Hannah's Blog

133

2012-01-02T18:21:00.000-05:00

From the beginning of March to the end of December 2011, I have read 133 books. I probably read about 20 books before I even started keeping track of what I had read. The obvious conclusion...I LOVE TO READ!!!! I look forward to reading many more entertaining, enjoyable, and thrilling books in 2012.

Paper Christmas Trees

2011-12-02T00:11:00.000-05:00

While walking down the book aisle at Walmart (something I do every time I go) I saw a craft magazine and on the cover they had a paper Christmas tree. I thought it was absolutely adorable and decided that I had to make a few of my own. They didn't turn out quite like I thought they would and I think they look better from afar, but I am pleased with them. Below is a close-up of one of my trees. I am very excited to use these tress for decorations this Christmas season!

Craft Fair

2011-11-19T13:32:00.001-05:00

Today I went to one of the local elementary schools because they were having a craft fair, it is my first time being to one. I am very excited for the items that I got and the pumpkins are already being used on the mantle. I love snowmen and so I was excited to get more of them to decorate with. I am so thankful for all of the work that I have had recently and that I am now able to buy things that I want instead of only being able to get what I need.

What a cute snowman family!

My 2 new snowmen ornaments.

Angel

Christmas trees that need to be looked at from above in order to get the full effect. I think I will try to make some of these on my own, but add more layers so that it will have a fuller look.

Christmas in November

2011-11-12T16:11:00.002-05:00

Today was our Relief Society's Christmas in November. There were many fun crafts to make but I only chose to do 3 and only completed one of them. Theses are my felt flowers that I got cut out but not sewed together. The only flower that got finished, Mom sewed for me and I love it. I hope to get Mom to finish the other two for me as well because I am just not a sewer. I have decided that I am going to make a wreath to put my flowers on. It will either be a Christmas or a Spring wreath, I have not yet decided.

I also partially made a Christmas tree. I have to add two more rows to the bottom once I get some more cardboard rolls to use. I will then add ribbon down the middle and then add a button to the ribbon on each roll. There will be loop at the top so that I can hang it on the wall.

The last craft that I made was my pasta angle. The angle is completely made of pasta except for the head. I think that the angle turned out absolutely cute and I look forward to being able to hang it on the Christmas tree.

And what do I get for all of my hard work...a very painful blister.

Book Order

2011-11-09T13:01:00.001-05:00

I am a very avid reader. Barnes & Noble is offering a free 2 month membership trial so I have decided to give it a try. And because I am a member I get discount prices on books and free shipping, I also found a coupon that gave me 40% off most of the books I ordered. This week my 9 books arrived in the mail!!!! I have already read 5 of the books but I enjoyed them so much that I wanted to own them and be able to reread them at my leisure. Plus I have been waiting on the library to read the second book in both the Firelight and Godmother series and decided to stop waiting and to get them for myself. I kind of have this problem where I can't buy 1 book in a series without having the other books also, so of course I had to buy the first books in those series also, it's a good thing I enjoyed them. In addition to the books I ordered online I bought 2 books at Goodwill and a book at Sams Club. So my goal is to finish the 4 books I have checked out from the library, then to read the 3 books my friend Mary let me barrow, and then to get started on my newly owned books. I have a lot of reading to do!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

Well, my pumpkin patch is actually only a pumpkin of one. Tonight for activity days I had the girls make curled paper pumpkins. This is the one I made as an example. The girls really enjoyed the craft and they were a big hit with everybody that saw them. I have all the activities planned out for the rest of the year and even a few for next year. There are activities that I would like to do but they would work best with many children, I only have 2 girls and will soon have 3 but only for a few months. I love coming up with the different activities but every time Wednesday night comes around I don't feel like going but I usually end up having a good time. I am grateful for this calling and that activity days is only twice a month.

Friends

2011-10-04T20:11:00.001-04:00

Today my friend Mary and her absolutely adorable daughter Ellie took me to Hank's Deli for lunch for my birthday. The food was good but the company was much better. Mary and I met while at BYU, we worked together, and it made me so happy when she moved to Fairmont a few months ago. It is so nice to have a friend in the area! So thanks Mary and Ellie foe a great afternoon.

Not a good picture of me but this is the only one where everyone is looking and you can see Ellie's big, beautiful, blue eyes.

Me and sweet Ellie Marie

It's Official

2011-10-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official...I am now a resident of West Virginia. It all started by getting my car insurance here because it was so much cheaper than Michigan. And in order to get car insurance I had to have a WV driver's license. Here in WV they make you put your weight on your license which is not cool at all. Then today my Michigan license plate was no longer valid so I went to the DMV and got my new plates, which is also cheaper here then in Michigan. But despite being an official West Virginia resident, I will always be a Michigander!

5 Years in the Making

2011-08-23T16:05:00.002-04:00

So last week I finally finished my mission scrapbooks. It has taken almost 5 1/2 years but finally, finally it is done! Well, almost done anyway. I do have one last page to do but I can't complete it because I don't know where I packed my picture CDs for the move, so it is as complete as it can be for now. I must admit that the last few pages aren't that amazing because I was just ready to be done. I have added a few pictures of some of the pages from the scrapbooks. Enjoy!

Kieth's Baptism (left side)

Kieth's Baptism (right side)

(left side)

(right side)

Jamie's Baptism

P-Day Soccer

Just goofing off

Pioneer Day

2011-07-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

I gave a talk last Sunday in church on pioneers. So in celebration of Utah's Pioneer Day tomorrow and I will share with you a part of my talk.

"The pioneers who crossed the plains were brave, courageous souls. They endured many challenging hardships. Yet pioneers did not cease to exist when the Latter-day Saints reached the Salt Lake Valley, for I have known pioneers in my own life who have chosen to follow the example of the ultimate pioneer Jesus Christ.

In the fall of 1975 my Grandma Hicks received a phone call that changed the lives of many. On an October day two missionaries randomly opened up the phonebook and put their finger down on a name and dialed the corresponding number. My Grandma answered the phone and an invitation was extended. Because of her introduction to the church 21 years previously in California the invitation was accepted, and the missionaries were invited to her home.

At that time my parents lived in a home that had no running hot water. So every Sunday they would take their two young children to my grandparent’s home so that my dad could actually take a hot bath. Sunday also happened to be the day that the missionaries would be at my grandparent’s home sharing the gospel with them. To the missionaries great delight their lessons turned into a family affair. They were able to teach my grandma, grandpa, Uncle Paul and his wife Maureen, Uncle Joe, Aunt Jean and her boyfriend Brian whom she later married, my mom, and my two oldest sisters Kim and Sabrina, and eventually my father.

