Multiplication Flash Cards

Oh those multiplication facts. One of the banes of my existence and a pain in my (and my mothers) patutti. We did flash cards every morning before school, while we were waiting anywhere, and before bed. I think they finally clicked in high school. Ish.

Anyway, I see myself in all the kiddos at my school struggling with long multiplication because they still struggle with the basics. There are quite a few downloadable flash cards out there, and even flash cards for purchase but they are pretty big, and take a lot of space an paper. I made it my mission to get 16 cards on a page. Back to back that was 32 problems from one piece of card stock.

I got a surprising response of requests for the document on Facebook so I'm going to try to share it here as a continually accessible resource. 

Here is the word document.

Here is the PDF.

Make sure you print them at full size. Yes, you know the margins are set outside the printable area. Yes. You want to leave them that way. 

I like hole punching them and using a binder ring aka book ring to hold them together (this way you can easily shuffle.) Curly wrapping ribbon works well too, it's slick and flexible enough. 

When God Winks

WWow! What a day! My friend Mary always says "When God winks."

I feel like he must be winking an awful lot today!

The students didn't have school today or tomorrow. I asked my principal if I might attend the teacher inservice  on my time and he said yes! They were great sessions and I enjoyed being there during that time to also kind of get to know the teachers at my school a bit more. They are pretty awesome! I'm really going to learn a lot from working with them. I went to one workshop on math differentiation and another on working with students who have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder, as they said the term is now.) I know my friend Chris has an adorable son who also has autism. I just read a fantastic book

In which the main character has Asperger's Syndrome (encompassed by ASD) who I found myself identifying strongly with.  I also know that when you have met one person with ASD you have met one person with ASD. IE: All are unique individuals with unique experiences. Beyond that my "rule name for everything loving" self is having some trouble getting around it. We were connected with Autism Internet Module as a resource. It was a good start. 

This afternoon I went to my bike fitting! Wow! What a difference! In about an hour and a half T-Jay made more tweaks on my bike than I knew existed. It's especially neat because he helps you understand why things are and explains what he's doing. He put my bike on a stationary attatchment. (We have one at home, but it's currently packed.) First thing he swapped out the seat based on information I gave him about bruises and the two other seats I've used. 

This original seat from a way back when Christmas is what was on it because I had no idea what to do. He tweaked the handles and immediately I was holding them with all of my fingers. I didn't even notice I hadn't been! He raised the seat and my legs extended correctly. He angled the brakes and raised the handle bar. Each time T-Jay pointed out how this would impact healthy bike riding. The best part!?! My leg muscles got sore from being able to ride so long and I'm not one bit "saddle sore!"  On that note, I learned there is such thing as a leather saddle for your bike! The leather molds to your behind! T-Jay says I probably want to graduate into that one. It's spendy. I rode my bike this evening but left it there for a tune up. Somehow the wheel got bent. Not in the three moves, I'm sure. (Sarcasm.)

Another cool thing is that because T-Jay teaches Math and Science through biking and Physics on Ice he knows a lot of people I need to meet. When I called Wednesday to make an appointment with a graduate studies advisor, I said I couldn't meet today because I had a bike fitting. He said, "With T-Jay? Tell him I say hi! We play softball together." Go figure. I even met him in the shop today and was introduced!

So right from the awesome bike fitting I went to the local yarn shop where I met a knitting group!  They are a hoot and a half! I'm so excited to add them to my collection of knitting companions! Knitting groups are a wonderful creature! They are also great at solving problems! I, for some reason, though to ask where I could find super local honey for my allergies. Wouldn't you know it, one of the ladies husbands is an entomology professor and they have bees. And honey. Seriously people! Only at knitting groups! It's a beautiful thing. 

Tomorrow I meet with the Graduate Studies Advisor to help me decide what the heck I'm going to decide to learn! Say a prayer!

My First Year

This last week wrapped up my first official year teaching. 

7th Grade Science. 

If you had asked me 4 years ago, I never would have guessed. If you had asked my science teachers they'd be asking you if there would be flying pigs too. 

I learned so much. 

I learned which classroom management techniques work for me in middle school. (And which ones don't.)

I leaned to choose my battles. 

