Life101 Adulting Series When I asked students what skills they hope to gain from our Life101 class, the most popular answer had something to do with money handling, but a close second involved getting along with people. Communication. Body Language. Isn't it interesting that in this social media generation, where my students are connected via their smartphones to each other 24 hours a day, they lack face-to-face communication skills? I'm glad they recognize it, but fixing it isn't ... Read More about Body Language and Communication for Students
Welcome to the Life101 Adulting Series
Life101 Adulting Series Welcome to my Life101 series, following the lessons I teach my ragtag bunch of high school students in their Adult Roles and Responsibilities elective! How to Adult This is my second time teaching this class after building it last year. It is a semester-long class in the Practical Arts department. The first quarter we focus on character development, using the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey as our textbook. The second quarter ... Read More about Welcome to the Life101 Adulting Series
PreK First Day
Spartacus began his year in the four-year-old PreK class this week. While three was a challenging age, four brings its own hurdles. He loves playing outside and he loves his friends and he loves his teachers and he loves learning...but when he wakes up in the morning and asks, "Is it a school day?" it's often followed by, "That's not my favorite!" He attends preschool and daycare at a Lutheran childcare center close to our house that serves infants through school age kids. He has been in ... Read More about PreK First Day
First Week Routines
Year seven of teaching is upon me! New student orientation day is Wednesday, and all students roll in Thursday. This is, I think, my busiest year yet. But the closer I get to a room filled with fascinating developing adolescents, the more excited I get to impart to them the wisdom of my years (I am turning 30 next year, after all) and empower them with the tools to be successful in this ever-changing world. It is a privilege and a terror, this career choice. But at least for today, I wouldn't ... Read More about First Week Routines
A Teacher’s Prayer
This week my Lutheran school faculty joined together in an opening worship service. We rejoiced in the blessings of our resources and talents, and prayed for our students and families who are returning to school next week. We did a similar service last year, and I loved one portion where we prayed the Psalms and Proverbs for the upcoming school year. I felt it definitely worth sharing for those teachers beginning their new year! I believe these verses were first compiled by Melissa Kruger over ... Read More about A Teacher’s Prayer
The Exhaustion of Back-to-School
It's been weeks since I last posted, but I've been getting ready to go back to school and I am EXHAUSTED. The back-to-school nightmares began about two weeks after I turned in my final grades in May, and I don't remember ever struggling this much to find motivation before! I still have two weeks until Day 1, and my list only gets longer the more I think about my tasks. What's going on? There are a few things that makes this back-to-school time "feel" different than previous years. For one, ... Read More about The Exhaustion of Back-to-School
Breastfeeding Challenges: Pumping at Work
I am a full-time high school teacher, and I wanted to continue to breastfeed after I went back to my classroom. I pumped for the first year after returning to work for both of my kiddos. It wasn't easy, and I learned a lot from the experience. I gathered together an awesome team of mommas from one of my mommy Facebook groups and my own experiences to share some tips for continuing to pump when returning to work. National Breastfeeding Month is in August, just in time for back to school, so if ... Read More about Breastfeeding Challenges: Pumping at Work
2 JC 708: Holy Spirit and the BMV
When I was growing up, my family had a treasured 1990 Chevy conversion van, known affectionately as "Big Blue." That comfy vacation-mobile took us to the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Times Square, Orlando, and even had the honor of being parked briefly in Hahvahd Yahd to move me into my freshman dorm. When it moved with us from Wisconsin to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for my father to attend the seminary, we eventually had to register it in-state. The story that follows is a favorite of my parents ... Read More about 2 JC 708: Holy Spirit and the BMV
5 Tips for the New College Freshman
This post is by a former student of mine, Aleana Branigan, who was my awesome yearbook editor during that interesting year I ran the yearbook, and she is currently a student at Ball State University. I asked her to share her thoughts on finishing her freshman year. She writes this guest post she affectionately titled "5 Tips to Avoid Being Fresh Meat" with advice for the incoming college student. 5 tips to avoid being fresh meat By Aleana BraniganCollege is going to be rough; your first month ... Read More about 5 Tips for the New College Freshman
Suicide Prevention: Asking the Question
During one of my early years teaching, a student wrote a short story assignment for my class about committing suicide. Her story was very specific, including waiting for her twin sister to leave the house to do the deed. I dismissed this story as a work of her creative mind. I pegged her as the quieter, deeper "goth" twin of the two, and I rationalized that no one who had an identical twin/automatic best friend could possibly be without a support system and honestly be considering suicide. I ... Read More about Suicide Prevention: Asking the Question
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