One last post from 2015

School ends Friday, that is exactly one and a half days from now, and I am as much looking forward to that day as I am to a root canal. My students are amazing exceptional human beings and 21 of my favorite people. Saying goodbye to them will be like saying goodbye to a piece of myself.  I truly wish that you could meet them because then you would understand how much I've been blessed. They love unconditionally, forgive graciously and are enthusiastic learners. One conversation today epitomizes their caring and trusting nature.

We completed an activity involving shaving cream and when my boys went to wash it off their hands and faces, they also succeeded in getting the bathroom floor sufficiently dirty. They came back and told me about it and began to fear the "wrath" of the janitor until one of my little fifth graders pipped up, "It will be okay...Miss Nussbaum is here.." and another one replied "Miss Nussbaum won't let anything bad happen to us." Of course we worked together on a solution...but it is their nature to trust and love and truly care. When I joined them for a game of soccer and ended up being in goal, they all insisted on playing defense in order to protect the goalie. They also encourage each other and are fiercely loyal. If anyone says anything against another student, they will stand up and stop it.

I guess I am rattling on and on about my students, but I love them and they are the ones I am afraid to say goodbye too, not because I fear things will change, but because I know they have to.

4th week of school!

So today marks the end of another week. I cannot believe how much I love my kiddos and how well behaved they are. Who would've guessed two years in a row.  Of course I still make plenty of mistakes, sometimes I believe I am too lenient, while other times I am too nit picky. Somehow the kids still seem to smile and enjoy coming to school, though I'm sure that had little to do with me. Today I had a great day with one of my lower students. He had struggled on labeling sentences the day before and so  I reviewed it in class and then went over it with him during recess. He got 100% correct. I showed him the difference and talked about how much his brain had grown. Later on in the day, he finished a history paper without help and while turning it in remarked how he used his brain and was proud of himself. 10 years is such a fun age. Another kid keeps calling me Mrs. Nussbaum, and today at dismissal he corrected himself and had this silly little grin on his face, that you can't help but love. I don't know how I ended up with the coolest job and get to work with the best people. May God continue to love the kids through me and may I never forget, that it is Him and not me who is making the true difference.

First Week of School!

Okay, well I definitely am not very good at writing a blog. I always want to remember my memories, but writing them down is apparently too strenuous.

 I have started teaching my new kiddos for my second year. It is so weird and so familiar at the same time. Teaching is definitely my "element." When I am teaching, I feel alive, I feel like I have a purpose, I love what I am doing and I am so blessed by the gifts that God gave me. It is very strange that in most any situation, I am quiet and shy and sometimes feel awkward, but in the classroom, I am strangely outgoing and really relaxed. This is what I was born to do and I feel so bad for those people who never get to experience what it is to do something you love. I would teach even if I wasn't paid for it. There is something so magical and special about it.

My new kids are very quiet and most definitely rule followers. You can tell they came from very strict classrooms, because they are used to routine and order. I have 14 as opposed to my 15 last year. It is very different and when I see my 6th graders, it is a strange feeling. I feel a little detached as if they don't belong to me anymore, but at the same time that they will belong to me forever. There will always be a piece of my heart that goes with that first class as they go through the grades. I will always be cheering for them. Many of them are in cross country and it is fun to yell out the window at them. They smile and wave and apparently after they passed, two said She is awesome. Well, they are quite awesome themselves,

My new fifth graders are much lower than my other ones who were well extraordinarily high. I will definitely need to go through the curriculum a little slower and probably focus on writing techniques, they are pretty funny as well and I already feel a little chunk of my heart begin to fill with them, or I guess I am growing a new heart. It feels like I've known them longer than 3 days. I want to do my best by them, so  I will need to ask for advice and make sure I remember that one curriculum for everyone just won't fly.

I have a couple of younger siblings in my math and home room class, so I feel like I have a piece of my past students with me. As I go though these beginning lessons, I feel like I'm probably going a little too fast, so hopefully I will slow down soon. The kids have really latched on to the Nussbaum economy system which is awesome. They also like the Wordly Wise marble jar, probably a little too much.

Well we will see how I feel at the end of the year. Tootaloo!

