Flowers from Ben

I came home today to flowers and dinner! Ben is so sweet :-) I luv him! I'll post a pic of the flowers later!

Teaching, formal evals and such

Well today was the first day back to school, and of course it was also my formal evaluation day. In public school speak it's called a STULL but in private school, where administrators are normal, we just call it what it is--an evaluation. ;-)

Of course, coming back to work and having my formal eval (we have informal ones all the time) is a little nerve-wracking, because I have to think to myself--do I have all the copies I need for everything, am I organized, will I have my flow even though I've been off for a week? Luckily, I have amazing students and I suppose I'm an alright teacher, so it worked out great!

My kids analyzed one of Juliet's monologues...first I taught them my 5 steps for analyzing any Shakespeare passage; then I had a student perform the role of Juliet. The kids then had 7 minutes of quiet reflection and time for annotation, followed up by a discussion I like to call, "What the heck does that mean?" They then had to identify diction, imagery, and allusions used by Juliet which helped her convey her meaning. I was astonished at how "on point" my kids were today. Maybe the break healed their brains a little too!

I actually had an 8th grade student realize that Juliet's use of iambic pentameter could convey her emotions depending on how fast or slow she spoke the lines. One student even realized how Shakespeare's use of the comma revealed a slower pattern, suggesting a more thoughtful, delayed response by Juliet! And of course a teacher can't help but smile when a student makes a text to text connection. The "mask of night" covering Juliet's face is like the mask that Romeo wears to the party hours earlier...LOVE IT! I am so blessed to work with such bright, enthusiastic young minds.

We ended the lesson with a little review game for their test coming up on Thursday. Kids were a tad rusty on their Shakespeare trivia but I'd rather that than rusty on their critical thinking skills.

All in all, 'twas a good day!

Birthday wish list...a little early ;)

This year I have an unusual birthday wish list...all related to preparing for the wedding! Here are things I still need for the wedding:

1. Ring bearer pillows: they have one style I like at Party City

2. Photographs: I want to print some photographs for the wedding as well as for our personal use at Walmart.

3. Nail Gift Certificate: Of course I have to get my nails done before the wedding :-)

4. Michael's Gift Card: I seem to always need something from Michaels!! I've bought candles, tea lights, and a bunch of stuff for the bridal shower there...

A much needed break...

This week was a much needed vacation for me. It was really the first break I've had all year where I could just relax. Christmas break was a fun, whirlwind of an adventure but it was not exactly relaxing! We spent our first week of Christmas break in the Bahamas where Ben proposed to me! :)

We came home for two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas day...we went to church and parties both days and then took off for round two of our vacation, visiting my parents cabin in Oakhurst for the first time and later going to Shasta so my grandma could meet Ben for the first time.

The day after we got home, I went back to work. It was a magical, fun break but I went back to work exhausted! Months passed and we had our Easter vacation very late this year. The first few days of our vacation, Ben and I joined my parents at their cabin where I got to take walks, paint, and read an entire novel for four days. When we came home, I worked on wedding plans, but instead of it feeling stressful, I finally felt relaxed and enjoyed getting stuff done for our big day! I also made Ben a pie...it had been a little while since I had been tired and stressed from work and wedding planning. I go back to work on Tuesday and we have about 1.5 months left...both till the end of the school year and our wedding. Hopefully it will be as stress-free as possible. I have so enjoyed relaxing the past few days but I do know that there is so much to look forward to--my bridal shower, engagement encounter, my birthday, the rehearsal dinner, our wedding, and the honeymoon to Costa Rica!

PS. 55 DAYS TILL OUR WEDDING!! WOO-HOO!