Hey all you workout fans...

***Thanks to everyone who answered my Blog Hop question yesterday. I think teachers have an automatic bond with each other and it is interesting to hear about what other educators struggle with because we can look to each other for support since we all have different reasons to feel challenged in our profession***

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As I was running on the treadmill listening to my favorite all time "get pumped" workout song, I realized my playlist is way old and I am in desperate need of some new tunes! I am so out of touch with current music in the US and I need some suggestions of what to download for a new updated workout playlist! I like it loud and fast to keep me moving.

What is your all time favorite workout song that gets you pumped up?

Any new songs that are really good that you think I should download?

I am not against Britney Spears or anything else that anyone would deem possibly too cheesy.

I have been known to rock it out to Miss Hannah Montana, I always appreciate a good Disney Channel star turned singer.

Suggest anything that you like and I will listen!!!

The playlist I was listening to was one I made when I was participating in a women's boot camp class back in Portland. We had to run a timed mile the first week and the last week to see how much we could improve. I always brought along my music on the test days because I am convinced the right song mix seriously enhances my performance.

Seriously.

Anyone else with me on that?!

So my mix consisted of three songs. (I was aiming for a fast mile!)

O Fortuna

The intro of the Rocky Theme Song

O Fortuna (repeated for the big finish)

If you are not sure if you know O Fortuna....trust me you do. It is frequently used in movie trailers, such as Mall Cop. Still not sure? Have a listen, I included a video below.

Turn up your volume and get blown away!

There is definitely a wait for it quality to this song.

It builds up to a great ending.

This may seem like a really random selection to run to, but I swear it was magical. I literally got goosebumps while I ran. And, I ran my ass off! I tried to keep up a good pace throughout, but there is a part of the song starting around 1:45, we'll call it the climax, which motivated me to bust out in a full on sprint to the finish. I had no idea what those voices were singing about, but I felt like they were singing directly to me telling me to run fast.

This video shows a translation of the words and boy are they intense. Since I really don't understand the lyrics when I am just listening, I just prefer to pretend they are singing something wildly inspirational!

Still think this is a completely rando running playlist??

My mile time was 6:27

better than high school

best ever

:0)

MckLinky Blog Hop

I haven't really felt moved to participate in the most recent Blog Hops, but today's is pretty fun. The idea is to simply ask your readers a question that they can respond to through commenting. It's a great way to get to know readers better! Since a good portion of my readers are teachers, and a good portion of my blog content is about teaching, I thought my question(s) should be related to teaching as well.

So here it is:

What is the toughest challenge that you face as a teacher and how do you deal with/respond to it?

I think one of my toughest challenges is not being able to understand where every student/family is coming from. I would like to be able to teach all students in a way that is meaningful based on their backgrounds and personal experiences, yet I don't always have the background knowledge myself to draw upon. I have worked with several families living in poverty and given the life that I have been privileged to lead, I am certain that I am not completely understanding of some of the issues these students and their families are going through. I am also now working with students in Germany who have seen a lot more of the world than I have. They come from countries and cultures that I may know nothing about. I am interested and willing to learn, yet one person cannot experience everything that every student has experienced in order to help them foster connections. I guess this is where learning from the students and relying on them to share knowledge and expertise while encouraging them to think critically and make connections comes in. I am working hard, especially in my current studies, to think about what other perspectives students and their families might have. I might not know outright, but I can certainly ask and learn from what they share with me. I want to have all the answers, but I think an essential part of educating a diverse group of students is not having all the answers, rather finding the answers through the process of teaching the students and learning from them as well.

If you are not a teacher, but a parent, I have another question:

What is something a teacher did for you or your child that you will never forget?

Looking forward to reading what you have to say!

craziness

Not only did I get sent home today because I was "exposed" to the flu, but my school has decided to close for the rest of the week to allow students and staff to completely recover. Apparently around 30% of the study body has been absent which is what prompted this decision.

I am hoping that given it's a private school that doesn't mean we are adding those days to the end of the year....

Well, that means all of my doctoral papers should be getting done this week!

and....

It means I get to be home all day on Thursday when my kitchen is finally installed! Make sure to check back on Friday for some pics!! :0)

Friend Makin' Monday

Before I get into my Friend Makin' portion of the post, I have to mention what happened this morning. As I mentioned in previous posts, over the weekend my husband had the flu. I have been so afraid of catching it, but so far, I am feeling totally fine. So I got up this morning, leaving sleeping hubby in the bed because he is taking a sick day, and got ready for work.

When I got to school, I mentioned to a friend that my husband was sick over the weekend and she said I should talk to my department head because the school does not want any students or staff in the building if they have even been exposed to the flu. So....

They sent me home!

I couldn't believe it.

Yes, please. I will take a day off that doesn't count as an absence in order to avoid spreading germs at school.

I have that giddy feeling I get when a snow day is announced.

(I also heard a rumor they are thinking of closing the entire school tomorrow and Wednesday.)

Yikes!

In honor of my "snow day" (I can't really call it a sick day)...Tell me what you love to do if school gets cancelled.

Call it a lazy day?

Get organized?

Cook something yummy?

OK, on to Friend Makin' Monday!

Amber at {ae filkins} is hosting another FMM and today's topic, which I love, is

What are your favorite candle scents??

