Finding Blessings

Friday we have a professional development day ... a.k.a. no kids, but lots of meetings day. On these days we get a lunch break and get to LEAVE SCHOOL to eat (it's amazing!). So, Friday I plan on having the 4th grade teachers over for lunch.

I'm super excited because this is the first time (of hopefully many!) I get to share our home with others which is one of the main reasons I'm excited to have a bigger house!

The week has been crazy already and I don't see it getting any easier as the week goes on - I'm sure my kids will be just as crazy tomorrow and Thursday as they were yesterday and today, and I'm sure I will be equally as tired as I am now! Sooo, I decided it wouldn't be the best plan to leave all my house cleaning till Thursday along with the lunch prepping ... and since Wednesday nights go quickly with dinner and church and sleep, that left me tonight. Therefore, (be proud of all my transition word usage -- we are working on that in class!) I decided that between school and heading to Owensville for a basketball game, I better at least get the basement cleaned and ready to go! What a bummer way to spend my hour home alone (before Rob got off work)!

Thankfully, on the way I home I happened to hear a song that mentioned "the things you take for granted started out as blessings first".

Now, our house is brand new and I am a llloooonnnggg way from taking it for granted. But some of the stuff IN the house is not so new and exciting. And, lets face it, I just really don't like cleaning house! I'll go weed your garden any day ... but clean house? Bleh! But, the song got me thinking, so I decided to try to remember to see the blessings behind the things in my basement ...

Easy ones first:

           - I didn't really enjoy dusting the legs on the pool table. I mean, I had to bend over. Eeek! (ha). But come on -- I was dusting A POOL TABLE that we own. Whoa.

           - I HATED vaccuuming the stairs ... but they were leading down to the basement that we now have. That holds a pool table. And an awesome game area. And an office.

           - Dusting around computer stuff and cords and nintendo systems and swords and various Zelda memorbilia is definitely not my favorite. But, I am so thankful that we have the means to support my husbands passions ... and even more thankful that he uses those things to do great things like make this super cool website www.oakgrovecofc.org.

I could go on ... but dinner is ready to be taken off the stove and I have a game to get to. So, long story, short: did this "blessing finding" make cleaning the basement more fun? More exciting? Even remotely enjoyable? Well ... sorry to disapoint those of you who were holding out for a life changing moment ... no. It didn't. It won't make cleaning the upstairs more exciting or fun on Thursday evening either. BUT, just like the understanding of one student making my extra hours of planning worth it, aiming to find the blessing of cleaning my house did make the cleaning feel more worth it. So hey, a wins a win. :)

          

Motivational

...please excuse my sparatic posting! Seems like like is crazy and busy and crazy busy! Every "free" moment is spent on the house or watching basketball games ... it doesn't leave a lot of time to sit at the computer -- and I wouldn't have it any other way!

If you know me at all (or have read this at all) you already know that I pretty much have the best family ever. Not even exaggerating one bit. There are so many wonderful individuals that make up my family tree - and as a whole, they form a group that I am extremely blessed to be a part of.

One of these awesome individuals is my sister. She is amazing. 2 years older than me she has always been there for me both to pick on and look up to. We are best friends and really always have been. I taught her to crawl (she skipped that and went straight to walking), she taught me how to use watercolor paint on your stomach (I'm sure mom was thrilled!). We've talked about school and boys and friends and husbands and God together. We've learned from each other. In college we lived down the hall from each other and/or were suite mates (depending on the year) and would often come out of our rooms wearing the same shirt. Today at church we showed up in such similar outfits everyone noticed. We are just that awesome. SHE is that awesome. And I love her to death.

And every. single. day. when I am saying my prayers I say a special prayer for "my Heather". I pray for lots of things for her and it changes by the day. But I always, always add in a "thank-you part" for "my Josh".

I have never been more thankful to see someone come into my sisters life than I was when Josh came into the picture. There are many, many reasons behind that. Not the least of which is how awesome he is. They make a great pair! I truly believe they bring out the best in one another - and I am so thankful they have one another! And, I am also very thankful to have both of them. :).

