"My Personal Interests" or "How I Waste More Time Than I Care to Admit"

Spending time doing things I enjoy, especially during the school year, is a rare occurrence.  With the birth of my second daughter in January of this year, and running my eight-year-old daughter to swim team, dance, gymnastics, school, and playdates, I actually feel guilty spending time doing things other than doting on them, if it's not correcting papers.  I do allow myself a few guilty pleasures, however, and in the summer, I do find time to indulge a bit in things other than 8th graders and changing diapers!

One of the things I have just recently discovered is digital scrapbooking.  When I had my first daughter, Sadie, eight years ago, I spent hundreds of dollars on paper, embellishments, and developing... and didn't ever finish her first baby book.  My friend and coworker, Emily, invited me to a digital scrapbooking tutorial at her home one evening, and I was hooked.  That weekend, Emily launched her own site, and I do check it frequently, to see her photo shoots, as well as get inspiration for my own digital layouts.  I also use her "links" page to view other digital scrapbooking sites and to purchase materials or classes.  Since using Photoshop was completely new to me, I have also viewed her tutorials several times to remind myself about certain concepts in using PSE.  With that as my springboard, I have also taken some online classes at Jessica Sprague's website to help grow my love of digital scrapbooking.  Of course, I need pictures to digitally lay out, so I have my best friend, Kelley Reiter, a teacher and photographer, to take gorgeous pictures of my family and my girls to do that work for me!    

I also enjoy going to movies and watching TV.  In fact, I think my parents were surprised when I told them I was going into teaching rather than moving to Hollywood to pursue my dream of becoming a famous actress.  A site that I can waste hours on is IMDB.  I love that I can see an actor who may look vaguely familiar to me on an episode of whatever it is I'm watching, and at my fingertips, I can find out who he or she is and how I recognize him or her.  It's addictive!

Lastly, I enjoy cooking for my family, and this blog, Six Sisters' Stuff, is one of my favorite places to find easy, delicious recipes.  The crockpot recipes here are some of my favorites, and there are also great ideas for parties and crafts that I've used.  I actually found this blog on Pinterest, and have followed it religiously since then.  

Of course, I check my Facebook page multiple times a day, too!  

My Life... A Portfolio

The biggest and most rewarding project my 8th grade students complete is their "My Life" writing portfolios. This is a project I created myself based on an assignment my husband completed when he was in junior high.  Fifteen years after 9th grade, he still has his writing assignments and loves to look back at it.  I know my kids will, too, and receive so many compliments and letters/emails of thanks from parents and students who have proudly completed the project.

The project has definitely evolved over the last six years, as I've collaborated with my teaching partner, taken advice from parents and students, and tweaked the assignments and procedures a bit.  There are 30 assignments total in the portfolio, and the students begin working on them almost immediately as they enter my classroom.  Each writing assignment fulfills a state standard in writing, or fits in with the 8th grade curriculum.  Some are poems, some are diaries, some are letters, some are essays, some are speeches, and some are pictures or artifacts from their time at Hidden Oaks Middle School.  The assignments all revolve around each student's life in middle school, his or her memories of the past, and hopes, dreams, and plans for the future.  Most students "beautify" their portfolios by adding some decorative elements, and some actually use scrapbooks to display their work! 

    
The project is divided up into 6 "checkpoints" throughout the year, at which point each student must have five assignments completed to be on track for the final "turn-in date."  This year, the My Life portfolios were due May 2nd, and the students were lined up at my door waiting to drop them off.  Then the anticipation begins as they wait for me to assess them!  

Olivia used duct tape to make her portfolio stand out!

Someone in this picture stayed up very late putting the finishing touches on his portfolio!

Pierce and Marshall were waiting at the door to turn in their portfolios.
 Can you feel their excitement?

  
















I then spend the month of May and a few weeks in June reading 165 portfolios (give or take a few) in order to hand them back on the last day of school.  It is hard work, for both the students and me, but it is well worth the hours we both spend outside of school working on it, as it is something they will enjoy for years.

  

How's It Been Goin'?

So far, I've enjoyed putting this blog together.  This assignment of adding gadgets took me a while.  I literally didn't know such a thing existed, so I spent a long time browsing through the myriad of options.  I actually don't necessarily like the way some of them look, and I think I'll probably remove a few eventually.  I like a more clean and precise look, and I would rather not confuse my students with too much "stuff."  The widget I'm really excited to use, however, is the "poll" at the bottom of the page.  I can see myself changing the questions frequently... and using a variety of questions from content-based to silly stuff!  I also added the "about this blog" widget, which I like as a little background information to the blog.

After I added the gadgets, I went back and changed my template and fonts again.  I swear, I can spend hours (I actually did) changing the fonts and trying out new ones!  I do it on my PowerPoints when I'm creating lessons, and now I'm doing it here, too!  (My daughter even got in on helping me choose the fonts tonight!)

I do like the way it looks, now, and I'm anxious to try it out with my students next year!