Mrs. Frogster, Firsthand

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