Favorite Readable Free Fonts

I didn't think I'd be one of those teachers who likes creative teacher fonts. What's the point, right? Kids will hate homework no matter what font it's in, right?

But I'm slowly coming around to the idea of cute fonts. I will never use a "cutesy" font if I'm typing an entire paragraph of size 12 type, but I love them for headings, larger print, and short letters home to students. And cute fonts don't end with teachers! They're great for any type of graphic design need you have, like creating fliers or handouts for church. If you're a blogger, they're also great for blog headers, text overlays on images, and sidebars!

And the best thing of all? All these fonts are free!

Here are the links to download each font:

English Essay

Crayon Crumble

Papa Bear

Skinny Jeans

KG Strawberry Limeade

Dead Hardy

Cinnamon Cake

Throw My Hands Up

Simon Script (the font I used for the title)

What are your favorite fonts? 

Which do you use most often?

I'm always on the search for more cute fonts!

This post was updated and adapted from this post that originally appeared on my blog October 2013.

my students say the darnedest things {vol. 7}

It's back! Another installment of this popular series is back (and funnier than ever, in my opinion).

Before I get started, I think there's a lot of you who are thinking "her students? what students?? I thought she was a stay-at-home mom?" In the mornings and early afternoons, I am home (or at the gym, or running errands, or etc etc etc), but in the afternoons, I tutor. I recently got hired with a tutoring company that matches tutors to students. They do the hard work of finding committed families that need tutors, and I get to do the fun part - teach 'em!

It's so funny how different everyone's work/home balance is. Some moms work full time and love it. Some moms work part time and love it. Some moms don't work outside the home at all and love it.

I personally love tutoring. I so look forward to the hours that I get to be Mrs. Emery (well, actually I'm known as Mrs. Brooke with my tutoring clients). Teaching is my passion, and I love seeing students make connections. And this time, I don't even have to do recess duty or enter grades! Also, it sounds counterintuitive, but every time I teach, it's reaffirmed to me that I'm supposed to be home with Claire for the bulk of my days. Being away from home makes me truly love and appreciate even more every hour that I get to spend at home with my baby.

And so, without further ado, I present the weird and funny things my tutoring students have said!

Young student:
Me: Let's practice the "at" sound. Say it with me. At at at. Good job. Now can you read these words?
Student: C-A-T. Cat.
P-A-T. Pat.
B-A-T. Bat.
R-A-T. Rape.
Me: Oops, you forgot the "at" sound. Remember? At at at. R-at. Rat.
Student: Rat.
Me: Good! Let's do some more.
Student: C-A-T. Cat.
M-A-T. Mat.
F-A-T. Fat.
R-A-T. Rape.


Older student:
Student: Do you want to go see a movie with me? I have twelve bucks. I can't ask my teachers out at school because they'd be like "NO WAY!" but you're not my teacher at school. So do you want to go?
Me: NO WAY!


Young student:
Student: When I was three my baby brother died.
Me: Oh no, that's really sad.
Student: Yeah. His head came off because he got dropped in a garbage can. It was an accident that my mom did.
Me: Oh. My goodness.
Student: Yeah. After that I only had my baby sister doll left because the baby brother doll was in the garbage.
Me: Oh. Phew. You should have mentioned that it was a doll from the beginning.
Student: Yeah, and now he's dead in the garbage.


Older student:
Student: (Circling the 4 on his paper) I'm circling the 4. If you've seen Fantastic 4 you'll know what that is.
Me: (Circling the 9 on my paper) I'm circling the 9. If you've seen Fantastic 9 you'll know what that is.
Student: (Long pause, looks from the paper to me) That's a joke! You're doing a joke! I knew you did jokes! Mom, she does jokes!


Younger student:
Student: I hoped you'd get sick so I wouldn't have to do homework time today.
Me: Sorry, but I'm feeling nice and healthy!
Student: That's okay. Maybe you'll get sick next time.


I love these kids! There's never a dull moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have arrived

^^^A letter from my littlest student who is just learning to read. It says "thank you Mrs. Brooke"


Before I had my baby, it was always the plan to stay at home for the most part. I felt so blessed to have that opportunity. I wanted to be home with her, we had a workable one-income budget, and we had no viable childcare options that we felt good about. I was really looking forward to being home with her. In fact, I was literally fulfilling my lifetime dream of being present and not having to work full-time while raising my family.

However, it was always the plan for me to keep being a teacher. Being a teacher is part of who I am, and I never want to stop. When I left Meadow, I had options lined up. My husband worked the early shift, so he could come home and watch the baby while I went to do private tutoring in the afternoons and evenings. I even had two little boys I was going to tutor. I also had some online teaching leads. It was going to be the best of both worlds.

