adventures of a new mom juggling work and family

another day of the same old

2007-10-16T04:53:00.000-07:00

where does the time go??

2007-08-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Seems just like yesterday was the last day of school-it's already August-seriously how does time fly so quickly in the summer? is it because we keep ourselves soooo busy trying to enjoy every minute of this great outdoor weather?

Can't believe my little girl is about to turn 1- she's getting so big!!!
babbling-(talks soooo much-definitely takes after me-not my husband)
standing-taking her first steps-every day she adds a few more on her own (couple of falls never hurt anyone)
trying to feed herself --- what a mess :)

Summer

2007-07-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

hooray!!!!

2007-06-01T03:04:00.001-07:00

stress,stress, and more stress

2007-06-01T02:58:00.001-07:00

The most undesirable profession....

2007-05-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

remember when we were in school and if the teacher told you she was going to call your house... you would start to panic.... students just don't care -call my mom..so what?!?!
teachers are not appreciated for all the time that they put in, they are definitely not respected- not by students, not by parents, sometimes not even by administration....
who in their right mind would want to go into this profession???
students can bump, smack, hit and what can the teacher do? NOTHING!!! students can do whatever and teachers have the right do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!

Negativity.....

2007-05-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

have you ever noticed how negativity seems to breed MORE negativity? i truly believe that if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all.... how can someone expect good things from you if you constantly shove negatives down their throats....
it just isn't worth it.... the few minutes spent being PETTY could have been spent being more productive in that person's position... aren't their more pressing issues to deal with???? why pick on people who are doing the best they can in the capacity in which they are in.....
(sorry just needed to vent LOL)

on to better things---- baby is now learning to pull herself up
she did take a bad fall yesterday in the playpen as she tried to pull herself up....

finally awakens....

2007-05-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

The student who used to nap after lunch and was failing has done a complete turnaround... he comes to class, he begins reading, he's doing his homework, he finishes his work before everyone else now.... he actually asked me what does it take to get on honor roll....
what happened? well whatever it is I'm thankful for it - i was beginning to get a little discouraged because nothing seemed to motivate him... maybe the fear of being retained did it but it doesn't matter as long as he is working that's what matter...
He seems to light up now when I give his work back and his grades are passing
(I have to admit - every time I write a passing grade on his papers- I smile :) ) How could I not?
he's a good kid even if things went sour for him for a few months because of the crowd he was hanging around...

is teaching making me sick?

2007-04-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

is it the room? the building? the stress???

when will they finally GET it???

2007-04-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

it's the end of April-I have one student who just refuses to work... he puts his head down on a daily basis and does NOTHING
what else can i do? I've called home -sent progress notes -all he cares about is socializing with his friends... and naps(guess after lunch is perfect for naptime!!!!)
what to do

Jenna's on the move

2007-04-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

She's finally crawling (mostly just goes backwards) -rolling and trying to lift herself up
and then this morning - SURPRISE- she was standing up in her crib balancing herself on the rails.... she wasn't doing this yesterday when I put her to bed....
this seems to have happened overnight :)

Reflection on class

2007-04-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

I had expected something different when I first walked in to this class.. This was my first experience with an online class- I guess I was looking forward to sitting in the traditional classroom and taking notes once again- but i guess in order to teach with new literacies you have to learn to use them ....
I did learn about new concepts such as blogging and fanfiction that I otherwise would probably never have gone off on my own to look for. Both of these concepts seem as though they would definitely pull students in and get them more involved in class. Using the blog for class helped me become more comfortable with it and I can definitely see myself using blogs with my students starting in September. i enjoyed getting feedback in the comment section so I can see how my students will feel.
While researching for my paper, I realized there is an array of materials available to research (if only one had so much free time!!!!) This class definitely pushed me to read more about new literacies available...
I feel I have become somewhat more familiar with technologies than I was before
I will definitely be looking forward to another reading/technology course
Thanks Dr. D

spring break!!!!!!

