Winter Madness

My life has been filled with lots of trips in January.  I returned from Texas at the beginning of January and then in the middle of this month, I made the annual trip to Adventurous Christian.  It is always fun to relax with the high school students.  This year I went up with the ski team.  This means I had to be packed and ready at the church at 4 AM!!!!  I made it and had fun talking with the van driver and watching the world wake up that Friday morning.  Sunrises are beautiful, they just happen too early.

 I am busy with teaching.  I have a fifth grade class for a week.  It has been fun learning about earthquakes and volcanoes.  I am relearning how to find volume and surface area in Math so that I can teach it to the kids.  We are also talking about the Civil Rights movement for reading this week.  That has opened up some fun conversations with the students. 

So life keeps me busy.  Each day I think maybe today won't be quite so crazy, only to find that it has been filled with fun.

Merry Christmas to All

I wrote in my Christmas cards to check out my blog.  So I better write my Christmas letter here.

This year is a replay of last year.  I went did the same trips as last year, which were going to Adventurous Christian in the Boundary Waters with our high school students.  Then this summer I traveled with these kids to Wyoming for our annual trip to Lone Tree Bible Ranch.  I finished up my last classes for my Media Specialist degree, so now it is on to student teaching for the spring semester.  Yippee I am down with classes!

As I am writing this, I am sitting at the "hall" at Orange Grove RV Park on Christmas day.  We (Mom, Dad and I)  just finished our Christmas dinner and will return for the evening meal for the replay of lunch.  We arrived down here at 11:45 pm last night after two long days of driving.  We were ahead of the winter storms again this year, so only ran into rain.  It is good to be here.  The sun is shining and the wind is blowing.  I can run around with just a sweatshirt on.  I will head back to the snow on the 4th of January.

May you all find the joy of Christ's birth a reason to celebrate and be thankful for all the things He brings into our lives whether it is for the first time or an instant replay.

Christmas Mexico Style

Final Assignment

My Technology trend paper is going to focus on the overall impact technology has had on education.  The future of technology depends on teachers.  If teachers do not learn how to use the new technology, the students will never learn how to use the technology correctly.  After all that is what we have been doing in this class.  I am glad that I have been introduced to some of these new things.  I look forward to trying to incorporate these ideas into the classroom setting.  I think Media Specialists can lead the way with starting to teach students about some of the newer technology.  We may have a little more time to play with the technology than classroom teachers.  The strain that classroom teachers have to get students to pass state mandated testing takes priority for them.  If I can show teachers that some new technology might help students to pass these tests, I think teachers will jump on board.

GoFish Guys giving their reason for Christmas

Why is there a T in Christmas?

Out of the mouth of a first grader.  This was his question to me today.  He was looking at a book title and noticed that there is a T in Christmas but we do not pronounce it, so he asked.  I was able to give the answer because I heard it a while back.  People used to go to mass on Christmas morning and they called it Christ's Mass.  Things were shortened and it became Christmas.  So I was glad that I could share that answer today.  Christ is still in the hearts of little ones.

New look for the Christmas season

I thought it was time to get a new look.  I loved the leaves, but now that we are getting ready for Christmas I wanted a new look for this place.  My school work is winding down, and my social calendar is filling up with things to do.  I am glad that my Christmas shopping is done!  Here's to the wonderful time of the year... Christmas.  I am so glad and thankful that I know and understand the True meaning of Christmas.