I think the Middle School Valentine's Dance that I attended on Friday should have been named the "Middle School Nighttime Recess with disco ball and snacks." I chose to monitor the food and drink tables because that gave me something to do as opposed to just standing in the gym area watching the kids. I was able to help pour drinks, keep the table areas clean, and keep the drinks well stocked for the kiddos. At certain points, I did wander into the "dance" area because the music was pretty loud and other teachers just wanted some reprieve from that. When I did go into the gym, I didn't really see much dancing going on. It was the typical scene of boys on one side and girls on the other, but even the same gender groups were not doing all that much dancing. They enjoyed the Macarena and there was definitely some very comical impersonations of Michael Jackson during Billy Jean, but on the whole, the overall impression I got was just chaos. There was a lot of running around, cartwheels, drama, and trips to the snack/beverage tables, and I was surprised to not see any boy/girl pairs dancing together.
The kids were in charge of bringing some drinks and snacks so we had one table with bottles of different sodas, juices, and water and another table with bags of chips, popcorn, and gummy bears. We never had snacks at our dances growing up, so the entire time I was waiting for someone to throw up. The same kids returned over and over, ingesting cup after cup of soda and handful after handful of snacks in between running around the gym and to and fro between the gym and bathroom areas. I was also surprised that middle schoolers were not above lots of spillage when attempting to pour soda from a liter sized bottle into a cup.
All the kids seemed to have a great time and that is the point, so I guess the idea of a "dance" is just go give them a place to gather and have fun outside of school. The girls wore makeup and dressed up and the boys styled their hair. It was cute. They definitely acted a lot different than they do in the classroom which reminded me of why I used to steer clear of middle schoolers. When it comes to their social issues and interactions with members of the opposite sex, I am just at a loss. I felt like I was watching reality tv and I could have grabbed one of those bowls of popcorn and just pulled up a chair and been entertained for that entire 3 hours!
Friday
Don't ask me why this week seemed long since I only technically worked 1.5 days (I know...but keep in mind I would love to be working full time and try not to hate me too much). I have gone to bed early every night since I got back from my weekend away with my friends because I have felt completely drained. I am looking forward to sleeping about 12 hours tonight!
This morning I had a meeting at school, so even though I don't work on Fridays, I had to be at school at 8:15. Although it would be nice to sleep in, I actually like having to get up because it just helps get the day started in a productive way. You know me and Fridays...the list comes out and I force myself to be productive because a day off should not be a wasted day! My meeting lasted until about 10 and after sending a few emails, I headed home.
I picked up my husband's jacket which I had to take to the dry cleaners because it needs to be refreshed a bit after experiencing carnival in Cologne where evidently a lot of people were smoking. We are not smokers and I cannot stand the smell, so the jacket has been hanging outside since he came back. I was surprised to find that it will only cost 3.90 to have it cleaned. I was expecting it to be a lot more spendy than that.
After dropping the jacket off, I ran (literally) downtown to the doctor's office that I visited yesterday because I needed to show them my health insurance card. When I got there yesterday for the appointment, I realized the card was not in my wallet, so I had to bring it today to show them so I would not be billed for the appointment as if it was not covered. I worked up a good sweat on the way there and felt a little embarrassed to be red in the face and sweaty when I entered the office. It seems that doing errands in workout clothes is not really accepted around here, but I like to use my time efficiently. The office is about 2 km away, so it made more sense to combine getting there and my exercise for the day. I ran home as well and enjoyed a little bit of rain during the last part of the run. There is something really exhilarating about running in the rain.
When I got home, I threw in some laundry, tidied up the apartment, made the bed, and cleaned up the kitchen. Then I made some lunch and watched Project Runway and Real Housewives of the OC. That show drives me nuts. All the women are so catty and I seriously think Lynn is on something. The way she speaks does not sound normal and she sounds like she is under the influence of something.... I guess, though, if someone were video taping my friends and me, we wouldn't always come off as sweet angels. Not to mention the show is most likely scripted anyway. Like the Bachelor...don't even get me started on how they have introduced practically the identical plot with Ali that occurred last season with Ed....the least they could do is try something new! For anyone who watches, my prediction is that at the final rose ceremony, Jake is going to reject both Vienna and Tenley and go get Ali. At least that would be an ending they have never done before. But I would be cool with him choosing Tenley as well. What do you think? Who do you think Jake should pick? Did he make a mistake not letting Ali come back?
