Dr. Suess

I decided to go all out for Dr. Seuss week this year and it was a blast! It took a little bit of extra prep work, but I think the students really enjoyed having activities each day to remind them about this special week and reread some of their favorite Dr. Seuss books.

My school does a family literacy night on the Monday of Dr. Seuss week filled with activities for students and their families to do. It is always a hit! We also have dress-up days for the whole week which of course, the kids love!

Also, each teacher picks a Dr. Seuss book and has their class do some sort of art or writing to go along with the book to put in the hallway. It makes the school look so festive!

Here's some of the activities that we did throughout the week!

One fish, Two Fish Jello Science Experiment

Redesign The Cat in the Hat's Hat

If Thing One and Thing Two Came to School

Horton Hears a Who Art

Oh, the Place You'll Go Balloons

Moral of the Story

We also did Dr. Seuss Trivia, a timeline of his life, and finished our week with a read-a-thon complete with our PJ's and popsicles. It was a great week!

veteran's day

I love the opportunity to make every single holiday something special in my classroom! Sometimes I feel like in the "real world" we just let some days slip by without recognizing them or celebrating them in any way.

Even though Veteran's Day was on a Sunday this year, we are making sure this week to spend some time learning about it and celebrating all those who have served our country.

A couple weeks ago (Halloween to be exact) we made posters for the veteran's that live in a local home. Our entire school made over 100 posters so that each veteran could have one on their door.

Every morning on the announcements this week our principal reads a short summary of each branch of the military and plays their song/anthem. It's special for the kids to learn a little bit about them and to realize that each branch is different and does different things.

Yesterday we read a short play that told us the history of Veterans' Day and why we celebrate it. We then made flags shaped as hearts and had a coloring page as a fast finisher.

THANK YOU to all those who have served our country and helped to protect our freedoms!!

Halloween in Elementary School

Last week was Halloween of course and I just wanted to share what it looked like in my classroom!

We started out the month with these super spooky haunted houses. They started as a directed drawing where I gave them each step and they copied what I did on their own papers. Then the next day they got to paint them!

Red Ribbon week usually coincides with Halloween so we all make posters to hang in the hallway. Ours always says, "Quite "frankly", drugs are not cool!" All the kids get to make Frankensteins to put on the poster and the rest get put on the wall!

We also do a monster writing where they first get to draw a monster. Then, they write adjectives and other descriptors of their monster. Finally, they put it together in sentences to very vividly describe their monster so anyone could guess which one is theirs without knowing beforehand!

Now for the party!!

I love to do a "centers" party where the kids are in groups and a parent is in charge of each center. I usually do a treat, game, craft, and story. You could do more or less depending on how many students you have and how much time you have. This year we had two games, and I just gave them a treat on their way to the story.

I love having the kids rotate through the centers that are all run by parents because then I just get to roam and take it all in, responsibility free! I was able to talk to kids, take pictures, and just make sure things were going smoothly.

This is the most simple craft ever that the kids love! You just have a ghost template that they cut out. Then, they glue on cotton balls and add a face with black construction paper. Super easy and super cute! You can add a string to the back and have them hanging if you want!

 One of the games was pin the spider! The kids really got a kick out of this, especially when their friends went in completely the wrong direction!

I always love adding to my collection of holiday books. Some of the ones I pulled out this year were
Big Pumpkin
There Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Shake Dem Halloween Bones
The Halloweiner

The other game was TENZI! She had 77 ways to play tenzi and I had never seen it before! How simple, but how fun for the kids to race on a dice game!

Most importantly, make sure you do a themed dress-up with your grade level! The kids think it's so cool that all their teachers are dressed the same!

WGU grad

Today I want to share about my masters program that I completed this summer. Yes, THIS SUMMER. It only took me 4 months to do a program that is 30 credits and supposed to take 2 years. 

Here's how.

I did it through Western Governor's University which is an online accredited university. They have both undergrad and graduate programs in business, teaching, healthcare, and information technology.

The amazing thing about WGU is that their programs are extremely affordable, we're talking $3,100 for a six month term. They also have scholarships and financial aid available.

I took a few online classes in high school in order to be able to graduate since I wanted to continue to take french and orchestra and didn't have room in my schedule for everything. I absolutely loved those online classes because of the freedom that I had to do things on my own pace and work through the material in a way that made sense to me.

It was the same thing with WGU! I loved being able to do school at my own pace and set up a schedule that worked for me. It was perfect for this summer because I wasn't working so I had plenty of time on my hands to do school. In fact, I kind of treated it as my job! There was no time wasted walking to and from campus, no pointless lectures, or busy work.

