I am feeling a little success from this "teacherspayteachers" stuff. :) I am creating and marketing stuff daily and so far have sold something everyday in February. This is a vast improvement from uploading something every month or so :)
An unexpected result of this new direction has actually been more peace with my current job. I was finding myself in the throws of drama and discussions of "how bad things are" and "if we were running this place," before this journey and it was a very stressful environment. I have found myself focusing more on my work while I am there, so that I can focus more on my TPT store at other times. This has significantly reduced my "social" time and may eventually impact the relationships I have come to love with my co-workers... however, I am happier being removed from some of those conversations. This is my perfect excuse... I am trying to build a better life for my family.
I will take it. I am trying to change things in our household, but most changes happen slowly.
All changes except for my baby "bump" (my husband hates that term). I am now 22 weeks and a few days and everyday I am more able to picture our family expanding to a family of 4. I love the thoughts of my two boys playing together at home, on the farm, and at school one day. I am anxious to see what the dynamics will be between them, but I am sure they will love each other, fight each other, and hopefully take up for each other. Because you know, they will only be around 20 months apart :)
I have really enjoyed my week. It has been interesting to say the least (many stories I could share, but they aren't related to the purpose of this blog). To end our week, we had friends over for supper last night (because cleaning before, cooking, hosting and entertaining, and cleaning up after is actually easier and less stressful than going out to eat). There were 3 boys all under the age of two running/crawling wild in my house, playing with and fighting over toys, and I absolutely loved it! It made me dream of the day when our house is filled with our own children (no, we will not be like the Duggar's) running and playing. And dream of the days when us parents would probably be outnumbered. The boys were rambunctious at times, but sweet for many others. Drive by hittings were followed up with hugs :) , so all ended fairly.
Today almost ended on a little more of a rocky note...with poop in the tub after bath time and a smack to my face (my 16 month old, T, hitting me with my iPhone) that will probably result in a black eye. However, our bedtime routine always makes all the troubles of this world melt away. Rocking and looking through/reading his favorite books and soaking up his sweet love.
I have to say...there is nothing in this world better than being "Moma".
Good Night All. It is time for me to rest, so that I can play with my baby tomorrow.
Reach for the Stars
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
a FEW changes since last time
Hahaha! Sense the sarcasm in the title :)
Let's go ahead and get things out of the way. I have been an extremely horrible blogger... a bad TpT seller... a college drop-out... and in general, I have felt a little like a failure in the professional realm. I have changed tremendously and many do not understand what is actually going on in this head of mine. I am deciding to fully embrace motherhood.
No this is not an anti-feminist post. I do not think women should have to choose between having a family and having a career. I do not think we should regress to the age in which women were viewed only as home-maker's and not appreciated in any professional realms. I fully believe that most all women are super-heroes and CAN embrace both a career and a family.
However, my career was on a fast track. It's how I've always been. Get to the end goal as quickly as possible and endure any pain along the way because the finish line is the goal. My finish line is and will probably always be seeking an administrative role within a school system. I would like to be a principal. I would like to work in the Central Office where big decisions are made. I want to be an influential leader and a positive driving force in the education of the children in my community. I am passionate about this... I am driven to help all of our children succeed... I am knowledgeable and feel that one day I will achieve these goals.
So why the intro? I will repeat the key idea.
I am deciding to fully embrace motherhood.
You're thinking "so what." I do this everyday. I am mom and I am career woman everyday. I am saying that there are certain sacrifices that would come along with reaching my "finish line" as quickly as I once thought and I am no longer willing to make those sacrifices.
So let's break it down...Piece by piece...
The horrible blogger- (Excuse #1)I began my Ed.S. in leadership. There was NO time for dilly-dally-ing on the internet.
A bad TpT seller- (Excuse #2) I can hardly keep up with regular lesson plans, grading, daily activities, laundry, mommy time, and trying to complete an Ed.S. degree... Much less, create innovative and cute new resources for others to use in there classrooms.