I learned to expect more because then the teacher and students will achieve more even if it wasn't quite what was expected. 

I learned to selectively grade. Grading everything is crazy.

I learned how vital weekends are to rest and recover. While I still created quite a bit, the blogging just didn't happen. I wonder if I will ever find a balance for that or if I will forever moving between school mode and blog mode. 

I learned the power of collaboration and professional development. 

I learned to find out what my students are  good at and give them the chance to be the expert. 

I learned the power of telling students that I don't know....but I can find out. (I also learned just how many resources I have in my phone book.)

I learned about teaching 6 of the same class a day. It gets better every time. If it doesn't, something needs to change. 

 

Oh and did I mention how much science I learned? 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Seriously. 

It was a great year. I look forward to next year and how it will all go with a year under my belt! As I wrapped up this year I couldn't help but start planning for next year!

A Perfect Storm, Mom, Cancer Awareness, and a Baking Day at School

This week is Health Awareness week. We've been having different "dress up" days. Yesterday was dress in the colors of your favorite healthy food. I wore red pants, a white undershirt, and a green sweater. We work a lot on re-stating questions in responses, and making "I think" science statements with lots of evidence to show reasoning. SO the bell work prompt was to tell me what healthy food I was and why. It was fun! Tomorrow is wear your "Cancer Awareness" ribbon color. I'm going to wear the maroon color for Multiple Myeloma. The kind of cancer Mom had. 

My friend Patti, who worked with my mom, at the school I grew up in and she taught at for 14 years just posted a picture of her name on the new building being built at the school. Someone wrote "Wherever you go, whatever you do, don't forget, Pinedale is YOU!" It is me. It was my mom. It is my family even though we're separated by a great distance I regularly think of things I learned there from my mom and all the incredible mentor teachers I have met there on my journey as a student, graduate and now a teacher.

Incidentally we're talking about Cell Cycles this week and yeast is a GREAT example so we're heading down to the "Home Ec" lab to bake some bread with yeast. The way my mom taught me. 

Yeast is a great example of living organisms. My mom would always talk to me about how "its alive" and talk about nurturing the yeasties when would bake.

As I'm preparing to take my "tools" to school, I thought of how my mom would cook with her students. One thing they always remember when I get in touch with them later. Whether it was math, science, or even the skills to write directions cooking is a great way to show how applicable skills are. 

Lastly I grabbed flour sack towels to cover the rising dough. The aprons are in the same drawer. All of my mom's special aprons that I'm so lucky to have. And I get to wear them. Tomorrow. When I cook with my students and teach them many of the things that she taught me.

My heart hurts because I miss her,

because I fell so blessed,

because I'm so proud that I learned so much from her,

because I know she's proud,

and because my only regret is that we can't debrief about it all, laugh a little and build on each others lessons, over a cup of tea and a good long phone call. 

and ahhhhh. None of this was planned. None of this was on my brain until it hit me. Like a truck. Say a little prayer I can keep it together. 

Big News!

I've got a job lined up for next year and I'll be teaching middle school science! I'm really excited and am very lucky to be working at a long term sub job in the same school/subject area!
The posts have been few and far between as I've been working, going to interviews and took some tests last weekend. Yep more tests. Good thing I know "the system" SO well that I've even figured that I can take small knitting that doesn't require a pattern to keep me busy as the Praxis testing (Colorado and Kansas) requires that you stay the whole allotted time.

I have reclaimed the sewing room (not that I have time to sew in it) and the children (as we now refer to the seedlings) are now being  put outside for natural sunlight and cooler temperatures. (The gentleman at the plant store said they were too warm, and that I needed to baby them less so they would stop being so gangly.)

 In the evenings they have their own big seedling space in the garage under their new big seedling plant light that has more colors in it or something gimmicky.

 Additionally, their older cousins the herbs seem to be doing well in their pinterest inspired teared herb garden. They have some foreign exchange students living with them, the green onions. I started them with root stubs after making dinner one night and they're doing amazingly well!

 In the yellow pot I just planted a section of oregano my friend Pat divided from her thriving oregano at home!

These tractors just showed up in our yard today. I think it means we're getting closer to a YARD!

There's lots going on out here and we thank all of you who have been keeping us in your prayers as we enjoy this adventure!

