Don't forget about the middle school teachers!

Lately, I find myself in conversation about the lack of middle school teacher resources online.  Of course there are some great blogs with cutesy elementary fun activities and ways to decorate the classroom, etc.  Why is there not a central online resource with lessons, activities for middle school students? (Free of course!)  I am hoping to see more of this, or perhaps I'll start one myself?

Middle school teachers are often forgotten.  Elementary is fun and the kids are usually sweet.  High schools are mini adults and can think and reason.  Middle schoolers are their own breed.  They are not yet young adults but are no longer children.  Their cognitive skill is still being developed, but they must be constantly challenged.  If middle school students are not entertained, they will create their own entertainment.  As an urban teacher, we attempt to educate students with challenges that extend far beyond the walls of a classroom.  My goal is to defy these odds and make learning fun and relevant.  To give the one key out of poverty...

At the end of a school year, relevant and fun learning is a hard goal to reach!  This year, I have given in to the film study bandwagon in my building.  For years, I was told not to just show movies at the end of the year, which I still agree with.  I now see the benefit of analyzing film from a reader/writer's point of view.  I first sent home a parent letter for an option out of the PG13 movies, (cross all your Ts!) for The Pursuit of Happyness and Freedom Writers.  I started google searching for existing study guides to find... practically nothing.  There are some guides out there but they are meant for high school and up.  So I created my own.  I'll post them below.  Each movie is approx. 120 minutes, perfect to stretch across 3 days for about 40 minutes.  I would give students guidance before the movie and time to complete portions of the study guide after the film each day.

So, here is my effort to put out there what we all want and need as teachers- more resources premade to pass along.  I'm hoping to upload more this summer and keep this going as my time allows!
(A general overview below, see linked attachments for student resources.)

The Pursuit of Happyness- click for study guide 
Guiding Question: What is the American Dream?  How does this relate to ancient civilizations' social classes?
Show first 5 minutes of 20/20 interview with Chris Gardner *Stop at 4:21
Previewing Activity questions on study guide
3 segments of movie time
Review/Closure: Connection/Reflection questions

Freedom Writers- click for study guide
Guiding Question: Would racism exist if everyone were blind?
Show movie trailer
Previewing Activity questions on study guide
3 segments of movie time
Review/ Closure: Connection/Reflection questions
Participate in the Line Game as seen in the movie
More questions/writing prompts (mostly higher level)

Balance?

I'm stuck at home sick this week with ginger ale, tea, tamiflu, and TV.  Sometimes it takes the flu to make me stop and take a break and consider the idea of balance.  I am involved in conversations everywhere I go about balance. This year, more than ever before, I am constantly forced to choose how to invest my energy and time.  My busiest days of the week include a full day teaching middle schoolers, sometimes 1-2 hours spent in meetings, 3 hours in grad class, leaving 5 total hours to spend with my husband, eat dinner, let the dog out,... the list goes on.  Every teacher I know asks, "How do I balance my obligations at school and my personal life?"

I tried to achieve such balance using several tactics.  First, I tried to schedule my week down to the minute of every obligation, want, and desire for my day.  I believe the schedule itself became more stressful than the potential outcome.  Next, I tried having someone else hold me accountable, encouraging me to leave at a certain time, asking if I spent quality time with my husband, etc.  That works for awhile, but then when I fall short, I felt like a failure.  Like I not only let down myself, but also this other person.  Both of these attempts fed into my perfectionism.  The thought that everything must be just so for my life to work out.  Most recently, I believe I found the way that works best for me.  I make a goal time to go to work, to leave work, to eat dinner, and then I have a goal of nothing time.  Time to not plan the second, to just enjoy life on my own or with Sam.  With a goal instead of a strict schedule, if it doesn't happen, the world doesn't end.  This is my way to bump up against my perfectionism.  To let go of the strenuous schedule and enjoy day by day.  And if my schedule doesn't work out, I just try better the next day.  

Lately, my goals look something like this:

-spend 10 hours max a day at my work place

-Get at least 7 hours of sleep, even if the work is not done

-approach of grad school work one week at a time and finish it well

-allow about 2-3 hours of school work at home (life of a teacher)

-make dinner 3 nights a week

-spend at least 1 hour of uninterrupted, quality time with my husband every day

-have one date night a week, solely devoted to Sam

-have at least 1 afternoon or night spent with friends (usually this overlaps with teachery/grad school, hello there social capital!)