A college drop-out- (My Reality Check) This is when the Oh So Famous Fecal Matter HIT the Fan at a high rate of speed. I was to my breaking point. I had to decide what I wanted out of life. I was focusing on the destination and missing so much of my journey. I had a precious son who was about to turn 1 and a husband who is more than I ever could have prayed or wished for... And here I was focusing on school work. I am a type A personality. I have to be in control of everything and I was losing my grip on planning for school, working on assignments, completing performance based activities and reflecting upon them. I was so focused on this that there was hardly any time to enjoy my sweet young family.
That's when I thought about my journey. How fast my child is growing.. How my relationship with my husband had morphed into a beautiful partnership where we ebbed and flowed with each other in order to meet our goals and take care of our child. And how I was too focused on the end goal and what I had not accomplished yet to see how beautiful my current life really is.
So here I am. I have a new purpose. I want to be a mommy. I want to be able to spend as much time at home as possible with my child (soon to be children). I want to cook breakfast, lunch, and supper for them. I want to revel at their every little accomplishment and milestone.
On the flip, I need an income. We have bills, we have basic needs, and we need money. LOL
I will be using this blog not only to track my life in the classroom, but life in general. I will be attempting to supplement my income with my TeachersPayTeachers Online Store. I will vent to you about my struggles, my shortcomings, and hopefully my successes with this site. I will even advertise my products on here.
However, remember dear followers. I AM a mommy first.
Let's go ahead and get things out of the way. I have been an extremely horrible blogger... a bad TpT seller... a college drop-out... and in general, I have felt a little like a failure in the professional realm. I have changed tremendously and many do not understand what is actually going on in this head of mine. I am deciding to fully embrace motherhood.
No this is not an anti-feminist post. I do not think women should have to choose between having a family and having a career. I do not think we should regress to the age in which women were viewed only as home-maker's and not appreciated in any professional realms. I fully believe that most all women are super-heroes and CAN embrace both a career and a family.
However, my career was on a fast track. It's how I've always been. Get to the end goal as quickly as possible and endure any pain along the way because the finish line is the goal. My finish line is and will probably always be seeking an administrative role within a school system. I would like to be a principal. I would like to work in the Central Office where big decisions are made. I want to be an influential leader and a positive driving force in the education of the children in my community. I am passionate about this... I am driven to help all of our children succeed... I am knowledgeable and feel that one day I will achieve these goals.
So why the intro? I will repeat the key idea.
I am deciding to fully embrace motherhood.
You're thinking "so what." I do this everyday. I am mom and I am career woman everyday. I am saying that there are certain sacrifices that would come along with reaching my "finish line" as quickly as I once thought and I am no longer willing to make those sacrifices.
So let's break it down...Piece by piece...
The horrible blogger- (Excuse #1)I began my Ed.S. in leadership. There was NO time for dilly-dally-ing on the internet.
A bad TpT seller- (Excuse #2) I can hardly keep up with regular lesson plans, grading, daily activities, laundry, mommy time, and trying to complete an Ed.S. degree... Much less, create innovative and cute new resources for others to use in there classrooms.
A college drop-out- (My Reality Check) This is when the Oh So Famous Fecal Matter HIT the Fan at a high rate of speed. I was to my breaking point. I had to decide what I wanted out of life. I was focusing on the destination and missing so much of my journey. I had a precious son who was about to turn 1 and a husband who is more than I ever could have prayed or wished for... And here I was focusing on school work. I am a type A personality. I have to be in control of everything and I was losing my grip on planning for school, working on assignments, completing performance based activities and reflecting upon them. I was so focused on this that there was hardly any time to enjoy my sweet young family.
That's when I thought about my journey. How fast my child is growing.. How my relationship with my husband had morphed into a beautiful partnership where we ebbed and flowed with each other in order to meet our goals and take care of our child. And how I was too focused on the end goal and what I had not accomplished yet to see how beautiful my current life really is.
So here I am. I have a new purpose. I want to be a mommy. I want to be able to spend as much time at home as possible with my child (soon to be children). I want to cook breakfast, lunch, and supper for them. I want to revel at their every little accomplishment and milestone.