Dad wasn’t receptive to the missionaries at first. He would sit in the living room and watch football while the others were being taught in the kitchen. He would also sit in a chair by the kitchen door to listen to the lessons but not participate in any of the discussions. During the second lesson the missionaries gave my mom The Book of Mormon to read. The same book that my dad later used to find answers to different questions that he had. He started to participate just a little in the discussions. One day he told the missionaries to not push him and he would let them know when he was ready to listen. So my mom would attend church with my grandparents and dad would send money with her so that she could pay tithing because he had been taught about tithing from his Grandpa Eaton.

A couple of weeks go by without my parents hearing from the missionaries. Dad asks Grandpa what’s going on and Grandpa didn’t know but he would find out. It turns out that the missionaries had done what dad asked them to do and stayed away. The missionaries were then invited to my parent’s house in late December to share the gospel with them as a family.

My mom accepted the gospel before my dad did. So while the rest of the family was baptized in December, mom chose to wait for my dad. I am extremely grateful for my pioneer parents and for the covenants that they made in the waters of baptism on January 31, 1976."

1 is a good number

2011-05-29T14:42:00.000-04:00

I spent this last week babysitting for a 12, 9, 6, and 3 year old while their parents were out of the country. I am exhausted. The idea of only having one child is becoming appealing. Ok, so I hope to have more than one kid but man is it going to be a lot of work which I always knew, but I have gotten a preview of what is to come. They were good kids and well behaved overall, but I could tell that their mother does almost everything around the house. It was rather entertaining to see the kids faces when I made them clean up after themselves. The 3 year old is the only girl and she is without a doubt very spoiled. When the parents came home they asked me if I still want children. Yes, I do, and I look forward to the day when the Lord will bless me with my own children. Whoever said motherhood isn't a real job should give it a try. So thanks to all the mothers out there and all that they do.

Plain Speaking

2011-04-22T16:44:00.001-04:00

So while in Michigan mom and I went to see Grandma Herbert and visit with her. So here is a conversation that took place between Grandma and I.

I walk into Grandma's house and she looks me over.

Grandma: "You've gained weight since I last saw you."

Me: I stop and look at her. "Yep."

Grandma: "Why?!"

Thanks Grandma, I love you too.

Snow

2011-02-02T19:33:00.000-05:00

Some have called it Snowpocalypse, Snowmagddon, the Storm of the Century, or Snowpalooza. But lets be realistic, it's Michigan, snow happens. I know that other states have been hit harder than Michigan, even states that aren't used to snow at all. Granted it is the biggest storm we have had this season, but it isn't anything we haven't seen before. I spent an hour and a half shoveling my sidewalk and a small part of the driveway. A neighbor came by with his snow blower and helped me finish my driveway. We got about 7-9 inches of snow but it was very windy so we had huge snow drifts.The picture is kind of dark but this is what I found when I opened my door this afternoon. I literally had to shovel my way out of my house. Luckily I keep my snow shovel on the porch right outside the door.It is safe to say that my car was snowed in. The view from the back, that is how high the snow was in my entire driveway. The snow drifts in the front of the house weren't quite as high but now you might better understand why it took me so long to shovel the snow. So after I got done shoveling I came in and had a cup of hot chocolate and a warm shower.

The New Do

2011-01-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

Before

After

So I am very excited with the results of my new hairdo. It doesn't look exactly like the picture I took with me but that would require a curling iron, of which I don't own. It has lots of layers and it is very light. In order to make my hair look even the stylist Koni had to cut an extra inch off the left side because it doesn't curl as much as the right. Before Koni started cutting she measured my hair to see if it was long enough to donate, she was only cutting 7 inches off and apparently you need 10 inches in order to donate, so maybe next time. I also think the new do makes my face look thinner. So yeah for a fabulous new do!

Thoughts

2011-01-21T00:25:00.000-05:00

So I have been thinking that I want to cut my hair short again. I am ready for a change. I have had my hair short before but I am conflicted on how short to go and the style. My hair gets gets tighter/more defined curls when it is shorter and I am thinking that maybe I will do more layers this time. I found these pictures online and I really like the cut and style. The color would just be my natural color because I am not a big fan of spending a lot of money on getting my hair colored and then touching it up. Plus I like my hair color just the way it is. So, should I give it a try?

What are your thoughts? I realize that it won't be exactly like the picture because that is the nature of curly hair, but I think that I could come close to achieving what is in the picture.

New Calling

2011-01-17T17:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I was released as the 1st counselor in relief society and then called as the 2nd counselor in primary. I am excited to work with the kids even though it will only be for a very short time. The primary president is also an educator so I feel that we will be able to keep the kids on track, which has been a problem in the past. So I am looking forward to this new calling.

Here she comes, Miss America

2011-01-16T19:42:00.000-05:00

During the Miss America pageant my sister-in-law Kristi held a Miss America party. We were invited to pick a state to represent and then given options on what to wear; a bathing suit (not going to happen), formal wear, or an outfit to represent the chosen state. I decided to be Miss Louisiana, Hillary (another sister-in-law) was Miss Wisconsin, and Kristi was Miss New York.
I chose Louisiana because I thought it would be fun to represent the state by dressing up for Mardi Gras. I was going to make and decorate my own mask but found one at Party City that I really liked and cost about the same it would have after I bought all the different items I would have needed to decorate my own mask. FYI, Party City has so many cool things for themed parties. I made my sash by cutting a plastic table cloth and then gluing on ribbon and the letters that I cut out using a Cricut. I found my gold sparkly shirt for only $2 at Salvation Army, what a find! I will never actually wear the shirt again though unless I am dressing up in costume for some reason. To be completely honest I was very excited to dress up and attend this party. We were also asked to bring our favorite treat (mine being peanut M&Ms) to share. As we watched the pageant we were able to eat only after our state was eliminated from the competition. We had our own awards and I won for best state representation and Hillary got an award for best hair. This was such a fun idea for a party and I was able to really enjoy myself. Thanks Kristi for a great time and I hope that you do this again.

All the party goers

40 Years of Love

2010-12-31T18:46:00.001-05:00

Today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. They are such a good example to me and I hope to one day have what they have; a successful and loving marriage. I realize that it hasn't always been a walk in the park, but they never gave up on their marriage. What is even more amazing is that after 40 years they still love each other and like being with each other. With all of the many negative examples of marriages it is nice to see and know that with work, love, and the gospel there can be success. I love you Mom and Dad and hope for you many more years of love for all eternity!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

2010-12-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

Well, inside the house it is anyway. I set up my Christmas tree on Thursday and got out my snowmen decorations. It was like Christmas came early for me as I was pulling out my decorations, because I had forgotten what I had since I hadn't used any of them in the 3 years I was in Utah. I was oohing and aahing as I pulled out the decorations because they were so cute I was very excited to use them. I love this time of year!

My Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

I was very lucky to be able to drive to my parents' house in West Virginia for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a bit of a long drive to make by myself, but I survived. My Thanksgiving vacation could have been a lot better if I hadn't gotten sick with strep throat. I felt so very horrible for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. My temp was between 99.2 and 102. I was achy and could barely sallow and I had no energy. I am so blessed to have parents that love me. I don't have any insurance but my Dad took me to the doctor and paid for the visit and my prescription. So thank you Mom and Dad for loving me and taking care of me, I hope no one gets sick because of me.

Trunk or Treat

2010-10-31T22:21:00.000-04:00

On Friday I participated in my very first Trunk or Treat. Before the actual Trunk or Treating there were games inside. There were so very many people who showed up that I have never seen at church before, which is ok, I was just surprised by the number. I went to Sam's and bought 2 large bags of candy and could have easily gotten rid of it all, but I saved some for myself. I decorated my trunk with just a few items that I had, my plan is to make it look better next year. Luckily it wasn't too cold out and all were able to have a good time. So here is a picture of my sparsely decorated trunk.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Mmm, mmm, mmm

2010-10-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

So this past week I decided to throw some rice in my rice cooker so I could have a bowl of buttered rice with salt and pepper for lunch. On my way home from work that afternoon I was thinking about what I would have for dinner, not wanting to have buttered rice again. So you need to know that I love love love Chinese food. I decided that I would make my first attempt at ham fried rice by using the leftover rice from earlier in the day. So I got online and found a recipe for which I had the majority of the ingredients and got to cooking. It turned out so wonderfully! I was rather impressed with the results and have decide that I am definitely going to be making it again. I loooove ham fried rice!

Awakenings

2010-10-07T10:20:00.000-04:00

Dear Flint,
I realize that crime is a problem. But as a law abiding citizen I would love to be able to sleep without being awakened by the strobe lights of the varied city vehicles flashing through my bedroom window. I do realize that it is important to put out house fires and inspect the shooting at the neighbors house and other such things. But realize this criminals of Flint, it is important that I get some sleep at night so GO AWAY!
Sincerly,
A very tired resident

Sleepover

2010-10-02T14:18:00.000-04:00

My niece and nephew, Chelsea and Jaxson, came over on Friday for a sleepover. My house is not an exciting place for young children, but I was able to keep them entertained by watching a couple of movies. Here they are relaxing and enjoying the movies.

I enjoyed having Chelsea and Jaxson over and am feeling rather loved because they wanted to come over. We had pizza for dinner and they were most excited about the ice cream sandwiches for dessert and the popcorn during the second movie. I was anticipating having little bodies in bed with me, but thankfully they slept the night through on the couches in the living room. The one downside is that they are early risers and I am not. 7:30 came to early for me. I loved having Chelsea and Jaxson over and look forward to the next time they spend the night.

Yeah!

2010-09-23T18:13:00.000-04:00

I just checked the Michigan Department of Education website, and guess what it said? I am now officially certified as a Michigan teacher. It is about time. Doing a happy dance in my house and my cat Kelly is looking at me strangely. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Now for a job.

Goodbye

2010-09-17T11:28:00.000-04:00

Since I had to go to Fowlerville I decided to stop at my aunts house and got my hair cut yesterday and I personally can tell the difference in length. I don't know if you can really tell from the pictures, but here they are anyway.

I knew that I would have to get quite a few inches cut off because it had been just about a year since my last hair cut. I should just get it cut more often so I won't have to cut such a large amount at one time. I also decided to put layers back in my hair. Since I never really see that back of my head, I was rather surprised by how much red is in my hair, or it could just be the lighting in the bathroom. Anyway, my hair feels better and I will straighten my how occasionally again since all the nasty split ends are gone. Goodbye hair.

My New Calling

2010-09-12T18:33:00.000-04:00

I received a new calling today. I am now the first/education consular in relief society. Despite this new calling I am still teaching my Sunday school class, but my brother Charlie (who is in the bishopric) said he is going to work on finding a replacement for me. I know that this new calling will come with a great deal of responsibility, but I feel good about it. I look forward to serving the women in the ward. I already know one thing that I need to do, talk to the teachers about staying on topic during the lessons, which is a problem. I have my first presidency meeting on Wednesday and I will then hopefully have a better idea of what is expected of me. So here goes nothing.

West Virginia

2010-08-20T21:56:00.001-04:00

Last week I drove with my brother and his family to West Virginia to my parents house. The goal of the trip was to redo my parents' downstairs bathroom. While the other adults worked on the bathroom I watched the kids. So here are some pictures from the week.

Here is what the bathroom redo looked like at one point.

The kids enjoyed being able to watch a lot of TV, something that doesn't normally happen.

Here is my nephew Merrit who got inventive with 2 big bouncy balls.

It was a crazy week, but I really enjoyed seeing my parents and my nieces and nephew that live with them.

Girl's Camp

2010-08-07T17:16:00.000-04:00

I volunteered to be a ward leader at girl's camp this year even though I'm not in the YW Presidency. I remembered how much I enjoyed camp as a youth so I thought I would try it out as a leader. What a long and exhausting week. There were moments were I was able to enjoy myself, but I just felt like I spent the whole week babysitting the girls from my ward. Many of the Flint Ward girls are a handful and pretty much always involved in drama. They had to constantly be rounded up and corralled to where they were supposed to be. Thankfully my sister-in-law Hillary was also there and we were able to keep each other sane through the week.
Here are Hillary and I

Here I am happy to be home from girl's camp

Becca's Visit

2010-07-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

On Monday my 18 year old niece Becca came over for a couple of days for a visit.

It was to be able to hang out with Becca. We didn't do anything real grand but the visit was nice anyway. We rented movies and had a movie marathon. We also embarked on an adventure, we made chicken enchiladas for the first. They were very pretty but they sure did taste delicious! Thanks for a wonderful visit Becca Boo, I sure do love you!!!

A Post Office Rant

2010-07-09T20:10:00.000-04:00

So I have had some annoyance with the United State's Post Office. This past Tuesday I put my sister's birthday card in the mailbox to be picked up and it didn't get picked up until today, which is Friday. So it took the mail carrier 4 days to get my mail. I think that this situation would annoy anyone. The sad truth is that this is not the first time it has taken many days for my mail to get picked up, this is a reoccurring problem. I have been urged many times by my sister-in-law Hillary to call and complain to the post office. I finally followed her advice and called yesterday and received some rather frustrating news. Apparently because I live in the city if there is not any mail to be dropped off the mail carrier is not required to stop and pick up the mail. If I lived on one of the rural routes with my mailbox at the road, not requiring the mail carrier to get out of the vehicle, my mail would get picked up the day it goes out. The lady I talked to at the post office said that routes are already too long and that is why they have the blue collection boxes for those in the city, and if the mail carrier has to walk up steps to get to the mailbox they don't have to stop if they have nothing to drop off. My response to her was that first it is absolutely ridiculous that they don't have to stop. Second, my mailbox is at the bottom of my stairs so there are no stairs to climb. And lastly since when is it not the job of the mail carrier to pick up the mail and carry it to the post office. I did not receive a satisfactory answer from her and I know that my complaining won't make a bit of difference. Is this a normal thing to happen for those that live in the city or is it just the great city of Flint? I am obviously rather annoyed with the post office and the whole situation.