Education and it's Credentials

This has been an interesting time. Today the school of education held its graduation ceremonies. A whole mess of people got their BA's and MA's and we got our credentials. I have mixed feelings about this because these last three semesters "merely" got me a credential and yet I'm proud of being done. I'm glad the three semesters are over.



At the start of the program our cohort head count was about 20. Finishing the credential we are now at about 10. (2 of us weren't able to be there.)
One of my closest friends, Destinie, and I started the program together.



I'm proud to say we finished it together too.
I had considered not going to this ceremony, but looked forward to the closure it might bring. Getting my credential was also sentimental as my mother was an amazing educator and life long learner. My mom made her way through a B.S. in Home Economics, a single subject and eventually a multiple subject teaching credential, and a MS degree in business.
I felt like today was a day of sentimental note in regard to my mom and I was missing her very much today. I wore a skirt I converted from one of her old dresses and of course it was her token color blue.



This was also a sentimental day as Destinie was in my moms class during her second year teaching. I know my mom is so proud of both of us. Did I mention I miss her? I so wish she had been there.



On a brighter note my nails were Ravenclaw (OPI Dating A Royal) blue in honor of "Wit beyond measure.
I have bumped up my departure date to ASAP. I hope that none of my local friends and family will take offense. I'm feeling particularly ready to be back with Luke and doing a bit of reflecting.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First Day

of school tomorrow. First time ever being excited since Kindergarten. (Since I was a kindergarten student...just to clarify.) I suspect the feeling will last 5 minutes into my first class. We'll see.

I tutored today. I enjoy it a lot.

Also. If you're a family member who knew my Grandma Peggy way back when before she was married with children, I found some photos in a "special purple box."  I may call on you in the near future to help me identify who's in them, why there there, and what the picture means. I'm in the process of scanning them and uploading them onto Flickr where comments can be added and I can gather ALL your input. Be warned!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

The last update can be found <here.>

Marriage: Still long distance. Luke is in Colorado, Jess is in California. Not the most fun. Definitely kind of has its lows, buuuuut we've both been receiving affirmation (in various forms) that we're learning, and growing in a good way, and for now this seems to be "The Plan" for us. Until His plan changes, we're lucky we got so good at skype and scheduling phone dates when we were long distance dating. Now I guess we're long distance married.

Job: I have been kept very busy subbing at my home school! I love it! I love the kids, I love how much I'm learning about how to help them learn. It's been a great opportunity to be in so many classrooms learning class management techniques, concepts and gain ideas from such  highly skilled educators who also love the kids they work with. This is not to say there aren't days where you feel like you've been put through the wringer, but the sense of fulfillment I have after a day of work is not one to be ignored.

Family Home Front: I miss Mom. All the time. She would be the one I would call, or stop in to talk to every day after work. She would have been the one who would understand my excitement and enthusiasm. She would have been the one to throw out some other ideas and suggest more ways for me to grow.

There are lots of things going on that I don't post, with the consideration that some of my personal conflicts/struggles aren't all mine to share. So I don't.

Valerie and I have moved into an apartment on a 7 month lease. (That will take us through the end of the spring semester of school. Being here before the semester started has given me the opportunity to join my sister in tackling the daunting task of going though my dad's very full garage. We threw away a lot, gave away a lot, and kept...a lot. It's amazing how many things one can accumulate in a lifetime. Together we've been sorting, remembering, and condensing special family items. While the main task (emptying my dad's garage so he can park a car, and motorcycle in it) is completed our living room resembles a storage/craft room. There are many boxes still needing to be gone through and sorted. There are also many projects needing just a bit of completion. This afternoon "Aunt" Nancy will be coming over to teach us how to put one of my mom's quilt tops on a frame so we can hand quilt it.

Yep, I said so WE can hand quilt it. It's true. My sister, made famous in the quilting circle for her story of calling my mom and saying "I'm making a dress, where's the hot glue gun?" has recently started going to Wednesday morning quilting with me to learn the art of hand quilting. I'm pretty sure my mom's beaming down from heaven to know that some of her projects will have been worked on by all THREE of the Harper Girls.