Then, it was summer, and I had the baby. The next month and a half was a happy whirlwind (it's still a mystery where the entire month of July went). Relatives came to visit, we did fun things, school was out, and we spent a lot of time soaking in every inch of our tiny baby. I was sleep-deprived, but so incredibly happy.

And then, abruptly, school started. And all my plans started falling apart. The kids I was going to tutor had to back out for financial reasons. I got a job offer to teach an online class, only to get an email the next week saying the number of enrolled students was less than the company anticipated, so they didn't need me after all. I was going to volunteer doing an after-school club at the elementary school by my house, but they only wanted volunteers who had children attending the school. I posted ads on KSL, Craigslist and Facebook advertising my tutoring services, and got absolutely nothing in response.

It became very quiet during the days at my house. That isn't to say I didn't keep busy, because I did. I went on a walk with my walking buddy every single day. I did an exercise video every single day. I showered. I grocery shopped and made dinner and went out with friends and blogged. I even kept up with the laundry out of sheer desperation (you know things are bad when I'm voluntarily doing the laundry). And all that on top of the many hours spent each day feeding, changing, bathing, snuggling, and playing with my baby girl.

But still, for whatever reason, it wasn't enough. I know lots of mothers who are so happy doing the things I do every day, so why did I feel like something was still missing? The part of me that will always be a teacher was dying. I started to second-guess everything. Was I a bad teacher? Why didn't anyone want to hire me? Was I supposed to just give up teaching and learn to be happy without it? What happened to all our plans?

Each day while my baby napped, I would send out more applications to teaching companies and advertisements for myself to tutor. I became convinced that when you apply for a job online, it literally gets lost in cyberspace and nobody actually reads it unless you have a connection with that company (I still believe that, actually). I was getting more and more desperate. I knew I could spend my time shopping or doing crafts or watching another show on Netflix, but none of those options were meaningful to me.

I couldn't see the lesson I was supposed to be learning. Was it really God's plan for me to give up teaching altogether when I wanted it so badly? Or is this just my Type A, can't-ever-rest personality? I was always so happy when I was with my baby, but it felt like my world was shrinking. I had this fear that I wasn't Brooke anymore, I was just Claire's mom. I felt so overwhelmingly guilty that I wasn't satisfied when I had been given so much. Really scary words like "postpartum depression" and "anxiety" started swirling around in my head, and that terrified me. I would have pointless conversation after pointless conversation about it late at night with my husband.

And then, out of the blue, I got an email. Someone saw my ad, and was wondering if I still had any spots open for tutoring on Wednesdays. I wanted to tell her "Yes! Every night of the week is wide open!" Instead I told her yes, I could definitely make Wednesdays work. And then I got another email. Just like that, things started falling back into place.

I still do the same things during the day. Feed my cute baby, play with her, exercise during her morning nap, go on a walk, do the groceries and the dinners and the blogging and the diapers. I even do the laundry if it's a desperate, no-clean-underwear situation ;) But somehow, everything feels different. Now, I spend a few hours a few nights a week tutoring children, and that makes being a mom and a homemaker and a blogger and everything else so much more meaningful. I feel like myself again.

It sounds ironic, but when I spend two hours in the evenings not being a mom, I am so much more joyful when I get to be a mom the other 22 hours of the day. Taking time to do things for me, things I love, makes me so much happier when I get to do the job I love the most - raising a family.

I guess what I've been wanting to say is that I finally arrived. Everyone's work-home balance is different. Some moms I know are totally happy working full-time and raising children. A lot of moms I know are totally happy not working at all while they raise their children. It took a long time for me to arrive at my work-home balance, and it wasn't the situation or the time frame that I originally planned on. But it is so much better. It's different for every mom, but this is the situation that's right for me. I am happy and busy and balanced, and I've arrived at that sweet spot. And with my darling baby girl and my wonderful students, it really is such a sweet spot to be in.

the first day of school, and I'm not going

Tomorrow is the first day of school here in Utah Valley, and I'm not going. I have gone back to school every single fall (whether as a student or as a teacher) for 19 years straight, but tomorrow I'm staying home. It's such a weird feeling. I feel like I should be packing a lunch and picking out a first-day-of-school outfit (yes, even teachers do this). Last week in Walmart I got super excited when I noticed notebooks were on their big sale, and started piling crates of them into my cart, until it hit me that I don't need to buy 150 notebooks this year, and I sheepishly put them back. I even had a middle-of-the-night panic attack once about school ("I don't have any copies ready yet! And what will I do with the baby?!").

