Getting Into the Swing of Things

Posted on Friday, February, 05, 2010 at 19:14 PM

I am currently enjoying my second snow day in a row. I feel kind of bad about being excited about having snow days when I just started student teaching, but I just can't help it. Student teaching is great, but having a few days extra to relax is wonderful. Speaking of student teaching, I have good news everyone: your body is capable of getting used to waking up at 5:45. Who knew? I was constantly exhausted my entire first week of student teaching, but last week was so much better! Waking up wasn’t as bad, and I wasn’t ready for bed as soon as I came home from school.

Now, on to my teaching advice of the week: Remember that writing a lesson and teaching a lesson are two very different things, and don’t be discouraged if everything doesn’t go as planned. I taught my first lesson on Tuesday, and the students were so rambunctious. I had to constantly stop my lesson to correct students on their behavior, and I didn’t have time to finish everything I had planned. I was really nervous that I wasn’t doing a good job, and it didn’t help that my supervisor was observing me. However, my nerves turned to relief when my supervisor assured me that I did a good job and gave me a good evaluation. Over the next few days, I learned how to better control the class and to be flexible with my lessons.

Aside from student teaching, I've been having a lot of time in the evenings to have fun now that I'm not ready for bed by 7:00. Also, writing two kindergarten lessons a night is much easier than the homework load than I'm used to, so it's been great to be able to spend time with Chad and Ariel without feeling guilty that I have a ton of homework to get done. I've also been busy making a Valentine's Day gift for Chad that I'll show you closer to the 14th just in case he decides to read my blog.

Have a wonderful week, and Happy Groundhog Day. Fun fact: I went to watch little Punxsutawney Phil determine the fate of our winter one year when I was little!

 ~Julie

Student Teaching

Posted on Tuesday, January, 26, 2010 at 14:54 PM

I now have the first week of student teaching under my belt, and I love kindergarten! They are just the most precious kids ever, and they absolutely adore you too. I got countless hugs and many lovely drawings throughout the week. Don't get me wrong, they are a total handful, but I might be one of the rare people that would prefer a student with a personality than a quiet student. And let me tell you, all the students in my class are full of personality. They never stop talking, but they always have the most hilarious things to say. I might get sick of all the craziness eventually, but for now it keeps my day interesting. 

The most difficult thing about student teaching is definitely the schedule. I forgot how long a regular school day is because college school days are much shorter and are often full of breaks. I wake up at 5:45 a.m. every day, and I thought the first day was going to kill me because I could barely keep my eyes open. Thankfully I survived the day and have been going to bed pretty early, so it's not as bad anymore. It's hard to find the motivation to write lesson plans after a long day, but it makes it better that I am actually going to teach them. I've made so many lesson plans over the years that have just been for class, so I'm excited to start teaching. I was supposed to start teaching today, but school was closed because of flooding in the area. So, tomorrow I will be teaching math and science for the first time, and I'm getting observed by my supervisor - yikes! I'm sure I'll do fine, but I get kind of nervous just because I'm getting a grade for it. I'll be teaching two classes a day for the rest of the week, so I'll let you know all about that next time.

Because this whole semester is going to be such a huge learning experience for me, I think I will share wisdom I gain each week with all you future educators. Advice of the week: always check the news in the morning, and never take part in school gossip! As I mentioned, school was closed today, but I unfortunately didn't know until I drove the 40 miles there. I didn't think to check the news just for rain, but now I am going to check every day just in case. I have also heard a lot of school gossip my first week. It is inevitable that some teachers are going to be negative and spend their whole lunch break talking about everything that went wrong in their day, but don't get caught up in it because it will make you miserable. If you focus on the negative things in your job, you're not going to like it very much. So always focus on all the wonderful blessings that come along with being a teacher - like being closed for rain. Ha!

Since I can see how many people read my blog, I decided I'm going to pray for every person who reads my blog this week. So if you read this, I'm praying for you!

