Spring Break and Award Essay

Spring Break: Yesterday was the first day of Spring Break. Em and I stayed home and had a PJ day. I was able to get caught up on much blog reading and commenting--yay! Em played dress up, "soccer" (which involves kicking a ball around from our living room to kitchen and back,) "ballet" (dressing up and dancing to music,) and Barbies among other things. (I especially liked when she got out her High S.chool M.usical dolls and was acting out the movie with them---too funny!) We didn't bathe or get dressed until after 5 in the afternoon when DH called to ask if we wanted to go to dinner when he got home from work. After a quick dinner at Moe's we were back home to our PJs. Ahhhh, what a first day of break!

Today is shower #2. Shower #1 surprised me....rather than feeling baby longings and bump envy as I anticipated, I actually felt nostalgic and reminiscent.... The teacher/wife in Shower #1 are having a baby girl, so much of the clothing and blankets reminded me of items I used with Emma long ago. For shower #1 I was able to give $$ to a friend who purchased a gift from both of us. For today's shower I went to T.arget myself and felt like a punch in the gut as I walked through the baby aisles there. So thank you, dear friends, for the warm wishes...I hope today's shower goes as well as Tuesday's did.

Tomorrow is Easter! Wow! The year is flying by. Em seems to have a better understanding of the reason we celebrate Easter than she has in prior years. Her school set up neat stations that teachers escorted students to this week: Wine/water to discuss miracles, bowl of water w/ a towel and chair to discuss Jesus washing the disciple's feet, manger scene to celebrate Jesus' birth, footprints to discuss the disciples running away from God, a cross to discuss Jesus' death, etc. Really neat idea!

School Stuff: On my planning day this week I was able to get ALL of my lesson plans for the month of April finished. Woot woot! This includes copying/clipping worksheets and assignments I'll need. Awesome! It's hard to believe it will be the last quarter of the school year when we return.

--I'm tickled with a nice leather bag I found on sale at T.arget for just under $30....I bought it as an early birthday present for myself, as I've been wanting a new work bag. (Also, buying other non-shower items helped diffuse the shopping experience.) I love that it came with a removable zipper "sleeve" that my netbook will fit in if I need to take my computer anywhere. Double cool!

--Why is it that curse words are the first things people often learn in a new language? One of my newest students was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She's only been in the U.S. a few months, and speaks VERY minimal English. In the middle of class last week, she was trying to record on her computer, but the headphones/microphone wouldn't work. I was stunned when she said, "I hate this fucking computer" in the middle of my classroom. I had to speak with her one-on-one in the hallway. She was totally embarrassed...she knew she was saying a bad word, but to quote one of my favorite movies, she didn't realize it was "the mother of all curse words."

--My principal and I received an email message this week stating that my nomination form for the "All Star Teacher Award" is being reviewed. They asked us to submit growth reports showing the reading level gains in my classes. WOW! I'm excited to be considered....let's see what happens next...

--Lastly, I am attempting one more time to cut/paste the essay I wrote which was submitted as part of my nomination packet. (Thanks to Heather at Geek by Marriage and her DH Jase for helping me figure out how to get rid of all the "meta tags" crud!)

The Prompt: Using at least 150 words, please describe how your R180 classroom tells the story of truly turning students' lives around.

My Essay Response:
I began my post-college career as a Social Worker. Working as a case manager and advocate for Children's Services enabled me to witness many parents making positive life changes. After a few years, I felt that my once-a-month visits with the children on my caseload created limited relationship building. I wanted a profession where I could work with children on a daily basis! Thus, I completed the coursework necessary to become an educator. Seven years later, much of what keeps me in the teaching profession are not the academics, but rather the relationships I develop each year with my students. I believe that rapport and creating a safe learning environment are vital to helping students learn. A secure environment is especially essential when students have deficient reading skills. Students who are embarrassed because of their below grade level abilities MUST have a place where they can learn skills without being belittled by others. Thus, I strive to create a safe haven---making fun of others is OFF LIMITS in my classroom. Through encouragement and tangible goal setting, my students learn and grow.

