Facebook posts and having no clue any of this was happening and some of my friends and family were in danger. I am glad everyone is ok but it is so weird to be so out of the loop for most of the day. I don't know how to change this but I guess it comes with the territory of being a teacher. 

Speaking of, I still have 2 more things to work on for work before I can go to bed. Better get back to it :)

Crazy Couple Weeks

Like I mentioned in the last post, these past two weeks have been CRAZY! I will start at the beginning (a good place to start) and but I won't promise my thoughts will always go in order. Speaking of, I heard that Oprah might have a Sound of Music reunion on her show sometime in October!!! I really hope it happens!!! (If you don't know how I made that jump, you really need to learn more about musicals)

So last Friday night (not this past weekend but the one before) we hung out with some friends downtown. Always fun but most Fridays I am exhausted and not always good company. Good thing my friends put up with me anyway. :) Blake and I ended up leaving early (around 10:30) because we get tired pretty early nowadays (sad, I know). 

As you can tell, I have really enjoyed working in my yard and trying to make it somewhat presentable. I got up earlish Saturday morning and ended up working in the yard from 8:30-11:30. Yes, I got a lot done (and battled with that last bush for an hour), but I also mangaged to give myself a migraine. :( Then we cleaned our house for Blake's birthday party but since I had a migraine, I wasn't a good hostess. Luckily, it was more of a guys' night so my friends Shelley and Katherine went to dinner without me and then we all watched a movie. I also got to play with Shelley's baby Jackson (3 months). :)

Sunday was 4 hours of errands and 8 hours of work stuff :(

Then like I mentioned, I came home sick from school Monday and Blake and I spent all afternoon/night in bed. I even had to call my mom to come take care of us because we did not have any 7up or saltine crackers in the house. This was the first time both of us were sick and we definitely learned our lesson. 

Tuesday was another 11 hours of work. Wednesday was our 5 year anniversary of being together so I already knew it was a special day. Little did I know my best friend Katherine would give birth to her daughter Isabelle that day! I was so excited to hear that baby and Momma were doing well and could not wait to meet her and congratulate her lucky parents.I had a training afterschool and my other best friend, Sarina, and I were trying to figure out if we could visit that night for a teeny bit since we both had Open House the next night. We never ended up hearing from them so being the presumptuous friends we are, we went over anyway. None of you will be surprised to hear that I started crying the second I saw both of them.This is the first of my close friends to have a baby and I have felt so honored to have been part of this important part of our friends' lives. We have been praying for Isabelle and thinking about her and her growth for the last 9 months and can't believe she is finally here. I am also so proud of Katherine and have a new admiration for all mothers. Of course, I haven't been able to see them since then because Isabelle is not even a week old but I look forward to playing with her and reading with her whether she wants to or not. Yes, I will be THAT mommy's friend. I already am THAT aunt to my niece and nephew and they still love me more than Blake :)

Thursday was Open House. So of course I wake up early and do my hair and put on nice clothes, and get a flat tire on the way to school. Luckily, I had passed a cop so I turned around and he was nice enough to help me. He made sure to teach me how to change my tire (fyi: I know how to, but I would prefer help if possible) and he made sure to tell me that normally he doesn't help change tires but since I was a teacher he would help me. I only ended up 20 minutes late to school and my awesome coworkers covered for me until I got there. Of course when I got there, I still had sweat dripping all over and grease on my face and hands. Open House went well and all the parents seemed to be happy, thank goodness.

Friday was Blake's birthday!!! Unfortunately, he was sick so we just went to dinner and watched Star Trek, which ended up being better than I thought.

Saturday morning, I worked in the yard again but made an effort to stay in the shade as much as possible and take lots of water breaks. 

I finished taking out all the little rocks and planted Mexican Petunias that my mom gave me around the edges of the trees.

 These next pictures are not of my garden but they are of what my Mexican Petunias will look like when they grow. :)

Not my yard but maybe one day!

See how pretty!!!

 Next weekend I hope to plant my daffodils (my favorite flower) in the middle of the flower bed.

It looks so much better without those little rocks!!

 After the daffodils, this is my next project.

Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!!