People:
I have also been trying to be purposeful about seeking out people to hear their stories, get their advice, and converse with them about life in general, and things that apply to my life these days. I have been blessed with so many wonderful mentors, friends, and role models. It's amazing how powerful a cup of coffee (steamed milk in my case), a lunch, knitting etc. and some good conversation can be.

Thanksgiving:
Thanks to a practice session last year (read about it here) Valerie, Luke and I weren't TOO intimidated by the idea of helping Grandpa and Shan host Thanksgiving dinner. Valerie rocked the mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry relish, and keeping her chaotic sister organised (we're talking excel spreadsheet grocery list and butterball turkey iPhone ap people.) Luke tore up the turkey, literally, he was in charge of carving 1 mama bird and two babies (breasts only on the bone/white meat) as well as keeping me calm, and in good spirits (Twilight readers, he's sort of like Jasper in that mood altering sense.) It was a great time of family and visiting.

Church:
Val and I have enjoyed getting involved with a homework help group on Wednesdays as well as both being in town for multiple Sundays! When we're not in town, we're lucky enough to be able to catch sermons on podcast search North Fresno Church.

I have been challenged and supported by one of these podcasts in particular. It's titled, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and was from November 14, 2010. This sermon has stirred up so much. It managed to find things happening in my heart I didn't even realise were happening. It addresses the age old question "why."  It brings up a search for answers, and guidance. I still cant wrap my head all the way around the sermon but man it's got my wheels spinning in many directions and I think that's a good thing. Because, I'm looking and looking and looking, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Christmas:
Luke and I will be in Colorado Springs (me as of the 17th.) Luke has work on Christmas Day which will make for a mellow time. We're both allergic to evergreens and not yet wanting to add a Christmas tree to our growing collection of STUFF we look forward to a mild day with cocoa in front of the fire basking in each others company. (Something we haven't shared in quite a while.) The only thing keeping me from starting a countdown is that I know in my head just how much I need to get done before I leave! Yikes! Better get a move on!

Nature of the Beast

So I just arrived back in Fresno yesterday. Tomorrow I'll register for my classes that I will start in January to complete my credential program.

It's true that I HAD started my teaching credential program in May of 2009, but due to the fact that I wanted to focus my time and energy on my mom I withdrew from the program. I'm extremely glad that I did.

Luke and I got married in May 2010, about a month after my mom passed away. We moved to Colorado Springs, CO where Luke has a pretty sweet internship at a golf course I'm still not allowed to name online.

I worked at a daycare. I loved the kids but quickly learned that daycare franchises are NOT for me. Especially ones owned by incompetent people. (Over 38 people were hired and left in their first year and a half of operation. Scary!)

Luke and I began to have many conversations about where does this put us, what do we want to do?

Contrary to the popular belief that golf pros are rolling in the dough...they're not. Especially not the ones at the bottom of the totem pole. They do what they do for the love of the game, and free golf. Maybe 5, or 7, or 10 years down the road they get somewhere with a decent salary and maybe even some benefits but right now, not so much. Which puts me.....working again.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against working, but if I'm gonna work, I really really really would like to be doing something useful feeling, that I'm good at, that leaves me tired from a good days work but energized because it's what I love to do.

Which leads us to me getting my credential.
So here's the thing, I have a scholarship in CA. At Fresno State. This scholarship covers nearly all of my fees and even some of my books. I can get done in three semesters here, and have a credential that reciprocates in 40 other states. That's virtually the same as a National Credential which you have to be teaching 3 years to get. If I get my credential in CO, not so much the same story. Plus I have to take all the tests over again in the CO version, and jump through some other hoops that could take as long as a year to get through.

Here's where the nature of the beast roars it's ugly roar:
The golf industry is unpredictable. It is dependant on weather, and people who like to do things on whim. It has one of the highest turnovers second to the restaurant industry. It is based on who you know, and the prestige of what you have in your resume. It forces you to be flexible and potentially move a lot. (Especially in the early stages.) Oh yeah, and my husband loves it! And I love that it makes him happy! And I knew all these things within a month of dating him. I wasn't naive, I knew that this was the nature of the beast before I married him. I knew that we could potentially be living in different locations for months at a time. I'm just glad he's not a pro on tour at a different location every week!