Three years ago my district implemented the R180 program in all middle school reading classrooms. R180 has merged perfectly with my core beliefs. The reports and data available help me work together with students to set reachable goals. Resources that are a key part of the curriculum enable me to easily differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs, which is extremely important as my classes have a vast range of reading levels. The teacher-student conferencing which is an integral part of R180 assists in my rapport building. Learning students' interests helps me connect them with engaging books they find appealing. Most importantly, the R180 program allows me to have more time doing what is most important to me---getting to know my students...

This year I have worked with many teenagers who are coping with complicated situations in their home lives, including: two students who have an incarcerated parent; one student who along with his brother were the sole survivors of a car accident which claimed the lives of everyone else in their family; a student who witnessed the murder of his step-father; and another student whose family moved to the U.S. to escape war in her home country. I am humbled that as 8th graders, some of these children have endured horrendous heartache. I am excited when we work together to increase the student's comprehension skills, test taking strategies, and/or vocabulary proficiency.

One student I've worked with this school year is J.B., an English Language Learner whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. The first few weeks of the school year, J.B. seemed angry and upset. In conferencing with her, I learned that she was disappointed to be in R180 for a third year. I was able to show J.B. data indicating the HUGE amount of growth she has made since starting the R180 program. J.B. was particularly awed by the graphs which show an increase in her overall reading level. By getting to know J.B. and finding interesting books within her reading range, I was able to "hook" her and re-connect her with the positive aspects of R180. To date, she has taken the second highest amount of book quizzes of any 8th graders at our school this year! What a turn around!

The R180 program has assisted me in changing students' lives for the better. By enabling me to confer with students while teaching reading skills and strategies, I am able to show students that I don't just care about their academics, but about their well-being. On an almost daily basis I am able to witness the "180" my students are making within their own lives. I am thrilled with their reading gains, but my heart sings to think that I might have helped them to make a "turn around" within their personal lives as well.

-----------------------
--It's a national award, so I don't know how much of a shot I have. There are 4 awards given, but only 1 for the middle school level. My main concern is that they will want something that is more reading-focused. However, this essay is ME and why I teach. I love the R180 curriculum, but I don't want my essay to be just a commercial for their product.

--The weather here is gorgeous! Finally in the low 80's. We've had our house windows open the last several days....LOVE it! Happy Spring, everyone!

Happy St. Patty's Day

Thanks to those who voted, I came in 2nd in Lori's annual limerick contest!
Big congrats to Erica at Parenthood for Me, the winner. She's won 2 years in a row...ROCKSTAR! :)

My Emma turns 5 1/2 today. Where does the time go?

FCAT testing is over and went really, really well.

My principal nominated me for a national reading teacher award! WOW! SOOOO excited. Don't know if I have a chance in Hades of winning....one of these days if I can get the meta-tag crap figured out (see prior post) I'll post the essay I wrote which she submitted with my nomination packet.

Finally starting to dig out of my March-is-very-busy hole. Whew! Think I can catch up on blogging by the end of the weekend. (At least that is my hope and goal!)

I leave you with a random St. Patty's Day limerick found via the Internet...

A lass one beautiful morn,
Fell in love with a male unicorn,
She purchased a spell,
Recited it well,
Now she's with him hooves, tail, and horn.

Happy Day, one and all! :)

Beautiful Blogger Award; Welcome ICLW

Welcome, ICLWers. It's my first time participating in a while. I've been a bit overwhelmed with work and didn't think I'd be able to commit to commenting everyday for a week. But now I'm on winter break...ICLW, here I come!