I've been a little jealous this week of all my teacher friends. I see them with their brand new, organized, clean classrooms. I love that beginning-of-year stuff, I really do. There's something about new school supplies, clean classrooms, and fresh lesson plans that just gets me. To all my teacher friends: good luck tomorrow! Go rock this school year like you always do. You are amazing.

If you need me tomorrow when everyone else goes to school, I'll be home snuggling my sweet baby. I've been feeling so grateful lately for online teaching jobs and for tutoring, so I can be a teacher and a mom. And hey, I actually have time to do things like exercise! And sweep the kitchen floor! And hopefully take some online classes. I have big plans for this school year. Life will be just as busy, but in a new, different, and ultimately very good way. There is a time and season for everything, and I am especially loving this time with my little chickadee.

one thing you should never say no to

There are some things in life you shouldn't say no to. Snow cones, of course. Free prep periods at school. Another shade of coral nail polish for your collection. Mysterious benefactors who pay you millions annually (this hasn't happened to me, but rest assured, if it did, I would definitely accept).

Another one of those things you shouldn't say no to is the red rocks of southern Utah. There's something about these rocks that are just so gorgeous. I honestly can't get over them. Even if it's a last-minute, short trip, just say yes. You won't regret it! These pictures are from our teacher trip a few weeks ago. My husband was adamant about not putting myself into labor by doing a strenuous hike when he was 6 hours away, so we opted for just a little walk to Dixie rock to watch the sun set. It was so beautiful up there.

And now I'm finally caught up on old posts from the last crazy weeks of school (yahoo!). Onward to new happenings. Mainly how pregnant I am. And how many otter pops I eat per day, which may or may not be a number in the low 20s...

What's on your list of things you shouldn't say no to?

two school baby showers

At my school, baby and bridal showers are an after-school, everyone comes, yummy food is provided type of affair. My teaching team threw me a baby shower a few weeks ago, and it was awesome. I came away from that shower feeling so loved by everyone in the school. Not to mention all the generous gifts I got that we desperately needed (a baby bath! a swing! diapers! wipes! clothes!). If you're sick of hearing about how awesome people at my school are - too bad! Because they are so great, and I was definitely spoiled.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Please excuse the weird library lighting and the construction in the background.

 The next week, I also had a mom volunteer throw me a little baby shower in my classroom. It was SO CUTE! She was amazing to do the whole thing by herself, and my students loved it (probably because it was during math time...). Here's what she did:

• Every student was invited to bring their favorite children's book with a little note in it. Teachers love books, and it was a perfect way to build up a little library for my baby girl. Now I'll remember my students every time I read my baby a book. (They even have a pretty good selection of books at the dollar store for families on a budget.)
• We played The Price is Right - baby style. Each student had to guesstimate the cost of baby items, and then we added up the actual cost to see who was closest (it was a fun way to sneak in a little review of adding decimals too).
• A bunch of candy bars were lined up on the whiteboard, and my mom volunteer would say a baby-related phrase. Students had to guess which candy bar it matched with (triplets = 3 musketeers, a girl's name = Baby Ruth, bottles = Milky Way, etc.)
• Each student filled out a paper with their baby predictions and advice (which were all put in a cute binder for me). This was easily the best part of the whole shower! My baby will range from 3 inches long to 3.5 feet long. It will be born anywhere from last month to Christmas Day 2015. I should name her anything from Baby Jr to Oprah Winfrey. Oh, and the most repeated advice: don't drop her on her head! 
• Then we had pink cupcakes with owl decals on top.

Thank you so much to Mikki for my classroom shower and to my team for my school shower! I am one lucky girl, and my baby will be so spoiled!

when it comes to the end

Today, I slid my nameplate out of its holder, locked my classroom for the last time, and turned my keys in. It's been a day of lots of laughter, and lots of tears (my kids said I should say I'm sweating out of my eyeballs, or else blame it on the fact that I'm pregnant).

Mostly, I want it down on public record that my years of teaching 5th grade at Meadow Elementary have been one of the greatest privileges of my entire life. I feel so overwhelmingly blessed to have been able to be part of that staff. I have been able to work with the most amazing students, parents, and faculty on the planet. They have taught me how to be a better teacher, friend, mom, and human being just by being around them.

Whew! Sometime soon I"ll stop crying. Goodness gracious.

And now - on to the next great adventure!

two very different moments

There was a moment yesterday where it was 81.8 degrees in my classroom, I was feeling extremely pregnant, piles of half-packed books and files were everywhere, the kids were running wild, and the third student in two weeks had just thrown up all over his desk. At that moment, I thought "I am SO READY for the school year to be over."