Josh is one of a kind. He's a coin collector. A basketball coach. A brother. An explorer. A risk taker. A goofball. A storyteller. A teacher. A friend. A preacher. He pours his heart into his basketball boys and team. It amazes me what he is willing and able to put into those highschoolers who may or may not give a fraction of it back on any given day. They don't always win - but he stays positive and upbeat and keeps working hard. He teaches them more than just basketball. It's awesome to watch. He is someone my little brother can look up to - and does very much. I still feel like I'm getting to know him! I love learning from him and picking his brain. His Bible knowledge astounds me. His enthusiasm for each thing he decides to do is contagious. His devotion to God is inspiring. I could go on and on about this guy and the reasons I am glad he is part of our family.

But really, what this post is about is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmFb8zMZA4

Josh has a talent. An extreme talent. He is a preacher. His way with words never ceases to astound me. And this sermon is one of my favorites. If you are looking for a motivational speech, a "kick in the pants", an end to any excuse-making ... this is it. Listen to it. Really listen to it. And if9; it doesn't make you want to change for the better, well, you might want to listen again!

Insecurities

Soooo, we started flexing right after Thanksgiving break ... so I've had my new classes of kids about 7 weeks or so. And most of the time I feel really great about what I / we are doing in there. I think we're making progress. I think we're really learning. I know we're making a difference.

                    And then, today, I gave a unit test. A big test. An intimidating test.

During the test, I thought they were doing really well! Angie (Mrs. P - our sped teacher) pulled a group to the table. I circulated to answer questions. They worked hard! They did great.

                                             And then I graded the tests. 

                                                       Whoa buddy. 

These kids are in our class (Mrs. P and I are co-teaching) because they are low. I get that. We work with them every day. We modify activities. We skill and drill. We do hands on. We do groups. We do higher level. Well, we do "higher level". I know these kids are low. But when you work with them so much and understand their way of thinking and modify ... sometimes you forget  HOW low.

And then you give them a test. A test that all of 4th grade is taking, not just them. You have to ignore the fact that they have different strengths. You take away the hands on. You throw a 4th grade reading level passage at them even though they read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level. And you just, simply, test them. And they don't do so well.

I kinda freaked out. It made me doubt everything I had done with these kids for 7 weeks. Maybe I wasn't doing enough. Maybe we haven't made as much progress as I thought.

I texted my wonderful teacher buddy who has our "low" math group. She reassured me that, well, these kids are low. And this is a "true standardized test". And a c average is, well, expected from the group. And I am not awful.

I went from being totally panicked to being somewhat panicked and somewhat angry. I HATE that I have to test my kids. I hate that their grade will reflect a standard mold that they do not fit in. They simply don't fit that mold. But look at their research projects we worked so hard on. Look at the dioramas they are so proud of. Listen to them tell you about the book we just read together that the LOVED (Shiloh). Let them draw you a picture. Play a game with them. Let them tell you a story.

They are so far above average in many ways. Just simply not on the test I gave them today. I get that. I expected that ... and it is still super frustrating to see it reflected in test scores.

     Turns out I don't like *giving* tests any more than I ever liked *taking* tests. Go figure.

Counting Blessings

I am - we are - so incredibly blessed.

**Blessed because we are homeowners! We've owned our house for just over a week, and it already feels like home! 

**Blessed because I have such wonderful family and friends that helped make the house feel like home - scraping wall paper, moving furniture, painting, and painting, and painting ....

**Blessed because we have family who cleaned our rental for me so I could focus on getting things set up in the new house.

**Blessed because I have a husband who is willing and able to work to get things ready so that we can be comfortable here - like working to rerun the internet cable so I don't have to have the ugly modom in my pretty living room and cutting down a tree in the back yard so the direct tv people can set up for us....

**Blessed because I am once again surrounded by woods that I love instead of town houses and streets that I didn't love.

**Blessed because I have lots of decorations to put up and lots of fun yard projects planned for spring.

**Blessed because Rob and I both have steady jobs that make us feel comfortable (well, at least as comfortable as anyone can) signing away our lives to a 30 year loan.

**Blessed because this house lots of fun room for us now, and lots of room for future growth.

**Blessed because I (we) finally have room to have people over to enjoy our home with us - which is why I LOVE our basement so much! 

....I was going to put pictures up on this post, but my phone is being stubborn and doesn't want to upload them -- so you'll have to wait! BUT, I will put up a picture post soon ... or you could just come see it in person! ;)

Sad News...

or at least there will be soon (hopefully!).

ooohhh -- hopefully? sad news? Those things don't go together! I know, I know... ;)

I think I am parting with the Java Finches. Which will be sad news when I break it to my students! :S.They really HAVE been great pets! They are fun to watch, neat to listen too, not to noisy, not too distracting ...But we are moving. And I am tired of cleaning their cage :S.

