Give me the strength to keep going...

I am almost 6months pregnant with my first child, Weston Jeremiah. He was a beautiful surprise to me. His creation has forever changed me in the best and most indescribable ways. When I feel him kick, it brings me a sense of serenity, which at this point I'm low on.

I'm discovering that my ways of life have got to change. Don't misunderstand me. I don't drink, do drugs, or cause bodily harm to myself. The worst I did before I was pregnant was drink too many mountain dews and smoke cigarettes. What I mean to say is I'm an overly caring and let's face it, codependent person who gives everything I have and then is left with nothing for myself.

I have been in a consistent uphill battle since Weston was conceived. I've been in almost a perpetual state of stress or complete disruption. I have wanted only two things this entire pregnancy. One, I will leave out since I don't know how to publish this for my eyes only and the other is to enjoy my pregnancy and make it a healthy one.

This is suppose to be the happiest time of my life. And don't get me wrong, when it comes to Weston and feeling him and looking at his amazing 3D ultrasound pictures, it is the happiest time. But when I have to leave my private world that is just between the two of us it's filled with sadness, loneliness, and heartache.

I am facing the most difficult decisions that I will have ever had to make. And in the end, either way I go, I lose. Weston will not suffer, I will make sure of that but part of me will. But I will give anything to make sure my baby is safe, healthy, happy and in the best environment I can provide. He deserves a stable, consistent upbringing, filled with only people that will love him and help him stay on the right path.

I am not a religious person, and I don't claim to know anything about God or Godlike beings but since my pregnancy I am convinced there is something bigger than me out there. This miracle can't just be a fluke thing. So, I want to publicly thank the Higher Power for my son. My life has true purpose and meaning. I am so grateful for him. My thank you's will never be enough but they are all I have to give.

Weston Jeremiah, I love you more than anything in this entire world, and I will always protect and care for you. You have made my life better and I haven't even met you yet. The day I get to hold you will be the most amazing day in the whole world. Stay strong and healthy my love and keep kicking me! It's what gets me through the rough days. I love you.

Podcasts

Podcasts can be used in the classroom to help the students meet the standards and objectives below. You can record them speaking, reading, and participating in dramatic play and the students can hear how they sound. It will help them learn to hear if they are speaking in complete, clear sentences. This will help develop the students listening skills as well. They are still very egocentric at this stage and will get very excited to hear their own voice. It will also be a fun thing for the parents to listen to.

Standard 1 (Oral Language) Students develop language for the purpose of effectively
communicating through listening, speaking, viewing, and presenting.
Objective 1: Develop language through listening and speaking.
a. Listen attentively.
b. Listen and demonstrate understanding by responding appropriately (e.g., follow two-step
directions).
c. Speak clearly and audibly with expression in communicating ideas.
d. Speak in complete sentences.

Webquest

Here is my webquest on plant growth

http://questgarden.com/81/10/5/090421102038/

Creating Instructional Media About Geometry Concepts

I think this geometry lesson is a great one that I plan on implementing one day in my classroom. I think digital cameras help drive the concept home because the students get to apply their knowledge of geometric shapes by actually looking for them in their daily environment. This lesson plan would fits under this core curriculum standard:

Standard 3: Students will understand simple geometry and measurement concepts as well
as collect, represent, and draw conclusions from data.
Objective 1: Identify, describe, and create simple geometric figures.
a. Name, create, and sort geometric plane figures (i.e., circle, triangle, rectangle, square,
trapezoid, rhombus, parallelogram, hexagon).
b. Identify geometric plane and solid figures (i.e., circle, triangle, rectangle, square,
trapezoid, hexagon, rhombus, parallelogram, cube, sphere, cone) in the students’
environment.
c. Compose and decompose plane and solid figures (e.g., make two triangles from a square)
and describe the part-whole relationships, the attributes of the figures, and how they are
different and similar.

I am definitely planning on using digital cameras in my classroom. I have already designed a lesson plan for the fall season where the students get to take pictures of the changing environment. I also think the comic life program was pretty cool. I can see that being a really appealing application for students to use. I also learned a lot more about photoshop today and plan on editing my photos in this program to enhance them and make them look cooler.

Website Evaluations

Since my webquest has to do with plant growth, I found websites that had to do with that topic. I will be creating a webquest for first graders. Here is the standard from the core curriculum that these websites fall under:

Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of their environment.
Objective 1: Investigate plants and plant growth.
a. Observe and draw pictures of plants.
b. Compare seeds of plants and describe ways they may be carried through the environment
(e.g., wind, water, animals).
c. Observe and describe plants as they grow from seeds.
d. Identify how people use plants (e.g., food, clothing, paper, shelter).
e. Investigate and report conditions that affect plant growth.

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.html
I liked this website a lot because it's fun and educational. The first graders may need the plug-in that reads the text to the student because there are a lot of words.


http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/earlygrowth/germination/germ.html
I think this website is really neat because it has a video of a live plant growing. The words might be too advanced but the video would be beneficial for them to watch.

http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/grow.html
I like this website because it has real life videos and lots of great information about seeds and plants. It also gives definitions of important words like "germinate."

http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/plant/index.html
This one is great for first graders. The written words are on their level and the pictures are labeled with the simple descriptions.

Webquest Standards

I would like to use first graders as the target age for my webquest. I feel like first graders are just old enough to be able to use the computer and use the webquest to learn more about plant growth.

Standards:

Students will be able to learn what environmental factors need to be in place for a seed to grow.

Students will able to describe the stages a plant goes through from a seedling to a full grown plant.


I hope that this webquest will be an informative and fun way for children to learn a science concept

Webquest Brainstorm

I would like to do a webquest for first grade about how plants grow. On UEN I looked up the Core Standards for first grade and here is what it says:

Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of their environment
Objective 1: Investigate plants and plant growth.
c. Observe and describe plants as they grow from seeds.

I would like for the students to discover what happens to a seed when it is planted and begins to grow. They will need to know the proper conditions (soil, sun, weather, shade) that most plants need in order to grow in a healthy manner. Since photosynthesis is a major component to plant growth, I will include that topic as well. I may also include in there why plants are important for humans and our environment. I hope I can find a virtual plant so the students can actually see all the stages and what it looks like.