Student Teaching

Recently, I was reprimanded because I haven't written on this in a long time. I never know what to say! Well, today is my second to last day of student teaching. HOORAY! I've made it through this incredibly and sometimes unending era of my life. I had to say goodbye to most of the kids today though. That was really sad. They were so sweet and cute about it. In the third grade class we taught today we played a game where they sang a goodbye song in a language that I don't actually know. The cool part was that as they sang, I sat in a chair in the middle of their circle and whoever wanted to could come up, give me a grain of rice or a bean for good luck and prosperity and whisper something in my ear about luck in the future or something they liked about when I taught. It was the sweetest thing and almost made me cry! I'm going to miss those kids so much!

A Night Hike

Last night, I went hiking. IN THE SNOW. I was quite skeptical at the time of starting a hike at 9:30pm in the very very cold, especially when I realized just how much snow was up in the canyon. But I must admit, I had a great time and recommend night-snow-hiking to anyone.

We just went up Rock Canyon a ways. I think it was maybe a couple miles each way. We had planned to find a cave that a few of us had been to before, but the last little bit of trail to the cave had a couple feet of snow that hadn't been touched before. Jason tried to walk a few steps in it to see if it could be traversed. He quickly fell down and we had to drag him back out to the less-fluffy snow. So, we just hiked back down the canyon. Even so, I had such a good time! We had a lot of fun slipping and falling and sliding and falling and running and falling in the snow.

I think the best part of the night was just the fact that we did all this hiking in the middle of the night with no flashlights. The moon was almost full and the snow reflected the light everywhere. It was a really fun night. I just may have to go night-snow-hiking again.

So Grateful

Tonight I was at a friend's house who has cerebral palsy. She is so independent and very high-functioning. She asked me to change the roll of toilet paper in her bathroom to a new roll. I was so struck by the realization that she can't do this for herself. This little thing. It made me so grateful for everything that I have. I really do have a wonderful life!

A Goal

I did make new year's resolutions this year. I haven't for the past few years, I'm not sure why. But this year I've decided if I don't reach any higher, then I definitely won't grow. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it does in my mind.

One of my goals this year is to read more. I came across this challenge on a website called "Books I Should Have Read in School but Didn't." There are so many books I shoulda-coulda read, so this year I'm going to read 4 of them. I know it seems like a small number, but I'm going to be so busy this year and hopefully I'll be reading a lot of other books too.

you should check out the site and sign up too

Do you make any New Year's resolutions? I'm not sure who I'm talking to, but I'll ask anyways...

home again, home again, jiggity jig

So I've spent the last two weeks at home. It has been such a great time. It has been funny to think back as to how long periods of time with my family used to be. It used to involve a lot of poking (real, not on facebook) and disagreements and "Mom, Michael is touching me!", but no longer. We have (mostly) grown out of that and it's kind of amazing to see how we turned out.
These last two weeks have been so fun!
* We were in a Hallelujah Chorus flashmob (I think you can hear Elise and I singing on this video - we were right behind the video-taker)
* Michael and I dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus for Rochelle's piano recital * I learned how to knit and knitted 1.5 scarves* We cleaned up and performed 3 a capella pieces for a performance for the West Linn Lions club

* For almost the whole time, us 4 girls have slept on the floor of one of the bedrooms, all of us sharing 3 mattresses (yes, by choice)

* Two of my sisters got me this awesome cross stitching kit that I've had my eye on for years. I finally get to do it! I'm guessing it will be done in approximately 12 years.

* On New Year's Eve, we spent an hour and learned a whole new a capella piece - just for fun. It's the version that sounds like this.

* The three college kids got to go out to lunch with our Grandma at The Spaghetti Factory. We left a little sunshine for our waitress.

you don't see it? try now:

Yep, it's been a crazy two weeks. I'm really glad I got to come home for Christmas, but I am still pretty excited to get back to school and teach some kids!

The Beginning of the End

So, the end of my college career is looming ahead of me. I don't graduate until April, but starting in January, I will be student teaching and so will not be on campus much at all. My time at BYU is coming to a close. Before I start to get all sad about all of this, let me tell you how excited I am! I cannot wait to be a teacher. This is what I've been waiting for. Just let me at those kids and I'll show 'em... everything! I have loved the little tastes I've gotten through my practicum experiences and I can't wait to have a class of my very own. On the other hand, BYU has been really good to me and I've really had a wonderful time in this little bubble within a bubble within a bubble... The people are so nice, the grounds are so beautiful, there is always free food to find (I got lasagna today), the possibilities are endless. I will be sad to leave this community, but onward I go into the unknown and I couldn't be happier.

It Amazes Me...

I am in a teacher education program. You would think that those entrusted to teach teachers how to be teachers should be the best of the best of the best - especially here at BYU with such a big education department. Yet I continually am amazed by how much busy work and poor instruction I come across here. I consider myself a teacher - I have taught for 3 summers at a day camp, I helped to teach 1st grade for a month last year. While this is not a lot of experience, I am not just a student trying to impress the teacher into giving me a good grade.

As graduation looms ahead of me, the most important thing to me in a class is no longer the grade - it is information that will help me in my own teaching. Making me jump through hoop after hoop of junk will not make me a better teacher. Making me do an assignment 3 times, once in a whole group with the teacher, once with a partner, and once on my own will not help me when the assignment is so simple I could have done it on my own the first time is not efficient. Filling time with useless activities is not helpful. Making a class hard, full of bunk, because "teaching is hard, so we're trying to get you used to that" is just plain stupid.

ok, I'm done ranting.