The lovely Sunny at Sunny in Seattle honored me with a "Beautiful Blogger Award" this week. I thought I'd answer the 7 random items about me as an ICLW intro. :)




Seven Random Things About Me:

1. I've been having a little bit of mama-guilt all day because my daughter is at preschool/daycare while I have a "me" day/cleaning day at home.

2. Part of why I hate living far away from my younger sister is because I miss laughing the way I do with her. We frequently crack ourselves up to the point that we have tears rolling down our faces and stitches in our sides. She is hilarious! I like to think that I'm a bit funny too. So when the two of us are together, it's a guarantee that we'll get the giggles at some point. (She lives in Ohio and I'm in Florida.)

3. I love Broadway musicals. This year I was able to see "Wi.cked" here in Jacksonville, "In the H.eights" in Columbus, and "H.air"on Broadway. LOVED it! Wish we had extra $$ to purchase season tickets to the traveling series here. (Though the reality is that we wouldn't be able to attend them all anyway---babysitters, time off work, etc.) I'm hoping to see the movie adaptation of "N.ine"while I'm on winter break next week. :)

4. Though I've lived in Florida for 10+ years, I only recently started wearing flip flops. I have brachymetatarsia in the 4th toe of my left foot. I've had it since approximately 6th grade, when my feet had a large growth spurt. It makes my 4th toe and pinky toe the same length. For years I was self conscious about showing my toes. I'd only wear sandals that show my first 3 toes, so my brachymetatarsia wasn't visible. Last summer I wore flip flops for the first time. I'm starting to show my "funny toe" (as I call it) little by little. Fortunately, mine is not painful nor difficult to purchase shoes for. In addition, my right foot is completely normal.

5. Snowmen are my Christmas decor of choice. Yes I have some Santas, yes I have some Nativity scenes. But for some reason, I LOVE snowmen decor. Which is actually quite ironic considering I detest the cold...and though really wanting to live closer to my family and Ohio friends I'm not willing to live in somewhere with frequent winter snow again!

6. I am one of the few teachers I know who has NO desire to become an administrator at some point. I would like to continue teaching until Emma (and hopefully Child #2 someday) are school aged and are able to care for themselves after school. Then...I'm not sure what. My bachelor's is in social work. I've considered getting my masters to become a school guidance counselor. I'm still not exactly sure what my future career goal is.

7. I enjoy reading, especially teen lit that I can recommend to my 8th grade reading students. I also seem to gravitate towards series. Some series that I've read in 2009: Har.ry Pot.ter 1-7, Gem.ma Doy.le 1-3, Cit.y of Gla.ss 1-3, Twil.ight Saga 1-4, Amo.ng the Hid.den 1-7, and Pet.er & the Star.catc.hers 1-3. I'm currently reading the last novel in the "Vampire Diaries" series.

Sharing the love with these beautiful bloggers...My Nominees:

1. Mrs. Gamgee at Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings.
This lovely woman is one of the first fellow bloggers I considered a friend. Though we live at opposite ends of the continent (she's freezing her tuckus off in Canada!) I look forward to her heartfelt posts and comments. A truly beautiful person inside and out!

2. Erika at Parenthood for Me. This beautiful woman is co-founder of a non-profit organization which helps support women/families going through infertility and/or adoption.

3. Danifred at Sippycups are Not for Starbucks.
I love her writing style. I love reading about how she juggles her career with being a mother to 2 girls who are growing into lovely women just like their mama.

4. Skylay at Double the Blessings.
This is the first (and only thus far) blog buddy I've been able to meet in real life. I loved her Thanksgiving post which was a great reminder to be thankful for the "little things."

5. Jen at In One Ear.
She is the mother to SIX and still finds time to make amazing craft projects. I enjoy reading about all of it!

6. Marie at My Expected End.
Marie pours her soul into her writing. Her amazing faith and strength continue to endure despite the loss of her 2 sweet babies. I admire her perseverance!

7. YOU. If you haven't been tagged for this yet, and you'd like to join the fun---consider yourself nominated! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Happy ICLW week! (Those interested in my SIF story, click HERE.)