There was another moment, just today, when I was handing out superlative awards to my students. You know - everyone sits in a circle, then I call up students one at a time, they sit in the hot seat and spin around slowly while I say good things about them, and then I give them their award (most likely to be a billionaire!) and they sit down. And do you know what? My cute kids sneakily made me an award, which they all signed at recess. So they called me up, made me sit in the hot seat while they said good things about me, and then gave me my award (most likely to be the best mom ever). At that moment, I thought "I will never ever be ready for this school year to be over."

And then I got a kleenex and pretended it was allergies.

That's how this week has gone, and that's how the next two days will be. Crazy, chaotic, hot and sweaty, but also amazing, sweet, nostalgic, and so so sad when I leave. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are a few quick pictures from my vacation last weekend. Somehow, the stars aligned: none of the 5th grade teachers have little kids at home, we had a free place to stay, and our schedules were mostly open that weekend, so we took a quick trip down to St. George. It was short, but so great! 

Gorgeous gorgeous red rocks

Bear Paw for breakfast! Already dreaming of my next visit...

 New pedicures for everyone

 Fastest way to clear a pool: get 5 teachers in their swimsuits, and then stick 'em all in the water and have them play a weird hand game their students are obsessed with. Works like a charm ;)

the gorgeous view out our back porch 

I'll be back after school's out with lots and lots of belated posts (St. George! a baby shower! etc!). In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me anyway. Two more days, and then I have a stack of books and a fresh supply of otter pops that are calling my name...

my students say the darnedest things {vol. 6}

What can I say about the last few weeks of teaching? As testing winds down and the weather gets warmer, the kids get more and more crazy. Which amounts to more and more hilarity here in the fifth grade. This is why I love my job.

A boy to his friend:
"I have two words for you: NEW. POKEMON. CARDS."

Teacher in the hallway:
"In second grade, we keep our arms out of our pants."

My student to her peer tutoring partner:
"Now now, if we only do that, we won't be learning as much as we could be. Would you be happy only doing the smallest amount of work for the rest of your life? Don't you want to really learn?" (Future teacher of America right here, folks. She gives better lectures than I do!)

Student:
"By the way, you look really good for a pregnant lady. You should see my mom when she gets pregnant. She gets huge all over."

After the principal made an announcement about the Coke machine being out of order in the faculty room:
Student: Stands up, points at me. "I KNEW you guys were hiding a Coke machine down there!"
Me: "The secret's out, I guess. We also have an ice cream machine and a birthday cake machine down there. Oh, and they're all free."
Student: "Don't mess with me after I finally learned the truth about the Coke machine."

4th grader holding back tears at recess:
"He said these are cumulus clouds in the sky right now. He's wrong! I know he's wrong! They're cumulo-nimbus! I know they are!"

Games I've broken up at recess: (these were all innocent, but still)

• CPR
• ride 'em cowboy
• face-to-face dog-piling girls vs boys

Random second grader at recess:
Walks past me, looks at me, stops, walks backwards to me.
Pointing to my belly: "Is there a baby in there?"
Me: "Yes."
Comes up to me, hugs my tummy with two hands and puts her head on it. Stays there. Starts rubbing.
Me: "Heh heh." Awkwardly patting her head, trying to get her to stop.
She doesn't stop.
Me: "Uh thanks." Trying to pull away. Paranoid that a parent will come around the corner and see us in this weird embrace.
She finally stops. Turns around, starts walking away.
"By the way, it usually really hurts when they get the baby out of there."
Walks away.

Student:
"The sub you got for us was weird. She said when she was a teenager, she swore off men and she's never looked back. I thought that was weird, since I'm not allowed to swear at men or women."

You can't make these things up, people. 

If you're ever in need of a good laugh, come spend a day observing my classroom. 

You won't be disappointed :)

Photographic evidence that teachers are crazy

Picture this: six small cabins nestled in a mountainside an hour outside of the nearest city. Beautiful crisp mornings and sunshine rising over the peaks. Three feet of glistening untouched snow. Sounds peaceful, right?

Now, add 150 screaming kids, three days of sleep deprivation, non-stop time and management commitments, and some live-in mice who are waaaaay too friendly.

Still sound peaceful?

That, my friends, sums up Clear Creek. It's an outdoor education camp we take our kiddos to. The 5th grade teachers are crazy for going every year, taking all those kiddos, and doing it for three days straight, but we do it anyway. The kids have a blast (at least we hope they do!), it really is beautiful up there, and oh the late-night bonding that happens after the students have been banished to their cabins!

