Update 30 October 2011

Dear famlings et. al.,

So we survived this week!

Kirk was in Canada this week for work. He feels like those crazy northerners are finally making some small, measurable progress. That means that he's doing less babysitting.

I was up late Monday night/Tuesday morning finishing my TPAs. TPAs 3 and 4 came out to 92 pages--overkill if you ask me, but nobody on California's teacher examination board did.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers and well wishes; I really feel that I finished the TPAs thanks to power that was not my own.

It was a sort of depressing week of school. I learned that my freshmen can't write essays, and we spent three extremely painful days going over the basics (as in, "What is a thesis statement?"). After one such class period, I could have killed someone with my bare hands if given the opportunity. 

Then, my poor juniors had essay benchmarks for the district, so we spent the last part of the week working on those. Although benchmarks are never a fun excuse for a break, it was nice to take a few days away from Huck Finn, which we'll resume this week. 

One of my juniors somehow got a two-sized quiz on Monday that only had one side printed. He is a very quiet but intelligent guy and said nothing about the problem. So, I wrote him a letter:

Dear Evan, 

I am not God. I cannot read your mind (although I'm sure it's an interesting place). If you need something or have a problem, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Ms. Monson 

Apparently, there was something magical about that letter because Evan commented three times in class!

I came down with pink eye on Thursday/Friday, but it's a small annoyance compared to all of the yucky things I've been exposed to since beginning my student teaching. I've been very blessed by and grateful for so many healthy weeks.

Yesterday (Saturday), we visited Disneyland with Marvin; it was his first visit in many years, so it was fun to show off the theme park. Carlos took me on "Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy," which he was really excited for but hid from throughout the ride. 

Marvin was a great help with the kids all week and did a lot of extra things to facilitate my craziness as well. Arianna and Carlos had a nice, lazy week and are really excited about Halloween. Carlos is going to be a Clone Trooper and Arianna will wear a beautiful Indian outfit from her Monson cousins.

Tomorrow, I'm reading Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat" to all of my students. Ironically, a neighborhood black cat ate part of our jack-o-lantern tonight, as though he knew my plans... 

Love to everyone and Happy Halloween!

Update 23 October 2011

Dear all,

Tonight's is a quick update because I am still in the middle of writing my teaching exams, which are due Tuesday. I got #3 done (51 pages!) and am crossing my fingers that I'll make it through #4 in time. Again, I would appreciate your prayers.

I got talked into joining the juniors' Powder Puff team as team member #7. By game night, we had around 10 players--versus the seniors' 40. Still, we eeked out a win, proving that strategy and teamwork override strength and numbers. Our coach, Benjamin, is one of my students, so he gave me the easiest job as center.  :)  The juniors are in blue.

Marvin (Kirk's stepdad) is arriving as we speak to watch the kids during this week of fall break. We are so excited to see him. 

Our big news for the week (should have been mentioned last week) is that we are going to Guatemala in April. Ticket prices dropped to such a happy level that we jumped at the opportunity to purchase them. We're going the week of spring break, April 21-28. Can't say enough how excited we all are.

Not much more to report, except that Arie thinks I should be "just like [her] except not so skinny." Ha!

Loves,

Lauren

Race 4 Rob: Benefit 5k Fun Run, 1-mile Walk, Kids Bike-a-long

Race 4 Rob: Benefit 5k Fun Run, 1-mile Walk, Kids Bike-a-long: Saturday, November 12th 10:00 am Nevada Trails Park 7075 Mardon Las Vegas, NV - Rainbow & Warm Springs The Reason Everyone who...

Update 16 October 2011

Dear Famlings,

Per Greggie's example, I'm writing to you, too. I have actually missed our weekly email exchange since Greggie's return and had been thinking about starting it up again--minus Greggie needing to be gone.  :)

My update will be much shorter, but there ya have it.

I began my student teaching assignment on September 12. I'm at Golden Valley High School in Canyon Country (between the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys). It's a school with a not-so-great reputation, but I really like the students; they seem more "real" than some of the Valencia kids. I've been teaching three periods of English 11 (American Lit) since September 19 and am picking up two periods of English 9 this week. In English 11, we've done colonial writings such as "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," "The Declaration of Independence," "Poor Richard's Almanac," etc. During the past two weeks, we moved into literature of the 1800s, with special focus on Emily Dickinson (happy Lauren), Walt Whitman, and the Transcendentalists. This week, we're reading historical documents and diaries from the Civil War era. Next week, we're heading into Huckleberry Finn. English 9 just finished Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" and will start Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" tomorrow. I have been really blessed to have a good master teacher who is flexible enough to let me practice on her students. It's been a great experience and has confirmed to me how much I enjoy working with the 11th graders. (I'm not sure if I'll live through the freshmen, though!)

We have long days around here. I leave the house around 6:50 and the Kirk and kids leave at 7:30. I usually get home with the kids around 5, and then we have to deal with the usual rigmarole of cooking, eating, cleaning, showering, and planning for the next day. The schedule has been most difficult for Carlos (AKA "Loafy") and me since we are both creatures who enjoy our comforts, but we are adjusting. Carlos is playing soccer with his school team and with AYSO; he's super talented! Arianna is taking a "Mad Science" and art class after school. 

We have been really blessed to have Kirk home for three whole months now--a record in probably 4+ years. I really appreciate our family dinner time all together. 

We have mostly been crazy with work but made some time over conference weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was a much-needed break from the normal routine, and it was fun to watch Carlos beat up his grandpa.  :-P

Kirk teaches Sunday School at church and I was just asked to help with music and occasional teaching. We really love our ward; the members are sort of pathetic, they're so excited to have us, but it's good to feel needed.

All right, there you go. I look forward to hearing about everyone else's excitement.