Over the Top

The past week has flown by...

--Em was diagnosed with a virile infection. However, the doctor didn't prescribe antibiotics, she just recommended keeping Em out of school for an extra day. Thus Em and I stayed home both last Monday and last Tuesday. She was feeling better by mid-morning on Tuesday and was running around, jumping off the furniture....totally could've gone to school as she didn't have a fever anymore. Oh well. I was able to get some house cleaning done in between games of Old Maid and Candyland.

--My class sizes are finally leveled! In fact, my huge class of 29, is now my smallest at only 15! (The other half were given to our new Read180 teacher. Yay!) Now I'm working on reeling in the behavior and changing the habits my students developed by having too large a group. YES, I expect you to use the computer software EVERYday now that we have a reasonable student to computer ratio. Sheesh.

--Nothing else new at work or home...

--The sweet and wonderful Mrs. Gamgee over at Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings honored me with the "Over the Top" award this week. This fun meme helped put my brain in focus mode, as it was difficult to provide only one-word responses.

Here are the rules for the Over The Top Award:

USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit yourself and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers so try your best!

(And I agree with Mrs. Gamgee---parenthetical input does NOT count towards the word count! Smiles.)

Tag 6 other bloggers and let them know that you think they are 'Over the Top'!

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2.Your hair? blonde
3. Your mother? comforting
4. Your father? protective
5. Your favorite food? Mexican
6. Your dream last night? None

7. Your favorite drink? P.epsi
8. Your dream/goal? Ireland (I've always wanted to visit)
9. What room are you in? Classroom (it's my planning period)
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? heights
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Content (at least more so than I am now)
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Male
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? House (I'd like a larger one)
17. Where did you grow up? Ohio
18. Last thing you did? Taught
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pets? two
22. Friends? some
23. Your life? decent
24. Your mood? decent
25. Missing someone? family
26. Vehicle? H.onda
27. Something you’re not wearing? pants (ROFL. But I AM wearing a skirt!)
28. Your favorite store? K.ohl's
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When was the last time you laughed? 27 (Aren't you following along?) ;p
31. Last time you cried? Grey's (When I watched Grey's Anatomy last week, I was choked up by Izzy trying to save a cancer patient.)
32. Your best friend? Aaron (also known as DH, but that would be 2 words)
33. One place that I go to over and over? School (Also known as "work")
34. One person who emails me regularly? Dad
35. Favorite place to eat? Mexican (Remember #5??)

And now my tag-ees!
1. My Expected End

2. Double the Blessings

3. Overeducated Mommy

4. Sunny in Seattle

5. LaLaLand

6. Geek By Marriage

Sisterhood Award

My sister-in-law Meghan at Adventures of Tader Baby nominated me for a Sisterhood Award. While I'm honored (THANKS, Meghan!) by the award, I am struggling with who to give it to... There are SO many of you out in blog-land who I feel a "sisterhood" and connection with. Some of you I've already nominated for awards, I don't want you to feel burdened or "burnt out" with blog awards. So---if you're on the list below, know that it means that I LOVE YA, and I won't be offended if you don't participate. :) And if you're not on the list, I have 2 requests:

1. Please let me know if you're reading and I don't have you on my Blogroll, so I can add you to my reading list!
2. Please know that if I didn't "nominate" you, it doesn't mean I don't love you TOO! (I'd feel horribly guilty if I've caused anyone to feel like the last kid picked for their gym class team...)

The guidelines for this award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude. Be sure to link to your nominees in your post.

