Ooo, Some Life

I was doing some blogging on my district-owned site, but they shut that service down earlier this year, so I’ve migrated some of the more important posts, which is why there were four in a row after years of nothing.

I don’t always have time to share ideas but there are some things I’m working on.

I started a Facebook group about reading banned books – particularly the books for students that are hot-button issues right now.

I am thinking about ways to use Canva for teachers and students.

I am reading my way through a bunch of novels to use as read-alouds in math-focused classes. This was a really effective way to get kids to show up during the pandemic, and I think it might be a good way to get kids settled down at the beginning of a class.

I continue to work on using puzzles from MashupMath as a classroom challenge and a way to pack some strategies into busy co-taught classes.

I have figured out how to make decent yeast bread with and without a bread machine, so I am moving on to learning how to sew. I have just acquired an older machine for this purpose. So hold me accountable for that one, I guess?

This Blog Not Dead

Okay. So it’s been a busy couple of years.

I have not been teaching preschool, or doing before-care.

I moved to Indiana and taught special education for two years. I know there are special educators who blog about their practice, but I actually don’t have much that’s positive to say about either experience, in a broad sense.There’s a reason that people burn out of special ed so quickly, and it isn’t the kids or their parents.

Now I’m teaching math in an urban school setting. I don’t think I’m an expert in math instruction at all – in fact, I really struggle with it, because it’s not what I majored in. But there are good moments and terrible ones and I think I am learning.

More later.

Catching Up

When I took the third job at Sylvan late last fall, I no longer had any time to write about what I was doing with the kids. I kept taking pictures and posting stuff on pinterest, because that was easy, but it started to feel like I could choose between eating and sleeping and having time to reflect on my lessons. With $260 a month in student loan payments (and that’s after I paid off more than half of my total debt), I didn’t have much choice about working more hours.

The school year is pretty much wound down though, and now I have time to go through the photos and start writing. It might seem a little strange to read about our Chinese New Year activities in June, but stick with me, and we’ll get through everything and have a lot of fun doing it.

I’ve made a list of things to write about, but the posts will not be chronological.