Life

During winter break we move our practices to 7am so we are able to get in and out early instead of having to go in the middle of the day. Occasionally we have swimmers traveling or committed to family, but otherwise everyone is expected to be there. I try to make these practices a little different than everyday practices while still getting in good yardage. Warm up – 400 swim Kick – 8 X 50s on your back leaving the wall every minute on the minute Pull – 400 (with or without paddles) Main Set – complete 8 Snakes… on the snake the swimmers will dive off the lane 1 block and swim down that lane, then cross under and go up the next. They will continue this for all 5 lanes completing 125 yards each time. At the end they hop out, do 10 squats, and then walk back to lane one and start again. After our main set I wanted to take the time to work on dives. We have several swimmers this year who are pretty new, and I wanted to go back and reteach some dive techniques (even for those who are not new).

It’s finally Christmas Break Today is my first official day off school/work for the holiday season, and I spent the morning at the grocery with a two year the day before a snowstorm! I am thankful to have two whole days to prep, but I have so much to do that I feel a little bit lost. Not to mention many of my mom friends not only have most of their to-do list complete, but they have also taken their kids to a light display, a visit to Santa, and probably a ride on the polar express. But parenthood is not about comparing (is what I tell myself over and over). I am actually a little amazed every year by the things I do accomplish in these fleeting moments, however, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. Am I Alone? I am sure all moms question themselves. Am I good enough? Am I giving them those core memories that will stay with them for their entire lives? Am I giving them the holiday experience they deserve. Please tell me I am not alone. The last week of my life has been a whirlwind! If you are a teacher, you know exactly what I am talking about. The final days of school before a break is not for the faint of heart. There is the carry-in I had to bake for, the caroling field trip, the countless festive lesson plans, the teacher gifts I have to prepare for my own children, and the million other little things that get us to this point. It definitely feels like a sprint to the finish, except I’m not finished. I’m simply starting another race. But does it really have to be like this? Let’s Break the Cycle… Between getting home at 8 PM last night and getting up at 5 AM this morning for spin class and swim practice I spent about an hour scrolling the internet looking for “Holiday events in the area” to take my kids to. Wait, didn’t I just say I had a million things to do? Didn’t I just say I wanted it to be different? This is the cycle that we need to get ourselves out of! So after an hour searching for more things to keep us busy, I realized I don’t even think that is what my children want. Sometimes they are just as stretched as me, and what I want is to slow down. I think that is what they want too. Therefore, as I finished my grocery list and went to bed, I decided to give myself, and my family, a lot of grace for Christmas. Since my girls woke up this morning, they have made forts, helped me make Chex mix, created some sharpie art, sorted through their old toys, and played dress up. I am hoping that just as much as Christmas lights they will remember these slow days. Therefore, after reading about numerous Holiday activities to do with kids, I decided to create my own list. 7 things for a relaxing yet memorable holiday with kids: Let’s Make a Deal… I will try my hardest to slow down if you do too. Let’s get rid of the guilt. At the end of the day our kids absolutely do not care how many “things” we do. If I say this over and over to myself enough it will sink in eventually. As mom’s there is a load on our plate, but I am trying my hardest to not let guilt be one of those things. My goal for this year is…
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Sometimes it is hard to find activities to help the older elementary students get into the holiday spirit.  First of all, they are maturing and may no longer be interested in a lot of the activities they used to, and it’s sometimes hard finding new things they have not already completed in previous years.  I am also opposed to the worksheets that are given to students as a “holiday activity” but it’s actually just a normal worksheet with candy canes across the top. This brings me to my Christmas reading activities I did with my upper elementary (4th and 5th) grades this year.  My classroom focuses largely on creative, as well as critical thinking and these activities definitely did just that! This class is so incredibly creative, and they had a great time singing them for the class when they were finished! Students are given the last sentence of a story, and they are challenged with writing the story leading up to that specific ending.  One the last day before Christmas break, I made hot chocolate in a crockpot and the students got a treat while they listened to their classmates read their stories by the “fire” (or YouTube fireplace). Darian Dauchan has great poetry videos on youtube, and my students always love him! In this video he has them write erasure poems, but instead of using the poem he suggested I had the students use “The Night Before Christmas”. On this link students have 10 options of Christmas read alouds to use (they must listen to at least 4).  You can use my list or come up with any read alouds you like (or even have the students choose their own). Next, they will use this paper to review their most and least favorite stories, as well as create a 4-way Venn diagram with the stories they chose.  I had to really talk about what “defend your answer” means, because I had many students try to turn in response like, “This story was the best because it was funny”.  That is a singular statement, and not a defense so it made for a great teachable moment.  I also, again, allowed them to work alone or with a partner.