My kids have grown so used to them that they hardly pay any attention to them anymore -- which makes keeping up with them less and less worth it! And, with our own birddie to clean up after at home, and the time commitment of moving into a new house in the middle of the school year and parent teacher conferences (woo - whole 'nother post there!), it is simply not worth it to me to keep up with the finches.

I still think pets are important for kids. I am still on the quest for the perfect class pet. I'll find it, just you watch....

Pro's about the finches:
    neat to watch
    awesome to listen too
    not too distracting
    not to messy or smelly
    not very expensive to upkeep (just buy them seed!)

Con's about the finches:
   -I hate cleaning their cage! When I clean my cockatiel's cage I can get her out and really clean her cage good. The finches are not hand tamed, so they have to stay in the cage at all times which makes it a lot harder to clean! Also, there are 3 of them as opposed to my one cocketiel. More birds = more poop.

  - The kids can't interact with them. Because they finches have to stay in the cage, the kids don't get to hold or touch. The kids do occasionally poor their seed in for me or change the water, but that's it. 4th graders need to touch and feel and handle - otherwise you loose their attention. Sooo, the birds were super cool for a while, but now they are a bit "old hat".

  - Feathers! My female is losing feathers and I can't figure out why! There is nothing wrong with her that the vet can tell, so it is probably just stress. I would be stressed too if I was constantly in a cage with two males and surrounded by 4th graders ... so, go figure. It could also be that she is wanting to breed and pulling out her feathers to try to build a nest. If that is the reason, she isn't doing a very good job since her feathers end up all over everything and not at all looking like a nest .... a good bird owner would probably give her a nesting box and nesting material to see if that works, but I am not ready to handle baby birds in a 4th grade classroom ... another reason to send them to live in a new home!

  Long story short, with a move coming up, feeling mean about not being able to help the female, the kids not caring tooo much about the birds, the dislike I have for cleaning their cage ... the con's simply outweigh the pro's. So, off to a new home they will *hopefully* go - sooner rather than later!

    Next year I'll be, once again, on the search for the perfect class pet! Because animals really are important for kids!!

                           ................you have any brilliant ideas?!?!

Comma, Comma, Comma

Comma's are boring. Okay, so I might love them a lot (to the point where I fight the urge to overuse them!). They let me list lots and lots of things (and I dddooo love to make lists!). They tell me when a good spot to breath is when I'm reading or singing. Lots of great things about commas!

But when you are a 4th grader who struggles with reading and writing, commas are boring. Scary, even!

White boards, however, are neither boring or scary. They are actually quite a lot of fun!

Enter: Comma boards!!

Nothing all that special - just giant construction paper commas that are laminated so kids can write on them with dry-erase markers! Awesomeness in comma form. =). 

I made a simple, quick power point complete with "quiz questions" about commas - we will play it as a game. Kids will write their answer choice on their comma board and hold it up on the count of three. Whoever gets it right will get a point - person/people with the most points at the end will win (a round of applause and maybe a piece of candy!). Short. Sweet. Simple. Better than just lecturing on commas for sure! Then, a quick 5 question quiz to make sure we got the jest of commas! :)

                                            Enjoy - Power Point and Comma Quiz

Ready or Not...

...here we go!

I'm ready. I'm also very much not.

I'm ready to get back in routine. I am NOT ready to get out of the bed early each morning.

I'm ready to see my kiddos. I am NOT ready to have a bajillion inside recesses with them (so, I'm gonna need it to warm up soon. Not a lot, just so the wind chill is above 20 degrees or so).

I'm ready to buy a house. I'm NOT ready to spend that much money (and commit to a loan!).

I'm ready to move. I'm NOT ready to move in the middle of teaching ... we have great timing. =(.

I'm ready for Zumba with some awesome ladies! I'm NOT ready for how sore I will be in the morning.

I'm ready to lose weight (my goal is 30 lbs by June 14th when we go on a family vacation -- I'll be using exercise and myfitnesspal.com! check it out!). I'm NOT ready to exercise ... or watch what I eat. I like food. I LOVE pizza. A lot. =(.

I'm ready to start a new year. I'm NOT ready for how fast time is going!

I'm ready to go teach again ... I'm just not ready to wake up tomorrow. :)

Are YOU ready ... or not?