Sunday in Paradise

Someday I would love to know why it is that Sundays in my favorite vacation spot are always beautiful.  Is it so I can enjoy the beauty of the world, or is to tempt me because we choose not to indulge on the Sabbath?  Look at that sky.  There's barely a cloud present.  I think I'll go check the weather forecast for the rest of the week.

The backyard of the condo offers beauty, too.  The entire bird-of-paradise plant is in bloom right now.

Writing on a new blog

Just so you know, I've blogged 7 weeks in a row on my school blog:  http://thecallhall.weebly.com/blog.html.  Go me!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog silence...

Educational Differences

Can something be learned if it's already been experienced but just not written down?  I hope so, because that is part of what I've learned this week.

I finished up a two-day professional development yesterday on interdisciplinary teaming.  Day 1 was incredible.  Our team worked hard to develop it's name, logo, common themes, etc.  Each activity edified, each story intrigued, and everyone seemed to leave excited for the future.  Then there was day two.  We were barraged with personal stories that left one wondering what the point was, we felt coerced into completing tasks that offered no deeper application, and we were held captive with nothing to do for two hours in order to receive our payment for the previous six hours.  I love how the facilitator  of Day 1 presented her information.  I respect the facilitator of Day 2, but it just wasn't her best teaching moment.  I guess, the whole point of this story is that "actions speak louder than words".  In order for me to NOT fall into the same trap as Day 2 facilitator I need to be aware of the ratio of actions/words that I require of my students.  I do NOT want my students coming home and telling their parents that they were held captive by their teacher...unless it's because I'm teaching something that is truly captivating. 

So, I might have bitten off something bigger than I can chew.  I decided to start this year with "standards based grading".  What is that you ask?  Or isn't that what you complained about so much last year?   (Okay, maybe I didn't complain on this blog...but if you'd been around when I finished reading some books for school, or happen to be my friend on Good Reads, you'd know that I haven't been a fan.)  Well, standards based grading is grading students entirely on the standards that you teach.  Sounds simplify enough, I know...but it isn't.  This means that a grade can NOT be lowered because of absences or tardies.   Late work and extra credit aren't allowed either.    I read 2 books last spring on Standards Based Grading and hated everything about it.

So, why do it this year?  Well, my principal gave me a new book for summer reading and the approach is completely different.  Instead of "everything you've ever done for grading is WRONG" like in one of the spring time books, this book is "tweak a few things and you're there."  So, I tweaked.  This year instead of having categories for tests, homework, participation, etc for my grades, the categories will be Number Sense, Proportional Relationships, Executive Functioning Skills, etc.  I will still give the same homework and tests as before, I'll just group them differently.  I don't know if it's truly Standard Based Grading, but that's what I'm doing.  So, here goes.  Wish me luck!  (I'm sure there will be more posts in the future on how it works/doesn't work.)

First Sunday

Well, my first Sunday as Primary President was mostly a success.  A couple of glitches occurred with timing issues, and I lost the kids' attention the last 5 minutes of Sharing Time.  But overall, we made it!

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What I learned last week was that it really stresses me out when someone pushes my boundaries.  You'd think that would be an obvious piece of knowledge, but it was news to me.  So, here's what happened.  I got a phone call on Monday and was informed of several things that this individual was expecting me to do.  That shouldn't have caused too much stress but the children were running around and crying for dinner which was on the stove cooking and Nate had just arrived home.  I did NOT have time then for a 20 minute phone call.  So, rather than ask if we could have the conversation later, I just stood there and took it all.  Then I hung up the phone and cried.  I felt alone and useless and overwhelmed and harassed.  Needless to say, I wasn't very polite to my family.

Things improved after dinner when we went to the Draper Temple for family night.  I apologized to everyone, and we discussed the blessings of the temple.  Later, Nate and I dissected what had set me off.  I don't mind doing things for others, or completing what I'm supposed to do.  What I DON'T like is for someone to assume that I'll do whatever they ask--without asking.  That's the Boundary that was crossed.

So, how am I going to prevent that from happening again?  I don't know.  But I do know how to recognize it after it happens.  I think I just need to be aware of it to begin with, and move on from there.

Mid-Century Architecture

This week I learned that my entire township is banned from setting off fireworks.  I also learned that no one follows that ordinance.

