Catch up--not to be mistaken for Catsup.

Apologies for the immense time between posts, real life, you know. School is, well, finished for the semester, finally. I worked insanely hard this semester, and pulled all A’s and B’s… perhaps hard work really does pay off after all. :) I have an insane load next semester, 20 credit hours, which, on top of my state boards, should make for an interesting and stressful 16 weeks. Looking on the brighter side, however, I must keep reminding myself that I’ve only got one more semester of classes to suffer through, and then student teaching. I’m ready to be in the schools, much more ready than I’d have ever believed to be possible. This time next year I will be officially done and graduated.

Every semester we are given placements in the schools for observations. This semester, being in Block I, we were expected to do more than just observe… we actually had numerous opportunities to teach. I taught an entire three week, 2^nd grade math unit, all by myself. Yes. Math. I know, I was shocked to have survived, too. My main placement, however was not in 2^nd grade, it was, in fact in Kindergarten. I was so upset to have been “assigned” in a Kindergarten class, after all, who in their right mind would willingly want to teach Kindergarten? I went in the first day, absolutely terrified. I came out, at the end of the observation period, which lasted about 12 days, absolutely in love with Kindergarten. Looking back now, I wonder what I was so afraid of. How could anyone fear a bunch of adorable five year olds? I’ve now got the mind set to teach Kindergarten if at all possible. I fell in love with the age, with the methods, and with the teaching in general.

People sometimes groan and complain that they have to get up and go to work in the morning. Teaching for me isn’t work. It’s a calling. Teaching is what I’m meant to do, whether it be in the school system or with my own children. Teaching isn’t, and will never be just a job for me; it will always be something much, much more, something immeasurably better.

Enough babble from me. Have a wonderful holiday everyone. Love you guys! ~Crystal

School, Life, Literature

School. That’s the only word needed to describe my life at the minute. That and perhaps “annoyingly busy.” I am finding that this semester is leaving me with little, if any, me time. Come on, everyone deserves some me time. It gets a little tiring doing the same thing for weeks and weeks at a time… Okay enough babble.

I finished my first week of elementary school pre-teaching, which is basically a form of practicum. I was assigned to Kindergarten, and I loved it!!! I was absolutely terrified going in to the experience, but coming out of it, I can honestly say that I don’t think I’d be happy teaching anything other than Kindergarten. I go back in November and actually do some whole class teaching, where I am completely on my own. I am excited, but nervous as well. I am already hard at work on lesson plans and activity ideas. Since I go the week before Thanksgiving, the general theme of the week is Thanksgiving. I found that this was wonderfully planned out on my teachers’ parts, not that it was intentional. Having such a common theme presented to me makes the lesson planning so much easier. It’s not going to be easy, of course, but I am finding abundant resources, trade books, and activities that fit the age level and the theme. Yay!!!

I also just finished the first two books in a fairly new series. The third book unfortunately doesn’t come out until next October, which means I have over a year until I am able to read the next installment. L The books, titled “Twilight” and “New Moon”, are written by Stephenie Meyer. These are her first two attempts at writing, and I must brag on her wonderful ability to do so. Her website, www.stepheniemeyer.com is also a wonderful resource to her readers as it includes helpful information, answers to question that you will most definitely have after reading, as well as an abundance of extra material to read and absorb. I won’t give away any more of the story than this; it takes place in a rainy city in Washington state, and has several ‘good’ vampires. Interesting, huh. You’ll just have to go and buy the books to find out more!

Anyway, enough from me. Signing off.

Moving In!!!

Okay, so I am finally settled into my new dormitory. I, for the very first time in college, have my very own room. One word: YAY!!! As a senior, I figured that it would be best with my heavy schedule, and busier work load, to not have to deal with an in-the-room roomie. There are four girls in my apartment style dorm, each with their own bedroom, two to a bathroom, a living room, and a tiny (no-really, it’s miniscule) kitchen. My mirror buddy, Laconda, as my neighbor and I have come to call each other, is also an Education major; however, she is focusing on the Middle School age group rather than the Elementary group. The other two girls, Sarah and Nikki, are Social Work and Business majors, respectively. Both also play on the school’s softball team. As we are all seniors this year, I think we will all get along fantastically. Chances are, we won’t see much else except the chalkboard and the inside of our textbooks, so getting along shouldn’t be an issue. Well, that’s about all from the wonderful life of me!! I’ll update in a week or so to let everyone know how the first wonderful week of classes treated me. Until then, Veloma tompoka! (See you later in Malagasy)

The Not so Busy Life…

I am officially ready to go back to school! (For the first time EVER (Seriously)!!!) I have been bored out of my poor, little mind. I think I have, honestly, read nearly 20,000 pages of various books in the past 4 weeks. I re-read the entire Harry Potter series (for the umpteenth time), finished the Children of the Red King series, finished the Shadow Children series, and read Lois Lowry’s Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger. (All 3 of these are immensely depressing!) This barely touches the surface of the books I have read this summer. Not that reading is a bad thing, on the contrary, I am a very avid and dedicated literary fanatic, but looking back on all of this, my life sure seems boring, even to me! Only 3 more weeks and I will be back into the lovely and monotonous swing of things that comes with taking 18 credit hours in a single semester. Oh well, enough babble from me. Leave me a message if you get a chance!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have this ridiculous obsession with all things Harry Potter. I currently Beta read: help correct errors and make stories as perfect as possible for one of the newest and fastest growing Harry Potter Fan Fiction sites: Wizard Tales. As a way to help some of my favorite authors gain some more publicity for their wonderful stories, I decided to create a list of links to author-made websites (if available) or to their stories on Wizard Tales. Please take some time to read and review for these wonderfully creative authors.

The following authors have their own websites. Click on their name to be magically transported. (I told you, I’m obsessed!)

Muggle Momma

BillHagridson

Cts

James Milamber

Melindaleo

These authors do not yet have their own sites, but their stories can be accessed in the same manner. Instead of being transported to an individual's site, you will be taken to the individual author's page on Wizard Tales.

Wizard Tales

Bogloshi

Bengpotter31

Calamur

Buttamellow

HermioneWeasley1972

Khrys

ladylarna

Unickita

I hope everyone enjoys these as much as I have.