4th of July

2010-07-05T00:19:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July to everyone and a happy birthday to America! I am so thankful to be living in this land that has been blessed with many freedoms. Fireworks have been going off all day, it seems like everyone in Flint has fireworks. In fact it is actually July 5th now at 12:25 am and people are still setting off fireworks. Luckily for me I didn't have to go very far to catch the fireworks show. In fact all I had to do was step outside my front door. This short clip is just an example of what I saw from my front porch.

(You might notice the lack of video and think to yourself: "Hannah, you crazy, there is no video." I realize this. I recently got a new camera and I am having trouble uploading the video. In fact I have been trying to upload for almost the last hour...I QUIT!!!! So just imagine 22 seconds of seeing fireworks off your own front porch.)

Because of the prime spot in which my house is at there were people gathered on my lawn and the neighboring lawns to watch the show. This didn't bother me because it was only for a short period of time. There is an empty lot across from my house and there were a lot people who parked there to watch the fireworks and set off their own little fireworks. Luckily it was a clear night, but it was a hot and humid night.

Family Reunion

2010-07-04T23:39:00.000-04:00

We had the Hicks family reunion on Saturday and I really enjoyed myself. The numbers of attendees have diminished since so many members of the family have moved out of Michigan. The only children of my Grandpa's to attend was my dad and my Uncle Joe. Despite the fact that there weren't a lot of us, it was still a good time. I was asked to be in charge of the games this year and I had fun coming up with the games, they seemed to have been a success. So here are some pictures from the games. I would share more pictures but they are taking a ridiculously long time to upload and I need to get to bed.

The Old Oak

2010-06-23T16:45:00.001-04:00

This was the sight that I woke up to on Sunday morning. Sometime during the night a large limb from the old oak tree in my yard fell into the street. I'm not sure what caused it to fall because there wasn't a storm or anything during the night. I'm sure that it made a rather loud noise, but I slept right through it. I actually didn't even realize that it had happened until I was pulling out of my driveway Sunday morning on my way to church and realized that I could not go my normal route. Part of the limb was hollowed out and a bee hive was in it so a bee keeper was called and collected most of the bees. Because of the bees the tree didn't get moved until early Tuesday morning, which was too soon for me and my neighbors. There is a lot of road construction going on around my home so the street right outside the house has been more busy than normal because it is the alternate route. One thing that absolutely drove me crazy was that people were rude and too lazy to turn around and thought it was ok to drive up on my lawn to get around the tree, this made me so very mad. My neighbor across the street decided to put logs from the tree on my sidewalk so that the cars couldn't go through on my lawn anymore, it was very smart and kind of him. I can't say that I am all that surprised that there were those who thought that they had the right to drive on someone else lawn. I am working on trying to get the rest of the old oak cut down so that the next time a limb decides to fall it won't be taking out the house.

What a pain in my...

2010-06-11T16:06:00.000-04:00

...foot. That's right, I have a pain in my foot. I somehow managed to get a bee sting on the bottom of my foot. While at work yesterday I was taking the kindergarten class for a follow-the-leader nature walk while wearing sandals, and nature got real close and personal with me. Walking yesterday was a very painful thing to do and I actually spent the day hobbling on the side of my foot. It is still sore today, but it is so much better.

It's Official

2010-05-19T16:23:00.001-04:00

I got my unofficial score for my teacher certification test on Friday, I passed! I received my official scores this week in the mail, and I still passed! A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. All I have to do now is find a job. I am starting to put out applications now and hopefully I will be having interviews soon.

Bah

2010-04-17T16:11:00.000-04:00

So today I took my teaching certification tests. I feel good about the basic skills test. On the other hand I don't feel all that great about the elementary education test. I guess I will just have to wait and sees how the scores are. All I got to say is "Bah" about the whole ordeal.

Weather

2010-04-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

Since the weather has gotten rather nice here in Michigan, excluding this week which has been rainy, I have decided to start walking everyday. I must admit that I was rather nervous the first day I went out because it is Flint and I would be walking all by myself. Needless to say I did survive and the experience has not prevented me from going out again and again. Since I am on my own during my walks I have decided to stay on the busier roads and never take the same route 2 days in a row. I have really enjoyed my walks so far and getting to know the area a bit better and also getting some fresh air. I have only had one person holler out their window at me so far and I wisely ignored them. Maybe I will get a dog someday so that I can take it with me on my walks.

A New Experience

2010-03-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had my first experience with subbing in high school. It was actually very boring because I was there for the art teacher and so all I did was sit there while the students either did their art work or not. I wasn't going to make/argue with the students to do their work, so a vast majority of the students did other things. Watching how they acted made me grateful that I am an elementary teacher and not a middle/high school teacher.

Catch Up

2010-01-28T11:40:00.000-05:00

So, it is time to catch you all up on what has been happening. In December I graduated with my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from BYU and I actually received my degree in the mail earlier this week, so it is official. On my last day of class Mom flew out so that she could drive back east with me. Before we left Utah Mom and I made a trip to Temple Square with Grace and Rick to see the lights.

It was quite the challenge to get everything in the car. Actually everything did not get in the car and it was still a very tight squeeze. What I couldn't fit in the car went to Jen, so it was like an early Christmas for her. The trip was eventful. Traveling cross country in the winter time isn't the best idea, but it was necessary. Mom and I headed out on Sunday and it took us 2 miserable hours to drive through the canyon. The roads were horrible and so snowy and an accident happened right in front of us. Later that day we stopped for gas and to use the restroom. We stepped out of the car and antifreeze was pouring out of the car. So we made our first call to a towing company. Luckily there was one shop opened on Sunday and we were able to take the car in. The Lord definitely blessed us because all that needed replacing on the car was a new cap, the other cap wouldn't stay sealed and that is why we had a problem in the first place. The car was able to get fixed fairly quickly and then we were off on our journey once again. On Monday Mom and I once again had to call a towing company. We had just been driving for hours on slick highways and we pulled off to get gas. As we were turning to go into the gas station we hit a patch of ice and went off the shoulder. There was just enough of ledge that we couldn't get the car out on our own. Tuesday was a great day because we didn't have to call for a tow truck and we finally made it to West Virginia.

I was able to spend Christmas in West Virginia with Mom and Dad and it was very nice. Charlie and Hillary and family and Sabrina and family were also there for Christmas, then Les and Kristi came up the day after Christmas. I loved being with everybody for the holidays and wish that the rest of the family was able to be there. For not snowing a lot in West Virginia, it sure did snow a lot while I was there.