I truly felt like each assignment was a good measure of whether you learned the material or not and prepared you for the capstone project at the end. And because you get to work at your own pace, once you have shown that you have mastered the competencies for each course, you get to move on to the next one! That means I was spending about one week on an ENTIRE COURSE that normally would have taken me 4 months in a traditional school setting. I got to learn the material every day instead of just the two or three times that you would normally go to class.

Another aspect of WGU that is extremely helpful are the mentors and course instructors. You have a weekly call with your mentor where you set goals, ask questions, and discuss what you did that week. This helps keep you accountable and make sure you aren't slacking off! There were a couple weeks where I was actually nervous to talk to my mentor because I hadn't done as much as I should have that week! The course instructors are there if you ever need help in a course and can give you specific feedback on assignments, lead you to resources to find more information, and answer any other questions you might have.

The only thing I didn't love about it was that each assignment is submitted online (obviously) and has to go through a queue in order to get graded. That was fine, except for when you were on a time crunch and didn't have time to wait for them to get to yours!

This mostly became a problem at the end when I was trying to finish by a specific date and had some assignments bounce back or take over 48 hours to be graded.

Other than that, I don't have anything negative to say about WGU and their program.

I loved how the capstone project was directly related to everything I had learned in the program and something that I got to apply directly in my classroom. I did a research project on routines and procedures and how they affect student behavior and it was the perfect thing to be researching at the beginning of the school year. It really helped get my classroom into order and positively affected my classroom management!

I would highly recommend WGU to anyone that is looking for a degree that needs to work with your schedule or who doesn't love the traditional school setting.

hoops at school

We had a March Madness competition at school and it was a total blast! 

Each teacher got to pick one students that had been an awesome reader that month to participate. 

They got 5 shots and could either do them all themselves or invite 4 other friends to shoot with them. 

The shots started with a layup and then went back to the "3 point" line.

They had one minute to make all the shots and could win up to $8!!

Ridge had originally asked me to do the layup, but then when he saw how far back the last shot was he asked me to do that one. Pressure was on!! I didn't want to mess it up for him. But the other 4 kids made their shots and then I swished mine on the first try! It was awesome! 

Yay for reading and yay for basketball!

last day of school

It's still kind of surreal, but I finished my very last undergrad class at BYU. It has been an INSANE spring/summer. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears. Literally. But it's been good. I like being busy. Even though the stress was a bit much, I DID IT.

My semester was a little bit unique because it was a continuous spring/summer, not individual terms. I was taking 18 credits during spring because I had to finish my last TELL class and then it dropped to 16 for the rest of the summer. On top of class, during the month of May we had to finish our second practicum where I was teaching 3rd grade at the school I teach at now. And then the rest of the summer we had to set up our own classrooms. It was crazy.

I've been reflecting a lot on my experience at BYU over the past 4 years. It has been amazing. I have been involved with a lot of different things, met some amazing people, enjoyed almost all of my classes, and have grown in so many ways. BYU is an incredible place to be. It is unlike any other place on earth. We have the unique opportunity to gain a secular and spiritual education. I will cherish all those lessons where we got to connect the gospel to teaching, or science, or human development, or stats. There really are connections everywhere you look. I have spent countless hours on that campus taking in the beauty of it all. It truly was everything I could ask for. I'll probably do a post on BYU itself later on, but today called for a celebration. It feels great to be done. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me the next nine months, but I am so excited to be in my very own classroom!!

ENTER TO LEARN, GO FORTH TO SERVE

BYU MOTTO

hello may

Everything just seems to be going a little bit too fast. I've been a little MIA on the socials and I started to think about how the things I've been doing in my life just haven't seemed very "post-worthy". I mean, unless you're into the whole messy room, crazy planner, barely surviving the madness/currently laying in bed with strep kinda pics, then I think it's ok to take a pass for a while.

I then started to thinking about all the things I'm grateful for. Just because my life isn't very glamorous at the moment doesn't mean that I'm not doing good things. Just because my profiles aren't full of flawless selfies or trips to Disneyland, or vacations to the beach, doesn't mean that I'm not doing meaningful things. Here's my gratitude for the week:

-the opportunity to be in a classroom 4 days a week and learn from an amazing mentor teacher and cute 3rd graders
-being busy! sometimes it seems like a curse, but I would rather have my schedule full rather than finding things to do
-springtime! I love all the flowers that are popping up and how much more green the valley is getting. It makes my drive to school much more enjoyable
-good books. I've been able to read a lot for leisure lately and I just absolutely love it!

