Mrs. Frogster, Firsthand

We are on the brink of celebrating Independence Day here, but I neglected to post about a recent holiday - Father's Day.  We have plenty of reasons to look forward to Father's Day around here; I am blessed with a fantastic dad (Pop to my kiddos), wonderful father-in-law (Grampa to my kiddos), and of course an incredible husband who is such a great dad to our children.  To remind these guys why we love them so much and how much we appreciate them, we like to make little handmade gifts for them.  The kids spend hours drawing and coloring cards they design themselves, adding just the right touches with rubber stamps, scented markers, and stickers.  For my dad, whom the kids affectionately call Pop, we made a card shaped like a box of popcorn, proclaiming "To the best Pop in the World."  I cut out popcorn-shaped pieces of card stock for the kids to each write their own sentiments to their Pop and tucked them inside the card. For my father-in-law, who loves

I'm sitting at the dining room table with a protein shake and bulletproof coffee, a familiar place after my garage workouts.  Earlier, before I hit the weights in the garage, I was sitting here too, eating a little and reading my Bible.  These are routines that have not changed for a long time, and I don't plan on changing them, either.  There is a comfort in routine and schedule and "this is the same every day."  However, when it comes to working out, I admit that I had gotten into a rut.  I was going through the motions, which I suppose was better than doing nothing at all, but I was bored and definitely not seeing muscle growth or definition.  I knew that that had to change.  I needed something to motivate me, challenge me, force me to grow in my workout space. (pull-ups and push-ups, I'm looking at you!)  (in my "gym", complete with refrigerator and tool bench, haha) A few months ago, when I was still on social media (yep, Instagram and Faceb

We have reached the end of the school year!  Our grand finale came much more quickly than I anticipated!  Despite my super excited face in the picture above, I was actually a little sad for this year to be over already.  I have really enjoyed my group of students this year.  Still, summer is here!  I am greatly looking forward to warm days spent with my own kids reading and riding bikes and exploring and making a million crafts and eating s'mores by the fire pit. The last day of school is always chaotic.  I feel like I have so many things I want to do, and then I turn around and it's dismissal time already!  This year, I had a memory activity for the students to work on that ended up taking up most of our morning.  I have seen ideas for making memory books for the school year on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers; so I figured I could take the general idea and make some simple books for the kids.  To make the books, I used a sharpie and blank paper to make the following

Once upon a time, there was a tired mom who just gave up on trying to be healthy. She stopped caring about what food she put into in her body, and she started choosing the tv and sedentary activities over exercise and outside activity.  When her jeans got too tight and she had to go purchase new, larger ones, she shrugged her shoulders and sighed.  She really didn't care anymore.  She didn't have enough energy to care. I wish I could say exactly what happened that changed her apathy towards health and fitness.  I just remember that one day (for indeed I was this mom), I looked at myself in the mirror, and I cared.  I cried at the circles under my eyes and the exhausted, sad face.  I despaired that I was again close to having to get new, larger jeans.  I decided that enough was enough.  I was going to change; I just didn't know how. A bright, flashing ad for a new gym in the area called OrangeTheory Fitness popped up in my Facebook feed that day.  I clicked through to

Summer break is really just around the corner.  Here in Oregon, the dismal rains have disappeared, and warm temperatures and intense sunshine has happily filled the void.  Here's a math problem for you:  take these full days of sunshine, add distinct knowledge that we are almost in the last month of school, and multiply by 12 hyper students whose energy and general motivation are compounded by the throes of puberty, and what do you get?  Well, I'll tell you.  Children whose minds are anywhere but learning and whose feet are quick in running to mischief! (bonus points if you know what Scripture verse that reference comes from!)  Yes, students that once actually listened in class and completed their assignments in a timely manner are suddenly off in la-la land without a clue as to what their assignments even are.  Cries of "Do we have to?" and "Couldn't we just go outside for this class?" fill the air.  And even though you've been drilling your cla

Today marks an entire year since God called my mom home to Heaven.  Although I know in my heart that she is pain-free and in the presence of Jesus, I miss her more than I could ever put into words.  I found a voicemail that I had saved on my phone from her and cried.  Pictures make me cry.  Family memories make me cry.  Everything is making me cry today.  There is a certain heaviness to everything I do today.   Last year, at this time as I packed a bag and boarded an airplane to Nebraska to be at my mom's funeral, I purchased a new journal to write my thoughts and feelings in during that very long and difficult week.  I knew that much of the time would be very overwhelming, and I figured writing down what I was going through would help me remember it all.  I looked over the journal this morning for the first time since she passed.  I haven't had the courage to face the memories before today.  The very beginning of my journal is my speech that I gave at her funeral.  I kn

I thought it might be fun for you all to take a short virtual tour of my classroom!  I just changed the theme to "Cactus Makes Perfect," and there are adorable bulletin boards and growth-mindset posters throughout the room to carry out this theme.  I filmed this on a Wednesday morning before school started.  Since it is already halfway through April, we are getting close to the end of the school year.  I have tried various set-ups along the way; we have finally hit a desk arrangement and classroom set-up that makes sense and works for my particular class. So enjoy the tour!  Here is the link to the Cactus and Succulents Growth Mindset Posters.   Also, the math cards for the ratios and proportions can be found here.    The idea for the desk towers came from this blog. And seriously, hit up Dollar Tree for the best containers and trays and baskets!  It is such an inexpensive way to organize the classroom.