I wish I could post pictures of the cute (and hyper!) kiddos, but as it is, you'll have to enjoy my beautiful coworkers and our sleep-deprived mountain women style :)

^^Look at these fabulous ladies. I seriously love my team!^^

I love the 5th grade team this year. They make Clear Creek so much fun. They also made fun of me for how poorly I reacted to those mice... Let's just say fear of mice is something I definitely have :)

what I'm doing next year: one of the most vulnerable posts I've ever written

This is one of those posts that has been literally weeks in the making. I've known exactly what I wanted to say, but those dang sentences would never form in a cohesive manner! I've drafted, deleted, and drafted again. Maybe it was so tough for me to write this because I feel like this is a snapshot into the very center of my heart. The writer in me knows this post is still not perfect, but it's my best for now. It's also a very honest post, so please be nice to me, because I feel very vulnerable posting it.

For decades, I've wanted to be a teacher. For decades, I've wanted to be a mother. What I didn't think about was how those two roles would coexist, or even if they would coexist. For some reason, I didn't think about that at all until I got pregnant. Suddenly I was faced with a choice: should I teach or stay home next year?


What I didn't bank on was how much I would love teaching. How difficult it would be to think of giving it up. Honestly, I love it. Teaching is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Teaching gives me more purpose, joy, and meaning in my life than I ever thought possible. I like how productive I feel after working a long day, and I like that I work for education, which is one of the noblest causes out there. I love that my end goal isn't a new sale, or a pageview count, or a bonus commission, but the actual education of children. I love getting little glimpses that a student has recognized the value of education in their lives, that they learn to love feeling vulnerable, growing, and experiencing their world. Not to mention my amazing coworkers, who often know more about my life than my family, since I spend nine hours a day with them. I feel comfortable when I'm at school. My classroom is my little kingdom: I'm in charge and I accomplish things in there, and at the risk of sounding ridiculously arrogant, I think I'm good at it. Teaching is one of those things I believe I can actually do.


When I got pregnant, my plans for next year became a huge source of stress and internal conflict for me. I knew I loved teaching, and that it would always be one of the most meaningful things in my life. I knew I loved my little baby already, and that I would jump at any opportunity to be with her, to hold her, to love her. Also, this isn't popular among all people, but I believe that the ideal family situation involves one parent, preferably the mother, at home. But I also believe that women should pursue their careers if they want. I believe in the peace of mind that a second income provides to a family, especially a family that's still in the "just starting out" financial phases like us.


Sometimes becoming a mom scared me. Still does, actually. Scares me silly. It's just fear of the unknown. It's hard to leave something that I have experience with, that I'm comfortable doing, that I'm good at, for something totally brand new. What if being a mom exhausts me physically, mentally, and emotionally beyond what I can handle? What if I don't know how to provide for my child's needs? What if my world shrinks down to the mundane tasks of bottles, diapers, sleep deprivation, and one tiny person who can't even converse with me? What if something comes up and we need a second income?


I started asking advice from other moms/teachers I knew. The stay at home moms told me that 100% it was worth it, that even on the hardest days they NEVER regretted their choice to leave teaching, that they wouldn't trade time with their child for anything. The working moms I know told me that it's totally doable to work full-time and have a child, that daycare doesn't always have to be a scary place, that their job provides important financial security to their family even though it's hard to do. The working ladies who don't have kids told me that OF COURSE they would be stay at home moms if they ever got the chance.


That confused me even more. All sides had great points. I spent weeks avoiding thinking about it, because it stressed me out. (When will I learn that avoiding stressful topics actually stresses one out more?) When I was at school, I wanted to stay there and teach next year. When I was at home, I wanted to stay there and take care of my sweet baby next year.


Eventually, I told myself to get a grip, put on my big girl pants, and start praying about it. So I did. My husband and I had late-night discussion after late-night discussion about it. We prayed, read my patriarchal blessing, made pros and cons lists, and went to the temple.


One evening, Sam and I were sitting in our car in the temple parking lot, talking about next year. I was crying (surprise surprise) with the stress and indecision of this huge choice I was making. I remember rolling down the window and leaning my head back on the window frame to get some fresh night air. Looking up at all the stars that were out that night, I suddenly felt so close. So incredibly close to the spirits who are up there beyond the stars. Those spirits didn't feel like they were a million miles away, unfindable by man. They felt like they were right here, right now, with me in that car. I don't know if I was feeling particularly close to God or to my sweet unborn baby or to my mom, but I felt such a connection that night, and utterly surrounded by peace. Peace that I had never felt before. My tears dried up, my baby started moving around inside of me like she never had before, and I knew.


I'm not going to teach full time next year.