-Kara

August 5th!

It is strange that I could be so good at keeping a journal on vacation, but watch all of my efforts fizzle out when I arrive home. I guess my life isn't quite as exciting or adventurous in the sleeping town of Hillsdale as it was along the ocean in California.

Well, for starters we recently celebrated a big birthday milestone for my mom and so on August 1st, my grandparents, aunt and uncle, sister and niece, as well as some close friends for my mom went out to a tea house in Adrian. It was a neat place and I even tried the tea, though it still tasted like hot juice. It was nice to hang out with little Annie and watch the wheels turn in her little mind.

The house was pretty full with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and their grandson, so I definitely appreciated the quiet when all things had settled down. It may seem selfish, but is nice when you wake up to have a bathroom available. With 10 people, finding an empty bathroom becomes close to winning the lottery.

I'm looking forward to getting started on my classroom, but they still have to paint or retouch some of the walls, so I'm still in limbo land. I did manage to complete the bulletin boards, but the rest will have to wait. Teacher letters went out yesterday, so the time is ticking down.

we did say goodbye to our neighbors yesterday as they headed off to their new home in Kansas, which for those who are geographically challenged, is not at all close to Hillsdale. We weren't extremely close to the Krannawitters, but it was still sad to see those familiar faces go away.

I have still occasionally been playing soccer at the pick up games at the Academy, though now it becomes literally a last minute decision. At 6:20. I'm still debating whether to go when it begins at 6:30. I finally usually figure that I might as well go and make a fool out of myself there instead of sitting at home and doing nothing productive. I'm not very good, but it is nice to meet new people and play with people who are exceptional, at least to my limited skills. I believe I had two assists last night. One for our team, and then one for the other team, so I must be even right!?!?!

Well, I suppose that is all for today. TTFN

July 4th Weekend

Happy Birthday America!! It is crazy to believe that the United States of America is little more than 200  years old! being an American, we often believe that the world starts and ends with the United States and yet there are places throughout Europe and Asia that existed and thrived centuries before the United States was even an idea.

Anyways out of the philosophical realm and into the real world. We started off the weekend by having our Great American parade and fireworks on the third. No one can understand Hillsdale logic since the fourth was a more appropriate day especially being a Friday. The parade was stereotypical with its politicians, tractors, beauty pageant winners, marching bands and fire trucks. My roommate did have some friends over, so I got to see the parade with them from the front porch. Of course, Mom made sure that I cut the lawn that day so the paraders could see the beautiful lawnmower lines from the street if they happened to look.

After the parade was the firework display at the fair. I like to go to the fair and do a couple of laps and see if I recognize anyone who I haven't seen in a while. I did end up seeing a couple of students and actually ended up watching the parade with my director's family which I am very grateful for since I didn't have to watch it awkwardly by myself. Sitting with them was an old friend, well more of an acquaintance from high school. I actually spent the whole night thinking I was talking to a different "Tyler" than I actually was. Good thing I didnt' ask specific questions.

On Friday, I went for a 20 mile bike ride!! Whoot! Whoot!! What a way to celebrate the fourth. I ended up biking out to Camp Selah and of course taking pictures while there. After that I had lunch (good ol' American hot dogs) at a neighbor's house and got to see the France/Germany game. It wasn't the most interesting, but it was only the second game I got to see.

On Saturday, I went with my niece and brother-in-law to his grandparents' place up in Jackson. I was a little hesitant about going because I didn't want to be the odd man out. My sister was working and so I would be the only one representing her "side" of the family. My brother-in-law's entire family including cousins and relatives from far away would be there. I'm actually really glad that I went. It ended up being really fun and I had a lot of great conversations, none of them awkward with fellow school teachers and even got to swim around in the lake with my brother-in-law's younger sister. I don't know what that makes her to me, but oh well.