It was nice to be able to have a white Christmas. It had been a year since I had seen the family and the kids had grown so much. We decorated cookies one night and it was fun. I left West Virginia and headed back to Michigan. I have my own place in Flint and I love having a place of my own. I have gotten the downstairs of the house clean and I am not worrying about the upstairs right now since I am not using it. I will post pictures of the house at a later time.

An Ending of a Chapter

2009-12-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

My college career came to an end today at 3:15 pm. It is so weird to think that I am no longer in school. I have completed college. I did it!!! I'm sure I will go on to get my Master's Degree, but not until after my first year of teaching. I am a certified elementary school teacher. I look forward to having a class of my own and starting a new chapter in my life.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:00

For Thanksgiving this year I went to North Las Vegas. I got a ride with Cody and Jen since they were going to visit Cody's family in Nevada anyway and North Las Vegas was only another hour and a half south. So Jen and I went to visit Beth on Wednesday and we both slept over. It was the first time in 3 1/2 years that the three of us were able to be together and fun again as best friends. Jen then went back to be with Cody and I stayed with Beth. I was able to have Thanksgiving with Beth, Brian & Jean, Lisa & Dave, and Grandpa and it was so nice to be able to spend time with family. So I spent my days with Beth and her girls and I had a blast even though Lindsay and Heather woke me up earlier then normal ;) Jen came back down on Saturday and we went and saw New Moon. The theaters there are ridiculously expensive! It cost $7.75 to see the movie at 10:30 am and a large Icee cost $5.75! It is insane I tell you! Anyway, being with my two best friends again was amazingly fun, it was as if no time had passed at all. I wish it was possible to get together more often.

The Three Amigos

Jen strapped the left over popcorn into Lindsay's seat

Me and Grandpa

Who Knew

2009-11-21T15:10:00.000-05:00

So I thought that I would be a lower grade teacher, but I'm not so sure anymore. For the second block of student teaching I have been in 5th grade and I am absolutely loving it. I didn't think that I would like it this much because I wasn't all that excited while teaching 4th grade, but it has been the best! Here are just a few of the reasons I am loving 5th grade: 1) the content is fun 2) good conversations/discussions 3) the books that are read are more fun 4) the kids get my jokes. Anyway, I am just really loving my experience in 5th grade. It hasn't all been wonderful, but that it to be expected. My first few days of solo teaching was frustrating because the kids just would not stop talking after they got back in from lunch, but things have gotten better. I have had to keep a few kids in from recess because of disruption to the class. I also had to talk to two girls because of cheating. But despite all this I am still loving my time with this age group. So as of right now I do want to teach 5th grade come the fall. The Provo City Library had a book sale today and I was able to get 13 used books (most of which are hard cover) for only $6 that are perfect for older grades. December 11 is my last day of school so there are only 12 more school days and then I am done! I know that my first year of teaching will be very busy and stressful but I can hardly wait until I have my own classroom!!!!!

I'm Just a Bill

2009-11-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

I will be using this clip for a lesson tomorrow and I wasn't sure if I could get YouTube at school, so on my blog it went. I remember watching this clip when I was in elementary school and I think that it has a fun tune, but one that can also easily get stuck in your head.

A Real Good Laugh

2009-10-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

Today I had 2 girls eat lunch with me and this commercial jingle came to mind so I sang it: "Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't. Almond Joys got nuts. Mounds don't." The girls thought that this was absolutely hilarious and wanted me to sing it again for them and sing it to other members of the class when they got in from recess. One boy by the name of Nate asked me to sing the song for the class and I told him that I wasn't in the mood and I have to be in the mood to sing, and then he said the funniest things. "What do I have to do to get you in the mood? How do you get in the mood? Does chocolate get in the mood?" My mentor teacher turns around and looks at me and asks what type of mood we are talking about. I laughed sooooo hard!!!! It was so cute because Nate was so earnest in finding out what he had to do to get me "in the mood" so that I would sing for them. I haven't had such a good laugh in some time. I did end up singing the jingle for the class at the end of the day. Teaching can be so unpredictable yet very entertaining at the same time.

My Birthday

2009-10-11T20:24:00.001-04:00

I just thought I would jot a little bit down about my birthday so that I can remember in years to come. Well, I watched Conference because it often falls on my birthday. I also worked on lesson plans, but I didn't work on them too hard because it was my birthday and I didn't want to spend the whole day working on them. I went to dinner at Goodwood (where Jamie paid for my meal) with my roommates and my real good friend Lexi. I chose to go to Goodwood because their food is very good and they don't sing happy birthday to you there. While at dinner Kat stopped by to bring me my birthday gift; a birthday balloon that is still full and firm after a week, a treat, and earrings (which I wore for the first time today to church). I also got many birthday wishes from friends and family, so thank you everyone! Overall, it was very low key and a good day.

Teaching in Utah

2009-10-10T00:19:00.000-04:00

Teaching in Utah has been quite the experience so far. What cracks me up the most is some of the things the kids say in relation to the gospel. So I will share some of what has happened while teaching.

While teaching about the Native Americans I asked who were the first people to live in Utah. I told them that the answer was the Native Americans and one boy asked, "What about Adam and Eve?" Needless to say I had to tell them that it was the Indians and that we were not going to talk about Adam and Eve.

Another experience was when we were reading an article about how boys and girls don't have equal rights at school in some countries. I then went on to explain that it is important for there to be equal rights. Tanner raised his hand and said, :But girls can't do everything that boys can do in the church." I chuckled a little bit and this and once again said it was something we weren't going to talk about in class.

I also had one girl come up to me and tell me that she didn't have any envelopes at home. So, she turned her book order money in to me in a tithing envelope. My mentor teacher and I got a real good laugh at this. At least the student relates the tithing envelope with money.

And the best so far is a conversation I had with two of my boys on my birthday.
Andrew: Are you married?
Me: No.
Kayson: Do you have a fiance?
Me: No.
Kayson: Well do you have a boyfriend?
Me: Nope.
Kayson: A puzzled look. "Well why not?!?!"
I laughed so hard because Kayson was just so confused, the poor boy. They have a hard time understanding why I don't have a boyfriend at the age of 26. That is Utah for you. Andrew has brought up the fact that I don't have a boyfriend at least twice now. Good times.

Rapper Hicks

2009-09-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Rounding Rap

Find the place value and circle the digit.
Move to the right and underline, get it!
0-4 circle stays the same,
5-9 add one to the game.
Now, flex your muscles like a hero,
Underlined numbers change to zero.
All other digits remain the same.
Yo! You're a winner in the ROUNDING game!

A couple weeks ago I taught a lesson on rounding and my teacher gave me a rounding rap to perform for the kids. So I decided to dress up for the rap and the students absolutely loved it! I also enjoyed myself. The rap is great because it has everything in it that you need to know for rounding, and I mean everything. It was so nice to hear the students referring back to the rap later on in the week when they had to do rounding problems.