I had always assumed that I was just one of those people who naturally had a lot of energy.  I was quick and eager to wake up in the mornings and get on with my day.  I taught at school all week, invested time in my hobbies, and generally had a positive attitude to go along with it.  And then came the children.  In 2006, God blessed us with our first child who apparently did not like sleeping.  Deep in the throes of new mommyhood, I discovered when Gabi was just five months old that I was pregnant again with our second child.  Tired does not even begin to describe how I felt during that time.    Imagine how I felt when the pregnancy test showed positive again at the end of 2007!  Having three kids in three years was the most exhausting experience for me.  I ran on little sleep, lots of coffee, and less-than-healthy food grabbed in my spare moments.  I learned very quickly that my three little ones needed structure and routine, and I created that for them.  Solid bedtime routines,

My nine-year-old has been attending classes at an American Ninja Warrior gym for the past three months.  His class focuses on safety, strength, and skill as they work through parkour moves, flips, core exercises, dead hangs, rock wall climbing, jumps, etc.  It is the perfect environment for my constantly-moving, constantly-risking child.  He has a ninja belt made of sturdy white rope to indicate that he is a beginner.  As he accomplishes different skills taught in the class, he earns colored stripes to put on his belt.  Naturally athletic and a quick learner, Mikey earned his first two stripes without much difficulty. It must be noted that the coaches do not readily hand out these stripes.  They must be earned through a lot of hard work and discipline.   A month or so ago, he began trying to obtain his climbing stripe.  It was a struggle from the beginning.  When following the colored strips of tape all the way up to the top of the wall proved to be a physically and mentally d

My fifth-grade math class just finished a unit on multiplying and dividing fractions.  The multiplying fractions part was, in the students' words, "too easy."  It was not difficult for them to catch on that when we multiply 1/4 by 6, for example, that we were really counting six quarters.  Both the concept and the execution (multiply numerator by numerator and denominator by denominator) seemed like a no-brainer to them. However, when we reached the fraction division, the learning screeched to a halt.  The concept of taking one fraction and dividing it by another fraction was as foreign to the students as making a mix tape by recording songs off the radio. (You did that, too, right??)  Anyway, I tried drawing pictures on the board, using a number line, and even making paper strips of various lengths to make this concept more visual for my students. And while these approaches may have worked for other students, mine simply weren't getting it.  Frustrated, I went hom

Spring days here in Oregon can start out cold and drizzly and suddenly burst into sunshine and balmy breezes, only to again be intruded by dismal rain and shifting temperatures.  Just like these fickle gray rainstorms, grief is such an unpredictable interrupter of life,  a soul-slicer when you thought the pain was over, a sharp reminder of things you wish you could forget.  Today is my parents' 42nd wedding anniversary.  Or, at least it would be, if my mom were still with us here on earth.  I wrote the date rather casually on my white board this morning; it wasn't until I announced the date to my students later in the chaos of morning readying that the date registered in my mind as a special one, a one worth remembering.  But who can really grieve in a classroom full of noisy, squirmy students?  No, it must be pushed back into the recesses of sometime later while life goes on.  Engaging classes.  A hilarious joke from one of my students.  A burst of that rather elusive s

I have been eating a ketogenic diet now for almost four months.  If you are unfamiliar with the term, a ketogenic diet (usually just referred to as Keto) consists of high fats, moderate protein, and very low carbs.  A person on Keto will adjust into ketosis, which means the body will begin to produce ketones by the breakdown of fats in the liver.  The goal of the Keto diet is to force your body into burning those ketones for energy, helping with weight loss, energy levels, health in general, and mental benefits.  There's a lot more to it of course, but those are the basic facts.  My husband started eating the Keto way last summer and has stayed consistently on it since then.  He has lost almost seventy pounds this way and has experienced other health benefits as well, such as better sleep and highly increased energy levels.  In fact, it was the visible increase of his energy that inspired me to try Keto, as I did not have weight to lose.  In another post, I will detail the succe

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is almost upon us.  Usually, this is a jam-packed time of year in which I remember at the last minute to frantically hard boil some eggs and then dye them with the kids. (We must make memories, after all!)  This year, however, we are blessed to have our week of spring break right before Easter; so I technically have no excuses.  And while dying eggs is fun and hunting for said eggs is always an anticipated adventure, I try to make them just a small part of our celebration. Easter is, after all, not about candy or colorful eggs or fun activities.  It marks the most important event in world history - world-changing on a global scale and life-changing on a personal scale. On this day, Jesus Christ conquered death by rising from the grave and ascending to Heaven to be at the right hand of the Father.  "Oh death, where is thy sting?  Oh grave, where is thy victory?"  Through this superhuman act, Jesus Christ was able to do something that no one el

I have the privilege of teaching at a most unique school.  It's hard to explain the concept of this school that has benefited my life and the lives of my own children.  Basically, our school takes students who are behind in their academics/social skills, students who are right on par with their peers, and students who are gifted in one or more areas of study and works with them one-on-one to help them achieve their highest potential.  Many of our students do not do well in a traditional, large-classroom setting; so our school offers them a sanctuary from their anxieties and fears and gives them a place where they are able to progress at their own rate without fear of comparison or judgment. If that sounds amazing and fantastic, it is!  It is also a lot of hard work.  This year, I teach twelve students who have various skills and abilities.  Some of these students are all over the board academically.  For example, one of my students is in 6th grade reading, 5th grade mathematics,