For When Life Is Kicking your Behind...

Alright, the title is not what I really wanted to say but lately that's how I feel. Life is just kicking me... I am so tired lately and so busy with grad school that I can't focus on anything for too long. I want to just sit and sleep. Here's the deal, the hubs and I went on this great little getaway, which I am hoping to post about really soon but remember that whole life is kicking me thing? yah... I appreciate that I still have some people reading this and checking up on me while I fail to post things. It is really great that people still want to read what I have to write.

Anyway, I will leave you with this ecard that I happened across.

Saying Goodbye

This sounds so final but I promise this post is not as final as it sounds. I just couldn't think of something more clever.

This week I had the opportunity to say goodbye to one of my students. Not goodbye as in they are leaving the school but goodbye from special education. This doesn't happen that much, especially in elementary school. I thoroughly enjoy being able to call parents in for these meetings. This one was especially wonderful. The mother has been wonderful and although we do not have the ability to simply speak to each other, as she speaks Spanish and I do not... we have been able to communicate throughout my three years teaching him.

Now on to my wonderful student. He is in 5th grade but he is the smallest 5th grader in the group. He doesn't let this get in his way. I have watched him learn to speak up for himself and learn how to make sure he is heard. Although he struggles to focus at times, he is able to get his work completed. I love that my friend has learned to stand up for himself and advocate for himself. That is what I have always wanted for him.

I have always wanted to be honest with my students and I was honest this year with my friend that "exited". I told him about 2 weeks ago that I wouldn't be picking him up any more and that he didn't need my help. This didn't mean he was never going to see me or couldn't ask me questions, it just meant that he didn't need me anymore. At first, he was mad that I wasn't going to pick him up. He just looked at me and said "But I still need you." This is one thing that has made it really hard for me this week. But as I sat there in the meeting with his mom, which I let him sit in on (he did his homework at another table), I realized that he would be okay. My friend was going to make it in the real world and didn't need me to hold his hand. He was growing up and had learned the strategies that I had set out to teach him.

This is what special education is about. Being able to look at a 5th grade student who has been in the program since Pre-K and seeing that they now have the skills to make it on their own.

So, with that said, I had to say goodbye to a dear friend this week. It was difficult but it made my job worth it.

Five Favorite Fall Things

It's time for some fabulous fall things that I love.

1. Fall mugs and beverages. This is one of my favorite mugs, it is a pumpkin that my Godmother gave to me when I was in college. I also love hot apple cider and pumpkin coffee in any way, shape or form.

2. Fall cooking. I love roasting vegetables. This includes squash of all kinds.

3. Fall baking. I suppose I could put this in with number 2 but it is really it's own category. I mean, pumpkin muffing, pumpkin cheesecake, apple crisp, apple or pumpkin anything... for example, Apple Dumplings.

4. The clothes. I love wearing sweaters and boots and scarves, etc.

5. Leaves changing. This is one of my all time favorite things. I love when the leaves change colors and the drive to work is so much prettier when the leaves are bright red, orange or yellow. 

http://gardentherapy.ca/the-fall-foliage-of-vermonts-green-mountains/

What are your favorite things about fall?

Stuffed Delicata Squash

This is a SUPER easy recipe and really yummy. 

Step 1: Wash the squash really well. Cut off the ends, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.

Place the halves in a baking dish.

Toss together what you want to stuff the squash with. I used some mild italian sausage I had already cooked, some onion, carrots and celery. Toss in some olive oil too.

Put the stuffing into the squash, and place in a 400 degree oven.

Some tips for next time I make this:
1. Cover the dish if the meat is already cooked, otherwise it may burn slightly.

2. You can eat the skin so make sure you wash it really, really well. The skin becomes soft and really good actually.

3. I might add some egg and flour or breadcrumbs to hold the stuffing together a little more.

Overall, it was really yummy. The hubs ate at least 3 while I ate one and had some leftovers the next few days for lunch.

Been Busy

Lately, the Hubs and I have been busy welcoming our newest nephew into the world. He was born on September 3 and is already SO much bigger. It has been so wonderful to spend a few weekends with this little guy and his two siblings. New babies just seem so wonderful :)  Enjoy these pictures of the aunt and uncle and the little bundle of joy!

Dinner Tonight

Here's what's for dinner tonight: 

Homemade marinara sauce

 I need to get better at taking pictures as I go. I keep thinking to take a picture after I make something but this was SO easy. I got some biscuit dough, and cooked up some sausage, then had some string cheese.  You flatten out the biscuit dough place some cheese and sausage in the middle and then pinch the bottom together. Then you place them in a pie dish. Once the dish is full, I used 2 cans of the small biscuit dough, then I put some cooking spray over the top, sprinkled garlic powder, oregano and basil on top, popped it in the oven at 400 for about 10-12 minutes and got this!