~Julie Celano

Finding a Balance

Posted on Friday, January, 22, 2010 at 14:13 PM

So, I was wrong. I said that my next post would be after my first day of student teaching, but I had off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Ah, the perks of following the schedule of an elementary school instead of a college. Though colleges get way longer breaks, it's always nice to have off a day here and there for the little holidays we don’t get off for in college. Tonight is, however, my first Monday night seminar. Every Monday us student teachers will meet for a seminar on classroom management that will help coach us through our student teaching. As much as it's going to be hard to go to a two hour class after a full day of student teaching, I'm really glad we will have people helping us through this process, as well as a chance to meet up with fellow classmates. And tomorrow I will officially be starting my student teaching, yikes!

On a more serious note, there is something on my heart I would like to share with you. A friend of mine recently showed me some videos of a Christian group who came to preach the Gospel to the people on her campus. It really broke my heart to see how harsh and forceful they were. All the people they tried to reach just laughed at or combated their harsh words and insults. They surely turned more people off to Christianity than they did win over because of their approach. As I was thinking about how angry it makes me to see people who call themselves Christians be so mean to people, it occurred to me that I am sometimes not much better. I am sometimes just the opposite of those people, and that's not the right approach either. I can be so afraid that I will offend people and turn them off to Christianity that I sort of water down my faith. I'm not as straight forward as I should be in communicating how God requires us to live our lives. Yes, the forceful Christians, not the timid ones, are causing people to have such a bad impression of us and to think that we are all harsh and hypocritical, but that doesn’t mean that the timid people are not hypocrites as well. We are not supposed to water down the Gospel any more than we are supposed to force it, but the timid people don't get judged by the non-Christians because they are not offensive. It is so hard to find the balance between forceful and timid, at least in my opinion. I think the only person who probably knew how to do it exactly right was Jesus. He was so straightforward yet so loving. He attracted many followers, but he never tried to force one of them to follow him. He let people walk away from his message if they wanted to, and he didn't chase them. I find that this balance is one of Jesus' most admirable traits and one of the most difficult to emulate. I would like to encourage all of you, myself included, to try to find that balance by seeking to live the way Jesus did.

Have an awesome day!

~Julie

To-do List

Posted on Friday, January, 22, 2010 at 14:13 PM

Hello Lynchburg! I arrived back in the Burg on Sunday and immediately made a to-do list. I, of course, made my list before doing anything because I thoroughly enjoy being able to check off as many things as possible on a to-do list. I am one of those people who does something that was not on my list and then writes it down just to immediately check it off. It’s quite strange the things that please me these days, like checking things off my to-do lists, having a clean room, and getting done tons of homework. I guess this means I’m starting to be a grown up, good timing since I’m about to graduate from college.

Anyway, a lot of what I have on my list has to be done on the computer, but my poor little Mac lost its sound and had to be taken away from me for week. Surprisingly (or maybe not), I’ve been able to get so much done without a computer. I’ve done almost everything on my list that does not require a computer because I am not distracted from doing those things by my computer, and I am currently at the computer lab on campus to accomplish everything else. Since I do not really enjoy being lonely in this empty computer lab, I will get my work done much faster so that I can go home. So, therefore, I am thankful that my computer broke (and is being fixed for free) because it has allowed me to be super productive. Isn’t it ironic that technology is supposed to make us be more productive but often does just the opposite? At this rate, I could have my entire to-do list completed by tomorrow and have the rest of the week to have fun! This possibility is particularly exciting because it is going to be 52 degrees and sunny on Friday! I don’t think I have felt anything higher than 35 degrees in weeks, so I might be pulling out the flip flops. I'm so excited!

p.s. By my next post, I will officially be a student teacher, and I can’t wait to tell you all about my first day.

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the warm front if it’s coming your way!

~Julie

Striving for Contentment

Posted on Friday, January, 22, 2010 at 14:13 PM

Well, I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but if I did, it would be to practice being content. I don’t want to call it a resolution because people never keep those things, and I intend on sticking to this. They say “the grass is always greener on the other side,” and that’s how I’ve been feeling recently. When I was in Lynchburg I hated how busy I was, and I could not wait to be back in my hometown with absolutely nothing to do. Since I’ve been home, I’ve been missing Lynchburg. It turns out that having nothing to do can get quite boring. Since I seem to value both being busy and being bored (just at the wrong times), I should be thankful that I get to experience both instead of just one or the other all the time. From now on I want to have the mindset of Paul as he writes in Philippians 4:12, to be “content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” I will especially need to remind myself of this during this upcoming semester because I know it will be very challenging. Student teaching will definitely be hard at times, but I need to remind myself that hard work is necessary to excel in the field of teaching.