2007-04-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

yippee!!! it's great to have an entire week of doing absolutely NOTHING

what a week

2007-04-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

perhaps this just isn't cut out for me.....

you tube

2007-03-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

this a site that i'm just starting to get to know ... the other day someone emailed me a link to 'what are teachers worth' on youtube and i quickly began checking out further on youtube... the enormity of this site-all these clips who has the time to create and view ALL of these clips???
I saw some really cool clips and some real disturbing clips... who's monitoring these things??
It's hard to believe they have awards for this now too (is it so hard to believe?) maybe not!!!

Hopkins Green Frog

2007-03-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Looking this up was quite an adventure online... it all begins with a poster of a little lost frog and quickly spreads like wildfire--- the little poster was (is) definitely considered a meme according to Knobel
the poster was kept intact except for the omission of one digit, it continued to be passed on over and over again...it reminded me of a chain letter being passed around... except on a greater scale

is the week over yet???

2007-03-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

Let's just put it this way it HASN'T been a good week....
sleep is a very rare thing at the moment... who knew vomit could spew across the room??? i guess i wouldn't like corn and squash either--- ugh!!! :) i don't blame her for getting sick it didn't smell appetizing to begin with....

a bright spot... tomorrow a free day to enjoy---HOORAY!!!

what is sanjaya still doing on IDOL???? do people hear him????

njask

2007-03-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

just one week until my 6th graders take the njask.... i've done all the test prep i can...it's in god's hands now...

Me as a reader

2007-03-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

How should I describe myself as a reader?? I LOVE to read but I only get to enjoy reading in the summer.. who has the time to read during the school year? I'll read anything and everything I can get my hands on....
I teach reading through the use of a scripted program called RAMP UP... it does seem to work slightly for the kids... we're 'supposed' to use stations such as technology within the classroom but who has the time... by the time I get to the whole group instruction i'm into the second half of my block period... and there's hardly ever time for any stations, perhaps once or twice a month in a GOOD month...if only we had more time in the day....

Email HELP!!!!!

2007-03-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping someone can help me with my montclair email I can't seem to respond to any emails... I've tried to reply to dr. d several times but nothing happens... i've hit reply, i've hit compose , nothing happens---- HELP!!!!

The Matrix

2007-03-03T05:08:00.001-08:00

last night I finally watched the movie THe Matrix for the very first time... it wasn't something that ever interested me ... but after watching it I do have to admit it's a good movie...while watching the movie I began to think about how do we know what's real anymore??? after watching it I realized that perhaps having a virtual world isn't so far fetched after all... i mean with all the computer games and communities out there I truly believe that we are all beginning to live our lives virtually ... i went on second life the other day to check it out and realized that people are 'living' in this community - they are representing themselves with an avatar ( which by the way everyone here seems perfect) and they socialize, network, shop... everything you do in the 'real' world...
I searched the internet for the matrix and realized there are games based on the movie, communities, books, articles... even a wikipedia entry... people are really into this movie (actually all three- i didn't know there were three..)
I guess there's so much information about this movie because it makes us all wonder if what we're living now is truly real? and could we be overtaken by machines? I truly hope not... i wouldn't want to be harvested in a pod somewhere :)

What a busy week!!!!

2007-02-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

Whew!!! A week off is supposed to be relaxing... but i feel as though i did more than i usually do when i'm at work... I began the week off by enjoying our 3 year wedding anniversary.. we enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner at spanish pavilion right in town,.. my mother had the baby so i got to enjoy a glass or two :) of sangria.... what a great restaurant... unfortunately the town is trying to buy it because of redevelopment.... I thought redevelopment would mean good things for the town... but in the past few years i've definitely seen an abuse of eminent domain in town... (we nearly lost our house to eminent domain- they wanted to replace our house with a parking lot for the school a couple of doors down the street-- are you kidding me???)
Then began the busy week at home where I tried to catch up on everything I had let go for the past few weeks... laundry-of course
Then I celebrated my 31st birthday by spending the day shopping and having a quiet dinner ordered in... it was definitely peaceful :)
By the time Saturday rolled around I was ready to go out and celebrate- I was supposed to go with one of my friends to a Japanese steakhouse but she cancelled cause her face was swollen- she doesn't even know how it happened- she ended up coming over and we got a chance to just hang out (life's sooo busy now that it seems as though we never get to just 'hang out' anymore)