3. Let your nominees know they have received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

4. Be sure to link this post to the person who nominated you for the award.



My nominees are:

1. Looking4#3 at OneMoreLittleOne

2. Carrie at Letting It Out

3. Shelli at Bag Momma

4. Danifred at Sippy Cups are for Starbucks

5. Sunny at Secrets of an Infertile Mom

6. Erica at Parenthood For Me, Inc.

7. Dani at Life Induces Thoughts, Mostly Random

8. Eve at Infertility Rocks!

9. Marie at My Expected End

10. Heather at Geek by Marriage

Award

Yea! Just when I was feeling disgruntled at messing up my blog layout...(I tinkered with the html trying to make my 2-column layout into a 3-column layout. It didn't work. And now my header and fonts are messed up. Sighs!) Anywho...I was feeling bummed out and irritated with myself, when I started reading comments on my blog.

Lo and behold, I had a comment from my blog buddy Marie stating she had nominated me for a blog award. Hooray! Thanks, Marie! :)








Here are the rules for the Kreativ Blogger Award:

1. When given the award, you write about seven things that you love.

2. Pass the award to seven bloggers that you love, and be sure to tag them and let them know they've won. (You can copy the award and post it on your sideboard.)



So, here goes...

1. I love my family.
--My wonderful DH is my best friend and confidant, I love him to pieces! (As I type this he is in the kitchen cooking dinner. He cooks much better and way more frequently than I do. My DH rocks!)
--My sweet daughter is a joy! I love watching her learn and explore new things. Her smiles and hugs make my day! (As I type this she is watching "Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang" for the 3rd day in a row. My child LOVES musicals just like her mother. Yea!)
--My two sisters are amazing, strong women. I love spending time with them...and wish we lived closer so that I could see them more often.
--My parents are supportive and caring role-models. I hope to be as good a parent to my Emma (and hopefully #2 someday) as they've been to me.
--DH's parents who live nearby have made me feel like one of their own kids. I appreciate them, especially as ALL of my family is out of state.
--DH's siblings are fun too! We love spending time with D, M and their 2 boys. A and B are newlyweds, and we're all eager for them to have a child someday.
--Shout out to my Wisconsin cousins who sometimes read this blog. I hate that we are so far from one another. You all are fabulous people who I wish I could hang out with more.
--My dog Viggo. Nothing beats his excited greeting each time we enter the house. And his large brown eyes...I love his sweet demeanor.

2. I love reading. I am a book guru. I am excited that it will be summer-time soon so I can read, read, read. I love to read on the deck in the summertime! Though I don't read as much now as I did pre-Emma, I still spend many a night staying up late with a good book. I especially enjoy teen lit and books that I can recommend to my 8th grade reading students.

3. I love green. My iPod, my car, my cell phone, my Blog layout, etc. These are all green items. I find green soothing and peaceful. Also Ohio University is where I met DH and the school colors are green and white. Go, Bobcats! :)

4. I love Scooby-Doo. I have been a Scooby fan since I was a little girl. My 'screen name' for many things pertains to one of the characters on the show. I love Halloween time each year, because I choose an episode of Scooby to use in my classroom. My students view the show as we are learning literary elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. They love it and the nifty Scooby plots are easy to determine literary elements with before we move on to dissecting more difficult written pieces. My parents report that I learned how to tell time due to Scooby-Doo. Apparently, I'd ask and ask all day long if the show was on yet. My Mom made me a notecard with a clock showing what time Scooby started. By "matching" the card to our clock, I could determine whether or not it was time for the show yet. I have many Scooby trinkets and toys. Someday I hope to have a larger house and find some type of curio or shelving unit to display them all in my office area. (Right now the majority are in storage in our garage.)

5. I love teaching. I love helping struggling readers learn strategies to help them decipher text. I love watching students grasp concepts for the first time. I love the READ180 curriculum at our school. And yes, I love summers off...

6. I love exploring. I wish we had more $$$ to travel. (I WILL go to Ireland someday!) However local adventures are almost as fun. I love museums, zoos, seeing musicals, hiking/picnicking in state parks, hanging out at the library, going to the beach, finding new inexpensive places to visit, etc.