Pizza pull apart bread

Next up, I bought this vase at Target on clearance. I really liked it in the store and thought I could do some cool thing with it but now I'm trying to figure out where to put it. I guess I just need some great flowers to put in it... What do ya'll think?

Writing Focus

The Common Core focuses a LOT on writing. Our County, focuses a LOT on writing. Our curriculum includes two full days out of every 7 day cycle of Writing is Fundamental. So many of my students were struggling with writing a draft today and figuring out what to write.

Then it hit me. My mom, who just cleaned through a TON of stuff that was hiding away in the attic, had sent me home with a ton of my writing journals and pieces from elementary school. Why not use these as some examples to show my students what writing, real, messy, edited, writing looks like. I am going to bring it in to show them but I did scan a few pieces to email to a co-worker to share. I apparently had a very creative imagination as a child.

Take a look:

Good luck deciphering my hand-writing! 

Is Life Too Busy?

One thing that I have been learning is to cherish the little moments. With this year being so busy, school is starting, two grad classes, a new baby in the family, balancing the hubs new job, small group, etc... the list keeps going. I have often wondered if I am too busy lately. I know I have a lot going on but I feel like I don't know how else to live.

These little moments I have found include simple things like my most recent coffee discovery, Gevalia Chocolate Mocha. This make my morning better. Right now I am sitting on the couch, in a nice cool apartment because the windows have been open all night, with a cup of coffee in hand, writing this blog. To me, there is nothing really better.

I also made my own coffee creamer. It is SO simple I can't believe I've never done it before. All you do is take I can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.) and 1 3/4 cup of milk or cream (I used whatever I had in the fridge). You can also add any flavorings you like (I used almond extract and cinnamon). Then, you shake it up and store it in your fridge.

Last night, I made quiche for the first time. I cheated and bought a store bought crust but I figured its okay. I've done so much on my own this week, including homemade tomato soup (post and recipe coming soon). It was so easy to do, I found a recipe online for a basic quiche and added my own ingredients. I can't believe there are only 3 or 4 eggs in the whole thing! I added cooked bacon, cheese and broccoli. It was so good. The hubs ate 2 pieces.

I have found a way to balance it all and perhaps find the time to recharge by cooking and enjoying coffee. How do you find a break in the rush of life?

Migraines...

Well, the past two days I have had a massive migraine, the kind that my meds don't help and put me on the couch for two days. I realized that I am an awful blogger. Between school starting and classes for grad school starting and a new nephew, I am tired.

Alright, I have a new nephew! I can't wait to see him later this week. He is the hubby's sister's 3rd babe. I am so blessed to have been part of their life so far and cannot wait to be part of this little guys life too.

So the only thing that has been helping with this migraine is a cold pack... The other thing is a really hot shower with water beating on my neck but that isn't always possible and I have not had the energy for that. Hopefully this migraine goes away tonight while I sleep so I can have some relief.

There are some more things to come, more posts, I promise.

The First Grader

I recently watched a great movie called. The First Grader. This is based on a true story of an 84 year old man in Kenya that goes to school when the country starts to offer an education to everyone. The only thing they need to do is have their uniform and school shoes. This story is very moving and made me appreciate what I have as a teacher even more. I may be jealous that these kids are thrilled to go to school, but I know that I have to think about the differences. My students have always had the opportunity to go to school so it isn't a novel idea for them.

http://greggchadwick.blogspot.com/2011/05/first-grader-compelling-new-film-set-in.html

This movie is a good movie to watch. There are some graphic parts but overall it was not horrible and there wasn't too much in terms of gore. It's on Netflix, so I would definitely check it out!

Smithsonian Teach It Forward Part 2

Now part 2 of the professional development.

The entire idea behind all of this is to have us go back to our schools and teach our colleagues. I am not sure how I will do this but I have learned some great things to help my kids out.

One thing we discussed was to use food to help teach.  I'm not sure exactly how I would incorporate this however, the example we were given was to make hardtack with the students to show them what it would be like to be on a ship in colonial times.

We also saw how music could inspire some creativity and provide a look into history. There are some great activities to complete with the students. You could have them listen to a piece of music and then write about what the music means to them.

I think I just need to incorporate more hands on activities into my lessons. It will be a good way to help my students learn and get them more excited about what we are learning.

