Wordless Wednesday

Pinterest

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's my new obsession. I've found a whole lot of teaching ideas, hair styles, weight loss motivation on there. For example:

^This^ is something I found on there on someone's design/crafty board and thought, "What a GREAT idea! Such a fun, new way to paint!" It's a block of wood wrapped in yarn. So cool!

This is one of the first things I found on there. I mean, who thinks of these things? This seems so obvious, but I NEVER would have thought of it!! This could be used with word families, math facts, etc. Genius!

Here is a screenshot of my teaching board from there:

I also have a board for style, weight loss motivation, ideas for the home, nursery ideas (NO -- not preggers... just compiling ideas), recipes to make... It's amazing and I have spent WAY too much time on there in the last few weeks.

Seriously, you should try it. =)

Why I Love Teaching

Kids really DO say the darnedest things. Cases in point:

I was making a sign reminding parents that we close early on Good Friday (this was Wed. beforehand).

G: What are you doing?

Me: making a sign reminding your parents to pick you up early on Friday.

G: Why?

Me: 'Cause we're closing early.

G: Oh, yeah. 'Cause God died for us on Friday.

Me: (Totally blown away by this statement) That's right! What's special about Sunday?

G: That's when the Easter Bunny comes.

Welp, she's almost there.

On Good Friday, I asked my kids who got a new dress for Easter. This got them talking about church. N said she goes on Saturdays and I was curious so I asked her if she was Jewish. She had no idea so I asked her to describe her church.

N: Well, there's a guy who talks. And we stand and then sit and then get on our knees a lot.

Me: Is there a cross on the wall?

N: Yes.

Me: With a guy on it?"

I: That's Jesus Christ. Christ is His last name.

T lives with his grandparents because both his parents are deceased. He is not embarrassed or sad about this. He will tell you point blank that his parents are dead.

A: Whoa, Momma!

T: Whoa, Grandma!

Me: Are your listening ears on, everybody?

M: My ears are on, and ready to rock and roll.

I: Miss Jessica?

Me: Yes, I?

I: I love you.

Me: Aw, I love you, too, baby.

G: Almost all of us love you.

Seriously, pre kindergarteners are AWESOME. I loved my 2's, don't get me wrong, and they said some funny stuff, but my 5's amaze me, not just in the funny things they say, but the quesitons they ask. This group in particular is just full of SPONGES. Seriously, we're way past where they SHOULD be for Kindergarten. They could probably skip to the 2nd semester of Kindergarten or even 1st grade and most of them would be fine. We just keep throwing stuff at them and they keep wanting more. I love it.

Next year's group will probably prove to be quite the challenge. Their group dynamic is totally different (they're boy heavy as opposed to our 5/11 boy/girl ratio now) and they have a hard time sitting still. They're a busy group of kids and I actually welcome the challenge. My student teaching class was a fairly easy class, too, so having my "rotten" class from the get go sounds nice. Get it out of the way for seven years, LOL. (Seriously, though, they aren't rotten. Please don't misconstrue what I mean. I welcome the challenge.) I know that some things we do now will have to change and our whole approach to learning may have to change, but I'm excited for it.

But, for now, I relish in my sponge class. This week we're learning about ocean animals and I looked up some YouTube videos on my phone with while sounds and played them. They kept asking me questions. Thank God for my Android phone; I just searched for the answers. Yesterday we were talking about Kentucky (we're on a states unit in Social Studies) and one of the kids asked why Frankfort was named Frankfort. Seriously, these kids keep me on my toes and they are teaching ME things because I'm constantly having to look stuff up to answer their questions.

I love teaching, and I love that I love teaching. I love that I have known what I wanted to do since I was a little girl -- and that it pretty much stayed that way as I grew older. I love my job.

(Oh, and here's the story behind the name of Frankfort: "The town of Frankfort likely received its name from an event that took place in 1780s when Native Americans attacked a group of pioneers from Bryan’s Station who were making salt at a ford in the Kentucky River. One of the pioneers, Stephen Frank, was killed and the crossing became known as "Frank’s Ford." This name was later shortened to Frankfort.")

I think...

I think I may have figured out why I don't have a teaching job. I can't go into details, but God planted something in my heart last night. At least, I think it was Him. At any rate, prayers would be appreciated, that I might be able to figure out if it's God or me, and whether this idea is right for me and J.