I am one of those people, who loves sniffing out any candles that smell like food. Not all food, mostly yummy scents reminiscent of baked goods fresh from the oven. I know there are many people out there who despise these kinds of scents, but I am a lover! My bff is one of those people. Although we are so much alike in most regards, our candle sniffing tastes are very different. She is a lover of Granny Smith Apple.

These are my lovelies:

Buttercream

as in delicious buttercream frosting

Cinnamon & Sugar

like warm cinnamon buns!

Frosted Pumpkin

Pumpkin is such a nice fall scent, but sometimes it can be too spicy smelling for me. The addition of the word frosting and the baked goods on the jar made this one seem delish!

Christmas Cookie

maybe it's the memories attached to baking and decorating sugar cookies during the holidays, but this scent is at the top of my list!

I think my love of baking definitely informs my selection of candle scents!

And as for my not-so-favorites:

There are a lot that I don't care for, but this would be one of them!

Lemon Lavender

The lemon part is okay, but not a fan of Lavender and I always consider whether or not the candle color matches my decor and this one is a miss!

How you doin'?

I feel like it's the calm before the storm because my husband is still asleep and I have a moment to do my daily blogging! Yesterday his fever spiked up to 101.3 and he was miserable all day. I ran around fetching tea, snacks, blankets, a cool washcloth etc. for him and I made two additional trips to the store to get specific snacks/foods that he wanted. Each time I tried to sit down to do work or check blogs, I heard him calling me, so it was hard to get a lot done.

::sigh:: a day in the life of a wife with a sick hubby! (or a mom!)

I definitely hope he starts to feel better today because this flu is awful and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

I skyped into another class last night with my PDX cohort. This time I felt much more comfortable speaking up and adding to the conversation. I had to present an article that I found for my research and although I know I brought up some good points, there were several moments of dead silence as my peers looked at me and I looked at them. Maybe it's just weird to talk to someone on a screen, but they didn't add to the conversation as much as I would have liked. I can't tell if they think I am a hugely boring talking head or what! I have been really interested in my research and I think I lose perspective a little bit and come across like a total dork. I got a few head nods from one girl, which really made me feel better, but there was a lot of silence too. I am not privy to the rest of their discussions, so I don't really have a feel for the group at all. I wish I could get to know them better and have that amazing support group that was mentioned at our first orientation, but from here, that is unlikely. I really feel like an outsider, yet I am so lucky to have the opportunity to continue in my studies while I am abroad that I am happy with any scenario I can get! My big papers are due at the beginning of December so I really need to get cracking on organizing my research and writing my literature review.

I am including another graphic for one of the kiddos I am going to work with. He is extremely smart, but has some behavioral issues. He is always drawing or playing with materials on his desk. He doesn't listen to the teacher, but begins working on assignments or worksheets without waiting to hear her directions. He frequently has to stay in during break time because he has not completed work or because he didn't follow the directions. He gets really upset because he really loves to play and this has resulted in a pretty poor attitude about school at times. He angrily said one day that he just wishes he could leave school and jump on a big trampoline. Don't we all??

Because he is very smart, I wanted to appeal to his logical thinking with some visuals that directly correlate good school behaviors with good consequences. I also made a counterpart that shows inappropriate behaviors with the negative consequences that follow. This is a tool I will laminate and keep in his desk, so that we can refer to it when he is starting to get distracted. I also wrote a social story for him which narrates (from his perspective).

Not familiar with social stories? Learn more here and here.

These kinds of "stories" are used frequently with students that have Autism or Asperger's.

Positive Consequences

Again, the lines in between the two columns should be arrows, but I have not yet figured out how to make arrows with Boardmaker software. I just draw them in after printing. The bottom right picture is missing because the student got to choose a "big prize" he would like to earn when his marble jar is full. Since he loves drawing so much, he gets to draw the final picture. I hope that gives him a sense of ownership over the tool as well. He chose to have extra time in the library. Love it!

Happy Sunday!

Sharing is Caring

I just made some stuff to use with a few of the new kiddos I will be working with. I thought I would share in case any other teachers would find these ideas useful.

Let me know your feedback!

I made these using Boardmaker software which is phenomenal, but expensive. It costs over $400. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship for classroom supplies, so I bought it two years ago. I have used it in so many different ways in the classroom and I love it. If you are interested to try it out, you can download a free trial or check with the SPED department at your school. It is used a lot with students that have special needs especially with symbol based communication devices/helpers. I use it for games, English Language Development, Social Stories, science etc. etc. etc.

I made some visuals to encourage students to make connections when reading a text. I made them in a bookmark size, but I also used to have these in a larger size posted above my whiteboard so students could see them all the time.

The IPICK strategy is meant to be a bookmark that students refer to when selecting a book in order to make an appropriate selection. It's kind of like the Goldilocks idea of not to hard, not too easy, but just right. The ideas pertaining to how to select a "good fit" book come from The Daily Five by Gail Boushey & Joan Moser (which I highly recommend). Read this post for more info about The Daily Five and good fit books.

Text Connections

If you print this document, you will probably want to add in the arrow heads on the lines going from the book to the other pictures. For some reason the program could make lines, but not make them into arrows.... sorry!
Good Fit Book

Good Pick Books

This part is meant to go on the back of the bookmark to remind the student what they should think about when selecting a book for silent reading.

I am hoping that you will be able to both view these documents in pdf format and print them if you desire. Let me know if you run into any problems (and if you like them!)