All this for $1????

On my way home from running an errand after school today, I decided to stop by Michael's craft store to look at "all the pretties." This is something I like to do to unwind. Our Michael's has redone their store and there is a scrapbook Mecca that beckons the inner crafter in me. I also love the Martha Stewart craft line, the woman's got style. But anyway, I was there just to look but I discovered their aisles of $1 items. They had all kinds of great things and each was only a measly dollar. After great debate and about forty-five minutes of inspection, I came home with a few wonderful things. Keep in mind each find was $1.

My goodies:

- A weekly meal planning list notepad with magnet for the fridge (I make one every week so we cut down our grocery bill and there's not food wasted each week)

- A recipe box with a cute little bird on it (not granny like at all)

- Wonderful recipe cards which I plan to fill as soon as I get a chance

- Some scrapbook paper packs

- These great kitchen gadget magnets

Earth Shattering News in the Computer Lab

So I dropped a big bomb on my students today. We're in the middle of an extensive writing project and I started noticing a trend that I wanted to clear up before they got too far into their writing.

I told them that there is a double space between sentences when you type.

You should have heard the belly aching, whining, and disbelief. Some refused to believe that this could be true. They demanded to know why a double space was necessary. (A good question that I did not have an answer to.) I told them I would have said something sooner but I assumed they all knew. That's when one of my favorite spunky students piped up, "Mrs. Jaeger, you know what happens when we assume..."

So, there you go. Double space after your end punctuation. Lives have been forever changed.

Feeling Like I Love Them

Went to a track meet today after school. Aside from the gorgeous warm weather, I loved watching my students compete in the different events. I forget the fact that they are these people that do things outside of school. I saw determination and pride in students that in class hide and hope that no one notices their missing work, failing grades, or lack of reading skills.

Cheering them on in something other academics was powerful. I was reminded of how far these kids have come in the last two years. Even though many of them acted nonchalant when I yelled their name in a race on or offered a "good luck," in passing, I think it was important for them to know I care about all aspects of their lives. I want to see them succeed not only in class, but in life.

With Regret

I never aspire to be an enabler.

But I think I might be. I just want everyone to feel comfortable and accepted.

But sometimes, love is a kick in the seat of the pants.

Years down the road, I hope my students understand my tough love and boundaries. They certainly are not capable of understanding it in the moment.

Jesus wasn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers.

Textacular!

Chris and I got texting on our phones this weekend. I'm mixed about my feelings toward this "convenience." Any thoughts out there? Feel free to comment or text me about it. My thoughts right now: just another way to communicate without contact... but it is hecka convenient at times.

Do you remember...

...when all you ever wore was cotton and spandex? I was driving home Friday, at 3:50 PM. Which meant that I sat in Mill Creek Elementary traffic. As I silently wished I'd left work a few minutes earlier, I couldn't help but notice that all the children pouring out of the school and into the cross walk were happily wearing sweats and stretch pants. Not a single pair of jeans walked by. It made me wish that I could still wear yoga like pants day in and day out. Jeans and dress pants are so restricting, aren't they? Oh to be in fifth grade again and indulge in the comfort of stirrup pants . Sigh.

I'm Gushing

Let me preface this post with a few things.

1. My husband is in no way in support of the following post.

2. My husband hates any kind of special attention, hence the hating of this post.

3. If it were up to my husband, he'd make sure no one knew he had ever done a good thing in his life.

Read: This is coming from a gushing wife and is in no way endorsed by the celebrated party.

With that said, my husband is really smart. He just got inducted into the AOA medical honor society. Below is a picture of the four M3 students who were inducted last night. From what I understand, this award follows him for life. Once in AOA, always in AOA; sort of like that movie, The Skulls but without all the drama and action scenes.

We went to Jack's Gourmet and had dinner and awkward conversation to celebrate. Being one of the few non-medical people in the room I did a lot of supportive, adoring wife head nods and polite laughs. I am so proud of my little Doogie Howser .

