The Game's Afoot

In addition to teaching 5 hours of classes, I also have a class of "actors" last period of the day for a class affectionately called "Speech and Drama". In effect, the school has given me carte blanche to take a bunch of unusual children and give them a safe place to be themselves.

Lately, this means playing board games. Well, sort of.

First, we took on Quelf. (If you've never played, you're missing out on HOURS of excitement!) This was the perfect thing for my goofy bunch!

Then, the piece de resistance: Life Size Clue! We designed the stage as the board, brought in props, and performed as the characters! Each pair represented a character from the classic game. So fun! And it was a great way for this crew to learn stagecraft and terms (stage left, anyone?)

Stay tuned for more episodes from this (clearly) unique class!

That Crazy English Teacher

I've been called that before.

Now I think I wear it a bit like a badge of honor.

Yep, I'm that crazy English teacher your children warned you about. I am always doing some kind of project with one or another of my classes.

My junior English III class got to experience this first hand. Or should I say hands on?

We had just finished reading one of my favorite short stories from their textbook: Outcasts of Poker Flat. And one of my favorite activities to do with this story is to experience life from the viewpoint of an outcast. This meant going outside (gasp) and walking around in the sunshine (gasp) while using our imaginations (gasp gasp).

They soon discovered this may be one of the most memorable activities of class this year. And I look forward to sharing even more of our adventures in the future.

A Little Paint

When I walked into my "new" classroom for the year, over the summer, for the first time, I just stopped in disbelief. It was hideous. The walls were a depressing shade of "prison blue", the ceiling looked like it could cave in at any moment, and there were stacks of this and that everywhere.

How could I teach here? And honestly, how could my students learn in an environment where even their teacher was unwilling and uninspired?!

(BEFORE: July 25)


So, armed with a bucket of paint and a few purchases, my team of intrepid young people helped me attack the room. Now, it makes me happy to be there! (And it only took a few dollars and a week out of my summer to make such an improvement in the room -- and in my attitude!)

My gorgeous classroom, Aug 2:

Please especially note the tree crafted by my daughter and her friends. It makes me so full of joy every time I see it! And it's right across from my teacher desk. :)

Diving in to Teaching Life

This year, after 8 years away from full-time classroom teaching, I'm back in the classroom again.

At first, I was filled with trepidation. Could I really do this? After all, it had been so long! Did I even remember how to teach English? And would it be any good if I did?

I spent the summer writing lesson plans, studying texts, reading online, and even attending a week-long workshop. That workshop was the best thing for my morale (as well as my teaching). I learned so much, not the least being reminded that I CAN DO THIS!

I determined that I was going to "teach like I mean it"! This is my CALLING, not just my profession! So, we're going to do some creative projects throughout the year. I hope to document them here (just so I can look back and see that I've "done something" with my time this year).

The first day of school began with an activity I discovered this summer, called "6-Word Memoirs". Basically, you use six words -- and only six words -- to write something about your life, your personality, a description of your self and your outlook on life. Here's mine from this summer:

Every student got to write one on my whiteboard. Some were fantastic, some were funny, and all were evidence of this student body that I'll be spending every day with this school year. I'm so proud of them and their willingness to jump right in with my craziness.

Here's the board, followed by a few of my favs from the student works. I'm looking forward to a unique and crazy year!

4 Lessons from One Week of Fashion Effort

I made it through a whole week of "fashionable" outfits! I even wore makeup every day! (And I said "no" to one invitation, thus continuing to rid myself of burdensome obligations.)

What did I learn this week? Plenty!

1. Choosing outfits for the whole week ahead of time is NOT just for kids! One of the saving graces this week was having every outfit planned for the whole week. On Sunday evening, I hung up each outfit in the order I'd wear it during the week. This meant that even when I didn't feel like getting "dressed up", it was easy to do because it was right there in front of me! I highly recommend this for any adult professional! So what if you only did this when you were like 5?! It works!