What are some ways you incorporate hands-on activities into your lessons?

Smithsonian Teach it Forward Part 1

The past two days I have had to opportunity to attend Teach it Forward, a workshop/professional development provided by the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This workshop was designed to share with teachers the resources available from the museum and to share how to incorporate primary sources, objects, etc. into lessons. Below is some of the awesome things we got at the 2 day workshop.

A- The binder full of lessons ideas and information for us.
B- USB drive bracelet. This holds digital copies of the hand-outs they gave us.
C- Hardtack, and hardtack cutter (similar to this one), plus the recipe to make it
D- Raw cotton. This was used to show the cotton gin and the progression of how it evolved.
E- Flint and steel. This was used to start fires.
F- A book called The Flag Maker which is part of the museums Our Story collection.
G- Replica of the Star Spangled Banner
H- A CD called Voices of the Civil Rights Movement. They showed us how to use this in lessons with our students.

Any idea what this is? What it's used for?
It's a steel and flint!

This workshop was great. We got to see some of the resources first hand and even got a private tour of the museums Star Spangled Banner exhibit. This was interesting because we got to hear how the flag was pieced together and preserved. Plus we had a curator who walked us through the exhibit and was able to speak as to why the exhibit was set up the way it was. If you get the chance to go down to D.C. this is a MUST stop on the list of things to do.

This is part 1. Watch for part 2 coming later this weekend.

Now on Bloglovin

Alright, so this has been coming for a while... in case you haven't heard of it.... I am now on Bloglovin. This site is a great way to follow blogs in one place. If you are like me and follow multiple blogs, it is great when all I have to do is check one place to see if there is a new post and then I only need to visit the blog when there is a new post.

Go ahead and sign up :)

A Great, Truthful Article

Ten Supplies Every Teacher Needs

This article is from a site I look at occasionally. It's full of good ideas and helps me keep my cool knowing that others are going through similar struggles in the teaching world. 

10 Supplies Every Teacher Needs

theeducatorsroom.com/2013/07/10-supplies-every-teacher-needs/

Franchesca Warren

courtesy of Reynolds Fine Art

In a couple of weeks, thousands of teachers will open their classroom to a new classroom of eager students ready to learn for the 2013-2014 school year. During this time teachers will have the privilege to know a whole new set of schools and have the chance to ask parents to help contribute to supplies for their classroom. The other night, I had an epiphany as I was creating lesson plans and I thought in a perfect world where parents/schools actually bought supplies that teachers needed, what would teachers ask for?

We posed the question on social media and the answers we received should be any principal and/or parent’s guide for purchasing supplies for their teachers!

image courtesy of macworld.com

1. A classroom set of iPads. With a variety of capabilities, the hottest item on our informal survey was a classroom set of iPads.  According to Apple, the iPad is a tablet computer designed and developed by Apple. It is particularly marketed as a platform for audio and visual media.. Within the last couple of years their versatility for facilitating student learning has made them a hot commodity among schools and teachers. In recent years, some schools are thinking about implementing a 1:1 iPad classrooms to cut the costs of buying paper textbooks. While initially they are expensive,  Ipads have a variety of ways they are helpful in the classroom. Teachers can load textbooks on them, students can create interactive  presentations on them, students can read classic novels on them without worrying about books being damaged !

Click here for #2.

My Short Summer

So, summer school finished yesterday. We had a little celebration for the kids and then they were out the door! Now I have exactly 10 days until I have to be at work for the school year. What will these days include?

Well first, finishing up the bookcases I made for my classroom. This mean just decoupaging the sides and top.

They also include a 2 day training at the Smithsonian. I am excited to see what this will entail. This institute as they are calling it, is supposed to be for teachers to collaborate and share ideas, as well as learn what resources the Smithsonian has to offer. I am looking forward to having this opportunity and seeing what I can learn from fellow educators.

This summer also includes maintenance being in my apartment.   This was unexpected. We woke up to a wet spot in our carpet. Now if you remember, the water problem we had earlier this spring, you may be thinking, seriously? Maybe its time to move? Well, good news friends, it is simply a leaking AC unit. This means I will get a new patch of carpet where the other one was messed up and they can easily fix the AC. This is especially easy since it is not crazy hot and I don't need to have the AC on all the time.

I am also hoping to get the sewing machine out next week and sew myself a maxi skirt and put velcro on my cover for my shelves at school. There will be pictures, once we get the camera back (it was left at the hubs sister's place this past weekend).