Milennials and Newton's Third Law of Motion

After reading my friend, Emily's, blog about being a "Milennial" I wanted to know more. I found a great article on CBS News discussing the nature of this particular generation, of which I happen to belong. Many of the descriptors are dead on and remind me of my students. I'm not sure to which generation they would belong.

Milennnials are people born between 1980 and 1995. They're characterized by their coddling parents who refuse to allow them to make mistakes or fall hard, making them a somewhat narcissitic and difficult to work with group of individuals. Milennials seem to struggle with the work force. If something is not fun or does not come easily, they feel the need to give up, switch careers, or throw in the towel.

Parents of Milennials don't want their child brudened by the stresses of life. You have homework? Do it when you get around to it. Don't stress yourself out when it's your time to be a kid. I see this attitude regularly from parents today. While I don't think it's completely wrong thinking, I do see kids who grow up without ever really understanding that choices have consequences.

For example, today we collected and graded an assignment from Friday. Several students had not completed it for homework and we're floored when I told them it was game time, some credit was better than none. They wanted a chance to redo, turn it in late, or make up the missed points with extra credit. Have our students learned that there's always a bail out? Why work hard the first time around when you know that the teacher will let you redo. While I wholeheartedly believe students need multiple opportunities to succeed and I never want to become the sinister teacher who gives the pop quiz in class for the "told you so" effect when she knows the students have not made an effort to finish the reading, I do want my students to be effectiver workers, curious learners, and understand that every choice comes with a consequence. They're learning Newton's laws in science right now, and I keep coming back to the law that states, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

If only they could grasp this concept. I wouldn't get the blank stares and near tears when I hold them accountable.

Ants Go Marching Two by Two

Let me preface this post with the statement, my husband and I are really clean people. We take good care of our apartment and are careful not to leave food out and sweep up regularly. Especially after our little mouse scare (see Jaeger's Little House of Horrors post from earlier this year).

With that said, tonight I witnessed, for the second time, one of the most bizarre and gross things I've seen in my twenty-four years. On my way to brush my teeth for the evening, I was greeted by a solid line of ants marching from our bathroom baseboard, to a random spot in our bedroom. The ants were moving in a small swarm so that when you looked at the carpet, there was a solid black line that appeared to be wiggling its way across the carpet. I know, sick.

We'd seen it once before this fall. It had rained and the same disgusting phenomenon happened. We did what any grossed out renter would do, we got out the vacuum, sucked those puppies up, and tried our darnest to forget the whole event.

Tonight, after the mass killing of thousands of innocent ants (wrong place, wrong time) we plugged the small gap between our bathroom base board and the tile with toilet paper. Classy, I know. Tomorrow, we'll notify the landlord about our infestation.

Until this little issue gets cleared up, I am no longer throwing my go to sweatpants on the floor. Don't want a little ants in my pants surprise when I put them on next.

There's Got to be a Balance

Why is it that life had only two speeds: insanely busy and mind numbingly boring? I've been thinking about taking up a hobby...

talk amongst yourselves

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.- Albert Einstein

Lazy Bloggers, Knock it Off

Well, I found a whole slew of professional websites about teaching reading and writing. It was quite exciting. One weekly podcast site, called Grammar Girl, seemed particularly helpful. I thought my students might enjoy these podcasts while learning grammar skills!

One thing I noticed while flipping through tons of blog sites, is that bloggers feel this social pressure to post often. When we've neglected our readers, we ALWAYS apologize with a post entitled something like "the lament of the lazy blogger," or "been out for a while." If you're M.I.A for a bit, I assume you have a life outside your blog, no need to post a meaningless entry explaining, apologizing, or justifying your absence for the blog world. While I value a consistent writer, I also realize that there have been long stretches where I've had nothing to say, not that I have much to say now, I just write more often!

So have no fear, this blog writer understands if you are too busy living your life to take time to post about it. No hard feelings here.

Confessions of a Voyeur

Okay, so I have a problem. I LOVE reading about, dabbling in, and becoming intertwined in the lives of people I do not know. I just spent three hours, (it is my spring break) reading about and following a new blog I only just discovered.