I also learned that my house is a classic example of mid-century architecture.  (I wonder what would happen to the property value if I typed that into Zillow.). That little tid-bit came from our new neighbors (who I met for the first time yesterday).  Derek and Micah originally come from San Diego.  They've bought the house two down from us.  His thesis was on mid-century architecture, so he was very pleased to find it here in Utah at an affordable price.  (And here I was thinking that the builders of our house were just crazy with their design.)

I suspect that my learning level is about to GREATLY increase.  I'm getting a new calling in church today (more in what it is after it happens).  Scared?  Yes.  Excited?  Yes.  Humbled?  Greatly.

Video by Request

So, um, what I learned last week was to double-check that my post actually got published and not just saved as a draft.  Oops.  So, below is what I tried to post from my i-pad.

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Ally requested more videos of my kids, so here you go.  This is from today.  The temperature was over 100, so we didn't stay outside for too long.

And here's the rest of the adventure.  After I stopped Carter from playing with the next door neighbor's sprinklers.  (It's so exciting!)

This one's from Friday when Mom and I took the kids down to the Mountain Man Rendezvous at Energy Solutions Arena.  They had FREE pony rides!  Couldn't beat the price!  (But the heat was awful!)

 Here's another video from earlier in the summer.

 Enjoy!  (Oh, and another thing that I learned...or was at least reminded of...is that Blogger only allows you post videos that are less than 100 MB.  So, if you want the others, you'll need to come see them on my computer.)

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So, because I'm at the computer and I know that I'll forget by Friday--here are some other things that I have learned this past weekend.

1.  The piping on couches and other upholstery is actually called "welting".
2.  Costco has a really easy-to-use photobook maker.  I can even use my Creative Memories software to make the pages and then use those pages in the book.  Here's hoping that their turnaround time is accurate.   (I used the software to make a sign-in book for my brother-in-law's wedding on the 1st of August.  5-8 business days is just fine.  Any longer than that will get me in trouble.)

Practice Makes Humble

I finished reading Jon Acuff's book Start yesterday and felt inspired.  I've wanted to do a blog for school for the last couple of years, but couldn't really think of a topic to blog about.  I even created a blog last Spring when I updated my school website--but I still didn't know what to write about.  I mean, if I complained about a student online--I might just get in a little bit of trouble.  I found a couple of 180 teacher blogs, meaning that they blog every day of the school year.  Yikes!  I have a hard enough time trying to update this blog monthly.

So, after finishing Start, the idea came to me.  I'm always telling my students that learning is a life-long process and that I'm continually learning new things--math related and not.  Now I have the opportunity to prove it.  I want to write WEEKLY about what new things I learned that week.  I believe that the flexibility of the subject and time frame will make it possible...and hopefully, some what interesting.

Since there are still 5 weeks until school starts, I should practice now to make sure that it's really something that I want to commit 36 weeks of my life to.

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This week I learned about home remodeling.  I've watched Nate fix drywall, mud, sand, and make basic repairs for the last couple of years since we bought our house.  But this week, it was my turn.  In the process of finally painting Kaylie's room (see video below), we found blue paint at Home Depot for $7.  Jackpot!  Which means it was time to also paint Carter's room.  Nate decided that it was time for me to learn the finer arts of home construction.  So, Tuesday I learned how to mud the correct way and Wednesday I learned about how much work sanding correctly really is.

Three days and a couple of tears later, the real thing that I learned is that I'm still stuck in a "Fixed Mindset" (See Carol Dewak's book Mindset).  When learning something new, I want to be able to just do what I'm asked and move on to the end results.  I often don't care about the why and how of it.  Which means I get REALLY touchy when I'm told that I'm doing it wrong--like with sanding.  Once I calmed down, dried my tears, and apologized to my husband, I realized that my pride was getting in the way of being in the "Growth Mindset".  After that realization, I was able to see the need to ask clarifying questions and actually learn how and why to do something the correct way.  The work continued and Carter now has a newly painted room  (see 2nd video below).

It's hard to admit that the teacher in me is having the same troubles that I complain about with my students.  I'm afraid to ask questions because of what someone else might think of me!  Good grief!  If I don't ask questions, how am I ever going to learn it correctly.

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Kaylie's new room

Carter's new room

FYI.  My new school blog can be found at http://thecallhall.weebly.com/blog.html.  I won't start posting there until school starts.