So yes, we decided that it would be beneficial to both of us for me to have a clear CA credential. Yes, this decision means we will probably be apart for significant chunks of time. Yes, we still love each other. No, I'm not back in California because we can't stand each other. Yes, I am very much looking forward to being back with him!

We're just sort of doing these things now before we have other variables that make things more complicated.
i.e. kids (10 years from now) or a mortgage.

Today it's hard to resist the urge to...

...yell loudly and kick things.

If you're reading this, I have yet to reconsider the post and delete OR someone has commented and I enjoy comments so much I couldn't possibly delete a post that has comments.

Why I want to yell loudly and kick things:
1.) I was awake at 6:00 AM.
2.)There was a beautiful view of the mountains surrounding our valley today during a break in the rain on my way to work. I was driving so I didn't try to take a picture and it started raining again....swift kick.
3.) The 5th day of rain.
4.) The 5th day of rain and 1st subbing in a fourth grade classroom.
5.) Not talking to Luke all day.
6.) Tutoring and reminding a kid that 20 is 20 for the 220th time this week. A two and a zero makes 20...really? Really? Is it THAT HARD?!! Or maybe that's the 5th day of rain talking.
7.) Talking to Luke...but only for 2 minutes because he has to go. Except I didn't know he had to go until he said I have to go...leading to an abrupt end of conversation and still an empty void from not talking to Luke all day. (The intro to conversation doesn't really count, it's usually formalities.)
8.) I get home, it's raining, my key takes 3 tries to turn.
9.) My quilt blocks have been disturbed on the wonderwall. I fully intended to sew them together this weekend. There's been a lot to do. I know the mover had no malicious intent in fact they had only kind and excited intent...but ugh...I have no idea where they went and I think I spent two hours staring at them to put them where I wanted. Ugh.
10.) Did I mention no Luke? He's in Idaho.

Suggestions?

Cady is a Crafter

At the beginning of the school year my friend Cady had been having a hard time getting homework done in a reasonable amount of time. I struck a deal with her. If she could get her homework done by an agreed upon time then she would earn some points for that day. Well she recently earned enough points to have a crafting adventure! Yesterday was the day. She had decided she wanted to make a blanket for her American Girl Doll, Zoey. If you're unfamiliar with American Girl click <here.> Me being the quilter that I am my brain automatically translated blanket into quilt. It was a go. First thing we did was stop at Country Waffles where Destinie works. Cady knew Destinie from when she came to my PE class last year. Then we headed over to NFC to see the quilters in action! Cady was lucky enough to see all the different kinds of quilts and all the stitches/ties being put into the quilt.

The we went to cottage quilts where she picked out her fabric all by herself! Not fabric I would have instantly been drawn too but it looks great together! Really POPS! We got some zebra minky for the back! Then we had to drop of my computer at Eagle Networks where I happened to know there would be some fantastic fabric appreciators! I wanted Cady to have the full experience including OOoohing and ahhhing over fabric. Great job Eagle Networks! Thanks Aunt Maggie for taking pictures!

Then it was back to Cady's house where she mapped out her quilt...

cut the fabric...

layed it out...

and got to work sewing!

Here is the finished product! (Minus the quilting...I think she might start that Monday...)

the back...

We even busted out a pillowcase (minky for the main part...what a spoiled doll!) and a rug like the one in cottage quilts. Flowers on one side...

Zebra skin on the other.

It was a great day! Cady is a very committed crafter! She stuck to her project all day and the only time she went off to do something else was when I asked her to practice piano while I pinned some of her corners!

It's Purse-onal

or maybe custom made by me would be a simple way to say it. Okay readers, you've been ratted out. I was at school and I found out I had an anonymous reader and today Cindy said someone emailed her about a purse they saw me carrying on my blog. I promise you can comment! I don't bite! How am I going to sell myself as a full fledged blogger if no one knows I have readers? Sigh. Some day. Anyway, about the purse.