7. I love blogging. I've been blogging for 10 months now. I love using this as an outlet! Not only is my blog a written and photo journal of my life, it has led me to form online friendships. And the wonderful community I've met via Mel's blogroll has been a super source of comfort and advice. I almost cried when I thought I had messed up my entire blog layout. Not because I thought I had lost my "buttons" and "gizmos" and "gadgets," but because I thought I had lost the list of blogs that I follow and whom follow me. GULP! What would I do without these connections? Thank goodness, it all turned out in the end. :)

Now for my nominees...

1. Sunny is one of my newest online pals. We have bonded because sadly we're both in the secondary infertility boat. I love her honesty and candor.

2. Mrs. Gamgee She's an avid reader! And her positive attitude and optimism are superb! I wish we lived closer, I'd truly love to meet her for a girl's day out in real life. :)

3. Looking4#3 Recently learned she was PG after a long struggle with secondary infertility. I've enjoyed reading about her journey.

4. Miss La My real life younger sister. She's fairly new to blogging. She blogs primarily about her career as a high school Spanish teacher. LOVE the humor and wit she uses to describe her student's antics. A nice break from the IF/parenthood blogs I usually frequent.

5. Fishsticks and Fireflies was one of the first women I connected with after my January miscarriage. Her reassurance and caring attitude were MUCH appreciated. She is mom to 2 beautiful toddlers and a beautiful newborn girl...proof that hope and "trying" do work out sometimes! :)

6. Parenthood for Me has created an amazing blog and website in support of parents who are enduring IF treatments or are trying to adopt. I love reading her first-hand experience about adopting, especially her recent post about the "delivery" of her son via JFK Airport. Amazing!

7. Carrie at Letting It All Out is a fellow mom/teacher I enjoy reading about. She has 3 young children and her DH is in the military and will be leaving for overseas duty soon...her heartfelt emotions as she prepares to endure their separation has been touching to read.

There are so many others who have blogs that have touched me in some way. HUGS to all!

Lemonade Award

I received my first blog award!

Mrs. Gamgee over at Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings honored me with the Lemonade Award which is given to bloggers in recognition of "great attitude or gratitude." Thanks, Mrs. Gamgee, I have enjoyed getting to know you the past few weeks. Your attitude and candidness are what keep me coming back to your blog! :)

I especially appreciate this award, because I try to stay positive and optimistic, but feel so much less "happy" and "upbeat" than I once was. Sometimes I wonder how DH has put up with me all these years...I'm definitely not as easygoing as I used to be. Sadly, the "real world" has gotten in the way of my younger more free-spirited days.

This is a pay-it-forward type of award, where nominees are asked to nominate others.
Here's how it works:
1. Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate blogs that show great attitude or gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

My nominees:
1. Kristin at Dragondreamer's Lair (Whether it be about politics, infertility, or her family, Kristin expresses herself in a positive way. I appreciate the way she often links to articles or sources to support the things she writes about.)

2. OM at Overeducated Mommy (She inspires me. Though recovering from thyroid cancer and dealing with the death of her sweet Baby E, OM remains positive and optimistic throughout her blog posts.)

3. Becoming a Family of Four (We have a lot in common---degrees in social work, 4 year old daughters, longing to have at least one more child, born in the Midwest, etc. I love her writing because even when she is frustrated and/or doubting herself, Becoming still maintains a humorous and open writing style.)

4. Beautiful Mess at Life Induces Thoughts, Mostly Random (I'm new to her blog in the past month, thanks to ICLW. LOVE the way she comments on other blogs frequently. LOVE the way she has remained optimistic and wonderful despite hardships with her mother and difficult issues she is still coping with from her childhood.)

5. Marie at My Expected End (Woo-hoo for Florida teachers! Seriously though, I truly admire Marie's faith. Despite the death of her sweet baby girl, she remains a strong and steadfast Christian.)

Thanks again, Mrs. Gamgee! :)