 Later that night, I made a supper for my roommate and myself. Well, I took a freezer meal out of the freezer, but I did dress it up with adding salad, garlic bread and lemonade. So I "olive garden' ed it. Then I got to skype my family who was in Scotland. They were watching the Costa Rica/ Netherlands game and so I got to "watch" the game with them. They held the iPod up to the television set. It did freeze sometimes, but the insanity of the idea made all of us laugh. It was fun to see the penalty kicks from overtime and it was good to hear and see my family again, though I haven't yet admitted to them that I miss them and can't wait for them to be home

On Sunday, I invited myself along to the church of one of my fellow teachers. I didn't really want to go to my church by myself and I'm glad I went with my friend. The service was good and was on social justice. I also went out to lunch and even ended up going to the church picnic that evening with them. I saw friends I haven't seen for five or six years at the church and saw a great baptism service out at the lake.

Well that was my busy weekend. In five days I head out to California!!
Adios world!

June 30 2014

So I am slowly getting used to the less hectic summer schedule. Soccer camp started today and it was so fun to interact with the students again. I did regress just like the kids and forgot to introduce myself by my last name. After meeting adults, I introduced myself by simply "Kara" and didn't realize my error until much later. I felt more comfortable with the 4th-6th graders than the 1st to 3rd graders, but that is partly because I teach 5th grade. It was great to see some of my former students. We will see how the rest of the week goes.

The doctor's appointment came next. Apparently I have a split sound to my heart, which is supposedly not a bad thing and nothing to worry about though the doctor did want to have an ultra sound done. The scene in Santa Clause of Tim Allen and his heart beating Jingle Bells kept popping into my head. At least my heart represents a drum beat then a whole drawn out melody

I also got a chance to play soccer and I am so thankful for that. I forgot how much I missed it, though I am still uncoordinated. I made plenty of bad plays and probably helped out the other team just as much as myself. Oh well, I guess it is all in fun. There are two coaches who we play with and I hope when I am their age, I can still play as well.

It was great to see little Annie again over the weekend and watch her grow. She is becoming smarter and smarter and developing more and more of a little personality.

Well, I best be going

Ciao,
Kara

June 26 2014

So here I am again, about two weeks into summer. I definitely miss school and having something meaningful and productive to do with my time, though surprisingly I haven't cried about saying good-bye to my students and at this point I doubt I will. I love them and describing them I cannot help but smile, but I know they need to move on and I am looking forward to teaching next year's miscreants, or however you spell that word. My mom and dad are in Europe, so it is pretty quiet on the home front with just Gina and myself roaming around. The summer has started out fairly slow and it has been hard to get adjusted to the added time in my day. It is so ironic that during the school year I was at war with time never having enough and now I have too much. I wish I could package some of the time up and save it for later when I will actually need it.

I have found things to do with my time, though. Last week I got to celebrate Sarah's wedding and see Courtney again which is always a blast. I had never met Sarah's fiance before, but he seems really nice and compatible with Sarah. It was a simple wedding, but really wonderful. The venue was at a church and I was amazed at its vastness. The auditorium was set up like a theatre and the reception took place in the lobby.

This week I have had a chance to hang out with some of my friends. I went kayaking/swimming at a nearby lake with Rebecca and of course the occasional trips to Coneys and Swirls for ice cream. I also had the opportunity to play soccer with a local school here in town. The last game I played was with 10 year olds, so this game was much more competitive and of course I woke up today much more sore. I half rolled, half fell out of bed, but it is a good sore, so I'm sure I will laugh throughout the day as I waddle to different places. Stairs are the hardest part. Right now I'm wishing for one of those stair chairs that was used in the Disney movie Up. I'm sure running will be out of the question for today, but I am planning on going bike riding with the other 5th grade teacher, Katie, so we will see how that goes.

This week, I also got around to donating blood and you know you've been someplace too often when the staff starts recognizing you. I go about once every 3 months and this past time I went, the nurses recognized my face and actually talked to me like I was part of their crew. I don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing, but since I get to  choose, we'll pretend that it is a good thing.

I've also tried some new recipes. Yesterday I made this spaghetti bread thingamajig. I made it at 3 and we didn't eat it until 9, after soccer. It tasted almost like the spaghetti pizza from Cicis though I wouldn't give it that much credit. Adding spaghetti sauce to it and garlic powder did help and of course now we have plenty of leftovers.

Well, I guess that is all I have to share today. See you later, as in probably a month or so...


Toodles,
Kara