Simply

Teaching in a Title 1 school is a crazy thing. I've talked about it a little bit here, but you truly do not understand until you actually are a part of it yourself. Yesterday was the last day of Quarter 3, meaning it's the last 3 week track out break before the end of the school year. I am having many mixed emotions and have been discussing all of them with the other teachers on the 7th grade hallway. One of them (who I respect deeply as a teacher and as a person) made a post about a puzzle on Facebook that really hit me hard. I wanted to include some of her story here, because like I said, it's hard for people to understand what it's like teaching at a Title 1 school. This story really encapsulates how I feel, so here it is. "To some people this may be an ordinary puzzle. It's missing 2 pieces, which may drive some people to the point of insanity. But to me, this puzzle holds hope.  I work in a Title 1 school. Working in any school holds its own unpredictabili...

 Recently I have been thinking about confidence. This is something that I have excelled at but have also extremely struggled with throughout my life. It also involves one of my most terrible memories (and best memories) of growing up. So let's sort through my thoughts.  When I was little, being confident was one of my strongest personality traits. I always thought I was the smartest in the class (and if I wasn't, I knew I would become it). I got perfect grades in everything I did. I was super competitive in the sports I played, and knew that I was an asset to my team. I also wanted to play every sport and be the best.  When I think of confidence, I always think back to my dad. He's the type of parent that always told me about all the amazing things about me and I always believed him. Maybe I took it to heart because I was more of a daddy's girl, but he's also just like that. No matter what stage of life I was in, he always had that constant awe about me and who I wa...

The first thing that's been on my mind is teaching! Quarter 3 teaching is the best! Maybe it's just because we started the quarter off with a few snow days and delays, but it has felt so much better! I feel like my student relationships feel so solidified, expectations are established and easy to follow through with, I have a good routine going with planning and prep, my sleep schedule is back to normal, and I have been dreading less days than before. The only negative feelings I have are on days when I'm tired, but I think that's inevitable for me haha. I also feel like the unit I'm teaching is a little more engaging with the students, and they had a long break before starting the quarter. But next week we are already sending out midterms which is crazy! Also as I'm writing this, the weather has gotten a lot warmer the past 2 weeks, having days in the 60s and 70s so maybe that's where my positivity is coming from. Never will I ever live anywhere with more c...

 Sometimes when I think about writing a blog post, I get stopped because I feel silly. I want to have lots of posts to look back on years in the future, but I also don't want people to read stuff that is boring or I guess unimportant. I either feel like I am being too personal to where I feel vulnerable, or I am too surface level and it's boring. I try to keep my posts casual and to not edit them or think too much about them. I want them to be authentic and not feel like I am writing essays for school again.  When I get stuck with these feelings while I'm considering writing, I sometimes go read old blog posts from my Mom and my Auntie Lisa. Their blogs go back to like 2008 and it's so interesting to me to read their words from when they were younger. Some of them are so funny and I get so much enjoyment from reading them. But while they were writing them, they probably just felt like I do, writing about normal life for them. And maybe I just feel this way sometimes bec...

 Update time! My break was supposed to be from December 17th - January 26th but that has not been the case! This break is already longer than my other breaks, but the snow storm has nicely extended it. The first 3 days I was supposed to be back were completely canceled and fully remote. Luckily I didn't have to try and teach on zoom, but could just assign mini asynchronous lessons for them to complete at home. The last 2 days of the week were delays, so classes were shorter and I got to sleep in. Then we got another snow storm, and today school is completely canceled as well, planning for cancelations and delays tomorrow. ANDDDD, it's supposed to snow again on Wednesday. I still haven't been back for a normal day of school yet. For the quarter only being 9 weeks, I already know it's going to fly by because of all this snow. Clayton's job is also weather dependent so we have been able to hibernate together :) Also, I didn't know that snow storms have names like H...

I have a story to write about from what happened to me this morning. And the reason I'm sharing this, is because it pushed me down a rabbit hole of thoughts. First for context, I don't go back to teaching until January 22nd, and I've only had 3 days off since we've been home from our trip to DC. For the first 2 days, I felt great, was so excited to relax, but also got a lot of catch up work done around the apartment. Then day 3 hit, and I fell into my typical habits of couch rotting and feeling lonely, bored, lazy, unmotivated, and essentially just stuck. That evening, while confiding in my wonderful husband, he suggested that I have a plan for the next day because he knows that helps me get out of these moods. So, I start creating a plan and Clayton suggests I go on a hike by myself at the state park down the road from our apartment. I love this idea, sounds great to be outside with this nice weather, and add it to my list.  Fast forward to this morning. I am completin...