Another holiday season is upon us.  As a full-time working mom this season of life brings so many joys and challenges all at once.  I love Christmas and all of the festive flair, but at the end of the day I only have so much in my cup to pour out.  Somewhere between making sure my students make the best memories the week before break and making sure my own children create beautiful memories at home I usually end up almost losing my mind.  However, oddly enough, I know I wouldn’t be able to do the holidays any other way.  So, as I sit here wrapping up the last full week of school before winter break, I remind myself to breathe, and embrace the goodness that comes from this time of year. You know the holiday goodness I’m talking about… Hallmark Christmas movies while drinking hot chocolate by the fire… Haha just kidding (kind of).  I mean the spirit of Christmas where people think of others before themselves and spend time making memories as a family (even if you are the one who has to orchestrate, plan, and prepare said activities), listen to Christmas music, and hopefully remember all of the great holiday memories from your childhood. It’s always my goal as someone who comes and goes from students’ lives year after year to help them find enjoyment in all seasons of life no matter what we may be going through. Therefore, this time of year, for me, always brings some fun, festive classroom chaos, and in case you are interested I’d like to share. (Here is a link to a copy of the lyrics with blanks to fill in). My students wrote a song called “Snowy the elf”, however they also came up with the idea of using a gingerbread man next time. When they were finished filling in the song we sang it together, and they created some illustrations of Snowy in his setting. 2. Compare and contrast two different Holiday stories – Venn Diagram These two stories have quite a bit in common, so it was great practice for the students to work on finding differences. 3. Holiday Acrostic poems -have the students choose a holiday word and make an acrostic poem out of it.  You can premake some of these if you choose.  Some of the words we used in class were:  You can adjust this activity to fit just about any grade level **Extension: 1. play “Words Within Words” and have them see how many new words they can find within one of the words (i.e. – Gingerbread: read, bed, bad, ring, etc.) 2. Create a holiday sentence using the acrostic words (i.e. – The reindeer hid under the tree eating the gingerbread). 4. Silly Holiday Skits: Using holiday roll and write stories the students created skits with groups of 3-5. I gave them 15 minutes to create their skit and gather or make any props, and then they had 5 minutes to present.  These were so fun and hilarious! You could also extend this in so many ways by adding in peer review sheets or performing the skits a second time with a challenge (i.e. – someone is blindfolded, or you have to hop on one foot). I know that while holiday activities are a lot of fun, they also take a whole lot of planning! I hope that these activities help something else embrace the season a little more.

Everyone has that person in their life who they will always hold nearest and dearest to their heart no matter what. For me that is my grandma. She is no longer with us, but I think about her every single day. So many of the traditions I hold with my family are because of her, and so many of my values were formed from her impact on my life. I don’t really remember exactly when we got so close. When I was little, she lived about 30 minutes away and my most visible memories are going to her house on holidays and running crazy with my cousins. As I got older my grandma was the one who was best at comforting me when I was sad, or even when I was just being an emotional teenager. She just always seemed to understand and make me feel like life would be ok. In my later teenage years, I visited her a lot more, and my favorite thing was getting to know her better. I loved hearing her stories of growing up, and living life in another time. One day we discovered that we both had a love for spinach dip and looked up a recipe to make it from scratch. From that point on I think she made it every time I came over. In the year 2008 I graduated from college and was trying to find out what I was going to do next with my life. During this time my grandpa passed away, and without even thinking I went home from the hospital that night with my grandma and didn’t leave for an entire year (one month after I got married). I cannot even begin to explain that year, but I know that the memories I made will never be forgotten. As I grew into adulthood Grandma continued to be my biggest cheerleader, and every time I was with her, she made me feel like I was the best mom and was doing a good job. That is the kind of person she was. At some point (I don’t remember the exact year) I started going over there before Christmas to help her clean her house and of course make candy. This became a long-standing tradition until her last year with us. We would spend hours making countless buckeyes, chocolate covered pretzels and nuts, and then when that was finished, she would start throwing in anything else she had that would be good in chocolate (graham crackers, marshmallows, etc.). Eventually through the years we were joined by my daughter Alex, and one year even baby Hazel. Now, and every year since then, my daughters and I continue the candy making tradition. Each year they become more and more helpful too. This year I felt like all I was doing was melting more chocolate for them. This year we made buckeyes, chocolate pretzels, marshmallows (the girl’s favorite), nut clusters, graham crackers, and Oreo peppermint bark. Another thing that we added to the traditions years ago was making caramels. My husband grandma was known for her caramels, and with her recipe we continue to keep that tradition alive as well. I know that Grandma is looking down on me and my family with love, and this tradition keeps her alive in all of our hearts. I think about and miss her almost every day, but I am so glad that I made so many memories with her that she is still everywhere I look. I know that my kids and I will continue this tradition year after year and maybe someday…
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This was a morning that I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to do.  I was just feeling tired, and a little overwhelmed.  At school breakfast, I had a student say, “Mrs. Anthony, you look tired, did you get enough sleep?” (She’s a kindergartener and very wise) If a kindergartener notice I knew it must be bad.  long mornings… Anyway, right after morning announcements I have a group of second graders for a reading class.  I was going through attendance and what we were going to do for the day when a little girl suddenly said, “I could really use a hug this morning”.  Before I knew it I had 5 second grade girls giving me hugs, and I truly believe from that moment on my day was changed.  I am actually not a huge hugger, but with little kids sometimes it is not an option, and somehow this morning they knew exactly what I needed. PETER REYNOLDS BOOK STUDY These students have been diving into an author study on Peter Reynolds and let me tell you we are all learning a lot.  Not only does this man write some of the most insightful books ever, but his variety makes for a perfect book study to encompass advanced literacy topics, as well as address social emotional needs of so many different students. One of the main themes we have seen him conveying over and over is “Keep going, never stop”! Is this not something we all need to hear! We have opened up some great discussions about the fact that no matter what stage of life you are in or what you may be going through you must keep going.  It is funny how often I am learning from my students.   BOOK STUDY OUTLINE:  Here is a link to the printables I reference in this study   Word Collector Sky Color The Dot Ish Be You Journal: when has this ever happened to you? How did it feel?   Happy Dreamer   The World Needs Your Voice   The North Star So few of me   Our Table   I Am (this is a series of book)

