MckLinky Blog Hop

The theme of this week's MckLinky Blog Hop is

"Why Read My Blog?"

For those of you who are regular readers, thanks for taking time out of your day to read what I have to say. I feel like I have made some friends in the blogging world and have discovered some great blogs that I always look forward to reading. I **LOVE** to read your comments and really appreciate hearing what you have to say both on your own blogs and in response to my posts. Keep visiting and leaving me "love notes."

For those of you stopping by on the blog hop, I'd like to introduce you to Sneaker Teacher! I came up with the name for this blog because I am a teacher and my husband works for adidas, so I am always wearing crazy colored, stylin' footwear to school. I also really enjoy fitness, so Sneaker Teacher embodies my love for teaching and fitness. I am 27 years old and just moved with my husband to Germany. We have been married for just over two years and have been together since our junior year at Villanova University. We do not have any kids yet, but I do have lots of kids in my life, my favorite one being my beautiful niece who makes some photo appearances every once in awhile. I grew up in CT, then moved to PA for college, OR after that and now here we are in Europe doing the ex-pat thing.

Posts on my blog are typically about:

• Teaching- I am currently teaching at an international school in Germany. I like to share about the kids that I work with, funny stories, special moments, and creative ideas
• Our new life in Germany which has been pretty interesting so far!
• The road to getting my doctorate (I am continuing a program I started in Portland from Germany, which makes all aspects of taking classes a bit more interesting)
• Books! Whether it is texts for my courses, novels, or professional development books, I like to share what I am reading especially if I think it would be helpful to other teachers
• Fitness is a smaller part of my blog, but I like to share workout ideas and some tidbits about eating
• Craftiness-occasionally I will showcase a baking experiment or some other creation
• Whatever else is on my mind!

I find that I enjoy reading blogs written by fellow teachers because I can relate to what they write about and I love to know what teaching is like in different schools and states. If you are a teacher, or a home schooling mom, or a fellow blogger I hope you will give my blog a try and become a regular follower! I love to hear comments and I feel like I blogging is a great way to meet people from all over.

Leave me a comment to let me know that you stopped by and I will check out your blog as well!

Thanks for hopping by!!

Special thanks to Grace Jacobsen for sponsoring this blog hop.

A little more on Ophelia

Yesterday I posted about the book I was reading called Reviving Ophelia. I finished it today while I was waiting for the phone guy to come at our new place. Lately, I sit there in the empty room that will be my office and read for hours waiting for all these apts. They give such large windows of time and since I don't live there yet, I have to make a special effort to be there and I definitely need some quality reading material to keep me busy during all that waiting.

Anyway....towards the end of the book, the author listed this set of questions that she has her patients respond to as a way of getting to know their "authentic selves." She recommends they write the answers in a journal, or at the very least think about how they would respond, but I am going one step further....posting them on my blog!

It kind of reminds me of some "notes" I have done on facebook which have a list of questions that you respond to and then you pass it to several friends to see what they will say. If you are reading this, TAG! You're it. Try it out. If you are not comfortable to post it then just do it for yourself. If you are going to be a brave soul and post your thoughts, leave me a comment so I can check it out on your blog!

1.How do I feel right now?

Content with life in general. Anxious about some other stuff.

2. What do I think?

I am thinking about how I can be a little more outgoing in social situations and enjoy them more. I feel like my shyness/difficulty making small talk is taking its toll.

3.What do I value?

family, education, trust, sincerity, loyalty, friendship, tradition & hard work

4. How would I describe myself to myself.

smart, organized, shy, hardworking, and dedicated, but I often come across as bitchy because I don't say a lot in certain situations. I feel like I am an old soul and enjoy things that may not be the "coolest" or most popular among people my own age. Sometimes I would rather stay home and watch a movie or read a book than go out and have drinks in a large group, but I am okay with that.

5. How do I see myself in the future?

I see myself having two children, married to John, and teaching. In the future, I would like to teach at the college level in a teacher prep program.

6. What kind of work do I like?

I like to work with kids and I also like organizational work or doing things that allow me to be creative.

7. What kind of leisure do I like?

I love to read, workout, blog, write, shop, cook, bake, & be outdoors

8. When do I feel most myself?

I feel most like myself when I am with very close friends or my mom (who is a very close friend too). I do not think that I make friends easily, but to me, the quality is more important than the quantity. I am a Cancer so I also like to be at home.

9. What kinds of people do I respect?

I woud have to say that I have a great respect for hardworking people, people who have strong family values, and people who are open to differences.

10.What goals do I have for myself as a person?

To be more independent, to obtain my doctorate so I can make a different in education, to put myself in other peoples' shoes more so than I currently do, to follow the golden rule, and to be a good mother.

11.What are my strengths/weaknesses?

Strengths: very determined, intelligent, organized, thoughtful

Weaknesses: adapting to new situations, figuring things out on my own, tendency to overreact, conflicts

12. What would I be proud of on my deathbed?

Having a successful marriage and knowing that my husband always knew he was loved

Creating a family and seeing my children become successful (according to their own definitions)

Having written a children's book

Knowing that I affected the lives of children through being a teacher

Knowing that I experienced life and didn't shy away from opportunities in order to keep within my comfort zone

Now it's your turn! At least think about how you would answer. You might learn something about yourself!