Is there such thing as “too much information?” I have a confession, one I’m guessing many people share, given reality television and Facebook are on the rise. I am a voyeur. Notice there’s no shame or underlying remorse in this confession, simply honesty. I greatly enjoy looking into others’ lives and passively participating.

It’s a part of an obsession I have. I love the thought of obsessions, as long as they don’t border on the edge of creepy. I really take pleasure in seeing into others’ lives. I enjoy “creeping” around on Facebook to find out whose pregnant, who’s still in Kansas City, and what my friends are doing over their lunch hour.

I don’t think I’m alone either. For example, Twitter is spreading like the bubonic plague. With Twitter, one can ALWAYS know what their friends are doing. …Sara is checking her email...Sara is wishing she had a carrot cake cupcake, …Sara burned dinner and is now looking for Papa John’s phone number. You might ask yourself, why would I need to know every banal moment of my friend’s lives? My guess is that these means of connection- Facebook, blogging, Twitter- allow people to stay connected without actually being connected. It’s friendship without the commitment and formality of time together and bothersome conversation.


And it’s this realization that makes me question my voyeuristic tactics. Have I become so disconnected that I allow a social networking site to do the job of communicating the major moments in my life? Do I check a website before placing a phone call to know what’s happening in the lives of those I love? Are condolences sent via technology over a meaningful face to face interaction? While I love the depth of knowledge at my fingertips and the amount of personal information within reach from the comfort of my couch, I don’t want to become another Twitter update. I don’t want to use websites and Google reader to do my relational work for me.

BINGO night!

My friend, Ashley, saw somewhere that MU was hosting a Bingo night! We thought it sounded like a rousing evening so we went. It was a hilarious experience. Shakespeare's was giving away pizza and every half hour would deliver more pizza. It was total mob mentality as the line swarmed when the poor pizza man would come through the door. It reminded me of my students when you ask them to get in a line to receive some piece of candy or prize. The results are never orderly.

While the crowd started out pretty tame, things got lively as the evening wore on. I won a box of Poptarts, Cocoa Puff's, and some Gatorade- I know, complete score! Notice the photo where Chris is playing the hidden "second bingo card." This was strictly forbidden and we later rethought our cheating ways.

Teacher Lava Lamp?

I received an award today. It was pretty sweet... and then I found out it was meant to be plugged in and lit up.

What's your style??

I took a fun quiz on Ethan Allen's site to find out my home style.

my style is.... loft

Loft is energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on.

To take the quix for yourself, click here.

April Fools STINKS

April Fools is one of those "holidays" most people might completely miss and only realize after the day has passed that it was not observed. Not a middle school teacher, though. This was almost as disruptive as the last day of school. My students were chatty and distracted and the jokes, tricks, and just plain meanness was constant throughout the day.

Not all my students used this as an excuse to pick on others; some were creative and clever with their tricks. One student walked by with his arm in a sling and being the caring teacher I try to be, I asked him with great concern in my voice, what had happened. After the outburst of laughter that erupted around us, I realized I was the butt of a pretty good April fools.

Another student approached me with a signed note from his parents. It indicated that he'd injured himself at track practice the night before and needed to be excused from all assignments. Well, after I took the bait and asked him how he'd hurt himself (a shotput gone awry- should have figured it out then) he yelled, "April fools!" with a devilish grin across his face. Cute, cute- those I could handle. But then it got out of control.

"Mrs. Jaeger, I did my homework last night.... April fools!"

"Mrs. Jaeger, there's a man peeking in your window... April fools!"

"Mrs. Jaeger, you're the nicest teacher ever... April fools!"

(You get the idea and the exhaustion.)

After the millions of jabs in "good fun," and the tricks I saw students play on one another, which in my opinion seemed more mean spirited than fun, I am officially boycotting April Fool's day from my classroom. I like fun just as much as the next person but not at the expense of another. Oh, middle school, you make these students SO difficult at times!