The rest of Saturday was resting because I again, ended up giving myself a headache. Hopefully with this cool front we had pass through today, I won't be getting anymore heat headaches. *fingers crossed*

On Sunday, I spent 7 hours grading papers. Yes, you read that correctly. 7 hours. Then 3 more hours on lesson plans and grad assignment. It was really hard to work because it was beautiful outside and this is my view as I work.

But at least the Cowboys won. :) I wore my Cowboys shirt to lunch with my family on Sunday and they made fun of me. Who is laughing now?!! (I really don't get into NFL football but I had to put that last part since they made fun of me) 

And Sunday was also my Mommy's birthday! I love my mom so much and am so glad she is my mom. I love the relationship we have now that I am not older and not such a brat. 

Mother's Day 2010

From the wedding :)

Whew! Hopefully these next few weeks will be calmer and I can post more often and more fun random stuff. Congratulations if you made it all the way to the end of this post.

Too Busy!!

So part of the reason I wanted to start this was to help me remember all the small things that happen in my life that make me smile. Then life gets in the way. :)

Last week was SUPER busy. It was a very stressful week but my students always find a way to make me smile and remind me that it is all worth it.

On Tuesday, I was in the drive thru at Whataburger thinking through lesson plans for the next day (what a surprise) when I see a silhouette in the car in front of me moving back and forth. It was one of my students waving at me! I know it is really random but I love seeing students outside of the classroom (most of the time, there are times when I see them when I am running errands with no makeup and look horrible, those times not so much)

Then was the first Curious! Last year, Blake and I began working with junior high students at our church, Faithbridge. I worked with 6th grade girls and Blake with 7th grade boys. This year, we both moved up with our students and I was SO excited to see them! My partner and I had 14 girls from our group show up!!! One of those good problems to have. One of the best parts was that one of my girls told me that she had to write a paper on someone who impacted them and she wrote about me! So flattering and a needed reminder that the time commitment is so worth it.

The weekend was NON stop which ended with me throwing up at school yesterday and Blake and I both having a stomach virus. But that story is for another blog post. BEDTIME!

Typical School Year Sunday

Today was my first "typical school year Sunday" which goes like this...

- sleep until I am pretty well rested and recovered (until 9sh)
- wake up (that takes about an hour)
- work on lesson plans
- grade papers
- laundry
- put grades in gradebook
- church
- grad work
- bed

Doesn't that sound fun?! If I'm lucky, my parents will call us and invite us to lunch (on them) but that doesn't happen to much anymore but I still enjoy it when it does (hint hint) :)

I'm now a football widow since the season started. Blake spends most of his Saturdays watching NCAA and Sundays watching NFL. I will say that he did go into work Saturday morning and still mows the lawn, etc. Don't want you to think he is a complete bum. :) P.S. He totally walked behind me twice while I was typing this and did not notice I was talking about him. :) :)

So yesterday I applied to be an official grad student :) So far I have been a "non-degree seeking student" because I missed the deadline for the application. I was able to apply to be a non-degree seeking student and take up to 12 hours. That is how I was able to take 9 hours over the summer (which was CRAZY) and 3 hours right now this fall. 

Yesterday, I also worked in the yard. 

This is the bane of my existence right now.

 

 

 

Originally there were four of the bushes

Those plants end up really big with feathery things on top and I really really didn't like them. I managed to take three of them out and just have this last one to yank out of the ground. 

There were also all these little rocks all around the area.

 They are also really annoying! Grass and weeds would grow between them and I just think they look ugly. So I started taking them out and putting them in gallon bags. Why gallon bags? Because these rocks are HEAVY even in gallon bags. Several hours later, this is how far I've gotten.

See how much better it looks!!

 Now being the packrat/not wanting to waste anything person that I am, we now have tons of rocks. This is what the side of the garage looks like. Keep in mind I'm only about 1/5 of the way through since these rocks are ALL over our flowerbeds...

Does anyone need any rocks?

 Like I said before, there is still a ton of work left to be done but I'm pleasantly surprised to find how much I'm enjoying working on the yard. I just wish I had more time and the weather was cooler. :)

Ok, time to stop procrastinating and finish up my lesson plans. Even though it occurred to me today that I'm going to end up changing all of them the night before because it never goes as planned and so I have to change everything up. :)