Ribbon Trees!

                                                

I saw this idea for ribbon trees on Pinterest. They're super easy and relatively cheap, so I decided to try one! I'm in love!!! Angela and I have spent roughly 2 hours to make two and I have plans for one more. Here are links to the blog directions I used if you're interested!
http://www.sheskindacrafty.com/2010/11/ribbon-tree-tutorial.html
http://whipperberry.com/2010/12/ribbon-christmas-trees-tutorial.html

We started out with 4" strips of ribbon, hot glued in half. Then we began pinning them on to desert-foam trees from Walmart. One of the tutorials above suggested spray-painting the tree, but we didn't find a need for that. I found these tiny star ornaments at Target and they work very well as a "topper."


We think they turned out pretty well :) I'm not usually a very crafty or creative person, but Pinterest has gotten me really excited about trying out different ideas! I already have a list of things I want to make or cook over Christmas break! Have you been Pinterest-ing lately? What are you making?

Classroom Management Plan

This semester, I am taking a course called "Middle School and Secondary Methods." We've talked about everything from how to get the attention of our classes to how to handle group work and when different teaching methods are appropriate. One of the requirements for this course is the Classroom Management Plan project. It's worth 400 points and we spent several class days working on it. Well, it's complete now and I turned it in this morning! So I decided to share a couple of short excerpts.


Teacher Getting Attention of Class
To get attention of the class, I will ask them to “close conversation” or say “hands free, eyes on me.” We will have an understanding in the class that when the person in front of you stops conversation and looks to me, you are to do the same. This way, students at the front should hear me and their attention on me will trickle to the back of the room and I will not be forced to raise my voice.


Rewards
*Review game.
*"Mathematician of the Week" - one student per week will be honored for good behavior, exceptional work, etc.
*No HW after a test, based on grades.
*Email or call of praise to parent.
Rewards reinforce high expectations. When students are rewarded for going above and beyond or see others rewarded for doing the same, they will be encouraged to do so more often.

Ten Things Tuesday

There are some things that seem to be always disappearing... Here are just a few (in no particular order)!

1) BOBBY PINS... I typically only wear one or two per day. I take them out, put them in the drawer, and put them right back in the next morning! Yet every few months, I am running out and have to buy another pack. How does that happen?!

2) SUNGLASSES... I either break them or lose them. Every time. This last weekend, I left my favorite pair in a rental van :( Gone forever and now I'm on the hunt for new ones. AGAIN.

3) HALF SOCKS... You know, the little ones that you can wear with your flats! I think the dryer eats them. Or perhaps another chick who lives in Gosser stalks my washing machine. Hmm...

4) EARRINGS... They come in pairs. Every time. But I seem to only lose one at a time!

5) PENCILS... You keep a few in your backpack, leave a few on your desk, etc. But one by one, they disappear as well.

6) PAPER CLIPS... You can buy packs of 100 for about $.60. I never use 100 paper clips... Ever. So why do they end up on my Walmart list?!

7) MAIL BOX CODES... They give you a fancy notecard with your mail box code on it. You stick it in your backpack, thinking "Now I'll always have this with me." Yet two months later, the card is missing and you still don't know your code!

8) HAIR BANDS... Just like the bobby pins. You wear one, take it out, put it in a drawer, wear it again the next day. Yet they just disappear and end up on my Walmart list again!

9) ERASERS/MARKERS... We go through dry erase markers like crazy in the Math department! I'm sure every department in colleges do. They're always disappearing or running out. You think you saved that one special marker and put it in that special spot... only to find it replaced with one that's dry and dead the very next day!

10) CHAPSTICK... "There should be a reward for anyone who uses an entire tube of Chapstick without losing it." I mean, seriously!

Did I miss (or should I say lose) anything?!

What up, St. Louis?!

On Wednesday, six of us college kids and our favorite professor piled into a minivan headed for St. Louis! After some delay because of traffic and an amazing meal at Lambert's, we arrived at the Drury Inn. I love big cities and St. Louis is no exception. The incredible architecture, delicious food, and the constant activity kept us well entertained during our stay. Our purpose for the trip was the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics conference. We are all student-teaching within the next year and we gained valuable insight and knowledge about both teaching and mathematics.

We attended different conference sessions on Thursday and Friday. My favorite sessions included "Technology Tools to Transform HW" and also "My Top Ten Favorite Geometry Lessons." Seeing other people excited about teaching math was inspiring and learning a little bit about their strategies and different approaches was so encouraging.

Outside the stadium just before game 7!
From left: me, Jordan, TC, Audrey, Dayton, and Tyler.

We were also in St. Louis during games 6 and 7 of the World Series! Now, I honestly don't care about baseball... It is quite impossible for me to care less. But watching the game at Joe Buck's and listening to the whole restaurant go wild could get anyone excited :)


Some of the highlights of the trip were going up inside the arch, watching the Budweiser Clydesdales outside of the stadium, and eating amazing food! Thank you OBU, grant money, our professor, and my "math friends"!!! Love you all!

Summing Up

Life is crazy right now! I've had several ideas for blogging, but none seemed to be just the right thing and I haven't had much time to write out my thoughts. So I thought I'd fill you in on what I've been doing for the past week and a half.

Purple Portfolio ... As part of my Education major, I must complete a portfolio which basically encompasses and sums up everything I've done academically for the past four years. Once completed, I presented this portfolio to a panel of current educators (2 of my professors and 1 public school teacher). After my presentation, they interviewed me about my teaching beliefs and plans for student teaching. I PASSED :) This means I'll definitely be student teaching in the Spring and graduating in May!

