From a very early age my mom realized that I have a very high sensitivity to metal (mostly the cheap kind). When I was a baby I would get red circles on my stomach from the snaps on my jammies. Since then I have had to be very careful of what I wear, because too much metal contact and I get red rashes wherever the metal rested for too long. Most of my friends are aware of this and because of it I am a bit harder to shop for. Cute necklaces, bracelets and earings just don't work for me. One of my dear friends Megan (commonly known to us as Red) is very talented at making jewelry. Two summers ago Megan made me a beautiful necklace that I can actually wear, and have been wearing ever since. It is a beautiful stone necklace on string. I wear it with everything (sadly even if the colors don't match all that well).
The one Megan made for me is on top, the other two are the ones I made.
Today while I was out with my mom and grandma we stopped into Jo-Ann Fabrics. I was looking for string to make another necklace similar to the one Megan made me. While looking I found these beautiful glass beads, flat with an off center hole, perfect for hanging for a necklace. I picked out two that I thought would go well with my "teacher clothes". Grandma bought them for me, she is so sweet, and left the string (which I didn't find) for me to pick up. At home I found some string that I think works well, and made some necklaces (again while working on dinner). I think they are beautiful and I hope they work for my outfits!
Pattern Blocks
Pattern Blocks are amazing! This summer I have had to use math manipulatives every week. For the most part I haven't had them around the house, so I have had to make them from scratch. So far I have made color tiles (1-by-1 inch color squares), a geoboard made from cork board and push pins, and pattern blocks. However, today I stopped by an amazing little store in Wasilla, "Learning Essentials". They had pattern blocks plus much more. I had fun walking around with my mom and grandma, we saw so many things that I can't wait to get for my classroom!
A great link to a pattern for pattern blocks (that sounds weird) is:
http://www.mathcats.com/mathtoolbox/patternblocks1.gif
Color Tiles
Geoboard
Tonight though, while I was waiting for the casserole to bake, I sat at the island, listening to a book on tape, and playing with pattern blocks. It was a ton of fun and I loved making the different shapes and designs. It will be so much fun to see what my students create with them. I have a feeling I will be purchasing a lot more pattern blocks in the future, plus so much more!
My mom is amazing, and usually comes up with awesome ideas. This one is one of my favorites! We have been discussing for a long time my internship and what all will be expected of me. I again will be looking at being extremely busy, all the time this coming school year. The brilliant idea that my mom came up with is that every month, I need to plan to do something fun, and out of the ordinary. So far I have two outings planned.
The first is set for August. My boyfriend and I are going to spend a day at the fair enjoying a ridiculous amount of fair food and then to wrap up the day, enjoy laughing our heads off to the comedic stylings of Bill Engvall. I am so excited, I love Bill, he has a great sense of humor and never fails to make me laugh. It will be awesome to see him in person!
The second is an outing with my mom planned for September. As many know, the Broadway musical The Lion King is coming to Anchorage. My mom and I jumped on this and now have tickets for an evening show on a Saturday in September (I can't remember which one). This is going to be amazing, and a once in a lifetime experience for both of us. My brother is a little jealous that he isn't going to be able to come with us, but we have promised to get him a video if they are available, as he has promised the same with the production Wicked.
So far those are the only events planned, but I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for other once in a lifetime opportunities to go to. If anyone hears about an awesome event please let me know. I am so excited! Thanks Mom for a wonderful idea!
YEAH! I have two weeks left of madness. I am so excited that I am close to being done with these two summer classes. Now don't get me wrong, I have loved the classes themselves, I am learning so much. I am just not all that fond of craziness that has come with these two classes. I feel like I don't have that much of a life right now, which is no fun. So many of my friends are getting ready to leave, either back to school or on to an awesome new adventure. I wish I had time to go on crazy adventures with them this summer, but sadly I have little to no spare time. Thank goodness I am almost done, and will start a new adventure myself, student teaching!
This past semester I took a class focused on language and literacy in elementary school. We discussed when and how children develop their language and literacy skills. One of the books we were assigned to read was "Reading Magic" by Mem Fox. This book shared the importance of reading to your children long before they reach school age. I never knew just how much children pick up about reading until I read this book. While reading I had memories of my own childhood pop into my head, as well as stories my mom tells about how silly I was as a little girl. She likes to tell the story that when I was little I loved the book "The Three Little Pigs". Mom read me that book so much that I knew it by heart. One day I picked up the book and started to "read" by myself. Mom thought I was actually reading it until she noticed that I had the book upside down! Silly me, but I thought it was funny. I encourage all of you moms out there to read this book, it is a short and easy read but full of great insight. I hope you all enjoy it!
Oh goodness. Summer school goes on and I feel drained. I have been taking 2 classes for the past 3 weeks. The first two weeks went by fairly well, the first week I only had Math Methods, and the second only Inclusive Classrooms. However this past week I was pulling double duty. On Monday and Wednesday I was in class for 5 hours straight. I don't think my bum has ever been so sore. That is what I get for sitting on a wooden chair I guess. All I can say is that I am glad I only have 3 more weeks of absolute madness before I get any real form of a break (and that will only be a week maybe 2 before it starts back up again). Thankfully I have the weekend to work on things before more assignments get added to my plate.
In addition to crazy summer school, I am getting ready (mostly mentally) for my upcoming internship. This past weekend I received a packet in the mail about my internship and what can be expected (for the most part). Included in the packet was an encouraging letter stating that the mess of emotions I am feeling toward the upcoming school year is normal and expected. I have to say that that made me laugh. Also included was a list of professional expectations and guidelines that I am to follow throughout the school year, I don't think that that will be a problem. I think that the key is treat everyone you interact with with respect and you can't go wrong. There was also a tentative schedule provided of the school year, as I will be following the Mat-su school district schedule this year. I received a list of important dates and what scared me the most, a "Suggested Timeline for BAEL Internship 2009-2010". This listed month by month things that I could count on doing and when I would be doing them. However one thing that shocked my very core was found in the November list, the "Mini Teaching Residency". This is a week in which I will be given most of the control of the class for a week. One day in that week I will have the class all to myself, as my mentor teacher will be off to UAA for the day. I have to say I am a little nervous, I didn't know that I would have a mini residency, I just thought that it would be second semester when I would be entrusted with the bright and eager minds of students. People more experienced than myself have told me that by that time I will be so used to the routine and students that it will be no big deal. I just hope that they are right.
Well that is enough rambling for one post. I am super excited and nervous about what is coming up in my life. I know it will be a fun and rewarding experience, but a crazy one at that.
I became a Mac user the summer after my senior year of high school. Mom and Dad were looking into getting me a laptop for college and I had heard about Macs. I was curious and we decided to check it out. Turns out it was one of the best moves we have made, our entire family loves working with Mac computers! I have loved working with my MacBook "Lou-Lou", she has been a great companion for me through these college years, and is going to stick by my side for many years to come. I will be able to take Lou-Lou with me on trips and to school, but I have decided to update my work station a bit. I have a beautiful new 20 inch iMac (who is currently nameless) that will be my primary workstation for years to come. This week I have been downloading programs I will need for school and adjusting the settings. It has been a lot of fun figuring out the upgrades my new computer has from my laptop. I hope my new computer will be as faithful as Lou-Lou has been.
The one Megan made for me is on top, the other two are the ones I made.
