It's Been a While....

So, it's been a while since we last updated y'all.

We had a great summer! Ted worked his tail off for events and conferences at JMU. He was working about 6 days a week, sometimes more! It was crazy! He also attended a neat conference in Detroit, Michigan about Diversity in Colleges and communication about Diversity. He learned a lot.

I taught summer school for 4 weeks. It was 1/2 days, so it wasn't bad at all. Another teacher and I co-taught about 15 students. We worked with them a lot on Problem Solving, Nature Journaling, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and some reading and history lessons. We took them on several field trips, one was worse than the rest, but you can ask me about that one another time. Teaching summer school was a good experience, and I would definitely do it again. Then, I spent a week in GA with my family. I got to argue with Dad and Benjamin about a math problem for an hour while out to eat (only my family would do this...) I took Faith to Six Flags White Water and had a blast! I had lots of good talks with mom. I got to visit church with my parents which was a blessing. It is really lousy not finding a church to connect with here in VA. (We still have hope, though.) I spent time with some good friends, eating, swimming, shopping, etc. It was a WONDERFUL vacation.

I've also been working on a grad class on Problem Solving and Lesson Study. It is an interesting course, and it's really made me reconsider how I teach, but the way the course is formatted is a nightmare. 1/2 of the course is online, but we don't have any firm deadlines. So, I started out strong, working my tail off, and then slacked off, and had to do a TON of work before our 2nd class meeting. It was ridiculous. People are stressing out like crazy. You know its bad when I'm the one being level-headed and trying to get everyone else to calm down. It's been interesting though because my principal is taking the class with us, and he is in my discussion group, so I've seen him in a new light. (Not a bad one, he's just more human then super-principal now.) This class madness will continue until October when we will collectively hold a bon-fire and burn out problem-solving journals. :)

I spent a week and a half this summer babysitting a 7-year old girl. No problem, right? WRONG!! So Wrong! This child was picky about everything and very difficult to entertain. After the week and a half, Ted and I spent the money I made on a trip to the beach. We camped at KOA at Virginia Beach and baked in the sun for a full day. We came home well rested, and SUNBURNED!

Last week Ted attended a retreat for his new Assistantship in Student Activities and Involvement. He did a practicum in that office last year, so he knew the professional staff, but he got to bond with the other graduate assistants and they all get along really well. Quite a loud and funny group. For Ted's Assistantship he is providing assistance to clubs and organizations. There is a lot to it, planning events, workshops, monitoring the club recognition process. You can ask him about it, but I will warn you when I asked for the details it was a 90 minute conversation, so make sure you have some time on your hands. He is really excited about the position and his supervisor is very supportive and lets Ted take ideas and run with them, so really it is the perfect place for Ted.

Ted is also teaching an introduction to college course at Blue Ridge Community College (15 minutes south of here.) He is teaching 3 sections of 35 students EACH!!!!! He'll teach them about college policy, study skills, etc. I think Ted is going to be a great instructor because he loves to teach people about things, and Ted knows a lot about college, so it will be great for him!

As far as course-work for Grad School, Ted is entering his 2nd ( and LAST) year of his program. He's entering this year with a 4.0 !!!!! GPA. He is taking 3 courses: Statistics, Group Counseling, and Supervision and Consultation in Student Affairs. He's looking forward to these classes, as they aren't supposed to be as taxing as last semesters course-load. Wish him luck!

I went back to work last week. We had a day of faculty meeting, a day of workshop, a day of math grad class nightmare, and 2 days of work in our rooms. My room looks great! I got some new cabinetry moved into my room, and I already had a lot, so I have SOOOOO much space to store stuff I don't have. Monday and Tuesday of this week, I will work on planning for the first couple weeks of school and finish up some paperwork.

Once again, I am teaching 3 blocks of Course 2 (7th grade math.) One class is Inclusion. My inclusion class has a couple LD kids, several ED kids, and a pair of non special ed kids. It will be an interesting mix, but it is co-taught, so I will be sharing responsibilities for that class with a Special Ed teacher I am SO excited to work with. She is a super-star, and so positive and encouraging. She does a really great job with the kids, and I always learn so much from her. She is from a language arts background, so when she is in a math classroom, she can really jive with the kids who don't "get" math. She comes up with unique ways to explain concepts that just seem natural for me. Anyhow, I cannot wait to work with her.

My class sizes are incredibly small this year. I have 10 students in my Advisory group, and lets pray they aren't the trouble makers I had last year because it is my responsibility to keep up with all of their discipline records and parent contacts. In second block I have 11 kids, 3rd block (co-taught) we have a total of 11 kids, and I have 9 kids in 4th block. Unbelievable. I really hope to reach these kids this year, there are no excuses when I am only teaching 31 kids for math! It's looking like it will be a good year.

Well, Ted claims I've just typed the great american novel here, so I will stop now, but hopefully I won't wait so long between posts in the future!

All our love to far away friends and family!