Now that I have relaxed a bit, I am ready to get some pages written for my paper. My goal is to write 4 pages each week, so that by mid-March I have about 24 pages completed. Sometimes I get a really good flow and I can write for hours and other times I feel completely stuck. I much prefer writing when I can just reflect on my own thoughts (why I love blogging!) rather than having to find sources to report from. I am good with getting info from scholarly articles, but since my paper is on education in Germany, I am using the internet more and internet sources can be somewhat iffy. I already wrote about a page and a third this week, so I have 2 and two-thirds pages left to write between today and this weekend. I would prefer to get it all done today though. I am going to put on some nice classical music and my writing groove on. Do you listen to music when you are trying to concentrate and if so what kind? Or do you need it to be really quiet? Sometimes I like quiet music, but sometimes I can also get really motivated by something loud and fast.
Tonight I am hitting up the middle school Valentine's Dance to help out and ensure the hormonal kiddos behave appropriately. The last dance I went to was pretty fun, but the music is super loud. Maybe I should be really dorky and wear earplugs!
This post was just full of randomness, but according to my little poll that I have going on, posts about everyday life are appreciated! :0)
Happy Friday!
This morning I had a meeting at school, so even though I don't work on Fridays, I had to be at school at 8:15. Although it would be nice to sleep in, I actually like having to get up because it just helps get the day started in a productive way. You know me and Fridays...the list comes out and I force myself to be productive because a day off should not be a wasted day! My meeting lasted until about 10 and after sending a few emails, I headed home.
I picked up my husband's jacket which I had to take to the dry cleaners because it needs to be refreshed a bit after experiencing carnival in Cologne where evidently a lot of people were smoking. We are not smokers and I cannot stand the smell, so the jacket has been hanging outside since he came back. I was surprised to find that it will only cost 3.90 to have it cleaned. I was expecting it to be a lot more spendy than that.
After dropping the jacket off, I ran (literally) downtown to the doctor's office that I visited yesterday because I needed to show them my health insurance card. When I got there yesterday for the appointment, I realized the card was not in my wallet, so I had to bring it today to show them so I would not be billed for the appointment as if it was not covered. I worked up a good sweat on the way there and felt a little embarrassed to be red in the face and sweaty when I entered the office. It seems that doing errands in workout clothes is not really accepted around here, but I like to use my time efficiently. The office is about 2 km away, so it made more sense to combine getting there and my exercise for the day. I ran home as well and enjoyed a little bit of rain during the last part of the run. There is something really exhilarating about running in the rain.
When I got home, I threw in some laundry, tidied up the apartment, made the bed, and cleaned up the kitchen. Then I made some lunch and watched Project Runway and Real Housewives of the OC. That show drives me nuts. All the women are so catty and I seriously think Lynn is on something. The way she speaks does not sound normal and she sounds like she is under the influence of something.... I guess, though, if someone were video taping my friends and me, we wouldn't always come off as sweet angels. Not to mention the show is most likely scripted anyway. Like the Bachelor...don't even get me started on how they have introduced practically the identical plot with Ali that occurred last season with Ed....the least they could do is try something new! For anyone who watches, my prediction is that at the final rose ceremony, Jake is going to reject both Vienna and Tenley and go get Ali. At least that would be an ending they have never done before. But I would be cool with him choosing Tenley as well. What do you think? Who do you think Jake should pick? Did he make a mistake not letting Ali come back?
Now that I have relaxed a bit, I am ready to get some pages written for my paper. My goal is to write 4 pages each week, so that by mid-March I have about 24 pages completed. Sometimes I get a really good flow and I can write for hours and other times I feel completely stuck. I much prefer writing when I can just reflect on my own thoughts (why I love blogging!) rather than having to find sources to report from. I am good with getting info from scholarly articles, but since my paper is on education in Germany, I am using the internet more and internet sources can be somewhat iffy. I already wrote about a page and a third this week, so I have 2 and two-thirds pages left to write between today and this weekend. I would prefer to get it all done today though. I am going to put on some nice classical music and my writing groove on. Do you listen to music when you are trying to concentrate and if so what kind? Or do you need it to be really quiet? Sometimes I like quiet music, but sometimes I can also get really motivated by something loud and fast.
Tonight I am hitting up the middle school Valentine's Dance to help out and ensure the hormonal kiddos behave appropriately. The last dance I went to was pretty fun, but the music is super loud. Maybe I should be really dorky and wear earplugs!
This post was just full of randomness, but according to my little poll that I have going on, posts about everyday life are appreciated! :0)
Happy Friday!
Pizza
Over the weekend during our spa trip, my friends and I ordered pizza on Valentine's Day. Since we were doing a girls night in, which included watching The Bachelor and the movie Up in bed at the hotel, we figured take out pizza was a good solution for dinner.