Speaking of student teaching, I am going back to the Burg tomorrow to get settled in before I start! I’m feeling nervous and excited, and also a little sad to leave my family and friends in Baltimore. I had a great time with my friends this past week. Mandi and I went to the harbor for New Year’s Eve to watch the beautiful fireworks show. A few days later, Mandi, Kristin, and I went on a beautiful hike through some of the rare woods in Baltimore. And I even got to see a Liberty hockey game last night! They were playing a school near my house (Towson University), and they were awesome! I’m not sure what the final score was, but Liberty was winning 6-1 when I left. Perhaps we’re so good because most of our team is from Canada, eh? With that said, it seems silly for me to complain about any time I’ve been bored this week because I’ve also had a lot of excitement. It’s time to be content with every wonderful blessing God has given me!

Talk to you guys soon!

~Julie

Mandi and I watching the fireworks at the harbor

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Posted on Tuesday, January, 05, 2010 at 08:57 AM

So many fun events have happened since the last time I've updated that I can hardly choose which to share with you! I'll start with telling you about the Christmas feast like I promised. The eventful day actually started well before the feast. I was babysitting my niece, Faith, during the day, so I took her ice skating with me and my friends Kristin and Mandi. She had never been ice skating before, and though she struggled at first, she looked like a pro by the time we left! We then did some Christmas shopping at the mall before going back to my house for lots of cooking. Running late, we hurried to make our delicious contributions to the feast and arrived at Holley's house just as our other friends were arriving for the dinner. Among the many wonderful dishes were tortellini, pasta salad, a chicken casserole, gnocchi soup, various dips and dirt dessert. The Christmas feast is a tradition my friends and I have had since high school. We were the envy of our cafeteria as our lunch table brought in a delicious meal while the rest of the students ate their peanut butter and jelly. I feel so blessed to get to see all my high school friends just about every visit home, and I hope we are always able to continue our annual Christmas feast!

After eating, we spent much of the night catching up with each other. 

I also mentioned that my brother and I were taking our dad and step mom to Texas Roadhouse as their Christmas present. We thought he would guess where we were taking him, but he remained baffled until we pulled into the parking lot. We had a wonderful time together and all had great meals. The next big event was Christmas Eve, which we always spend with my dad's family. My little cousins, niece and nephew always provide the entertainment, as they are very excited about Christmas. The only party pooper was the adorable Braden who fell asleep on the couch.

My brother and I spent Christmas morning with my dad since the little ones wake up at the crack of dawn in all their excitement. Though I try to focus my thoughts on what really matters on Christmas, I can't help but to love watching my niece and nephew open their gifts. We then go to my mom's house to celebrate with her, followed by dinner at my uncle's house. Chad was able to come up for the dinner, and we then went back to his house and spent the night playing board games with his family. Basically, I had an extremely busy but amazingly fun Christmas!

 Stephen and Faith on Christmas morning

After writing all that, I just realized I had huge meals four days in a row, quite a nice change from the typical college student meal of mac and cheese! Maybe I should adopt the traditional new year's resolution of going to the gym? Ha ha.  

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season. Happy New Year!!!

~Julie

Snow Days!

Posted on Wednesday, December, 30, 2009 at 09:52 AM

Luckily, I managed to get out of the Burg a day early so I wasn’t stuck in the blizzard! The wonderful people I nanny for suggested that I have Friday off because of the predicted snow. And it’s a good thing I accepted because Lynchburg got hit hard! I left around noon on Friday, and the blizzard-like weather started in Lynchburg just a few hours later. I expected to run into a bit of D.C. traffic as I raced the storm home to Baltimore, but I ended up sitting on 495 for hours! It ended up taking me about 8 hours as opposed to the usual 4 1/2. But thankfully I was able to beat the snow despite the traffic, and I began to watch the snowfall from inside my living room. The forecast called for only 6-10 inches, but we ended up with about 20! The weather men usually over-predict the snow accumulation, but I love when it’s the other way around and we get way more than expected!

I spent the majority of the next few days hanging out with my family doing the typical things you do on snow days - eating and playing board games. We baked a ton of cookies and some very yummy meals. We also played Trivial Pursuit about a million times, and I lost every single time. In my defense, my family plays that game so much that they have heard all of the questions multiple times, and I was hearing them all for the first time. We also played a game called Imaginiff, which I also lost.

Here are some of our delicious cookies. Perhaps we went a little overboard?

My brother, Stephen- crowned king of Trivial Pursuit

Just hanging out in the beautiful snow

One foot down... almost one more to go!

Winter Wonderland

Despite my board game losing streak, I had so much fun spending quality time with my family. Tonight I’m having some more quality family time because Stephen and I are taking my dad and stepmom out to dinner for their Christmas present. My dad is totally obsessed with Texas Roadhouse, and he asks to go there every time he visits me in Lynchburg. He doesn’t know there is one about 40 minutes from our house, so we’re taking him there! Shh... And then tomorrow I get to see all my high school friends for our annual Christmas feast. I’ll tell you all about it and my Christmas next week!

Have a safe and happy Christmas everyone! Remember to keep Jesus the center of this great holiday :)

~Julie

Twin Sitting

Posted on Monday, December, 21, 2009 at 14:24 PM

This week is my last week of twin sitting, as the girls I nanny for like to call it. Since I only watch them after they get out of school every day, I wouldn't be able to get there in time next semester with my student teaching. I've been watching them just about every weekday for the past year and a half, and we've become like sisters.

me and my little angels 

Since it's our last week, we're trying to cram in as much fun as possible. We're making the cutest Christmas ornaments to sell for a charity, but we're not sure what charity we're going to give to yet. The ornaments are super easy; you just need cookie cutters, string, and scrapbooking paper. You tie a piece of string around the cookie cutter to hang it, and then glue the scrapbook paper to the back of it. We are hoping to sell them outside of a little restaurant called The Country Kitchen because it gets really crowed around the time I babysit.

 Here are a couple of the adorable ornaments

Later in the week, we are going to make my favorite dinner - poppy seed chicken and brownies to eat with their family. One of our favorite things to do is cook together, so we're really excited about it.

I know I'll still visit them as much as possible, but I will definitely be missing them next semester! And on the bright side, I'm going home for break on Saturday. Woohoo!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

~Julie 

Goodbye Stress!

Posted on Monday, December, 21, 2009 at 14:24 PM

This week has certainly been a trying one. I don't think I've ever had so much homework do at once, and I thought it was never going to end. I had a ton of homework due for my toughest class (writing a 180 page curriculum for each subject), as well as homework for various other classes. There were many long nights and some tears of frustration, but in the midst of my stress, I realized that I had nothing to worry about. Why was I getting so upset about a few homework assignments? Sure, it's awful to be doing homework nonstop for a few days, but in the grand scheme of things, a few days is nothing. In a few more days, the semester will be over, and I will have nothing to do for an entire month. And in a few months from now, I will forget that this stressful week ever happened. Above all, I shouldn't worry because I know that God is in control. Psalm 34:4 says, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." When we seek God for help, He will always pull through. When I let stress get to me, it is because I am not seeking out God to help me, but when I ask him to be my rock and give me strength, He never fails!

Now I'm almost finished all my work, and I feel so accomplished. I'm not a huge fan of homework, but I love the proud feeling I have when it's finished. Here is the binder of the work that my awesome curriculum partner, Greg, and I have done. It's packed full of papers, and it's still missing two big assignments that I haven't put in there yet. Let me tell you, I'm never throwing that thing away!

I almost forgot to share my exciting news - I got my student teaching placement! I get to work with the same teacher I've worked with all semester at Brookneal Elementary for half of the time and with one of the kindergarten teachers there for the other half. I don't know anyone else who has ever gotten to stay with a teacher they have already worked with for their student teaching, so I feel very lucky!

I hope you are all having a stress-free week. Just remember that God is there for you! 

~Julie