Using technology

2007-02-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

I guess I misread the assignment for the previous week and forgot to write about how I use technology in my life....SORRRY..
well technology --- it's definitely a big part of my life at home... I use the internet to monitor and pay bills, I use the internet to shop and to review what I should buy for my daughter (I read ALOT of customer reviews before investing money in big purchases for her such as car seats and strollers)...I constantly use my email to help keep me in touch with relatives halfway across the world... it's sooo much cheaper than calling and now sharing photos through email helps my aunts, uncles, and cousins see my daughter instantly as opposed to before when I used to mail things and it would take a while for them to receive it..
Over the past year I have definitely become more technology savvy ... i have become more comfortable using the computer for other things other than just word processing...

But at school it's a different story.... i guess my biggest problem is being able to monitor what sites the students are on... i feel as though even when i assign them to a particular site they tend to go off and visit another site ... i feel as though I have to constantly look over their shoulders to keep them on the site... I guess with more use perhaps I'll get more comfortable (hopefully )

creating myspace

2007-02-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

After signing on and creating an account with myspace i realized that it takes alot of time and effort to actually customize these pages... It took me quite a bit to learn how to add colors and a song and even some pictures (it took me a while but I did it--- Hooray!!!) ... I have to applaud all those kids who have these real fancy looking myspace sites... they are definitely more creative than me... I guess myspace is a creative outlet for kids....

what shocked me a few days later after creating my account was that i was soon contacted by a girl i went to high school with and haven't spoken to since we were seniors....i guess myspace is good to help people locate you

Grey's Anatomy...

2007-02-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

This past summer I got hooked on this show on reruns and now this is how I spend my thursday nights... and this week's episode was definitely riveting.... can't wait to see what will happen to meredith....and then the question of the night...who would miss me if i was gone? everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing-- it's as if they were questioning the significance of their own lives (don't we all do that sometimes?)

there is a God!

2007-02-14T12:28:00.000-08:00

He must have heard my prayers....hooray...a snow day!!!!!

What's up with kids?????

2007-02-13T05:57:00.001-08:00

if today is any indication of how my kids are going to perform on the NJASK then I am in TROUBLE.....
They can't even complete a practice test without talking... how are they going to focus come the real test...

Detention is a joke... i told one girl she had detention for being late and she proceeded to 'TELL' me she wasn't coming because she had to get her hair done... ARE you freakin kidding me????? Who tells the teacher that????
Talk about fuming..... I feel like ALL I DO IS BABYSIT--- they don't listen, they don't sit quiet, they don't even complete their work...(but when it's time for report cards they want extra credit)..... they don't care about their grades or their behavior....
this is definitely the first year I don't enjoy my students- they are just not a good bunch of kids.... i don't understand my students.. the work i give them isn't difficult it's on their level.... none of them should be frustrated but they are.....they come to school to have social hour not to learn...

PRAYING FOR A SNOW DAY...
IF YOU'RE LISTENING GOD- LET IT SNOW ENOUGH THAT SCHOOL IS CANCELLED TOMORROW!!!!!

Is it postpartum???

2007-02-09T18:32:00.001-08:00

I feel like I don't have enough time for anything... is it i'm not a good mom or perhaps i don't manage my time right... it seems as though there's always something that's got to get done and no time to do it... Laundry.. dishes... cleaning... straightening up.... calls to parents.... .lesson plans.. dinnner.... or just spending time with friends....when I don't get everything done - i feel like what's wrong with me .... everyone else can manage why can't I? It's getting better...but when will it just seem to flow????

From Reading to New Literacies...