We called up a local place after much discussion about what kind of pizza to get, what extra toppings we should add, and whether it was more economical to get individual pizzas or a family size. Eventually we decided that we wanted a Margharita pizza (sauce and cheese) with spinach, artichokes, and mushrooms added to it (family size).
We waited a long time to get our meal, so when it finally arrived (probably sometime after 9), we were ravenous. A full day of spa-ing and relaxing really works up the appetite! Much to our disappointment, we received a funghi pizza (mushrooms only) instead of the vegetable medly that we had intended. Boo! In Germany, customer service is definitely not the same as in the U.S.
They don't really care if you are not satisfied.
(I once sent back a drink because I had asked for something with vodka (which I am not allergic to) and they brought over something with rum (which I am allergic to). I had one sip and immediately broke out in the crazy splotchy hot rash that I get when I ingest alcohol I am allergic to. Since it was clearly not what I ordered, I didn't want to drink it, nor did I want to pay for it. The waitress took it back to the bar, where all of the bartenders took a sip, then she brought it back to our table insisting that it was what I had ordered and that it would be included in our bill (as if I would ever even think about letting my lips go near the glass that three bartenders just sipped from!). They were not apologetic over the fact that I was then holding a cold glass full of ice to my face because it was burning up. Nope. They could have cared less and they did not want to give me a free drink.)
Anyway, back to the pizza. We pretty much decided it would not serve any purpose to complain, so we just ate our funghi pizza (isn't that a horrible name!?)
So you may be wondering why I am going on and on about pizza, German customer service, and screwed up drinks....
Well, tonight I made my own pizza so that I could get it just the way I like it.
This is what was leftover after we devoured the rest. I am saving it for dinner tomorrow night because I will need a little somethin' something' before I head over to school to help at the middle school Valentine's dance. My homemade pizza got the official hubs seal of approval, which is good because his standards are very high! I am already looking forward to the leftovers :0)
We called up a local place after much discussion about what kind of pizza to get, what extra toppings we should add, and whether it was more economical to get individual pizzas or a family size. Eventually we decided that we wanted a Margharita pizza (sauce and cheese) with spinach, artichokes, and mushrooms added to it (family size).
We waited a long time to get our meal, so when it finally arrived (probably sometime after 9), we were ravenous. A full day of spa-ing and relaxing really works up the appetite! Much to our disappointment, we received a funghi pizza (mushrooms only) instead of the vegetable medly that we had intended. Boo! In Germany, customer service is definitely not the same as in the U.S.
They don't really care if you are not satisfied.
(I once sent back a drink because I had asked for something with vodka (which I am not allergic to) and they brought over something with rum (which I am allergic to). I had one sip and immediately broke out in the crazy splotchy hot rash that I get when I ingest alcohol I am allergic to. Since it was clearly not what I ordered, I didn't want to drink it, nor did I want to pay for it. The waitress took it back to the bar, where all of the bartenders took a sip, then she brought it back to our table insisting that it was what I had ordered and that it would be included in our bill (as if I would ever even think about letting my lips go near the glass that three bartenders just sipped from!). They were not apologetic over the fact that I was then holding a cold glass full of ice to my face because it was burning up. Nope. They could have cared less and they did not want to give me a free drink.)
Anyway, back to the pizza. We pretty much decided it would not serve any purpose to complain, so we just ate our funghi pizza (isn't that a horrible name!?)
So you may be wondering why I am going on and on about pizza, German customer service, and screwed up drinks....
Well, tonight I made my own pizza so that I could get it just the way I like it.
cheese
red onions
garlic
red pepper
orange pepper
broccoli
some salami stuff on hubby's half
MMMMMMMM!
I sauteed the veges on the stove until they were a bit cooked and then loaded them on the crust for cooking in the oven. The cooking time required for the dough is only 10-12 minutes which does not get the veges soft enough for my liking.
This is what was leftover after we devoured the rest. I am saving it for dinner tomorrow night because I will need a little somethin' something' before I head over to school to help at the middle school Valentine's dance. My homemade pizza got the official hubs seal of approval, which is good because his standards are very high! I am already looking forward to the leftovers :0)
Connections
For one of the courses I am taking this term, I am collaborating with a partner who is a teacher in Portland. My job is to create materials (pre-test, 3 intervention lessons, and post-test) and then she implements them with a student she selected that struggles with content area comprehension. Although this may sound a bit dorky, I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing these lessons because I don't do all that much lesson planning for my current position due to the nature of my job.