2. Put on the matching outfit, even if you don't think you're going anywhere. This was Saturday's big lesson. I hadn't planned to go anywhere. Normally, I'd just lounge around all day (in lounge pants and oversize tee, of course). But there was the outfit, waiting for me. So I wore it anyway. And put on makeup. ("Why not?" right?) And it turned out I needed to run errands, so I looked great while out and about. Especially great since I ended up taking my pic for my driver's license!

3. Dressing professionally really does make your day better. Have you ever noticed that other people's attitudes rub off on you? Well, the same is true of your attitude about yourself. I noticed that I really did feel better about myself when I looked nicer in my own opinion. And similarly, other people started to take notice as well. I wish I'd kept track of how many people commented, "You look nice today." That just made my day! And I just felt better about myself knowing that I'd tried.

4. Fashion has its own language. Learn it. Two of the fashion-specific phrases I learned during my Pinterest research (and Facebook stalking of fashionable people) were: "#ootd" and "capsule wardrobe". These two phrases have figured significantly into my lexicon this week. Hopefully I'll be able to blog a bit more about how those two phrases have made such a difference to me.

Have I learned everything there is to know? NO WAY! I know there is so much I still need to figure out. But I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. Will I make some missteps? Probably! But I'll post them here and share what I learn from them.

As a professional librarian, I recommend using Pinterest for research! I now have a whole board dedicated to "fashion advice", which are great little posts that I can refer back to and reread as needed. Sometimes I need the reassurance!

As your friendly neighborhood librarian, I recommend reading Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata. A great book about where beauty truly can be found, and what beautiful truly means.

And as your local church song leader, I recommend you repeat Philippians 4:13 whenever needed!


(And please enjoy these #ootd photos from my week!)

2 Lessons from Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

In this busy school year, I've had to rely on this verse. A LOT. At the start of this new year, a thought struck me. I have learned two important lessons from this verse this year! One lesson I even made my "New Year's Resolution". Sometimes it just takes me awhile to hear God's voice (must be what Lent is for).

So... two lessons from Phil. 4:13.



Lesson One: Just because I can do all things doesn't mean I'm being told to do ALL things!

One of my biggest weaknesses is becoming overwhelmed and over-committed. I volunteer for projects, even though I'm really busy, just because I think I must. I tell myself, "This won't get done unless I do it!" Which of course is just silly, because if it needs getting done, someone will indeed take care of it! Case in point: I volunteered to direct Junior MidWinter Camp. Direct!! Now, my thought process on this should have told me that A) camp would happen with or without me and B) directing was too big a project for me and would stress me out. But I didn't listen. Yes, camp went well. But I was a basket case until it was over!

Lesson learned: don't volunteer for anything unless you REALLY want to. Now, I've still got too much on my plate, but I'm slowly learning that listening to God's voice is different than hearing that whiny self-talk in my head. So I'm tuning out the irritating over-volunteering voice, and tuning in to the Voice of Truth.














Lesson Two: Just because I haven't done something before doesn't mean God doesn't want me to try!

I am an adult, with an adult job as a library media specialist in a small school PreK-12 and an adult position in my church as song leader. Both of these roles call for a professional, adult appearance. But seriously, I just realized it over the past two weeks. Maybe it has to do with being an "adult age" finally (you'd think by 41 I'd have this figured out). Maybe it has to do with opening my eyes to the full impact of Philippians 4:13. I can do ALL things. I can, indeed, figure out how to dress like a professional -- including wearing makeup and matching my clothes and shopping for myself.

Yipe. I had to reread that just now.

What am I getting myself into? I've never worn much makeup. For awhile, when I was helping sell Avon with my mom-in-law, I bought makeup and wore it (though not every day). But I don't think I was very good at it. At the beginning of this school year, I bought makeup and wore it until about October. My reasoning: no one even noticed when I wore it or not, so why bother. My new realization: people do notice, they're just too polite to say anything. And it shouldn't be about that, anyway; it's about a professional image.

