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.

Web Site Evaluation

http://www.wilson.logan.k12.ut.us/web/
This public school site for Wilson Elementary in Logan, UT was not a very flashy website. It had basic information like contact information for the school, links for clubs and organizatins, and the school calendar. Based on last evaluation form this website would not be up to par. You cannot tell who the author is, when it was updated, the URL did not inlclude edu, gov, net, or org.

http://www.preschooleducation.com/
The lesson plan page wasn't the most appealing but I could navigate my way around it and there was a lot of different areas to look in. The lessons seemed pretty much on level and there were a lot of different content areas for each subject. It is published by Preschool Education.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/index.htm
Based on the evaluation form, Kathy Shrock's Guide for Educators, this was a really good website that teaches children about the reasons leaves change colors in the fall. The website was created by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It had contact information, good graphics, explanations that an elementary school student can understand, easy navigation, and correct and factual information.

http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/additiontest.html
This website was really cool for addition math facts. It was a simple website that gave you lots of different problems and let's you know when you get the answer right or wrong. It also had different levels so you could start out with easy problems and ends with more difficult ones. I would definitely show my students and their parents this website so the children could practice at home.

Spreadsheets in the Classroom

Since I plan on being an early childhood educator, I'm not sure that my students will be able to understand and use spreadsheets on their own.

I think I could create one for a class assignment. For example, I can compile the data I collect on favorite colors and just show them how it works. Early exposure to these programs can be positive.

I believe I could use the survey tool on google docs. I could take the idea of finding out favorite colors and make a survery out of it. If my students can't read maybe there is a way to add color.

I think it's possible to use spread sheets and surveys in early childhood if you can get creative.

Word Processing and Collaborating in the Classroom

Coming up with ideas about how to use word processing in the classroom has been really tough for me. I see myself teaching the younger grades: pre-k through maybe 1st grade. Most of the students are just learning how to spell and adding another component like the computer might be too much. Brian gave me a suggestion about using an extension of firefox called vox that reads the web page for the children. I have never heard of this but am really excited to check it out. I'm starting to feel my age catching up on me... I once was the computer savvy tech girl in my family and I can see the generation after me far surpassing my "basic" knowledge of the computer.

We talked about collaborative writing in the class last week and I felt the same problem creeping up on me. How will the students write a story together if they can't even write? Once again, Brian swooped in with a fabulous idea. Peer teaching is a great way to help students learn. If you invite an older class to come be a "buddy" to the younger class the older children could type out the story, while adding their own flair but also be dictating the younger students suggestions. I think that the younger class would find that to be so cool if they had an older buddy to work with.

Thanks Brian for the great suggestions!

Valentine's Day Collaborative Writing

I dressed all in red today, in respect for Valentine's Day. Even though I am totally against Valentine's Day. It's a holiday that makes single people sad and the Hallmark Company, candy stores, and flower shops more rich. Here's what is really symbolic blood is red and red is the color most associated with Valentine's day. I think Valentine's Day makes people want to kill each other. It's a holiday loaded with high expectations that can never truly be met. When those expectations are unfulfilled the crazy unleashes. Tears of anger are rampant and hearts left unfulfilled are a common occurrence. I think that there should be a facebook group created with the intent of abolishing Valentine's day. I would be the number one fan and officer. I believe there would be a great following on that facebook group. Valentine's Day is a day for bruised hearts and manic minds. But truly hopeless romantics are the ones who suffer the most from all of this mania. They continuously hope for the best when in reality its a build up to get let down. Has there ever been a Valentine's day that was truly perfectly romantic from start to finish? I highly doubt it. It's just one more day of the year that we all suffer through until it's over and then all the flowers, candy, and wasted money is forgotten. Granted, any day full of candy should be celebrated; Halloween anyone? As the Valentine's complaining draws to a close... all I can say is thankfully it's only once a year!

Collaborative Writing Story..

It’s Friday the 13^th and Laura is missing. Wish I was in California with her. One might say I am a bit superstitious, but I have a bad feeling about her.  Maybe she really is missing though, she seemed kind of freaked out last time I saw her. I have no idea why she just seemed a little nervous.  It’s probably not a big deal but people are more likely to go missing in California than any other state. But still, it’s pretty suspicious to be missing on Friday the 13^th.  Maybe she was kidnapped by apes and taken to their mysterious jungle forest, although it seems highly unlikely.  At any rate, she better be home to eat my green eggs and ham supper.  I love green eggs and ham.  Laura did too.  Maybe she would smell it cooking and come home to eat.  So, I tried to make my special green eggs and ham and waited to see if she would come.  To my surprise it worked!  I’m so glad Laura is no longer missing.

UEN Lesson Plan

My lesson plan on UEN. I will probably continue to tweek it before Friday but here's the link....

http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=22827

UEN

UEN will become a really great resource for my lesson plan for my INST 4010 class and for future lesson plans when I finally become a teacher. They have a section called curriculum resources where you can choose a subject and grade level and they give you lists of lesson plans. A lot of the lesson plans have websites that have cool things to add in to your lesson plan. The lesson plans are a great way to get ideas on lots of subjects. The site also has a calendar where you can keep track of your activities. The UEN website also offers information about core curriculum which is vital when you are a teacher.

I've decided to do a science lesson plan for a third grade class about the moon and it's lunar stages which I will call "Moon Watch." I found a really cool video that shows the stages of the moon and talks about the rotation of the earth and why we see the different stages. My lesson plan will meet criteria for Standard 1 Objective 2 which states: Describe the movement of Earth and the moon and the apparent movement of other bodies through the sky.

Being a Blogging Teacher (Post 1)

I plan to be an early childhood teacher (Pre-3rd) and my students will unlikely be very good at reading but I think I could use blogging to update their parents on what is going in the classroom and offer resources to help their children. I honestly can't think of a way I could incorporate a blog for my kindergarten students to participate in. I think the blog could replace parent newsletters. It's a way to update them weekly instead of monthly.

I could have used a blog with my level II practicum for personal reflection. I did a lot of growing last semester and it would have been nice to have written my feelings, accomplishments, mistakes, and advice from my head teachers. I think blogging as a teacher for other teachers can also be a positive way to give advice, get advice, and share ways to become a better educator.

Blogging is completely new to me but I'm quickly beginning to understand how it can be a useful tool.

Testing, testing 1, 2, 3...

This is the first time I've ever set up a blog before. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's sort of weird to post my thoughts and have people read them. So... this is just my test blog to see if I did it right.....