The most recent intervention lesson I created was to help our student improve his skills in connecting to his background knowledge. He is learning about soil types and soil formation, so the goal was to see how he could make sense of this information given the schema he already has. It is hard for teachers to know enough about all of their students (especially when students are from different countries or unique cultural backgrounds) to help each and every student forge connections between each topic and their own personal lives.
In order to help our student think about what he already knows, I created this graphic organizer which I call the "Who I Am" sheet to help him create some visual images/words pertaining to what he already knows. I think it is an easy way for students to brainstorm and capture things, people, activities, places, hobbies, and interests that are important to them. Having a visual to look at when trying to make connections will hopefully help our student become more successful at seeing how his content topics relate to his life and experiences.
Here is the blank template.
My Life My Likes My Learning-Template
And of course I had to make an example based on my own life so he would understand what was being asked of him.
My Life, My Likes, My Learning
The student we are working with is in high school, but I could see this being adapted to much younger students so they could get ideas for writing. I would love to have had my first graders use a similar template (with bigger boxes) to create a brainstorming sheet for journal writing ideas.
I also think this would help me get to know my students better and learn interesting things about them and their families.
Information from the sheet could also be incorporated into math word problems because students definitely get more excited when their names and interests are mentioned in class!
Can you think of any other ways to use something like this?
The most recent intervention lesson I created was to help our student improve his skills in connecting to his background knowledge. He is learning about soil types and soil formation, so the goal was to see how he could make sense of this information given the schema he already has. It is hard for teachers to know enough about all of their students (especially when students are from different countries or unique cultural backgrounds) to help each and every student forge connections between each topic and their own personal lives.
In order to help our student think about what he already knows, I created this graphic organizer which I call the "Who I Am" sheet to help him create some visual images/words pertaining to what he already knows. I think it is an easy way for students to brainstorm and capture things, people, activities, places, hobbies, and interests that are important to them. Having a visual to look at when trying to make connections will hopefully help our student become more successful at seeing how his content topics relate to his life and experiences.
Here is the blank template.
My Life My Likes My Learning-Template
And of course I had to make an example based on my own life so he would understand what was being asked of him.
My Life, My Likes, My Learning
The student we are working with is in high school, but I could see this being adapted to much younger students so they could get ideas for writing. I would love to have had my first graders use a similar template (with bigger boxes) to create a brainstorming sheet for journal writing ideas.
I also think this would help me get to know my students better and learn interesting things about them and their families.
Information from the sheet could also be incorporated into math word problems because students definitely get more excited when their names and interests are mentioned in class!
Can you think of any other ways to use something like this?
Spa Pics
As promised, here are some pics from the spa weekend I went on with my friends. The first three are actually postcard photos because I didn't bring my camera into the spa/pool area. These are obviously not taken in the winter, so what we saw looked a little different, but you can get the picture....
These images convince me that we have to go back when the weather is warmer and the sun is shining!
These images convince me that we have to go back when the weather is warmer and the sun is shining!
Check out the view!
Now it's time to get back to reality...
Ahhhhhhh!
A medley of words to describe this weekend...
road trip, roses, chocolate, relaxing, saunas, mimosas, free mini bar, Indian food, cake, amazing venison goulash, banana split with the best ever vanilla ice cream, steam, massages, toasts, sleep masks, shopping, deep breathing, conversation, wine, exposure, learning to love what you've got, The Bachelor, movie in bed, photo ops, pools, ladies in fur, funky hats, warm baths, cold splashes, cocooning in warm blankets, tiny parking spaces, latte macchiatos with caramel, sleep, calm, stress relief, but best of all friendship.
I realize now how on-the-go and tense I usually am because I have never in my life felt so completely and utterly relaxed as I do now. We have enjoyed ourselves to the max with good food and great company. I took some pictures of the cute town, but I can't post them until I get back because I didn't bring my camera cord. We are driving back tomorrow and I am really excited to see my husband because I have missed him!!
road trip, roses, chocolate, relaxing, saunas, mimosas, free mini bar, Indian food, cake, amazing venison goulash, banana split with the best ever vanilla ice cream, steam, massages, toasts, sleep masks, shopping, deep breathing, conversation, wine, exposure, learning to love what you've got, The Bachelor, movie in bed, photo ops, pools, ladies in fur, funky hats, warm baths, cold splashes, cocooning in warm blankets, tiny parking spaces, latte macchiatos with caramel, sleep, calm, stress relief, but best of all friendship.
I realize now how on-the-go and tense I usually am because I have never in my life felt so completely and utterly relaxed as I do now. We have enjoyed ourselves to the max with good food and great company. I took some pictures of the cute town, but I can't post them until I get back because I didn't bring my camera cord. We are driving back tomorrow and I am really excited to see my husband because I have missed him!!
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