I took the PRAXIS Again...

Why? 2 reasons: 1. I'm insane! and 2. If I pass, it tacks on a second certification, which makes me more marketable.

I took it in Early Childhood education. I didn't take a single class in ECE, but it seemed the easiest out of the two I was considering (ECE or Middle School Math). It was a lot of learning theory questions and stuff that is similar to the elementary education test. I walked out, though, feeling like I really, truly, could have, SHOULD have done better. But then I started rehashing it with my husband and I realized that I really don't think I did that bad. Like, I think I did well enough to pass. I hope hope hope hope I did!

If I pass, I'll be certified to teach early childhood ed., which includes Head Start and Parents as Teachers (either of which I would LOVE to teach for!), which will hopefully make me more marketable. Pray hard that I did!!!

It's been waaaaay too long

OK, against my better judgement (I really should be getting to bed), I need to post because I've been SUCH a bad blogger.

1. The job in Pattonville I interviewed for ended up being put on hold. I was bummed, but I just keep telling myself that that's just not where I was meant to be. I asked to be put on the sub list and I will go to training next Friday. They also have a permanent sub position open, which I've applied for. It's not a long term sub job -- it's actually having my own classroom -- albeit temporarily -- for the whole year. I wouldn't be guaranteed a position the following year because my contract would only be through the end of the year, but it would get me in the door and if I did well enough, it could secure me a position the following year. Of course, these are all hypotheticals and hopefullys...

2. I've also decided to take the Praxis again in ECE to add on another certification on top of my Elementary 1-6 IPC. This will make me more marketable and hopefully help me find a job until I can start working on my Master's degree in Reading (or Gifted... I haven't decided).

3. Fall TV is awesome. I'm loving new shows like Glee and FlashForward and old ones like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and SVU. I've given up on One Tree Hill. It's been going downhill for a while, but with Peyton and Lucas, it STINKS. Anyway,I'm LOVING Glee. I was a little disappointed with the first episode of the fall, but it's gotten a lot better. I mean, seriously... Who wouldn't love a show that makes the Backstreet Boys cool again??



Yes, I'm a Gleek and I'm proud of it!!


I promise to be more diligent in posting from now on. Just in case you wonder about what's going on in my life. =)

I'm a Teacher!

No job yet, but I want to report that I am officially certified to teach grades 1-6 in missouri! Woo hoo! Hopefully the job train starts chuggin' a little faster now...

And Now I'm 23...

My birthday was yesterday, in case nobody knew that. It was a pretty good day, despite it being on Super Bowl Sunday. (By the way, this is the second time my birthday has been the day of the Big Game... the NFL needs to get off my date!) Church in the morning, then Jerometook me to Olive Garden for lunch. We spent some time at home and then I went to my dad's girlfriend's house to watch the Super Bowl. I was planning on only watching the commercials (many of which were AMAZING), but the game obviously got my attention. I was also enjoying asking my dad what all the penalties meant 'cause he would pretend to get real mad. hee hee. He was rooting for the Cardnials and while he was disappointed in the results, he was not disappointed that the game was such a good game.

As for the commercials, here are four of my favorites:


For Monster.Com


For Bridgestone.Com


Also for Bridgestone.Com


For Doritos.

Which ones did you like? Let me know in my comments!

I have a job fair this week. I'll be interviewing with 7 local districts. I'm really excited. I've also contacted a bunch of local private/Christian schools to see how their application process works (if they just want my resume, etc. Many of them have said that they aren't sure they're hiring next year but that they would keep my resume on file in case anything opens up. I want a teaching job so badly, even though I'm nervous as heck to get my own class. (Not because I think I'll do badly, just because I've never had my OWN classroom, you know?)

I might be going to Ecuador with our high school youth this summer and I am soooooooo excited! It all depends on how generous people are at our wedding because that will depend on how much debt we pay off, which will influence how much money we can save each week. J is sweet, though. I was telling our youth coordinator that if both of us can't go, neither of us will go 'cause I would feel bad. J basically said that I'm going, even if he has to pack my bags for me, shove me out the door, and change the locks so I don't come back in. Ain't he sweet?