I remember sitting there with my head leaned back on the window frame for a long time that night, breathing the air and talking to Sam. After so much indecision and stress, just having an answer was a huge relief. We enjoyed the peace and the certainty and my kicking baby for a long time.


And then, I turned to Sam and wept. I wept because of what I was giving up. I wept because, even though I'm finding some part-time work, it won't be the same next year. I won't have my own class, I won't belong to 30 students who say I'm their teacher, I won't have the same little kingdom that I'm in charge of and comfortable with and good at leading. I'm really really going to miss it, and I wept because saying goodbye to being a full-time teacher for now will be really hard. And Sam just sat there all nobly, letting me get snot and tears and mascara all over his white shirt. That man is one in a million.


Eventually, I stopped crying. There's a time to cry about things, and then there's a time to stop crying and move on to better things. Also, I was getting a cramp in my neck from leaning over to Sam's shoulder. I took deep breaths, stole one last look at those stars, and rolled up the window. I gathered all the trust I've ever had in myself and mentally stored it away. And then Sam kissed me, said "let's do this, darling," and we drove home.

And that's how I made my choice about teaching next year.


Some important post-decision information:

• I'm still looking for something part-time. I love teaching, and teaching is part of who I am. That might look like a shared contract, or it might look like a specialty teacher, or it might look like after-school tutoring and piano lessons. I'm so incredibly happy that I get to keep teaching kids, and also be home with my baby. It's the best of both worlds. 
• I have felt so much peace since making that choice. This is huge, coming from a person like me who second-guesses EVERY CHOICE I EVER MAKE. I have never once gone back and wondered if I made the right choice. It has felt right every second since I made it.
• My choice has made me love teaching even more. It's easy to get dragged down by disrespectful students or problems with parents at school. But lately, since I know it won't be like this next year, I am just loving those kids and enjoying every second I get to spend with them. It makes me love this job more than I ever have, and appreciate everything about it. I want to be the best teacher I can be for my remaining months.

If you're still reading this, congratulations! You deserve a huge round of applause and possibly some chocolate for making it through this very dense post. I hope you know how much respect I have for the full-time working moms out there, and for people who have different viewpoints than my own. Working moms have strength and stamina I'm not sure I ever could have! I feel I should also mention that all the mascara and snot came out of Sam's white shirt, which I personally feel was another miracle of that week.


P.S. Two of my blogging friends, Bonnie and Tayler, are also posting today about their decision regarding teaching next year. Check out Bonnie's blog HERE and Tayler's blog HERE to read about their decision. We also decided to make this thang a link-up! If you have any posts about teaching, working, being a stay at home mom, earning income at home, or anything in that category, please link it up! I love reading about other women and their stories.







P.P.S. We decided to make this a giveaway too. Enter below to win $15 to Babies R Us! (Thanks Tayler for putting this all together!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you're in a similar position, I'd love to hear from you! How did you decide what to do? Have you ever regretted it? What worked best for you?

my students say the darnedest things {vol. 5}

Today was maturation day in 5th grade... easily the most hilarious day of the school year. So much drama! Add that to my awesome, funny class in general, and you get a lot of good quotes. (Some of these are from my neighboring teachers too.)

Maturation day:
Boy: "That was probably the freakiest thing I've ever heard in my life."

Girl: "I'm not nervous about today because my parents already talked to me about everything they're going to talk about. It was weird though, because the whole time when they talked to me, I kept laughing. Nothing was funny, but I just kept laughing the whole time they were talking to me about maturation stuff."

Boy, who looks really sad: "Didn't they used to give you free deodorant afterwards?"
Me: "Yeah they did. Their budget was cut this year though, so no deodorant."
Boy: "Dang. My brother said shoving your deodorant into the girls faces is the best part."

During math:
Student: "I try and try, but I'll never remember the word cross-reducing. Can't we just call it the super duper shortcut way?"
Another student: "No way! That's the confusing way. Let's call it the guaranteed to get the wrong answer way!"

About my baby (my whole class is obsessed with my baby. It's kind of cute):
"Name her Blakely!"

"Name her Jersey!"

"Name her my name!"

"Name her Neveah! That's heaven spelled backwards! Isn't that cool?!" (I get at least one request for the name Neveah per week)

And a kid on the playground during bus duty: "My sister said it's a girl. Can you make it be a boy instead?"


Practicing their opening paragraphs for a persuasive essay: 
(I told them to pick any topic they want, since I was only checking for structure)
"Have you ever wanted to burst into flames? The best way to die is to put gasoline on your s'mores before you roast them. First of all, it's been cold lately. Next, dying in dumb ways gets you straight to heaven. Finally, fire's the new fashion. That's why the coolest way to die is by putting gasoline on your s'mores before you roast them."