Most importantly, I'm grateful for the gospel. Elder Maynes devotional tonight was amazing. It totally hit on all the things that are important to me. From stories in the Old Testament which reminded me of the knowledge and experiences I gained in Jerusalem, to the history of the United States both politically and religiously which reminded me of my love for school, to the account of Joseph Smith's First Vision and the lessons we learn from that experience which reminded me of my mission and the time I spent testifying of this great event in the history of the world. I'm grateful for the restoration of the gospel. For a Heavenly Father who loves us and who speaks with us today. I'm also grateful for the priesthood and the power it has to give us salvation, help us to repent and change, and heal us from all infirmities.

Amidst the chaos of 10-11 hour days, and then the homework and lesson planning that comes on top of that, I hope I can find the time to write. I may not have beautiful pictures to accompany my thoughts but I do have a beautiful life and even though it's not perfect, there is still much to be shared and much that I hope others can benefit from.

look forward to hearing from me in the near future...

tender mercy

You know those weeks where you feel like Heavenly Father just isn't aware of you and then as soon as you even think that thought, he just goes and shows you that He's still there?

I like to call them tender mercies. They've kind of become something I look for in life. He really is involved in the details of our lives.

Today is Wednesday. Wednesday are long. It starts off with a three hour class that starts at 8 am. Not like I'm ever ready to wake up and be ready that early, but today I was especially not ready. But with my messy bun and yoga pants, I headed off to class at 7:50. I couldn't have imagined a better way to start off my day. I decided to leave my phone at home today, and for those three hours, I was completely engaged. Not just sitting there passively listening, but really involved and absorbing each and every word with pen in hand.

We had some guest speakers. They talked to us about the power of morning meetings. An approach to start off the morning by creating a classroom of unity, getting students involved, making them feel safe, and incorporating some curriculum. It's based off of a responsive classroom. The benefits are u n b e l i e v a b l e.

But the logistics aren't that important.

Because as I sat there, my life changed. I had a reconfirmation that teaching is what I truly want to do. That, in and of itself is a huge blessing! It has allowed me to be driven and to know exactly what I want and to plan my education accordingly.

Using the skills that I am not only learning in school, but also from my job, to build communities and strengthen relationships makes me so excited! I can't wait to have a classroom where we can all trust each other. Where we can talk openly, where we have fun, are excited about learning, and where we use our conversations to facilitate our learning. It's going to be the best!

One of the speakers was just one of those people that everyone loves. She is just so real and she is hilarious and a good storyteller and is just so down to earth but you know that she knows she's awesome haha! Mostly she is just so passionate about what she does, because she knows it works and she sees the benefits of it and that is exactly what motivates people.

I can't wait to have experiences to share like she does and to be successful and to really make a difference in the lives of these students. She talked about how on the last day of school, when the bell rings and everyone else is running out into the halls and screaming and so excited for summer, her class just sits there. They are so sad to leave because of the community they've built and the lessons they've learned. Of course, it's important to continue to progress and move on to do good in other places, but I think that silence says a lot about the impact that the year had on each student.

When you have structure and then make the program your own, that's when the magic happens. There is a certain spirit that can enter a classroom and it is noticeable to anyone that walks through those doors. That is something to strive for.

Today, I laughed, I cried, I reflected, I got excited. I walked away feeling renewed and energized.

I'm looking forward to having my own classroom in just a year and a half. I can't wait to live my passion. I'm excited to keep learning about how to be the best that I can be and practice developing the skills that I'll need to be successful.

It might seem like something small. But in addition to having our homework due date pushed back, not having to worry about not knowing the material for that day (as exciting as theorists in classroom management can be), and just getting to sit back and listen today, it was quite a miracle. Right when I felt like giving up and losing what little motivation I had, Heavenly Father gave me exactly what I needed. A reminder that this is possible. A reminder that He cares. A reminder that He has not forgotten me, but that through the struggles comes growth and maybe even a little humility to recognize the tender mercies that He does bless me with so often.

Someone That Inspires You

 Day 7:

I've had so many wonderful teachers in my life that helped me enjoy school and learning. They did so many fun things in their classroom and you could tell that they really loved their job. Because of them, I have always wanted to be a teacher and I'm on my way to doing just that. I really want to make a difference in the lives of the kids I teach, just like my teachers made a difference in mine.