Salem, here I come!!!!

2009-08-29T13:41:00.000-04:00

So I found out my teaching assignment for the first half of the semester today. I will be going to Salem UT to teach in Nicole Trythall's 4th grade classroom at Mt. Loather Elementary. It is about a half hour away and after driving that long during practicum, I was hoping for a school a little closer. I was also hoping to teach in either a 5th or 6th grade class since I have already spent time in a 4th grade classroom and I was wanting to see how the other grades would differ in teaching. Oh well. I am very excited to get started on Monday!!!!!

Double Date

2009-08-16T18:06:00.000-04:00

On Saturday night I went out on a double date with my good friend Lexee.

I decided that we should do a double date because I was wanting to ask Aaron out (Aaron and I work together). So I made all the plans for our double date. I was very nervous about asking Aaron out and it took a few false starts to get the words out of my mouth. Lexee didn’t know who to ask out so I asked Alex (a guy in my ward) to be her date. So Saturday night rolls around and Lexee and Alex meet at my apartment and then we go and pick up Aaron because he doesn’t have a car. We went to Comedy Sportz which is an improv comedic show her in Provo, and it was hilarious! After the show we went to a quaint little restaurant called Sammy’s where Lexee and I got shake and the guys got huge Buddha Burgers (which are aptly named because they are huge) and sweet potato fries that were surprisingly delicious. The food at Sammy’s was good and I liked how they had the old fashioned counters were you could sit and order and eat your meal. After Sammy’s I dropped off Alex and Lexee and then took Aaron back to his apartment where we talked for a few more minutes in the car and then hugged goodnight. I don’t think there will be a second date, but I had a really good time. And for your viewing pleasure here is a picture of me and Aaron.

A Day With Jen

2009-08-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

I was lucky to spend almost all Friday with my best friend Jen. When Jen and I get together it is usually to scrapbook. So this might come as a shock to some of you, we did not do any scrapbooking at all on Friday. The day started off with me going to work from 7-11 and then coming home to eat lunch and get ready for the rest of the day. Jen picked me up at about 1 and our first destination was the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, which is located in the Jordan area. The temple was absolutely beautiful! Jen and I helped a woman through the open hose who was by herself with her 2 year old daughter and her 6 week old daughter. Both the little girls did really well until the end of the tour, so I was able to enjoy myself. After we got through the temple they had refreshments and I got 2 cookies because there was a shift change while we were there, they were good cookies. I have been so blessed to have been able to attend 2 temple open houses in the last year.

After the open house we went to Sarah’s house, a friend of Jen, to babysit her 15month old twin boys Nathan and Kyle. The boys were so cute and surprisingly well behaved. They didn’t cry at all when their parents left. The only time there was crying was when Jen took her cell phone away from Kyle. I had a lot of fun playing with the boys; it isn’t often that I get to play with little children seeing as how I live in a single student ward and all. It was nice to get my “baby fix” on Friday and Saturday when I helped my roommate while she was watching 4 month old Alex.

Anyway, after babysitting we went to a wedding pre-party for one of Jen’s friends. I didn’t know anyone there but the food was free and fairly good, but the cupcakes were AMAZING! After the party we headed back to Provo and I didn’t get home until 10pm. So it was a very long day for me which made it even harder to get up at 5:40 the next morning to go to the airport.

Thanks Jen for letting me spend a wonderful day with you! And thanks for being such a wonderful friend!!!!

Catholic?

2009-06-28T16:39:00.000-04:00

I gave the closing prayer in Relief Society today and the end of the prayer went like this. “This is our payer and we say this in the name of the Father…(pause and think, well that wasn’t right)…in Jesus name amen.” After the prayer I open my eyes and see everyone looking at me weird and so I made a joke of my mistake and I said, “You know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” My joke got a good laugh and I probably won’t be saying the prayer in Relief Society again anytime soon. My friend jokingly asked if I was a Catholic in my previous life.

Tonight’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories

2009-06-28T16:14:00.000-04:00

On June 20th I attended the Prom. There were a few girls in my ward that had never been to a prom so they decided to have one of their own. They (as in Rachel, Sofia, and Victoria) decorated a cultural hall for the event. There were 8 “couples” that were in attendance. Only some of the couples were on actual dates, they just wanted to make sure that there were even amounts of girls and guys. We were all assigned different food to bring for our dinner before the dancing, and Nick and I were in charge of ice cream and brownies. So after we had dinner, which was served to us by Rachel’s brother and sisters, we dance for a couple of hours. It kind of reminded me of youth dances, but it was a lot of fun nevertheless. It was a small enough group that we were able to really enjoy each others company. I had a really good time but I was so tired at church the next day. I can tell that I am getting older when a couple of hours of dancing that ends at midnight just wiped me out.

Work

2009-06-22T21:12:00.001-04:00

So I finally found a summer job about 2 ½ weeks ago. I am doing grounds work on BYU campus and I am enjoying what I do. For the first week and a half the weather was cloudy and rainy but it has definitely warmed up now. We cover a certain area on campus and I have been able to mow, weed whip, mulch, cultivate, weed, prune, and other such things. It is nice to have the opportunity to learn how to do all these different things so that I will be able to take care of my own lawn some day. This job also allows for some real good exercise that can actually be rather exhausting and I am able to get a tan, at least what amounts to a tan for me :)

School's Out For Summer

2009-04-22T19:51:00.000-04:00

I finished my finals up on Monday and it felt so good to be done with two days to spare! I had 7 finals this semester and thankfully only 2 were actual tests and the others were either papers or presentations. I took 3 finals on Monday so that I could be done and I left the testing center at 9:30 pm with the biggest smile and a carefree feeling because I was finally done. I am basically done with taking tests, because as I understand it there are no finals during student teaching, just something called The Teacher Work Sample which I hear is painful enough. I also got my test results back from when I took the PRAXIS and I passed! I felt so relieved because I was a bit worried about the math portion. I am now all set to graduate, which I applied for last week, once I complete my student teaching in the fall. I will be a certified teacher in less then a year and I can hardly wait!!!

On to other things now. I know that General Conference was a few weeks ago now, but I just want to say how much I enjoyed it. Saturday was a spiritual feast because not only was there Conference to watch, Alysha, who lives in my apartment building, also got baptized. Alysha shared her testimony at the baptism and it was sweet and strong. Her baptism brought back many memories of my own mission. The full-time missionaries came and spoke in church on Sunday and I was again was reminded of my own mission. I could easily relate to some of the things the Elders said because I too served in Utah. I can't believe that I have been home for 3 years now! I am going to stop being a slacker and I will finish my mission scrapbook this summer.