The same is certainly true, if not more so, for my wardrobe. I have never ever been good at shopping. I have never been good at putting clothes together. However, I didn't really think anyone noticed. Until a Sunday morning about two weeks ago. One of the older ladies of the congregation pulled me aside before worship started to ask me if I knew I didn't match. Yikes! I guess I didn't really pay attention, but my daughter just shook her head. She knew. And it's not my daughter's job to make sure I match every day or to take me shopping. (I miss my mom-in-law so much -- she was so GOOD at fashion and makeup!)

But I am an adult. I am a professional. I should be able to research and make notes to figure out this makeup and fashion thing. So that's what I've been doing. Pinterest has been especially helpful. As well as Stitch Fix! And so: Tomorrow, I'm going on my first fashion shopping trip, using my research guidelines and prayerful resolve.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

(proof I can dress nicely and put on makeup!)












How about a book recommendation: read the Seraphina duo (Seraphina and Shadow Scale). Great for learning about your personal strengths and stepping out to be the person you were meant to be!

Surprises and Challenges

It's time for us to go back to school! I knew I was getting a new challenge for this year -- teaching 7th Grade Reading. I worked all summer on lesson plans, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first day of school.

And then ... a surprise! I also get to teach 8th Grade History! So, after a whirlwind two days of lesson planning, I'm nearly ready for the first day of school.

Monday is the first day! Bring it!

Parts of the Family

Two events happened on Sunday evening that brought home the idea of the closeness of family.

Sunday evening at church was Game Night! This time, we had chili & nachos and all wore our pajamas! I love getting together with the church family in such an informal way. It helps us get to know each other, and just be able to spend time together with these people who are such an important part of life. There was a variety of games around the room: CatchPhrase, 5 Second Rule, Apples to Apples, Sorry, Risk, Battleship, and the kids had a My Little Pony card game going on, as well as the PS3 which the hubby brought from home.

I think the highlight for me, though, was watching a couple of 9th graders and a 7th grader play Chutes and Ladders! Most of us played this game as kids growing up in the 70s and 80s. But these 3 young people played it like I've never seen before. They were really into it -- determined to win. But the best part was how much fun they were having! It was awesome to see teenagers REALLY laugh!


Later, after we'd all come home, and everyone in my house had gone to sleep, we heard crying outside the bedroom door. This was about 11:00 at night. My son was standing there outside the door, distraught because he'd forgotten a big project that was due Monday morning. So, we jumped out of bed and got to work. No scolding, or yelling; he'd already been upset enough about it. It was time to put behind the blame and get going on the project. I worked with my son on his writing project, and then we all dived in to the shoebox model of Inuit life. :) Even my daughter got up to make a clay model of a seal for the project! You know what? It only took us about a half hour to complete what might have been days' worth of work.

And here's what really got me. Both of these Sunday events were really about family. Family coming together; family working and playing together; family being there for one another, no matter whether it's fun time or work time.

♪I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God♪

Speeches, Basketball, and Dance.. Oh My!

Yesterday was one of those overly busy days. I'm reminded of Dorothy's famous line about lions, and tigers, and... Yep, it was a walk-in-the-woods kind of day.

During school, both kids attended the 4H speech contest. My daughter got a red ribbon, and my son got a blue ribbon. I'm just proud that they wanted to participate!

Right after school, my daughter had a basketball game. The school buses were being used on routes, so no buses were available to take the girls to the game! My husband volunteered to use our church van, so we took half and coach used the school suburban for the other half. (Hubby's logic: the pastor's daughter and the youth pastor's daughter are both on the team, so why not?) Actually, I'm glad our church can reach out to the community when there is a need!

To top it all off, my daughter had dance class last night too! She was tired for sure, but she wouldn't have it any other way. It's a good thing she's taking this all in stride, since nearly every Tuesday until mid-January is going to be basketball/dance day!

To be honest, I am glad my kids like to be involved in school and extracurricular activities. I just really wish (for my sake) that the activities didn't happen all on the same day!

A quick read, a novel in verse, for grades 6-8: Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes. The main character is a middle school basketball player, and her struggle during her first year of middle school is actually a great (and quick) book to read!