Testing ... Two of my math classes had tests this past week. One on Friday and one yesterday. Senior-itis is beginning to kick in and I had a hard time motivating myself to study, but for better or worse, they're behind me now.

Wedding planning ... Although it has taken a back seat to my portfolio and testing, I am still looking at wedding ideas and making plans. It can be hectic and I have NO idea what I'm doing, but I love it just the same :)

Tears ... I have been forced (again) face the fact that I cannot please everyone. I cannot satisfy everyone's needs. One particular night when I was stressed about one of my tests, Adam told me to meet him outside my dorm. He took me to McDonald's and ordered us chocolate milks. I've recently been craving chocolate milk and spending a short time with him was just what I needed to calm down and refocus. We've now deemed these "chocolate milk dates."

Youth Ministry ... Lots of ups and downs. Overall, things are going well. My sweet middle school-er that I mentor is doing well. Our time together is usually having dinner, doing nails, or just reading God's word together. I'll have to write more about her later.

Family ... Now that Adam and I are engaged, we begin the process of integrating our two families and eventually starting our own family. Part of that is deciding on the holidays. At one point, both families wanted to take 8-12 hour trips to see extended family... during Thanksgiving. Obviously we can't do both. Thankfully, I think we've found a fair solution that splits our time fairly and also allows us to see both extended families.

Scrabble ... Adam and I have started playing Scrabble together. He says the pattern with our games is that he's ahead throughout the beginning of the game, but then I always come back at the end and win. I don't know how true that statement is in practice, but we have enjoyed this "old married couple" hobby :)

I think that sums up mostly everything! Farewell for now.

We're Engaged!!! Now what?!

We have begun the overwhelming, crazy, and fun project of planning our wedding. The date is officially set for July 14, 2012 (9 months from today, but who's counting? 0:)). We've decided on colors and most of the bridal party. We've visited reception sites and I have a good idea of what I want my bridesmaids to wear! I love it. I love that we get to make this day ours and that each decision reflects a little something about who we are as a couple.

This morning I read Proverbs 12. Verse 4 reads, "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones." I've often prayed that I would be like a crown for my husband one day, that I would not be a quarreling wife, that I would bring my husband good and not harm, etc. But those prayers were always for the future. They seemed to be prayers that would not need answering for a long time. Now it's here! On July 14, I will become a wife and I desperately want to fulfill these qualities, both for God's glory and for Adam. What an incredible responsibility.

As I pray that I would glorify God in my role as a wife, I know that one of the most important things I can do for Adam is to pray for him. The following are 10 ways to pray for your husband. Knowing that I should pray these things for my future husband, I "pinned" it to my "When I Say 'I Do'" board on Pinterest. And now these prayers are extremely pressing and real in my life.

Abba, teach me what it means to be "a wife of noble character." Allow me to be Adam's "crown" and to never be "like decay in his bones."

I SAID YES!!!

Where do I even begin?! Adam proposed and I said yes. We're engaged!!!!! I am so very blessed and so very happy. God is so faithful and He has answered my prayers for a husband. Adam is so much more than I ever could have dreamed and I am in awe that God saw it fit to bring us together. :) I think that Adam is so much better at telling our proposal story than I am, so I asked him to write it out. Here is his version of our engagement night!

"About two weeks before we got engaged, Rebecca said something about how one of her friends was getting married in the summer (like we had talked about), and was having problems finding a place because the places they wanted to get married were already reserved. And so we were talking about reserving a place in advance, even though we hadn't gotten engaged yet, and whether or not that would be weird. I told Rebecca I'd ask my mom (which, in my defense, I never had any intention of doing).

Well, this week, on Monday, she texts me and she's like, "Have you talked to your mom yet?" And I say, "no." And that flusters her. Now it seems like I don't care about getting married, or where we get married, or when we get married. And that's funny, because I'm already making preparations to go to Little Rock that afternoon, to pick up this ring.

As I'm driving to Little Rock, calling the jeweler, calling our parents, etc., Rebecca texts me, because she's confused and frustrated and wants to talk about it. This is unlikely, because I'm half way to Little Rock. And so I'm stalling her, not texting her back, because I don't know how to say, "Yeah, I totally wanna meet, but let's not meet for a couple of hours." Finally we decide to meet Tuesday for lunch and talk. Which, for all intents and purposes, is when I wanted to propose.

But then, change of plans. Rebecca texts me again, her friend has given me my much needed Old Testament Theology notes, that I need to study for a quiz I have 8:30 Tuesday morning. And I realize, rightly, that I'm not going to have this conversation with Rebecca Tuesday at lunch, because I need those notes. And this isn't going to be one of those "I came-I got the notes-I left" meetings, because she's frustrated about this thing.

Sho nuff, we end up having the conversation right there. So we walk around the Gosser parking lot (where Rebecca lives) and talk. This was the most fun I've ever had in a conversation. I think irony is hilarious anyway, but this was on a whole different level entirely. The entire dialogue could be summed up in her saying, "I just don't know if we're on the same page," and my saying. "I understand how you could see it that way." Which is funny, because we actually aren't on the same page, but not in the same way she thought we were not.

We get in the car for a couple of reasons: (1) it's warm; (2) it's sort of our private place. I asked her to date me in a car, we had our first kiss in a car, we have our private conversations in the car. So... we get in the car. And after the conversation settles I tell her, "hey... I lied to you this afternoon." And she says, "*huff* ... how?" And I say, "this afternoon I said I was studying... but I was really buying this...""

At this point he asked me to marry him and, through many tears, I said yes! Needless to say, I forgave him for lying to me just this once ;)