I'd been admiring this Jessica Jones fabric for quite some time (Cindy really really likes Jessica Jones...it's gotta be the name!) I wasn't really sold on the oranges and pinks though. I liked the prints, but could they really fit in to my life? I'm a blue, green, purple sorta gal. (If you couldn't tell by the shower curtain I helped...scratch that...picked out. I used my purse to pick out the towels. Anyway, then I found the fabric, and the free bag pattern. I made my order (jCaroline). Then I made my purse. (Free Pattern Here) And my laptop case (No pattern yet, no pictures as of now. I don't LOVE the laptop case, but it makes me happy, and its got enough laptop protection to serve as a pillow to. Kind of caused problems for the little featherweight sewing machine. Trying to figure out how to hid the botched up stitching.)

Making the purse went smoothly, and has simple directions that are fairly easy to follow. I was afraid of making the zipper pocket, even considered making it non zippering...it was easy peasy. Don't be "scurred" you can do it!

Next up is a bag for all these crazy notebooks I'm carrying around for the credential program. I have a different coordinating fabric. Speaking of the credential program...I've been assigned to second grade for my initial student teaching. Pray for me.

Growth

Yep in spite of all the chaos, I'm growing! Learning new things and starting new adventures. On Monday I started the Credential Program at Fresno Pacific University. In about a week I will be graduated from Fresno State. I now know how a chemo appointment goes, and Jennifer has taught me how to give mom pain med injections (not as hard as I thought it would be...but still wierd.) My laptop hard drive was failing...so we pulled the plug on it and I will be growing into a new laptop pretty quick here (thank you to the Eagle Networks crew!)
On a complete side note: Luke is coming down tomorrow! He bought his plane ticket today. Sure brightens things up!

I've Poduced a Product

I couldn't even find these on Etsy. Let me know if you think there might be interest in reproductions or the same product or variations.There's a buckle so I can connect and disconnect my car/personal keys at whim, and there's also a key ring on the necklace part for work keys. My ID badge is attached by a ribbon with a snap so that if I do not wish to be recognized but intend to wear my keys, I can take off my ID badge. I also made a coordinating key ring for my spare key at home! No one will mistake it for theirs!

*I've modified them. More pictures to come, but over about two weeks of wearing mine at work I realized that having my badge on and staying on was more important than removing my identity when I'm out and about. If I really don't want to be identified then I can stick that end in my purse or pocket, or un-clip my keys. SO, I've changed it to a ribbon with a little key ring on it that fits perfectly through ID badge slots. If my card changes or breaks I can easily get it off but not so easily that it will come off at the most inconvenient time.

Whee Halloween!

Halloween weekend was fun! Here I am with some of my girlfriends at a party some of our friends were hosting! L-R is Amanda, Me, Destinie, Beth, Katie, and Kassy! Yay!

I was a more contemporary Marian the Librarian.

So I called it a night relatively early, and went home to sleep before my CSET test the next morning at 7:30. I set my alarm, got my stuff all ready, and then woke up the next morning at 7:32! Two minutes after the test started! Augh... I missed it. When I woke up in shock my mom told me she heard me talking in the next room and heard stuff going on. I didnt talk to anyone, so it all must have been sleep talking/incorporated into my dream. The worst part is something similar happened two years ago when I was supposed to take the CBEST test. I'm scheduled to take the CBEST in December. You'll all have to call and make sure I'm actually awake! Ugh. I can't believe it.

On Sunday when the college group was meeting at Starbucks for Sunday School a man walked in. I wasn't the only one to do a double take thinking that he was my dad!

Here is my dad maybe 5 years ago with slightly darker hair.(He often wears his boots, and also has a hat, I couldn't find the picture with the boots.)

And here is the man we saw at Starbucks!

Worthy of a double take?

Neat Resources

Hey! So I know I'm not keeping up my blog very well, I might catch up someday. I've been busy with a new job, some car troubles, oh yah, did I mention classes? Speaking of classes I went to mine tonight, and wanted to share some links I was introduced to today!
The first I find entertaining:
Grammar Girl. She can be found at her website and iTunes/free podcast. Her website also suplies an episode transcript. Once you find out how fun she is you'll be interested to hear from her friends Make it Green Girl, Mighty Mommy, and Legal Lad.

For those of you with kiddies learning to read check out Starfall. Very free, and very fun and kid friendly. I even played a few rounds.

For those of you who know of kids who are learning to type, check out free Dance Mat Typing.