I have been working out a Curves for 3 weeks now. I don't think I have loss weight yet, but I sure do feel good when I go. At the Curves that I go to, the machines keep track of how many reps you do each time and the computer then gives you results to what your weak areas are, the number of calories that were burned, and other things. When I went and worked out yesterday I burned 513 calories in 30 minutes! Not too shabby. I am glad that I am finally doing something that will me be more happy with my body.

Yesterday I went to 2 BBQs. The second one was for the end of the year/people are moving out ward BBQ. There are so many people moving out this semester and it kind of makes me sad. The first BBQ that I went to was with the girls from my cohort. As a cohort we had every class together for the last 2 semesters. Out of the 13 of us, 10 are doing internships in the fall. I have come to really love these girls and I am going to miss them. We have decided that we will have to do many things together this summer before things get too crazy with preparing to teach in the fall. So here is a picture of my favorite girls in Provo, minus 2 who didn't make it to the BBQ.

The Good & The Bad

2009-02-24T20:20:00.000-05:00

THE GOOD: I made an appointment to get my taxes done for free on campus next Friday! I am so happy about this because last year I ended up paying almost $100 to get my taxes filed. Once I get my tax return I will be joining a gym, I need to get more exercise.

THE BAD: I had a midterm to take on Saturday, but I completely spaced it. I knew that I was forgetting something, but I couldn't remember what. Luckily I was able to take it yesterday but I had to pay a late fee. Grrrrrr! At least I am pretty sure that I did well on it.

Randomness

2009-02-22T23:50:00.000-05:00

We had a surprise visitor during Sacrament Meeting today. Elder Cook, yes the General Authority, decided to spend sacrament meeting with us. It really was a surprise for all, the Bishop didn't even know Elder Cook would be coming today until his morning meetings. He bore his testimony at the end of the meeting. Only crazy, random things like this happen in Utah. It was a pleasant surprise and a great privilege to have heard from Elder Cook today.

On Friday evening I went to a show, all by myself, called Living Legends. The show consisted of dances from different nationalities such as Mexican, Native American, Polynesian, and others. It was amazing, despite going by myself. I was really wanting to see this show and it I also have a friend that performs with the Living Legends group. Tara, my friend, is Native American and she does a pretty amazing dace that involves hoops that she puts all over her body and makes different shapes with them. Anyway, the point is that it was a very good show. A bonus to going to the show was the enjoyable sight of Polynesian men.

Starting on the 3rd of March I will be spending a month in a 4th grade classroom. I am looking forward to this so that I can get a better idea of what grade I want to teach. I am just a bit stressed because there are so many more lessons that we are required to teach, as opposed to last semester. Despite all the work that will need to be done I can't wait to get started. We have to drive through Provo Canyon in order to get to Midway to the elementary school. I am already hoping that there will be one day that the weather is so bad they close the canyon so that I can have a day off. Pathetic I know, but this is how I feel. I am ready to get this semester done and over with.

Have You...

2009-02-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (I got eaten alive by mosquitoes that night)
3. Played in a band (I played the trombone in middle school)
4. Visited Hawaii (One of my favorite vacations ever!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland!
8. Climbed a mountain (And I thought I was going to die)
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo (I was very nervous)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm (I love to watch lighting)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I personall haven't adopted a child, but my younger brother was adopted)
16. Had food poisoning (It was no fun)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (Pillow fights are tons of fun!)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Beautiful and amazing!)
31. Hit a home run (Does kicking a homerun in kickball count?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (From the Canadian and American views)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (many times)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (Yes, but not often)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (Playing in the mud can be a lot of fun!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (No, but I really want to)
55. Been in a movie (I made a movie with some friends once, and this counts)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I have also bought the cookies, I love Thin Mints!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood (Many times, but not recently since I am now selling my plasma)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (Pretty, but not as exciting as I thought it would be)
80. Published a book (We got to publish a book in my Children's Lit class)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I have seen the killing and then helped prepare it for eating)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (I want to but haven't yet)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Someday)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Kind of a fun list to run down and see what you have done and have yet to still do in this life :) BOLD the one's you have done.

Blogging

2009-01-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

This blog was set up for my technology class last semester and I think that it is time that I actually use it to write about what is going on in my life. The real push for to start writing was seeing that Beth put the link for my blog on her blog page, thanks for the push Beth. I went to the Draper Utah Temple Open House last Friday and I really enjoyed my self. The Temple was very beautiful and I loved the Celestial Room the most. The paintings through out the Temple were done by local artist and I find that to be pretty cool. I just find it so amazing to have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He will bless us with temples so that we can do important work and go to a place where we can be closer to Him.

This semester has been so very busy and I have only been in school for a month. There is just so much to do in this last semester before student teaching. I can't imagine how crazy I would be going if I still had a job. Life is definitely less stressful now even if I do have a lot of work to do. I will be taking the PRAXIS in March to get certified, and I'm not sure how that works since I won't actually do my student teaching until the fall. Since I am bust with school work this is all that I will be writing for now since I have to do my homework for tomorrow.

Final Post

2008-12-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

I have enjoyed creating my PLE. This is the first time that I have every created a blog. I have learned that there are so many different thing that you can do to enhance and spruce up my blog. I have learned how to change the background and I know I can add music to it. There are so many things to do with a blog. I really haven't had any bad experiences with using my PLE. I will continue to use my blog. I will post on it to keep my family informed of how my life is in Utah.

Internet Safety

2008-12-06T22:19:00.000-05:00

READING
I chose to read "The Savior is Counting on You" by Joe J. Christensen. He talk only had a small part that focused completely on media. Christensen said, "The Savior is counting on you to avoid the immoral trash that surrounds you in the media." Another quote that I liked was from Elder Ballard's message, "Church leaders have the responsibility to speak out on moral issues and to counsel individuals and families. The family is the basic unit of society; it is the basic unit of eternity. Thus, when forces threaten the family, Church leaders must respond." These two quotes from the brethren of the church are the most important things that I read. It just helped to reinforce the importance of being area of what is viewed on the TV and the internet. I will have the responsibility as a parent and teacher to make sure that nothing inappropriate occurs while using the internet or watching TV. I will suggest that my brothers and sisters take the time to read what has been posted about the intenet and the media on the church website.

WATCHING
With the internet being so readily available at home and in the schools it is important for the students to learn how to safely navigate it. It is important to set rules and to talk about the dangers that can occur to help keep the children safe. I could use the games and the handouts/activities that went along with some of the sites to help teach and enforce the importance on internet safety.

Week 12

2008-11-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

The students had the opportunity to use the computers for 2 days this week during center time. They had such a great time!!! I like the fact that they had a lot of options of games to play that could be found in the bookmark tab. I am so happy that the computers are usable now.

I taught a shared reading lesson this week and the "reward" for the students good behavior was a website they could use at centers and take home that had games on it that were related to the book that we read. The games were on pbskids.org and they were so many other games for them to play.

