Been away for so long...but now I'm BACK!

Although the title seems to indicate that I went on a trip to a faraway land of enchantment, rich in exotic flora, where I had a bounty of delicious food, beautiful beaches and perfect weather, but had no access to technology or civilization, it really means that I've been too busy to blog.
Yeah, well maybe the title doesn't exactly indicate the aforementioned situation (I wish it did!), but the blog has been low on the priority list and now I want to change that.

After reading several ideas about journaling, blogging, reflections logs, etc, I thought it would be great to come back and do exactly that. I've found so many great ideas from incredible teachers posting on the interwebs, from amazing conferences (I'm talking to you MidSchoolMath, UCET, and UMLA), and from my fellow "Mathnificent edutainers", which I would love to share with others. I would also like to keep track of those great ideas in case I forget the details in years to come. What better way to do that than to pen, er, type these ideas in a format in which the entire world, including me (hence the word entire), could see and use?

I am "planning" to post at least once a week; Friday looks like the front runner. I would like to do a daily themed post, like some of these amazing (non-sleeping) bloggers, but I'm taking baby steps right now

UCET Presentation

I was lucky enough to be selected as a presenter at this year's Utah Coalition for Educational Technology, but I wasn't sure if it was going to go over well since I didn't have a whole ton of technology in my presentation.
The session was titled "You Can Be the Teacher AND the Class Clown" and I was to present my ideas on motivation in the classroom through humor, music, cheers, and technology, also known as "Edutainment."

Well, it was standing room only! The attendees were so receptive and willing to have participate, that I almost went over my scheduled time because everyone was having a blast.
Being in that room, with all of those educators laughing at my jokes, listening to my advice, and sharing their gratitude, was truly amazing and I hope I will be able to continue these motivational sessions in the future.

Thank you UCET for taking a chance on this presentation and scoring! I can't wait to do it again!  And thank you to the attendees for being a great audience whom I hope will take away some valuable ideas and incorporate them into their "Edutaining" classrooms!

Presentation Evaluation

Teacher Humor

Humor is sometimes the only thing that can get you through the day, but if you use it daily, your classroom will be a happier place for EVERYONE!!!

These are just some of those LOLs that I thought I'd share with the fabulous teachers of the world! Enjoy and keep laughing; it burns calories, you know?!

Be Creative

My son Hunter (graciously modeling above) and I wanted to give his 6th grade teacher a nice end-of-year gift that meant something to her, so we made a wordle for her and a "candy bouquet" with a Restaurant.com gift card attached. The wordle featured her best characteristics and interests and we placed the end result in a nice frame that she could hang in her classroom.

The candy bouquet included fun sized Reese's Cups, Kit Kats, Twix Bars, and Snickers.  I attached each fun sized bar to a thin wooden skewer and taped them in place. Then I put a cone-shaped Styrofoam piece into a thick, silver and blue gift wrap sheet and placed the wrapped Styrofoam into a small glass jar. The Styrofoam allowed me to keep the skewers upright in the jar so it looked like a full bouquet. I varied the skewer sizes to they fanned out nicely.  I finished the bouquet with her name painted on the jar so she could use it for treats, supplies, etc in her classroom.
Hunter was so excited to give it to her. Mrs. Craven was surprised and delighted and couldn't wait to place it on her wall.   It turned out so well that I may have to make myself one too! :)

Mrs. Craven and Hunter

And so starts a new chapter

When one door closes, another one opens. In my case a door that leads into a fantastic classroom; complete with my own office!

I am starting a new chapter in my life as an ABS cluster teacher at Eastmont Middle School in Sandy, UT. I will be a proud Patriot and educator to 12 wonderful 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Yes, I know what you're thinking; only 12 students? Well, they are wonderfully active and exceptional students that mostly fall into the EBD category, so 12 students is plenty. 

I will be teaching Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Reading, Social Skills/Character Development, and PE/Health! Wow, I got tired just typing that!
I am lucky though, because I will have a part-time and full-time paraprofessional in the class to help make the class run smoothly. ;)

The administration is AMAZING and super supportive, and the district has been wonderful to work with. I had the pleasure of meeting many of the teachers at a training in June where they were welcoming and accommodating even though training happened after the school year was over.  That right there made me realize that these were professional educators willing to make themselves, and thus their students, the best they can be.

My smiling face and bio should be up on the Eastmont website soon, so take a look and let me know what you think. GO PATRIOTS!