Quick Write

I have no real reason to be posting anything today. Let's make this post as random as possible.

When I want my students to just write and not worry about what is going on their page, I have them "Quick Write." The premise is that you write every thought that pops into your head, no matter how odd it sounds. I usually tell my students something like this: "If you're writing about what you want to do when you get home after school then your brain starts thinking about kittens, YOU WRITE THAT. Then your brain goes onto your favorite song, YOU WRITE THAT." Usually I do the activity as my students are doing it then I share so they know what I expect. The other big thing is that you don't edit anything you write. What I write in the moment is what is going to be published. (Though I will check my spelling.) So here's the blog version of Quick Write.

I bought some skinny jeans yesterday. I always thought my thighs were way too big to wear skinny jeans but my roommate insisted they look fabulous. We'll see.

Here's a recipe I really want to try. Maybe I'll have my sister who loves baking make it for me.
Chocolate Marshmallow Cake by Dana from Made.

Quick Write is much harder on the computer. There are all these little things to distract me that are not present when it's just you, paper and a pencil. Gosh. I never thought about that before.

I'm reading two books right now. Catching Fire and The Girl Who Could Fly. I've heard great things about both and I really wish I could read them both simultaneously but that doesn't work. I really want to finish them but everything else just keeps getting in the way. Thanks a lot, Life!

My family is coming over for cake and ice cream tonight. My littlest sister made cup cakes. They look fabulous. I hope they taste as good as they look.

I went to church today. I love church. It's such a great 3 hour block of time. We have a new bishopric. They are great gentlemen.

I have a pile of crap (not literally) in my room and I don't know where to put it. So it's going to stay a pile of crap for a few more days.

Guess Who's Off Track

Hallelujah! I'm off track.

This is how my first day off track looks:

10am--Wake up
10:30--Watch some daytime TV
11:00--Eat french toast
11:30--Take a nap
12:30--Paint toenails
1:00--Read
3:00--Eat a late lunch...in my pajamas
3:30--Beauty sleep
4:00--Power nap
4:30--Read
6:00--Light dinner of Fruit Roll-ups and Zucchini
6:30--Think about getting dressed but realized it's too late to even try to get ready. Read again
8:00--Tivo
9:00--Read until I fall asleep.

Holy cow! I'm so excited for this day.

Not Quite Meeting My Goals

Today is the day that I said I would stop my goal of reading 45 books. Obviously, I didn't make it but I did read 31 more books than I would have read had I not made the goal. I plan on continuing to read but it won't be nearly as frequent as it has been. I need to concentrate on getting ready to teach and begin planning lessons and such.

Maybe by the time the first date arrives (which was August 17th) I'll be able to read the 45 books.

The 3 Rs: Recycling, Recap, and Rethinking

Ok, the 45 books in how ever many days I have now is falling flat. I've been reading the same book for over a week now and though it is really good, I just don't have the time to sit and read it. I just feel like I have so many other things that NEED to get done right now that I haven't given myself the time to really read it. I am going to keep trying but I don't know if I can get through 30 books in less than 30 days.

Let's recap what's been going on since last time I wrote about what was going on...

Thursday: Though I blogged this day, I don't think I mentioned going to my school to meet my team. I was a bit overwhelmed but confident that with the help of my team I can do a fantastic job. It sounds like I may be doing student council along with my mentor teacher which will be super fun considering the fact I was not into student council as a student.

Friday: This was my last Children's Literature class. It went well. I think (and hope) I got an A but I'll find out soon enough. After class, I went to a Bee's game which went to 11 innings (that's 2 extra innings for those of you who don't follow baseball). It was a long night and I had to leave for work at 7:40 the next morning.

Saturday: Work. It was ok but I have to tell a story about a little boy at the group home. It's going to be long but it's so good. Here goes:

I arrive at work one Saturday morning to learn that all the children are COVERED in mosquito bites. One boy in particular seems to be very allergic to the bites and his arm is swelling.

Before I go any further, you have to know that this little boy in particular looks like a mini version of Conan O'Brien. Honestly, take Conan, shrink him down to 6-year-old size, give him a slight lisp, and take away the swoopy hair and you have this little boy. It's fantastic!

Anyway, I end up taking him to the doctor to get his arm checked because it is so swollen and he's saying he's having a difficult time breathing. We get there,the doctor checks him out and says that his arm is really infected so he'll need to give him a strong antibiotic and a S-H-O-T.

Ok, I think. Do I tell him and prepare him for the shot or do I let the nurse ambush him? I decide, in my infinite child development wisdom, to tell him. This launches him into hysterics. He's screaming "I don't want a shot!" "Let's just leave!" etc. I calm him down and tell him how it's not going to be that bad and we need to help his infection get better.

He finally calms down when the doctor opens the door which launches him back into hysterics. "I don't want a shot!" Doctor: "This is just a prescription." Boy pants and seems to not trust doctor. I again take about 10 minutes to calm him down.

We sit and wait in the room for about another 20 minutes (40 minutes total after I had told him he was going to get a shot). Finally, two nurses came in (they must have heard him screaming and knew I'd need reinforcements). One is telling me to put him on the table and the other is trying to hide the 2--not one, but 2-- needles. At this point he is screaming "You're a bad doctor! I don't want a shot!" over and over again.