Next week we will be in the schools for only one day. I'm not sure if I will be able to get some technology use in or not.

Week 11

2008-11-22T16:03:00.000-05:00

The computers have finally arrived! The computers were put into the classroom at the beginning of the week but didn't get hooked up until the end of the week. So the students will be able to use the computers for centers next week and they are very excited about it. I helped my teacher to bookmark some good websites for the students to use during their center time.

This week I used technology for my writing lesson and I feel that it went really well. I made a power point to introduce the topic of the writing assignment. I will explain this in greater detail in the integration project, I am excited to explain it!

Next week I am thinking of maybe using technology as some sort of inducement to get the students excited about my shared reading lesson.

Week 10

2008-11-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

There are still no computers in the class yet. I was able this week to see the students use the computers in the computer lab to take a math test. It was easy to tell which students have had a lot of experience using computers. The teacher uses a tape player to play a story as the students follow along with their books. I can see how this is important for the students so that they can know the words, but at the same time it seems kind of boring.

This week I made a little slide show for my guided reading lesson and I brought in my own computer to use. I knew that this was something that the students hadn't experienced before during a guided reading lesson. The students really liked the slide show and it was nice to do something different.

I'm not yet sure how I will use technology next week. I will be doing a read aloud and I am trying to come up with a way to somehow use technology. Whatever I do I am sure that it will be amazing.

Week 9

2008-11-22T15:38:00.000-05:00

There is hardly any technology in the class right now. They are supposed to be getting computers for the classroom soon, but they aren't sure exactly when. So needless to say I haven't seen technology be used yet.

We were only in the school for two days this week and all we did was observe for the two days, I wasn't given the chance to use technology. But while observing I came up with some ideas of how to incorporate technology. I am going to try to use it in one of my guided reading lessons and maybe use it to introduce a lesson

Virtual Tour

2008-11-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

I viewed 2 other tours and I really liked how Hallie used the polygon in hers and I liked the use of pictures in Emily Robinson's tour.

Google Earth

2008-10-18T22:40:00.000-04:00

This was my first experience with Google Earth. I think it is a very cool tool that I will use in the classroom when teaching about history and geography. I learned hoe to search for specific places, I looked up my home address. I really liked the different virtual tours that are offered. Here is a Lewis and Clark kmz link: http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=29917 I would use this when teaching about Lewis and Clark.

Digital Story Reaponse

2008-10-12T03:06:00.000-04:00

I viewed Nicole Booth's digital story and I liked how they used clay and how they made it look simple so that yound students would feel that they could do it. I really enjoyed Lexee Russell's story and I love how they used pictures of themselves. Lisa Willey's story was beautifully done with the clay, it looked so very good. I think that this is a fun idea to use in the classroom. One way I would use t is for poetry and have the students find pictures on the web that would go along with their poem.

Digital Story

2008-10-12T02:35:00.001-04:00

Digital Storyboard

2008-10-06T18:58:00.000-04:00

I have enjoyed learning about digital storytelling. It is interesting to view different ones that have been made. Different types include ABC storybook, circle story, family stories, fractured fairy tale, adventure story, poetry interpretation, book trailer, public service announcement, and mini documentary. There are also differnt materials that can be used, I will use pictures. I think that this is a great way for students to use technology and be creative.

I have decided to do poetry interpretation using pictures from the internet. Here is my storyboard.

Reflection

2008-09-27T17:30:00.001-04:00

I liked all the different ideas and topics that people had. I liked how Jen Talley was compaing wether or not moon is round like the Earth. I also enjoyed Lexee's idea on the differnt moon cycles. I noticed that most of the formatting was the same and I think that it was becasue they were both posted in a blog.

The Tech Savvy Teacher

2008-09-27T14:29:00.000-04:00

Teaching Tornadoes
By Hannah Hicks

I am very honored to have the opportunity to write this month in the Tech Savvy Teacher column. There are so many different ways to include technology into our lessons/teaching that the possibilities are nearly endless. Since there are so many different ways to include technology I have decided to share with you one of my favorite lessons. This lesson uses technology to make learning about tornadoes more interesting.

Fourth Grade Science Standard 2.3

ANTICIPATORY SET: A picture of a tornado will be displayed where it can easily be seen by all the students. Give the class about one minute to observe the picture. After observation ask the students to predict and have them write what tomorrow's headline would be. Note: Any picture of a tornado can be used but this one was found at http://www.chaseday.com/tornadoes-03.htm.

INSTRUCTIONAL INPUT:
1) Discuss what the weather conditions need to be like for a tornado to form.
2) Discuss and define what a Tornado Watch and a Tornado Warning are.
3) Talk about how long a tornado lasts.
4) Discuss the wind speed of a tornado. Make sure that in this part you teach about the Fujita Scale. There are many web sites that will talk about this scale, but the one that I particularly liked was found at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/weather/tornado/fscale.shtml.

GUIDED PRACTICE: The students will have the opportunity to create their own Tornado in a bottle. Directions can be found at http://www.yesmag.ca/projects/tornado_tube.html. Note: Instead of drilling a whole in the caps you can buy vortex bottle connectors to make the project more student friendly.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: There are many options for the students to test their knowledge about tornadoes. I will give you two websites that will test their knowledge. The first will be a short video followed by a quiz. The other website allows the students to adjust the funnel width and the core pressure of a tornado, to then see the destruction it would cause, and then guess where it would be on the F-scale.

Tornado Movie & Quiz
http://www.kidsknowit.com/interactive-educational-movies/free-online-movies.php?movie=Tornadoes

Interactive Twister

http://whyfiles.org/013tornado/3.html

CLOSURE: Assign the students to make a bubble chart showing their knowledge of the Fujita Scale. They can either draw it by hand or create it on the computer.

In this lesson example the students had the opportunity to use technology in their learning. The movie and quiz and the interactive twister was a fun way for the students to learn using technology, they also had the opportunity to create their bubble chart on the computer. The students now have a better understanding of how tornadoes are formed and the effects that they can have on the environment.

Fair Use & TPAK

2008-09-19T20:53:00.000-04:00

I learned a lot about fair use. I am glad that I now know the rule about 60 seconds for video and 30 seconds for audio. The question about the 9/11 footage threw me off at first on the quiz. I find it interesting that the footage is good only up to 10 days after the event. I am glad that we have fair use as a teacher, this can help lessons to be more effective. TPAK stands for technological pedagogical content knowledge. TPAK is the intesection of content knowledge, techological knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. I think that it would be important to use TPAK in teaching so that the students will get to use all 3 knowledges.

Web 2.0

2008-09-19T17:26:00.000-04:00

Web 2.0 allows everyone to publish on the internet (i.e. this post). I can use web 2.0 to help the parents of my students to know what is being done in the classroom, to keep them updated and informed.