Gearing up for another year

SO I know, it is only the end of July but my kids start school on August 19 so I have to be thinking of these things. One thing I have been brainstorming is how to do my job differently. I fell into a resource position where the teacher had previously gone into the classroom and helped certain students. Sometimes she would pull students out. Perhaps this works for some, however, my student's don't seem to be getting much out of it. I think it is because they are so low. My coworker and I have been thinking of ways to boost our students academically and get them where they need to be. This is an ever-growing challenge as we struggle to balance working with our students and the ever-growing amount of paperwork.

We decided to try something different this upcoming school year. We have decided to just have intervention groups, regardless of grade, but group students by ability and have set reading and math groups to really reinforce the skills students are missing. This becomes tricky as scheduling conflicts will arise, however, I think if we do half hour groups for reading and math interventions we should be able to get it to work.

I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to help my students and get them up to the level that is being asked of them. Anyone have any ideas? I will gladly take them!

On another note, I am excited because in a few weeks I am going to be part of Smithsonian's Teach It Forward. This is an opportunity to meet with other educators and share lesson ideas while learning how to reach all students and the resources thee Smithsonian has to offer. I am looking forward to exploring this opportunity and meeting other educators while sharing ideas. I'll post more on that once I go.

Hopefully, I stop being such a horrible blogger. I am trying but this summer has been kicking my butt and with it having been so hot I had NO energy for anything.

Where I've Been...

Ha! I've actually been sitting in my cool apartment and trying to convince myself that I should be working on the blog. Sadly, my want for a nap and doing projects has taken over and I have neglected this blog :(.  So, the better question is not, where have I been but, what have I been up to?  The answer to that would be celebrating my anniversary, teaching summer school and completing  2 DIY projects.

The hubs and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary, together (YAY!) by going to Georgetown and going to dinner. We went to a restaurant called Filomena. This Italian restaurant was SO good. We also went to Baked and Wired to get some cupcakes.

Summer school has been interesting. I am tired when I get done and I am only teaching from 8:30 to 12:30. It's amazing how much energy it takes to even work with 10 kids. I enjoy teaching them and being able to work with students, even if it is at least 90 degrees in my room.

The projects I've been working on include refinishing our coffee table top and making one of those birthday calendars. I thought that would take me longer to complete, but it didn't. Each project took an afternoon.

Unconventional 4th of July

Yesterday the hubs and I met up with some friends of ours for a little 4th fun. We decided to visit Fort Washington and the to the Drive-In theater.

Fort Washington is an old fort on the Potomac river that was built to protect D.C. from naval invasion. This was a pretty cool fort and honestly I enjoyed learning the history behind it. Having the hubs to fill me in on the history of it was fun and having our friend, who is an engineer, around to explain the artillery and physics side of it was a great addition. This fort was built, destroyed, built, re-vamped, etc. One of the most interesting things was that the fort never actually saw any battles. 

We were able to walk around a lot of the grounds and see many of the buildings. It was fun to climb around and just be able to explore. We also got to see some pretty nice views of the Potomac and the National Harbor area. Overall, a pretty fun day. It was nice because it was not crowded at all. I enjoyed not having to be around tons of people and having some good conversations with friends.

After we explored, we decided to head back to our place and relax cool off, grab some dinner and head out to the drive-in. We decided on Chick-fil-a for dinner, which was wonderful and then grabbed some blankets and started driving to the drive-in with the largest screen in the U.S.

Bengies is a great place. When you drive through and pay, they hand you pamphlet with a list of rules. These rules almost make you want to turn around right there but, trek on my friend. When you are directed to park, make sure your car is the way you want it because one of the rules is the you can't turn around once the movie starts. The list of rules continues on, but I'll spare you. Feel free to look at the website for the "House Rules".

We got ourselves settled and chatted until it was time to start the movie. First up was Monsters University. This movie was cute and I would recommend it for anyone who is a Monsters Inc. fan. I enjoyed it but the hubs thought it wasn't as witty as the first. He thought that it could have been better. I enjoyed watching this movie and we had fireworks in the distance as the movie was starting.

Our friends then had to leave, as they had to work on the 5th. The hubs and I stayed for the second movie, The Lone Ranger. I know that there have been a lot of less than favorable reviews for this movie. I am by no means a movie critic and I think you should form your own opinions about it but, I was

disappointed with this movie. There was one review that said they didn't know if it was supposed to be a comedy or action movie. I would agree it is confusing. Johnny Depp I think was the saving grace. I enjoyed his humor, although there were moments when I thought I was looking at Jack Sparrow.

