Oh dear readers,
Do I even have readers any more?! It has been nearly 11 MONTHS since I last blogged! What?? To be fair, the year started off with my mom going into the hospital, and she was in the hospital for 8 months. She was in a hospital about 45 minutes away, so adding that on top of my day-to-day life of being wife, mommy, and teacher, and there was really no free time. But... I am here now! (Shout-out to my #nctechat friends from tonight for motivating me to pick this back up!)
So, I kinda feel like I should rename my blog Lazarus since I'm trying to resurrect it. Hopefully it will be going through some *GOOD* changes in the near future (the best of which will, I hope, be more blog posts, and done regularly to boot). Alas, as happy as I am about resurrecting this blogging thang, I still can't shake the nerdynerdynerdy inside me!
In case you're wondering what's new with me, let me give you a little update. Just to remind you, I have taught 5th grade reading, ELA, and social studies for the last 6 years. This summer, I found out that I'm also teaching math for the 2014-2015 school year. I was SO NERVOUS when I found out. I haven't taught math in 6 years! And now we're using Common Core, which I know is a lot of work. (Mad props to all my math teacher friends out there!)
My biggest concern about teaching math was that I was afraid I wouldn't do a good enough job for my students. I'm pretty much a perfectionist, so this really stressed me out. However, I'm really glad that I found out while on mission trip (working with orphans and victims of sex-trafficking in Costa Rica). When you're in such a situation, you realize that all the problems *WE* think are problems really ARE NOT. It's easier to put things in perspective when you're working with people in desperate need.
So, I pulled myself up by the bootstraps (or, as I'd prefer to say, I put my big girl panties on) and decided to dive head-first into learning. I'm on my 3rd professional development book about teaching math, and now I am SO EXCITED! I can't wait to work on math with my new students. I want them to truly know that math makes sense, and that it can make sense to every single one of them! (I struggled with math in 5th grade, middle school, and 9th grade. I get the fear that some kids have with math.)
But yes, dear readers, it is summer. Some days, I am so geeked out over learning new math methods that I can't put down my PD books and paper and pencil. Then some days, I am SO LAZY! My son is almost 10 (shut up, can't believe it, say it's not so, etc.), and we have had a great time just lounging around and hanging out together. Gotta balance it all, my friends!
Well, that's about all the update I've got right now. Watching Rising Star and it is TOTALLY DISTRACTING ME! :)
Keep on keepin' on, friends!
Dallas
OH, and I have redone my classroom blog... I love the way it looks! Do you blog for your students and parents?
www.mrsthompsonteaches.com
What math PD books have you been reading?
ReplyDeleteGlad you asked!
Delete"Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask" by Sullivan & Lilburn. (good premise, but the writing seemed a little hokey; short read)
"The Differentiated Math Classroom: A Guide for Teachers, K-8" by Murray & Jorgensen (LOVED this book, highly recommended for any math teacher)
"Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics: Grades 3-5" by Van de Walle & Lovin (also LOVE this book! Practical problems/applications for all math standards)
Pardon the intrusion. I was wondering if you ever feature interesting and novel pi products on your blog?
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, my company offers a Digits of Pi poster with almost 6 million digits. Millions more digits than other posters on the market. It’s a printing marvel and also a tribute to the computation of pi to almost 6 million digits.
What also makes it different is that a magnifier is required to view the pi digits, which makes it really fun and interactive. It’s a tool to spark a student’s interest in pi by having them search for repeating patterns of the digits in the poster.
Product Link: HTTP://WWW.EXATEXTPOSTERS.COM/SIX-MILLION-PI-DIGITS-POSTER-P/POST-M-01.HTM
Let me know and I can send additional info and a sample.
I like the way your blog looks as of now. And I like your writing style (especially the part with renaming the blog Lazarus to ressurect it) You might build a career in freelance academic writing.
ReplyDelete