EMBRACE THANKSGIVING STEM by building a geometric turkey cage It is getting to be that time of year.  Holidays in the classroom! It would be easy to dread that chaos that the season brings, but I love embracing all the holiday activities.  These memories have the potential to stay with the students through all walks of life. This is an activity I did with my 4th grade group of advanced math students right before Thanksgiving.  They are learning about geometric properties, and really enjoyed the hands-on approach. We started by reading this story… The turkey trap One day, long ago, there was a man who noticed a flock of a dozen wild turkeys who gathered in the same clearing in the woods at about the same time nearly every day.  Since times were tough and his family often went hungry, the man decided he would capture those turkeys and his family could eat well for quite a while.  So, the man went out into the woods with a large wooden crate, a length of string and the last of the corn and grain his family had for making bread.  He turned the crate upside down and used a stick to prop one end of it up off the ground.  He next placed a pile of cracked corn and grain under the crate.  Finally, he tied a long string to the stick and held onto the other end as he hid in some nearby bushes.  When the turkeys went under the crate to eat the corn and grain, the man would pull the string which would dislodge the stick.  The crate would then fall trapping the turkeys inside the upside-down crate. After about two hours, the twelve turkeys wandered from the woods and toward the trap the man had set for them.  One-by-one, the turkeys gathered under the crate–all except one particularly large turkey who, for some reason, stood just outside the crate refusing to walk in.  Eleven of the twelve birds were already standing under the crate, but the man decided to wait until this last bird wandered in before pulling the string.  That way, he would have all twelve turkeys. After a few minutes, one of the eleven turkeys already under the crate walked back out and over to where the twelfth bird was standing.  “I can’t pull the string now,” the man thought, “I had eleven in the trap and now I have only ten.  I’ll wait until that eleventh bird wanders back into the trap.”  While the man was waiting for that to happen, another turkey wandered out of the trap.  “Well now I have to wait,” thought the man, “for now I have only nine birds in the trap which before held ten.  I’ll wait for one of those others to walk back into the trap before pulling the string.” This pattern continued with one turkey after another wandering out of the trap and the man continuing to wait for his situation to improve.  Before long, there was only one turkey still standing in the trap.  “I certainly can’t pull the string now,” decided the man, “I will not settle for only one bird when I could have had eleven; and besides, I have already spent so much of my corn and grain.  I’ve gone this far, I’ll just hold on until things get better”  Finally, all of the remaining corn and grain had been consumed by that last bird and it too wandered out of the trap.  All twelve turkeys now strolled back into the woods and were soon completely out of sight. The man…
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The start of a new season is always exciting.  I coach the high school varsity swim team every winter for the last 10 years, and with practice just beginning comes all sorts of emotions.  Exhaustion, excitement, nerves, hope, ambition… and these are true for me as well as the athletes.  We come into the season hopeful, but yet not at all knowing what to expect. Making it work It all starts many weeks before we actually get in the water.  While we are busy picking out and ordering suits and caps, setting up meets, making up rosters, I am also spending my time figuring out the calendar of child coverage and how to make everything in my life balance while I add another plate.  I have to make sure my three children are being taken care of, get their homework done, have rides to their own practices, etc.  We also have to make sure my husband requests off work for the weekend where I am at a meet from sunup to sundown. This is a joint force between the two of us with some extra help from the grandparents.  There are days where the kids get to have fun with their grandparents, and other days where I am coaching with a toddler on my back, but we somehow always make it work. so worth it So why do I do it? All the scheduling and rushing to practice? It is all worth it when a swimmer finishes a race, realizes the won or beat their time, and my face is the first one they make eye contact with through blurry tears.  I even look forward to the dripping wet hugs after a time drop. Oftentimes the swimmer even let me nap on their blanket during down time at an all-day meet.  It is not always an easy thing to do especially with a full-time job and three kids, but they definitely make it worth it. one day at a time Transitions are hard! The most common are when we have to return to school from summer break, the start of a new sport or club season, a shift in jobs, a new home, or even a new baby. Those are life transitions that we know are going to be difficult. We prepare ourselves, we make plans, and we breathe through it. However, there are less noticeable ones that are sometimes just as hard. For example, when your daughter packs her own lunch for the first time, or the last time your baby makes you rock them to sleep. These transitions often go unnoticed until they’re gone. Therefore, no matter how busy life may get I want to try and breathe in all of those moments while they happen. Embrace them now, because you never know when a new transition is right around the corner.