RIP, Nook

I was going to write out day 22 of 30 today, but I'm not feeling up to writing that much. My head hurts, and I am really missing Dan this evening (more than usual), so I don't have much to say.

My Nook died (RIP, Gatsby), so I bought a new Nook Tablet and case today (it still needs a name, though). I am really liking it so far because it has all kinds of features my first generation Nook did not have, so that's exciting!

I went shopping with Eryn today, and I bought a new top and a couple dresses, so that is good. They were really cheap, which is another plus. :)

Tomorrow morning I am going for a run, and then I will hopefully work on getting tan for the rest of the day. It's nice being able to spend so much time outside. I am dreading the humidity when I go home to Kansas City, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone! I drive home on Friday, so wish me luck for the 10 hours with the cats.

Summer Crafting... For School?!

Yes, that's right. Yesterday was my first day of summer. It also happened to be the day I found a brilliant idea on Pinterest, and I just HAD to recreate it for myself. The original idea is one that someone posted for a baby's room, but I fell in love with the idea and knew immediately that I HAD to have it in my classroom next year. After all, I have a big, pretty room, so I need more pretty things to put inside it. (I will need Dan's help hanging these, and I'm excited that he'll be able to help me set up my room for the first time ever -- when he gets home from China!)

WARNING: WAY too many pictures were taken in this process, and I am sharing them all. Enjoy! :)

Basically, I wanted a sign that has my name on it to hang over my desk. When I saw this canvas idea, I was hooked. I bought 11 blank canvases (okay, I bought 12 because they came in packs of two... and it's always good to have an extra just in case something goes wrong, ya know). The canvases are 8x10 in size. I bought the same number of pieces of scrapbooking paper in the same pattern in 12x12 (so they are big enough to wrap around the canvases to give it the "real" canvas look. I bought wooden letters to spell out: "MISS VANNICE" to be glued onto the scrapbooking paper after it was glued onto the canvases. I also purchased metallic pink and teal acrylic paint to make the wooden letters pretty. (You will see all of this in the pictures below). I used Mod Podge to stick the paper to the canvases, and I used hot glue to stick the letters to the paper afterward. I think they turned out extremely cute, and I can't wait to hang them up in my new classroom! :)

What do you think? :)

Top Ten Things I Learned

Since school is out, I decided that I should probably make a list. This list will include the top ten things I learned while teaching sixth grade. As most of you know, I did not go to school to teach sixth grade. In fact, I didn't get my degree so that I could teach middle school at all. I am only certified in Missouri to teach high school (grades 9-12), but in Colorado, I am also certified to teach middle school, and that is where all the jobs seem to be. It's not that I don't LIKE middle schoolers; on the contrary, I have found that they are highly amusing and entertaining. But I did not know ANYTHING about them, especially sixth graders. When I heard sixth grade, I just thought middle school. No big deal. But it's a whole different world. They might as well still be in elementary school. And now for the list:

The Top Ten Things I Learned About Sixth Graders in One School Year:

1. Don't assume they are mature. At all. They aren't, and they will prove that from day one.

2. They really, really like touching. They touch each other constantly, and they always ask for (and sometimes don't ask for and just do) hugs. Some of them demanded a hug every single day.

3. Never assume a kid is saying he has a bloody nose just to get out of the classroom, even if he is that type of student. He will show you the blood on the tissue and allow more of it to drip onto your floor.

4. Yelling never works. They just get louder to talk over you.

5. Despite what you think sometimes, there are some kids who truly do want to learn... desperately.

6. Some parents are crazy, loud, and mean... but there are other parents who are equally as sweet, amazing, caring, and wonderful. Don't let the bad ones get the best of you.

7. Don't take work home with you. There are days when it seems like it NEEDS to be done, but make time for a social life. If you make sixth graders your whole life, you will start resenting them.

8. Be prepared to giggle at jokes that aren't funny to people your own age. You'll learn to say: "Hey, I teach sixth grade. I'm around this all day."

9. Anything and everything you say can and will be turned into a "that's what she said" joke. Sometimes, they will make sense, and you'll have to stifle your laughter. Other times, you'll wonder if you're missing something or if they have no idea what they're talking about.

10. Keep working out. Don't let the lack of time get the best of you. When you work out, you feel better the next day and are more relaxed an forgiving with the kids. When you don't, all the built up energy makes you mean.

Okay, well, there's my list for the year. It varies greatly from what I would have said a year ago after working with seventh and eighth graders all year, but the environment was different, the students were different, and the overall climate was just... different. Next year, I will be teaching eighth grade, and I am sure it will be a new experience yet again. I'm excited to have the summer to relax, but I am ALREADY working on projects for my classroom for next year. I almost completed an entire one today, and I will share it soon. (I have taken tons of pictures of it).

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

I recently read an amazing book. Sure, it wasn't literary genius, nor was it the best written book I have ever read. However, this book offers something that others cannot, and that is a look inside the adolescent brain. Being a middle school teacher, I was highly intrigues right away by the plot of this novel, and the fact that a sixth grade girl recommended it to me means even more. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a book I will not soon forget, and I urge everyone who will ever work with a child to consider reading it.

The premise of this novel is compelling and rich, and the author presents it in a unique way. Hannah Baker, the character the idea book is written about, kills herself. She commits suicide. Unlike some, though, she puts a lot of thought into her own death, and she makes sure that her life doesn't go to complete waste. Instead, she ensures that she affects as many people as she can, and those people, all thirteen of them, were chosen based on things they have done to drive Hannah to kill herself. 

After Hannah's death, people at her school start receiving audio-tapes with Hannah's voice on them. She explains, tape after tape, why each person is on there, and she says that if the person listening does not pass it on to the next person on the tape (through the mail), a neutral person also has a copy and will make them public, thus acknowledging all of the horrible things each person on the tape has done.

The book is narrated by Clay, a boy Hannah knew from school. He tells the unique story of each person on the tape and what he/she did to cause Hannah to kill herself. The entire book is thought-provoking and made me think about how others see things differently. Even if you think you're doing the right thing, sometimes others don't perceive it in the same way. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to this, and every teacher, parent, mentor, etc. should read this book if they have the chance. 

(one especially thought provoking line from the book)

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a book I will gladly recommend to every single person who asks me for a book to read. Even if you don't work with kids, the plot applies to people of all ages. If you won't read another book this year, at least read this one. 

Forgot Again...

I am getting so bad! Gosh! I forgot to blog last night... probably because I was so excited that TODAY was my last day at work! It was bittersweet, really. I already said goodbye to the kiddos on Thursday (yesterday), so today all I had to do was clean ut my room (what was left of it -- I had already done 90% of that ahead of time) and check out.

I ended up staying past the time I needed to to help a friend do some moving, and it was pretty tough saying goodbye to coworkers that I have gotten to know so well over the course of the year and am lucky enough to call friends.

a nice note left from one student :)

I went for a nice run when I got home, and now I will be relaxing all evening! It feels SO GOOD to say: "It's SUMMER!!!" I will write another post tonight to make up for the missed one yesterday, though. :)