Scary Stats

I am reading a book called Reviving Ophelia, which is written by a therapist and is about many of the struggles girls encounter their teenage years. I highly recommend this book to parents who are raising daughters and teachers who work with adolescent or pre-teen girls. I was always a good kid growing up, always got straight A's, never had a time when I didn't get along with my parents, and never really had a tough time during my teenage years, yet when reading this book, I am becoming aware of many aspects of my experience that I never really tuned into before.

One concept that is very interesting is the author's explanation of the "authentic self" versus the "false self." She discusses how girls typically abandon their authentic selves in an effort to fit in and be accepted. She describes many factions of the "self" which include physical selves, emotional selves, thinking selves, academic selves, social selves (with regards to family & peers), and spiritual selves. All of these parts of a girl's selfhood are at risk of being changed because of messages they get from society and peers.

Another section that really caught my attention was about a study conducted in Rhode Island in the 90's. Teens were asked to respond to questions about circumstances under which a man

"has the right to have sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent."

80% said that a man has the right to use force if the couple is married

70% if the couple plan to marry

61% said that force is justified if the couple had prior sexual relations

>50% said that force is justified if the woman led the man on

31% said it was justified if he knew the woman had sex with other men or if he was so sexually stimulated he couldn't control himself, or if the woman was drunk

<50% thought that if a woman dresses seductively and walks alone at night, she is asking to be raped

"Clearly at least 80% of these teenagers didn't know that a man never has the right to force sex!"

Definitely left me with some things to think about!

Mail Call

I am so impressed with Amazon's international shipping! The receipt from my online order said that my books would arrive around October 5th, which is the week after class starts, but when we went over to our new apartment today to put some light bulbs in the new light fixtures, my package was waiting right outside the door! In Germany, the delivery person will leave your package with a neighbor if they ring you and you are not home. I guess the neighbor accepted my package and just left it outside our apartment door. What a nice surprise. I ordered on Sept. 6th, so it really didn't take that long. I was kind of preparing to ask my teacher for an extension on the assignment for the first week because it requires reading from the text, but now I don't have to.

This week is crazy because of some deliveries we are getting at our new place. I am working tomorrow afternoon instead of in the morning because I have to be at our apt. from 8-12 for the phone/internet person. Then I am taking the whole day off on Tuesday because the stuff we ordered from IKEA is being delivered and assembled, which could take awhile considering it's two huge wardrobes and a desk. Luckily, I only work 3 hours a day and the teachers I work with are very flexible so I was able to switch around my schedule for the week and add some hours on other days.

I am really hoping to hear back this week about the SPED position! The application deadline is Tuesday, so I am expecting to either get an interview or hear about the next steps very soon!

Guten Tag!

This is a traditional German dress called a dirndl. They are surprisingly colorful and somewhat (gasp!) sexy! Apparently they are meant to be very flattering on a woman's figure regardless of her size. Isn't that every woman's dream? I was trying this on at a department store, but I didn't get it. My friend and I just did a little photo montage to have some fun. There were so many options and they are not cheap. This one cost about 79 Euros, but the one I really liked was a little nicer quality and cost 130 Euros. Many people wear dirnels to Oktoberfest or other beer festivals. I am not sure yet if I actually want to buy one, but I have to admit it was really fun to try them on yesterday!

Take it to Your Seat

I am currently in the process of making the Math version for grades 3-4 of these "Take it to Your Seat" games for the third grade teachers I work with. Although pretty time consuming to make initially (great activity for a parent volunteer or classroom helper!), I love having these types of activities on hand for students to use at their seats for some independent work that is a little more fun and interactive than plain old paper and pencil worksheets.

I have both the Phonics K-1 and the Grade 1 Math versions and used them both in my classroom last year. Sometimes I would do a game day where students would all be working on different games and other time students could select the games when they finished work early or had extra time.

The games are designed in color and are on perforated sheets which make them easy to tear out of the book. The directions are simple and the games are really cute and fun. It is different depending on which set you get, but the ones I have required gift bags and manilla envelopes as the containers for the game pages and pieces. The math ones I am working on now require pocket folders. A cute colorful image with the name of the game is laminated and glued to the front of the bag/folder/envelope and the directions are laminate and glued to the back. Inside the bag/folder/envelope the students will find all the materials required to play the games and several copies of the student worksheet. I like the fact that these games require students to document the work they did rather than just play a game and not be accountable for the content. When my students would play, I would have them turn in their worksheet so I could make sure they were solid on the concept. I have other games that don't have that built in accountability and I always felt like my students could be quite unproductive while working on them. These games also store quite easily because of the materials used. I have other games that use file folders and the pieces always fall out. I found that the items stayed inside the manilla folder and gift bags and things did not get lost as frequently. Once laminated, the pieces tend to stay in good condition as well for many years of use.

Another cool aspect about these games is that they are available for many different subject areas and grade levels. If I had struggling students, I could purchase the games meant for a lower grade, or if I had some high flyers, I could purchase math or science games geared towards more advanced level students. They can be a great way to add some modifications to a curriculum to build in extra practice or challenges for students who need either one!