2007-02-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

The first chapter of this book deals with how reading has changed and referred to now as 'literacy'...( remember when we were reading teachers??? now we are Literacy teachers....) I always believed the term literacy to be around (considering I am a child of the 80s) but through the reading I realized that it wasn't until there was a reading crisis did this term come to the forefront.... Illiterate began being used because Schools were not preparing students to be productive citizens within their communities...according to the reading another thing to come out from this 'literacy crisis' is the infamous NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND..... reading and everything related to reading and writing took on new terms.... but nothing really changed besides the names.....
The second chapter speaks of how our interpretation of the world has evolved...the chapter speaks of newcomers to technology as those who over 35... I'm not quite 35 but yet I feel as though I should be doing more with the technology available... shouldn't I still be considered a newcomer to this technology????
The chapter also refers to Amazon.com which I have only skimmed through... I guess I'm old fashioned but I still prefer to go to the bookstore to purchase my books and hopefully that love will be passed down to my daughter...Buying a book through Amazon.com just doesn't seem the same... I enjoy the time I spend reading the backs of books and perhaps stumbling across a book I would otherwise not find... is that even possible on Amazon???
How technology has evolved!!! the chapter also refers to sites in which there is much more reader input than ever before... reader opinions are considered an important tool in these sites... supposedly they help the consumer...
I'm just hoping I will soon be comfortable using the technology for so much more within my classroom : )

another week in the trenches....

2007-02-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

another week is just about over...the kids get their report cards tomorrow...isn't it funny how all during the cycle they didn't give a crap about their grades then suddenly last week they wanted to know if they could do 'extra credit'....EXTRA CREDIT???? are you kidding me???? if they had just completed all of their work during the cycle they wouldn't have to ask for extra credit... i don't give extra credit cause i'm not giving myself extra work at the end of the cycle....now they have to suffer the consequences for the grades they earned....but will there even be consequences?????

Another Cold Day

2007-02-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

Can it get any colder... I felt bad taking the baby out in this weather... couldn't we just take the day off and stay on the couch and watch movies all day....

Toddler Netizens & children online

2007-02-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the 80's is definitely different than today. we had an Apple IIe (I think) in the house with no internet (internet? what was internet back then?) so what did we use the computer for? word processing and some real simplistic games.... and who can forget atari??? spending all that time playing games didn't corrupt us all... we all turned out alright
a lot of my students come from media rich homes (game systems, tvs,computers...) and spend too much time with all this media but yet After reading this article, I realized that some of my students may not have access to a lot of the technologies we talk about... a computer may not be available at home...or if it is, it may not have internet access... i need to be able to provide all of my students with the same technology experience while they are at school so I need to find richer ways to include technology within my 6th grade language arts class so that all of my students can experience the same technologies

Yet in the second article, we see children succeeding in using technology... creativity and imagination both being used... Imagine if I could get my sixth grade students to perform at the level these children were using the online world of Middle Earth... these children were writing poetry, interacting, roleplaying, they were engaged from the moment they got on ... WOW!!! Perhaps I need to find something similar to get my students engaged in using technology in the same way... That would definitely be put to good use in my class...

shots

2007-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

l'il J got her shots today...oh the crankies have started... hopefully she'll feel better after some tylenol (maybe mommy will too :)

CAPA's Gone

2007-02-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

Well we can all breathe a little easier now... CAPA's gone ... Hurray!!!! all that planning and preparation for a 10-15 minute visit???? Are you kidding... what kind of judgement can you make based on such a short time in someone's class?

Response to Zero to six

2007-01-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

As I read the article I realized that already my daughter at five months is off to a bad start... she's completely mesmerized by anything electronic...tvs,computers, phones...you name it she wants it...I try to read to her as much as I can, my husband on the other hand...
The key issues in this text is that children today are exposed to a much larger amount of media than we were at that age... things have definitely changed since we were young...
This is definitely apparent within my classroom... students want to be constantly entertained- they can't sit still to even read for 15 minutes.... students can tell me all about what they watched last night,but ask about what they read 2 minutes ago, BLANK STARES!!!!

l'il J

2007-01-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

Can't believe how quickly time flies.... L'il J is getting so big 5 1/2 months already ... and I feel like I barely have enough time with her... talk about mommy guilt... how does everyone with kids and a job manage????

Hopes & concerns for READ600-03

2007-01-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

My hopes for this class are that I will become more comfortable and successful at using technology within my classroom with my students... my concerns are that I will not have enough computer knowledge to be comfortable using the technology and that my students activities on the computers will be limited