-spend an hour a day reflecting, in prayer, and thanking my God for this precious life

-Go to the gym or sweat 3 times a week

Again, these are goals! I don't think I have ever reached all of my goals within one week.  That's what makes it work.  Do I have this balance thing perfected? Of course not.  What I have learned is that I allow myself grace when it comes to my schedule and doing this phase of life just right.  I do the best I can, come home to my husband, and enjoy life. It's as if finding balance is a constant choice, constant forgiveness, and continuous change.  

So I ask you, how do you find your balance?

*photo credits: various blogs, Pinterest

Dinner: healthy, quick, a hit!

The first semester of living in Nashville, teaching middle school, and tackling grad school lead to neglected dinners at the Nelson home!  My poor husband suffered many nights of cereal, box mac & cheese, and frozen pizzas for the past 6 months.  


Among my many new 2012 beginnings, I added eating fresh dinners with my husband as frequently as possible. 


I found this great blog from Pinterest (I told you it has all things great!) 
http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/04/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker.html 

photo credit: mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com

The premise is bake ahead for the month.  Except you're not actually baking, you just combine and freeze!  The freezer bags are portioned and ready for the crock pot.  The slow cooker liner bags make clean up simple and quick.  The best part is everything is fresh.  It does take time on the front end, but it is so worth it!


My favorite meal so far is the BBQ chicken from the mama and baby love blog.  

Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken

3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 large green pepper, cut into strips

1 large red pepper, cut into strips

1 zucchini, chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca

2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon yellow mustard (I wasn't sure if this meant actual mustard or the spice so I did a little of both)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Tonight, I made a modified Teriyaki chicken: (By made I mean cut up, threw in a bag, and put in the freezer)


1 red onion
1 squash
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
minced garlic
5 chicken tenderloins
Dump in a freezer bag, label/date, pour Teriyaki sauce generously on top of everything at the end
Ta da! 


I plan on preparing meals ahead of time and using my crockpot often this year!  Let me know if you find any other successful freezer/crockpot meals to add to my recipe list. :) 

Fig Lang !

For our 6th grade figurative language scholars! 

Lyrics

Chorus
Sometimes what you mean is not exactly what you say
That’s figurative language, using words in different ways
Personification, alliteration, assonance, hyperbole
Onomatopoeia, metaphor, and simile

Verse I
When Sally seems to sit somewhere separate from Sonia,
Or Caleb calls Chris ‘cause he’s coming to California
It’s called alliteration: that’s what occurs
When you got the same sound at the start of every word
But when you’ve got a vowel sound that keeps sounding the same
That’s a figure called assonance, yeah, that’s its name
It’s what I’m trying to define by providing this example
But I cannot deny that assonance can be a handful

Chorus

Verse II
A simile is something that you use to compare
Two unrelated things with an element that’s shared
My mind is like an ocean; it’s as smooth as jazz
But it’s only a simile if it uses “like” or “as”
A metaphor is similar, but watch out!
Be careful ’cause you’ve got to leave “like” and “as” out
My mind is an ocean; my words are a river,
So keep your ears open as I continue to deliver

Chorus

Verse III
Now if the sun’s smiling down, or the boat hugged the shore
That’s personification, nothing less, nothing more
But with a buzz or a ding or a hiss or a roar
That’s onomatopoeia that we’re using for sure
Hyperbole: man, that’s like a million times harder!
Take something true, then exaggerate it way farther
Now you’ve heard this song from beginning to the finish
Now you’ve got some tools to draw your literary image

Lessons Learned '11

11 lessons learned in '11: 

1. Procrastination fuels productivity. 
2. Moving is expensive! 
3. The best of friends don't have to live on the same street, same city, or same state. 
4. Marriage does get better with time. 
5. Choose to forgive, choose to love. 
6. Always deescalate.
7. Take care of myself first in order to take care of others. 
8. "I can do anything, but I can't do everything."
9. My $35 Y membership may be the most important bill I pay. 
10. Being called into urban education is a blessing and a burden. 
11. The path less traveled is always the most rewarding. 


Hopes for '12 Looking ahead to the upcoming year, I hope to...
Work less 
Work out often 
Eat fresh 
take risks 
Pray frequently
Thank 
Love like Jesus 
Serve my husband 
Encourage 
Savor 
Travel 
Enjoy every moment in this phase of our life. 