"Do you ever get sick of boring yellow bananas? Purple bananas are way better than yellow. First of all, yellow is such a boring color. In addition, purple bananas don't even taste like real bananas. Finally, they are cheaper than yellow bananas because they have never been tested on humans. In the end, purple bananas are better than yellow bananas."

"Unicorns are better than chubby babies. First of all, unicorns can give you wishes but chubby babies cannot. Also, unicorns are full of sprinkles. Chubby babies are full of poop. Last but not least, unicorns are fluffy, but chubby babies are fat and vicious. In conclusion, unicorns are better than chubby babies."
_______________

If you ever need a pick-me-up, just observe an elementary school classroom. It's the guaranteed fastest way for you to laugh your head off AND gain a new appreciation for your relatively few kids, quiet house, and peaceful life. And all in five minutes! :)

to the practicum students

This is my amazing team of 5th grade teachers. It's okay to be jealous of how cool we are.

Yesterday we got some new little practicum students at our school. They're not actually little (they're college students) but they're little in the sense that they don't really know about teaching yet. They come to observe and teach a little. I remember what it was like when I was a practicum student. So excited, so nervous, and NO CLUE what to expect.


When I was being introduced to two of the practicum students, one of them asked what advice I would give, as a young teacher myself. Uhhh. Asking me for advice on the spot is a virtual guarantee that my mind will go blank. I'm pretty sure I said something stupid like "did you know we have an ice machine in the faculty room?" haha


And then I spent the whole day thinking about it. Advice? Advice? Hmmm. Frankly, I still don't know anything. Two years down the road, and I still feel like one of those little practicum students. So excited, so nervous, and no clue what to expect.


Technically, yes, I do know a lot more than I used to when I was a practicum student. I know how to do all those things they teach you about - differentiation, inquiry and collaboration. I can do schedules and unit plans and sub plans. I can tell the difference between a kid who actually has to go to the bathroom and one who just wants to get out of class. I can spot gum in a mouth from across the room (this skill took me most of last year to develop).


But honestly? I still don't know anything.


All I could think about was the Bloody Nose Incident of 2014. There I was last week, during recess, with a garbage can in one hand and clorox wipes in the other. I was crouching in the hallway and wiping up drips from the bloodiest nose a basketball has ever bestowed on a ten-year-old. Your college professors can sit in their classrooms and tell you all about theorists and Best Teaching Practices and make you memorize values and ideals. And those are all good things to know. But until you're wiping up blood during your break so the kids coming in from recess don't slip on it, you don't know what it's really like to be a teacher.


In the end, it's not about how many Best Teaching Practices you memorized that semester. It's not about the deadlines or the politics or the letter grades. It's about the kids. It's about your crazy, hyper, capable, bright, happy, volatile, full-of-personality students.


Try to remember that each day, is what I would say to the practicum students. Remember it's about the kids. I know we work early mornings, and I know we don't get paid enough, and I know it's easy to be weighed down by a lot of things. But it's not about any of that. It's about these kids. These incredibly emotional, vulnerable, talented kids. These kids who, in the end, just want to please you. These kids who will blow you away with how far they're capable of advancing, how much they're capable of growing and learning and helping each other. How incredibly kind they are in this world of unkindness. Of course they'll drive you crazy at one point or the other (ahem, the week before spring break and the third week of May). But they're still your kids. Especially that kid whose blood you're currently cleaning. That kid who didn't want to miss class that day, so he called his mom for a clean pair of clothes and shoved toilet paper up his nose so he could come back to class.


That kid is what it's about. Focus on the kids, and you will LOVE this career.


And hey, doesn't that sound way better than the fact that we have an ice machine? If only I could think of these things on the spot! :)

Sandy Hook Revisited: thoughts from an elementary school teacher, one year later

I was once asked how much time I spend getting my posts perfect before I publish them. Perfect? Ha! Almost none of my posts are perfect. They're usually rushed and typed at 5 in the morning and barely proofread. That's just what you have to do as a blogger/full-time worker/everything else that I am. If you wait until every post is perfect, you won't have any posts. That being said, I can count 3 or 4 posts that I really do feel I got right. Maybe 5.

Last year's post on Sandy Hook from an elementary teacher's perspective was one of those. I feel like I actually got it right. (You can read it HERE if you'd like. It's one of my top viewed and shared posts.)

On Friday, almost one year after Sandy Hook, I found myself thinking a lot about my sweet children. Of course they're crazy for winter break and of course they're hyper after so many days of inside recess. But they're so good! They are respectful and hard-working. They help each other. They want to learn, and they want me to teach them everything I know. They're creative and intuitive and expressive. 

