Sunday, May 10, 2020

Starting Again



If you go back and read my post for January you will see that my husband and I had quite a difficult 2019. We decided to put the positivity back into our life.  Although I have chosen to look on the brighter side of things, that doesn't mean that things have gone all smooth.  We suffered three more losses shortly into the new year.  I kept telling myself if I could just make it to Spring Break I would be able to rejuvenate myself. Then Covid hit.  I like many teachers had to start teaching from home. I ended up putting in more hours than I did when I was in a physical school building. You may ask why, since I could just shut off my computer each day. This is true. But for that child who is the oldest of five in the family, and has spent all day making sure their younger siblings got their work done, I wanted to be sure I was there for them if they needed help.

Covid has made me take a new look at my students this year. I miss them so much. Even those who often gave me problems are missed. I have always had good students. I  have some this year that just aren't that "in" to schooling. That is what I mean by giving me problems. I have always wanted them to learn more than some of them are willing to learn. I have had to tell myself that I can't help them all even if I wanted to. Knowing that we won't have a traditional graduation ceremony for our eighth graders and I didn't get to stay up all night with them at Universal hurt. I really wanted that for this year. But I have some students who have asked if they could keep in touch with me when they go into high school. 

I decided in the midst of all of this chaos to submit my work once again for publication. I am now looking at having my book "Seventy-Times-Seven" published around the new year.  This motivated me enough to entice my students into agreeing to a poetry unit for their last unit.  I have enjoyed writing poetry with them. It got my creative juices flowing. Then I started reading again. I feel like I am back on my way to enjoying reading and writing the way I used to. I feel like I just needed that jump-start to get me going. So where many people choose to look at the negative impact Covid-has had on them and society; I choose to see how it has motivated me to change in a positive way.
So I am happy to say; I am Starting Again.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Word of the Day - Quaint


This poem for the word of the day was written by one of my eighth graders, Christopher

Quaint

You are different in many ways
You are awkward
Through all of your days

You might be old
or act that way
You are antique
But that makes you unique

What does this mean
What's the definition?
But you can't help
Your quaint position.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

2020 Word of the Year


Image result for MOVE
Choose to Move


     I have chosen the word MOVE for my Word of the Year. There was so much negativity in my life last year that I felt stuck. After a conversation with my husband about how negative things felt in our house the word popped into my head. Over the break I lost my publicist, my husband lost his aunt, a childhood friend, and his cousin. My daughter pointed out how negative we seemed when we returned our grandkids to her. I hate feeling negative. Our news is negative and that carries over into conversations everywhere.

     This negativity has a tendency to drag everyone down. I hear someone at school berate someone else. I can choose to join in and drag myself down or choose to ignore and MOVE on. I can listen to my mind tell me I will fail at something or MOVE on. For two years I have let this negativity in my head cause me to come to a crossroads and a standstill. I am choosing to MOVE forward past the negativity, to believe in myself when my brain or others try to bring me down. I choose to make decisions that will only MOVE me forward. 

     My husband and I have also chosen to MOVE forward with getting healthier. This means a lifestyle change. We are moving forward on our plan to eat Paleo and MOVE more through exercise. 
For these reasons, I have chosen the word MOVE.


Student example

Today was the first day back for students. For their journals, they are given a word of the day. They can write whatever they want, however, they want. I want to share what my student Lanette wrote.

Quaint - Unusual or different in character or appearance. This word is a word that  I didn't know until today. I like that we started the second-semester learning and writing about words. Quaint, for some reason I like that word. I will try to use it from now on If I'm being honest, quaint sounds like an object that boats or ships use. It's also a little funny when you think about it Some synonyms are charming or vintage, which I believe fit perfectly.


 
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