Let's go 2012! It's going to be a great year!!!

For I know the plans I have for you. says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. jeremiah.twenty nine.eleven.

P interest L ove

If you don't know about Pinterest, oh you are missing out. It's like a virtual vision board with pictures or how to's of every facet of life.

pinterest.com

For this creative DIY girl at heart, it makes me super happy to browse for fun and new ideas for the home, teacher things, or sweet quotes.

My favorite part of Pinterest may be the clothes. Some brilliant person, not me, has created these mini clothing boards... Almost like paper dolls without the doll. such as...

It really has become the deciding factor in my daily wardrobe decisions. The biggest compliment my sweet husband can give me lately is "Is that a Pinterest outfit?" Why yes it is, thank you! It has forced me to use the clothes hanging in my closet to create fun, trendy outfits.

A few of my Pinterest inspired staples:
Red Toms
Skinny waist belt
Thick brown bow waist belt
Riding boots
A rainbow of cardigans
Skinny jeans & Wide leg jeans
Solid color dresses to be paired with colorful accessories
Chunky necklaces
Dainty gold monogram necklace
Scarves and more scarves
White button up dress shirt, paired with any of the above

all photos pulled from pinterest.com

The most valuable lesson Pinterest has taught me is instead of giving into the ever present media inspired encouragement to buy new things, I have just about any and everything I would need to make a cute outfit right in front of me. Does this mean my desire to shop has disappeared? Of course not! But I will be more mindful of when I do buy.

Signing off with powerful scripture-
You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes within. The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 
first Peter three four

broken stuff

Once August rolls around, I feel like I disappear into teacher world. 
The first week always brings me excitement, slight anxiety, and just enough nerves to make it come together.  After a lazy summer, I suddenly kick into high gear and surrender my life over to a classroom.  This year presented a larger barrier than I have had in the past.  Switching schools is a challenge in itself, I don't know where the copier is, I had to figure out where to park, what doors were open at 7 am (if any), or who and where to go when I need something.

This year also challenged my reliability on "stuff."  Half of our building is new, beautiful, Green even!  The other half is old and needs a face lift badly.  My classroom assignment landed me in the old part of the building.  Walking in, I saw mounds of furniture- broken desks, 6 filing cabinets, graffiti on chairs, you name it, it was in there.  I later find out my room was the dumping ground for broken things for the past few years.... great.  After our incredibly helpful custodian helped me rid my classroom of junk, I was left with white cinderblock walls in an awkward rectangular shape, a projector with no cables, 1 window, a few desks, 4 whiteboards that are not magnetic, and 1 bulletin board. No computers, no SmartBoard (gasp!).  I had become dependent on my interactive whiteboard for the last 3 years and now I do not have a computer in my room.  Needless to say, my idea of what teaching looked like was hit dead in the face. 

So after my pity party, and a few inspirational words from Dad, I was off and running to renovate this white space into a learning environment!  My Dad reaffirmed me that the best thing my students will have is ME.  Take away the pretty, techy things, and I am left.  I am the teacher to begin with, right?  So after 5 years, I started over.  I am having to rethink teaching in a new context for the sake of learning, not my comfort. 

A few classroom improvements:
- make a tree! my mom suggested using butcher paper to make something colorful on the walls.  I chose a tree (genre tree) and it inspired the rest of my week.
- paint the whiteboard trim, another teacher suggested this and it was a great idea! I chose yellow to brighten it up.
- curtain to bring more attention to my one window, thank you Mom
- Be a vulture! I began roaming the halls finding give aways and unwanted furniture that I could use... best find? an extra bulletin board that fell off the main hallway, sure I'll take it!
- Ask! I am not afraid to ask to borrow a drill, ask for extra chairs, computers, etc. 
- I get by with a little help from my friends- thanks to my super helpful husband and the Santoros, who just happen to be in town, I felt like I had an army of worker bees helping me lift and label.

**classroom pictures to come! I'm not quite finished yet :)

This is the very short version of my journey in becoming a teacher all over again.  I let the "broken stuff" get in my way of being a teacher.  Teaching starts during the classroom set up, even in the weeks leading up to school.  I had to get over myself to see beyond the stuff.  I learned how to advocate for myself and for my students.  I will ask for what I need, not just what I want.  There will be more challenges, but for now, I'll focus more on the process than the progress.