On the flip, I need an income. We have bills, we have basic needs, and we need money. LOL
I will be using this blog not only to track my life in the classroom, but life in general. I will be attempting to supplement my income with my TeachersPayTeachers Online Store. I will vent to you about my struggles, my shortcomings, and hopefully my successes with this site. I will even advertise my products on here.
However, remember dear followers. I AM a mommy first.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Yay! My First Set of Task Cards
I have finally created my first set of task cards! And it was not all that hard! I really feel that they include a good mix of DOK levels and will provide practice for students in a similar format to what is on the test I have created. I am so excited!
We also begin pre-planning tomorrow! We will be working on several initiatives in our math department this year. My favorite involves backwards design by creating engaging unit assessments. Our assessments will have approximately 50% DOK level 1 questions and 50% DOK level 2+. They will include short answer and extended response. I am glad that we are doing this to help prepare our students for the tests of the future. Our tests will be very similar to the models provided by PARCC and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Hopefully, this will drive changes in our instruction and what materials we present to students.
This will provide me with tons more ideas on things to create in order to prepare students for these assessments... So, stay tuned and keep an eye out for more of my products.
On a more personal note, we just got back from a beach trip where Thomas took his first steps!! ON THE BEACH! I was so afraid that I would miss this milestone, but Daniel and I were both there for it!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Teachers Pay Teachers
I have created a few items for my TPT store now... I am not sure how this is going to work, but slowly I will keep adding to it! I created some zebra borders in a word document... Each new page has a different color zebra border and it was my first sale! I made 30 cents! Lol :)
That's perfectly alright though. I have several free things that have been dowloaded alot, so hopefully I will attract more traffic.
I have also created a common core aligned 7th grade unit test for the number systems unit. I spent alot of time researching questions and DOK levels. It included 25 multiple choice, 3 constructed response, and 2 extended response. With the upcoming Common Core Assessments (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) suggesting extended response writing on the math portions of the test, I thought my students should go ahead and get used to the format. There are also error analysis, application, problem solving and much more. The tests is approximately 50% DOK Level 1 and 50% DOK level 2 and 3.
One of my goals for the year, is to develop tests that are all formatted like this. I am hoping that backwards design will force me to have students writing more in math... Which is an area I am not very good at. As always, feel free to visit my TPT Store- Katie Mason
I have also created a common core aligned 7th grade unit test for the number systems unit. I spent alot of time researching questions and DOK levels. It included 25 multiple choice, 3 constructed response, and 2 extended response. With the upcoming Common Core Assessments (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) suggesting extended response writing on the math portions of the test, I thought my students should go ahead and get used to the format. There are also error analysis, application, problem solving and much more. The tests is approximately 50% DOK Level 1 and 50% DOK level 2 and 3.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Getting Started
There is so much going on in my life right now. I am a fairly new mommy... I have a very handsome son, named Thomas. He is my whole world and very spoiled to boot. Right now we are going through sleep regression and teething which make for some very interesting and long nights. I am also beginning my Ed.S degree in Leadership from Valdosta State University through an online program. I have never tried my hand at online learning and am a little overwhelmed with the format. The discussion posts seem endless and take up a lot of time. If you have any online learning tips, please share! I need them.
Before long, school will start back and my hustle and bustle will become even busier. This summer one of my goals is to put together as many resources as possible for the Common Core standards. I hope to have unit tests, quizzes, task cards, sorts, centers, and more by the time school starts back...but we will see. I am also going to try and start my teacherspayteachers store and try to track its progress. I will post a link, so that you can view the resources I am creating. This will be my fourth year teaching 7th grade math and I have to say I absolutely love it. My students are quirky and go through hormonal shifts each day, but they can most always find a way to be sweet.
Before long, school will start back and my hustle and bustle will become even busier. This summer one of my goals is to put together as many resources as possible for the Common Core standards. I hope to have unit tests, quizzes, task cards, sorts, centers, and more by the time school starts back...but we will see. I am also going to try and start my teacherspayteachers store and try to track its progress. I will post a link, so that you can view the resources I am creating. This will be my fourth year teaching 7th grade math and I have to say I absolutely love it. My students are quirky and go through hormonal shifts each day, but they can most always find a way to be sweet.
This is a link for you to visit my TPT Store.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)