Overall, it was a good way to celebrate the 4th. I would enjoy making this a tradition. This was a good way to celebrate together and I enjoyed spending time with the hubs.

Zucchini Patties

So I can't really take credit for this, but I made these for dinner tonight, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. She pretty much rocks! Thanks for the recipe!

Cooking With Ryan: Zucchini Cakes!

Posted by Ree

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Happy Monday, dear friends! Today’s rip-roarin’ recipe is from Ryan Detzel, a twenty-something punk pastor from Cincinnati who has more than just a few tattoos on his arms. But he also adores his wife and sweet little daughter, Ava…and he loves to cook. Ryan’s stopping by today to show us another great way to use all the zucchini that’s taking over everyone’s garden right about now, present company included. Thanks for sharing, Ryan. We embrace all fried things here at PW Cooks. -PW

Hi, guys. Since as far back as I can remember, Zucchini Cakes have been a summer favorite with my family. They can easily be an appetizer as well as a side dish, and everyone agrees that these things rock.

As you can see, we’re starting with some pretty simple ingredients: Zucchini (in this case it’s just one big mamajama), Minced Garlic, an Italian Cheese Blend, an Egg, and some bread crumbs. The unseen ingredients are olive oil, kosher salt, and some fresh ground pepper.

To start, we’re going to chop the ends off of our Zucchini:

Next, we want to get out a cheese grater—or in this case, a Zucchini grater—and begin shredding up this big green monster.

Did you know that even though it’s always treated as a vegetable, Zucchini is actually a fruit? It is. For realz.

Okay, we should have a pretty good mound of shredded zucchini at this point.

Now comes an important step. We have to get a lot of the water out of this mess. So toss your zucchini confetti into a clean towel…and SQUEEZE!!

You should see a good bit of liquid come out of this ball-o-zucchini. This will help to create a less runny version of what we’re making.

Next, toss the semi-dry zucchini into a large enough bowl to fit the rest of our ingredients.

Mmm…garlic. I’m throwing in a good sized tablespoon of the pre-minced stuff. Don’t judge me. I’m out of the fresh stuff.

Now cover that with about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs.

And now for the cheese, I’ve got this 4-Cheese Italian blend. You can use Parmesan or Romano, I’m sure. But Sam’s Club had this stuff and by golly, I’m using it. Maybe around 1/2 cup…but I suck at measuring things.

Let’s toss in that egg, too.

Now season it all up with a big pinch of kosher salt and some freshly ground pepper.

Stir it all up with a fork and see where your cards fall. And hmmm…to me, this still looks a little dry.

I think I’ll add another egg to the mix to make it a little more batter-esque.

There…that’s better. This is the consistency we’re looking for. We don’t want everything falling apart once it reaches the pan.

Speaking of that pan…let’s get some olive oil in it and heat it to medium heat. Use enough oil to cover the pan by about a quarter inch.

When the oil is nice and hot, drop in a glob of our zucchini batter and flatten it down a little with a fork or spoon or some other flattening device.

After about two minutes or so we’ll turn one of these babies over to see what we’ve got. If it’s golden-brown and delicious looking…it’s time to turn the rest.

Oh my goodness, you should smell these!

After a couple minutes on the other side these delicious little zucchini cakes will be ready to pop onto a plate:

I’m serving them up with some ranch dressing for a dipping sauce and a little crushed red pepper for style and flare. Delicious!

Oh, and remember how I said these were a family favorite? Well…I lied. This was actually the first time I’d ever made these. And they were heavenly. I had some fresh zucchini from our garden and I decided to play around with it. They turned out excellent, even though I’d never made them before.

So get creative, people. You never know—you might just end up with a winner!

 

Recipe

Zucchini Cakes

Prep Time:

 15 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 5 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 2

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Zucchini
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cup) Breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup 4-cheese Italian Blend (or Parmesan Or Romano)
• 2 whole Eggs
•  Kosher Salt To Taste
•  Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
•  Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Wash and cut the end off of one large zucchini. Shred it using the large holes of a cheese grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini inside of a clean towel until you’ve removed as much liquid as possible.

Place shredded zucchini into a medium sized bowl. Add minced garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese (shredded), eggs, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a fork until well mixed.

Heat olive oil (about ¼ inch deep in bottom of skillet) to a medium heat. When the oil is hot enough drop a glob of zucchini batter into the skillet and flatten it a bit. After about two minutes, turn the cakes over ( they should be nice golden-brown) and cook on the other side until done (about 2-3 minutes).

Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy!