'tis the season

Happy New Year everyone! May 2014 bring you joy, peace, and adventure!

Over the past week, I have had the opportunity to spend time with my family and I am overwhelmed by the life God has given me.  For someone who does very little to deserve so much, I truly am blessed. 

     I started my Christmas break with a trip to pick up my younger sister in Dayton.  We stopped off to see our aunt and uncle, and then had a lovely trip up north, to our parents’ house.  The car ride was anything but relaxing… driving through a deluge and taking the wrong turn twice… but the conversation was just grand.  In a world of confusion and chaos, it’s easy to get lost in my own problems and forget about the important things.  Anyone who has met my sister can tell you, she has an inexhaustibly positive outlook on life, and she’s always reminding me of what’s important.   Our conversation was refreshing and a great way to start off my break from school.

     There have been so many wonderful moments throughout the last few weeks and it has been so good for my soul.  Whether I’ve been cuddled up on a chair, watching Love Actually, or sipping hot tea while reading by the glow of our Christmas tree lights, I’ve felt at peace for most of this break.  For some reason, this Christmas, more than those of the past, has reminded me of how close God is and that He is the reason for peace in my heart.  Everything seems to revolve around His name: Emmanuel.  He truly is with us.

~born to be our friend~

     Christmas Eve was one of those moments I could feel the peace and joy of the season.  We were standing in church, holding candles and singing Silent Night.  For just a few seconds, everything seemed suspended and I felt an overwhelming sense of joy.  Tim was gently holding my hand, and I could hear Gram, singing in a soft soprano voice.  My nephew was to my left, carefully watching his candle flicker, while my year-old niece was looking up at the lights onstage, her eyes wide with wonder.  There we were, four generations of family, sharing a precious moment of anticipation.  We were waiting for our King.

<<The world in solemn stillness lay>>

     When we were little, our Christmas morning always started the same.  Before we opened presents, we had a beautiful little tradition that started with our baby Jesus nativity figurine (which we never had out before Christmas day) and Mom and Dad’s ring pillow from their wedding day.  We would put the little baby Jesus on the white, satin pillow and then the five of us would walk to the nativity scene, singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  Something so small could easily be lost in the hustle and bustle of the excitement of Christmas day, but even now, that small reminder of why we’re celebrating stays with me.  My parents had us thinking of Jesus first on Christmas, and I know that the tradition will continue with my kids one day. 

…born a child, and yet a King…

     A new tradition my parents have started is inviting us to a rented house/cabin and spending two nights after Christmas… just our immediate family.  This is quite a change from the boisterous Weibl-family gatherings we use to have.  At first, I resisted the change; our yearly Christmas-day party was something I loved about Christmas and I was reluctant to change the tradition.  Now, after the second year has come and gone, I have to say I’m grateful for the change.  There are so few moments when the five of us siblings can get together for an uninterrupted time and this has become a wonderful chance to be with my best friends.  For 23 years of my life, I was surrounded by the noise, humor and exuberance of my family… and when we are together, the world seems crazy, loud and wonderful once again.  Most people might cringe at the thought of three days with family and no hope of escape, but for me, it’s a fantastic time.  There are always little bumps and no one knows how to push your buttons like your own family, but those rough moments are totally worth it for the chance to be with my siblings, who have grown up to be people I genuinely like.

**LOVE and JOY come to you**

So with this remarkable year coming to a close, celebrate the past and look forward to the future.  And as you make those new-years resolutions, focus on Him and the wondrous life He has given you… because isn’t that what it’s all about? Bettering ourselves for His glory and praise.

And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year!

-Kate

Reflection

At the beginning of this course, I described my personal theory of learning as one of relaxed, differentiated qualities. Now, at the end of our 8-week journey, I find myself editing this initial idea of how best my students will learn.  I had a lot of great ideas, but most of it was generalized and unintentional.  I use many different instructional strategies in my classroom, but after researching the differences between those and learning strategies, I realize there is so much more I can be doing to differentiate in my classroom.  I have learned of so many different ways to incorporate technology and use it to enhance the learning process for my students.  Not only have I been given great ideas, but I’ve learned about the theories that back up each one of the strategies I should be using.

In the immediate future, I see myself inserting more technology into my lessons.  Even if my goal is to use a new technology once a month, it’ll be more than I was doing before.  The one instructional tool I really want to start using regularly is the concept of a ‘flipped classroom’.  The more I read about, the more I want to implement it in my Calculus class. So often, my students struggle with their homework and they end up coming in to school for study tables because they got stuck on number 2 and were unable to finish the homework.  I’ve already started creating lesson plans for the Calc II curriculum so I can try out this technique.  As for the day-to-day lessons, I plan on adjusting some of the little things I do in my classroom. I am going to focus on dual-coding and have my students use visual AND audio learning strategies to secure concepts in their memories.  For example, just by having students explain their answers to a fellow classmate, the material they are working with will just solidify in their minds as they explain how they worked to get the answers.

One of the technology tools we worked with in this class was concept maps.  I would really like to use this tool with my students to reinforce the dual-coding theories I already referred to.  I also would like to use Prezi or another form of presenting (such as PowerPoint) to get my students aware of how they can display the information they acquire.  There are so many options out there and I now feel like I have a solid base of tools and techniques I can pull from in order to enhance my lessons.

My first long-term goal for my instructional practice is the use of more ‘learning strategies/techniques’ rather than just instructional strategies.  I want my students to become more hands-on with their learning and definitely move in the direction of teaching their peers rather than always listening to me teach.  I want my students to use their knowledge to teach other students and maintain a very student-based atmosphere in my classroom.  The second goal I have is, as I said before, to integrate more technology into my lessons, little by little.  I have a long way to go, but I accept the challenge and look forward to putting my new knowledge to good use.