You need to know another side note. The kids I work with get violent at times. Some are very strong and hard to hold, especially when frightened or angry. This little boy is not one of those ridiculously strong kids.

Back to the story...I put him up on the table to which he responds by trying to push himself off the table. He's pushing so hard that I can't get his arms to move. Finally my brute strength wins out and I get his arms above his head. He's still quite wiggly so I tell the nurses that I'm just going to straddle him (I know, sounds weird but it worked). One nurse holds his legs while the other prepares his legs. As she is cleaning he begins saying "That's it?" in an amazed voice. In order to calm him more I say "Yep, that's it. Wasn't so bad was it?" Then they stick him. His face was priceless and if you want me to recreate it for you I will.

The nurses leave but tell us we have to stay for about 10 more minutes to make sure there is no reaction. As I'm rubbing his legs (as instructed by the nurse) he keeps saying "Ashley, I think they got the bone." I try to tell him that they give shots in your thigh so they don't hit bone but he doesn't believe me and keeps repeating it.

It was hard to see him go through that but he just said such funny things that I had to laugh a bit and share it. I am happy to report that his arm is no longer swollen and he is doing much better.

Sunday: I went to church and had a pretty lazy day.

Monday: I started my second MEd class today. The class is called Writing in the Classroom and so far so good. I really enjoyed the first day and felt like I was able to participate fully but I also learned a lot. I can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings!

That brings us to today...

I never realized how much classroom crap I had been accumulating since I've been in the education program. Holy cow! I've been trying to organize and get rid of what I don't need but it's really hard. I have a job in 6th grade but I'm not sure if I'll love it and want to stay in that grade forever so I'm having a difficult time getting rid of stuff that is neat but not for 6th graders because I might need it one day.

In the midst of cleaning and organizing, I had to go to staff meeting for The Children's Center. We did our normal talk about the kids stuff then the bad news. The group home is going to be shut down on July 31 because "the department wants to spend more money and preventative care." I don't know if I buy it but I don't want to incriminate myself so I'll say no more on that subject. I'm sad to see it go and sad that I won't have an extra paycheck but I'm more sad for all the people who have put so much time and energy into it and have nothing else to turn to. Hopefully it will all turn out for the best.

Book #15 Judy Moody Save the World by Megan McDonald

This book is about Judy Moody and obviously her quest to save the world. It's basically a -didactic-bash-you-over-the-head-with-how-great-recycling-is book. The characters were simplified, characterizations that you'd expect from a book like this...dads are stupid, boys are feeble minded, and girls are strong and scientific. This book was written quite recently but I had to keep checking the copyright date to see if I had missed something. The language the characters use just seems very outdated. Judy says, "Rare!" whenever anything is cool. Is the author trying to start a new fad? I don't know but what I do know is that is annoyed me, A LOT!

Long time no see

I've been really bad about posting (and reading) but it is coming soon.

This is my last week of my first MED class and like always I've procrastinated my homework. I have a unit plan to get done then I'll start reading again.

I'm going to check out my school tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait to meet everyone!

45 books in 90 Days

I'm taking a Master's level children's literature class. I feel very inadequate with my book reading.

In this class we talk about books we really connected with as children. As classmates ramble on and on about books they loved as children, I sit and doodle and vaguely try to look like I'm thinking or I rack my brain for any fragment of a book still left over from elementary school but the file marked "Books I read and enjoyed in elementary school" is completely empty. I remember being assigned a few books to read in elementary school but always hated them. I can't remember titles of any books I read until 7th grade...Z for Zachariah. And I don't remember much about the book only the fact that I finished it and didn't completely loath it.

Let's backtrack a bit. As a family, we don't read. The only thing I remember my mom reading is the newspaper. I was never pushed to read. We don't have bookshelves crammed full of books lining our walls. We never went to libraries unless we needed a book for a book report. We weren't the family that just went to the bookstore and were told to pick a book. Book reports were torture as children. AR points, even worse. I honestly didn't become a reader until college. And at that point, I was reading children's books and text books. Up until now, I haven't felt I had the time to sit down with a good book and devour it like a wolf, "in great hulking bites, with vigor, as often as possible," (cited by Tunnell p. 8).

But today is the turning point. I can continue in my non-reading ways or make a change for the better. I've decided to read. Now it may seem like 45 books is a lot to read in 90 days but these will all be children and young adult literature (I have to be ready for my job, that I will have soon!) My plan is to read the book, rate it and basically just give myself a little synopsis so I can look back later and say, "Oh, I remember reading that! I would be great for this book group/ read aloud/shared reading..." So here goes:

Book #1: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Here is a pretty good summary.

If you took the time to read the summary, you know the main character is Steve Harmon. He is the narrator of this book and is writing his life and trial as a screen play with a few of his journal entries tied in.

Because of the format, it is a very fast read. Also, because of the format, I got a bit lost in exactly who the characters were (especially the lawyers) and what their story was.

I think this would be a great book for 7th grade to 12th grade students and I think I may recommend it to my 9th grader sister.

My rating system is a 5 star system where 5 stars is "Why hasn't everyone read this yet?!!" and 1 star is "You should really use this book to balance that wobbly table in your kitchen." I give this book a solid 4 stars, which translates to "Pick this book up and read it in a hour or two. You'll be glad you did."

"I want to know who I am. [...] I want to look at myself a thousand times to look for one true image," (p. 281).