Of course bad things are going to happen. But mostly, in times like this, I see the good. Since last year, we have policemen in our school daily, patrolling the halls, eating lunch with the students, asking all the right questions. It's kind of sad to think that this is the world my students will grow up in - a world that requires daily police presence even in an elementary school - but it's also a good world. So many good and brave people doing good and brave things.

This is one of my favorite essays about Sandy Hook. It's short and isn't designed to pull at your heartstrings. I didn't even cry when I read it. It's just an example of really good writing. I recommend you read it HERE.

This video did pull at my heartstrings a little, but I love it. It's so sweet and simple. Evil did not win that day. Watch it HERE.

And lastly, I want to leave with you these pictures from Angel Day. Each year, I get balloons, tie notes and pictures to them, and send them to heaven to tell my mom about the most important things that happened over the year. This year, the balloons were blue to match the color of her eyes and cream to match the color of the roses at her funeral. (Thank you for all the cards, chocolate, and most of all kind words and hugs on Friday!)

The holidays sure are a funny time. So many bad things, so many good things. The next few posts are definitely more light-hearted than the last two have been. This week is featuring: my birthday! The last week before winter break! And the point at which my students go certifiably insanely hyper from all the Christmas cheer!

contingency plan

Today one of my students asked "what do we do if you have a heart attack during class?"

I stared at him. "I eat cheerios for breakfast at least twice a week."

He stared back.

"Never mind," I said. "Are you worried about that?"

He just looked at me.

"Okay, well, if something happens during class, you should run and tell the office. Nurse Ellie will come and help me."

"What about CPR?" he asked.

Terrible terrible images of my students trying to perform CPR on my unconscious body flashed through my head. 

"Do not perform CPR on me. Did you hear that? IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TRY TO PERFORM CPR ON ME."

"Okay," he said, and started to walk away.

"Wait, I want to ask you a question. Have you been worried that I'll have a heart attack? Do you feel scared that something bad might happen to me? You are such a sweet kid, but I want you to know that nothing-"

"No!" he said. "No. I'm just writing a story where this kid's teacher dies in the middle of class. I wanted to know what it would be like."

Merry Christmas, people, from my class to you. These kids are crazy and I love them to death. To a mid-lesson heart attack death, to be specific ;)

And now, because hey, it's December! here are some pictures of our Christmas tree. The colored lights remind me of my mom, and that makes me happy. 

Around this time of year I start forgetting that there are things to do besides just sit on my couch, smell our tree, and pile the blankets on. (But really, what else is there to do when it's 4 degrees out?)

Happy two weeks until Christmas!

my students say the darnedest things {vol.4}

My teacher friends joke that we could write a book about teaching, and nobody would believe it. The sentences that actually come out of our mouths are so foreign to the average working person that we'd be sued for making things up. Our fellow teachers would get it, and some parents would get it, but that's about it.

A sampling of actual sentences we've said this month alone:

• At school, we get to keep our shirts on all day long!
• You have to stop farting during class. I keep getting complaints.
• It looks like we forgot about the "Don't stick our fingers in other people's mouths" rule.
• Try it again, but this time walk like a human being.
• You're the first person I've met who can read with their eyes closed.
• Everyone gets three points if we don't lose any students in the Halloween parade today!

Literally in no other profession do sentences like that come out of your mouth on a daily basis. (Can you tell which of these were aimed toward the littles and which were said to the upper grades?)

 Via. As if any teacher's classroom ever looked like this.

And now, without further ado, my next installment of the hilarious things my sweet kids say:

Me: "Write this in the margin."

Student: "Isn't margin a type of butter?"

Student talking to her friend: "I've never broken the no gum in school rule. I'm too afraid to find out what the consequence is."

Me: "How was the substitute?"

Student: "I don't mean to be mean, but her shirt was way too small."

Student: "I left my summary at home, but that's okay because I actually memorized it so I can tell it to you so I can still go out for recess."

Me: "You literally memorized your whole summary last night?"

Student: "Yeah!"

Me: "What chapter was it on?"

Student: "Um... Uh... okay fine I'll stay in."

Student, playing hot and cold to help another student find the hidden math problem: "Warmer, warmer, warmer, YOU ARE SO HOT RIGHT NOW!"

Rest of class: giggles like crazy

Student: "What? He is! You're HOT! You're HOT! You're SO HOT!"

I am seriously having so much fun with my class this year. They're responsible, they work hard, and they have a sense of humor. I feel blessed to call these 29 kiddos mine from August till May!