| i think she really means it…

Happy New Year!

Monday, January 5th, 2009 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

We rang in the new year with our neighbors, John and Terra, and our cousin Emily. We made yummy brownie-ice-cream sandwiches. Hope your new year’s eve was fun, too!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!

Monday, December 29th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

To check out our Christmas Newsletter go to our family site.

About Protected Posts

Saturday, December 13th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | Comments Off

From time to time, I’ll share posts on here that are of a more personal nature.

When I do this, I’ll protect the posts with a password. If you would like to view one of these posts, just send me an email (sara AT joneses DOT us).

It’s always an honor to share my thoughts with you.

Thank you for reading.

Protected: Something Wonderful Happened at School Today…

Saturday, December 13th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | Enter your password to view comments.

I’ve been on hiatus this past month. School has gotten quite busy, HOA business keeps us on our toes, and Nate and I have been out of town a couple of the past weekends. I have oh so much to write about, I just haven’t felt much inspiration or creativity. So, here’s a brief synopsis:

School–School is going very well. I enjoy my students so much. They are as sweet as pie this year! Their math ability, on the other hand, is lower than I’ve ever had in the past. It’s weird to miss the spunky-behavior challenges I’ve had in past years. The students this year are so low, but so sweet. They think if they smile and act cute, no one will actually notice they still add denominators, multiply on their fingers, and can’t identify the “tenths” place! Yikes! Every year brings new challenges.

Marriage–Nate and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on November 9th. We spent 4 whole days in San Diego! We went to Sea World, National Comedy Theater, and saw “Changeling.” Of course there was lots of good food, and many hours spent playing the Wii (yes, we took it with us!). It was a relaxing get away. I am so grateful for my husband.

Friends–We’ve been getting to know another young married couple who live in our building. They do not have children either and have been married as long as we have. We spend a lot of time together. On Halloween we carved pumpkins, we put together Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes last week, we have dinner together at least once a week, and every Monday night we watch “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother” together at their place. It’s refreshing to start a new friendship.

Random–I read part of a “birthing” post written by an old college friend today. It was a beautiful description of how she gave birth to her daughter, naturally and peacefully. Yet, I couldn’t finish reading it. I’m so overwhelmed! I thought the more I educate myself on such matters, the less I’ll have to worry about and feel anxiety about. However, the opposite seems to be happening. The closer and closer we get to making a “family” decision, the more serious the decision feels, and the more “freaked-out” I get. I don’t want to know all the gory details. I don’t even want to know the gory details when I’m in the midst of them! I simply want to take each step as it comes. Which is all I guess I really have to do…

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…”

That’s all I have to say for now. Until next time…

A Pleasant Surprise

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | No Comments

‘Twas a fun day in Intro. to Algebra today! We have just started a new unit on fractions. Before manipulating fractions (like adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and simplifying), we must first understand what a fraction is. Yesterday we created fraction strips, and last night for homework the assignment was to fill in a fraction array. I wanted the students to understand equivalent fractions pictorially. Fraction arrays show equivalent fractions (1/2 = 2/4 = 3/6, etc. or 3/4 = 6/8 = 9/12, etc.). So, using our arrays we played a game called “Fish for Equivalent Fractions.” The kids *loved* it! Even my students who give up easily and don’t like playing games were playing! The game is basically the card game “Go Fish.” They were so into it! They were using their arrays searching for equivalent fractions. Needless to say, I was very pleased. It makes me happy when my students play and enjoy the games I spend 2 hours cutting out and preparing for them the night before. (-:

Thursday’s game is called “Frack Jack.” It’s not a game I made up, but a game I bought at an amazing teacher resources center in San Jose called Raft. It’s a fraction game based on the card game Black Jack. Instead of shooting for “21,” however, the students will try to make “one whole” using fraction parts. It should be lots of fun!

To my fellow “math geeks” out there, I know you understand the excitement math can bring. For the rest of you, dear readers, thanks for reading my post anyway.

Teacher’s High

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 | Sara the Teacher | 2 Comments

I’ve experienced “Runner’s High,” and I’ve definitely had some good days of teaching, but today probably tops them (or at least comes pretty close!). I taught my students an algebraic lesson using the “Fourfold Way.” We created toothpick patterns (with toothpicks), figured out recursive rules, and plotted points from a table. My students did so well! I always write in colors to differentiate between steps and to point out patterns, but today I had my students write in colors as well. I couldn’t believe how well that worked! They were understanding (on an elementary level) linear functions! And they *all* were involved. Every last one of them! My students…the “Far Below” and “Below Basic” scoring kids were understanding algebra and asking good questions!

‘Tis a good day in Mrs. Jones’ world…

Let’s Face It…

Thursday, September 11th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

It’s taken me 28 years to admit this, but…

I’m a morning person.

I like the crisp clean air…the still, quietness that surrounds the city…the calm before the storm of the day’s event…

It’s also my most productive time. I’m amazed how much I can get done an hour before school starts.

On the flip side…afternoons stink! I have very little to show for my two hours spent in my classroom after school working (if you call reading google reader and checking out drphil.com “working”)!

A Rather Random Update

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 | Sara the Teacher, Sara the Wife | No Comments

This first week of school seems to be going quickly! I have met all of my students and they appear to be a good group. Their mathematical level is very low (some of them are still struggling with “borrowing/regrouping!”), but I’m up for the challenge. It’s somewhat of a welcome relief after all the teachers I’ve come in contact with these past few weeks. I’m “home” again!

Several of my students from last year have stopped in to say “hello” over the past couple of days. The high school campus is right next door to the middle school. It’s good to see them again. They are growing up. This year’s kids seem so much younger and don’t know “my ways” yet. I will not worry though; I’ll whip them into shape soon enough and will cherish them as much as the others (I hope).

I’ve been listening to John Mayer‘s latest release “Where the Light Is, Live in Los Angeles.” WOW! Is he ever a good blues guitarist! I can’t get enough of this two-disc set! I think my new favorite song (at least for this week) is “In Your Atmosphere.” Whew…good stuff.

My cousin Emily (yes, she’s my cousin) had an awesome post yesterday! Sure is cool to work on the Warner Bros lot… Go here to read about jamba juice and zac levi…

Nate and I had an incredibly relaxing weekend over the Labor Day holiday. We were given an amazing gift of a getaway weekend at the Four Season’s Biltmore in Santa Barbara. We got hot stone massages, ordered room service, had a champagne brunch, rode bikes to Stearn’s Warf and lounged by the pool. It was AMAZING! It was our first experience with such luxury. Our cottage was across the street from the beach and we listened to the ocean 24/7. It was true bliss! I shall write more details about our weekend at another time.

Until next time, friends, I hope you all are making a smooth transition back into the regular schedules and routines the Fall brings…

Here We Go Again…

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher, Sara the Wife | No Comments

It’s a new school year!

Surprisingly, I’m *not* singing the end-of-summer blues like I was last year. It’s been a good summer, and I’m grateful for some time off.

Some of my summer highlights include:

spending a week in Tahoe with Nate’s parents and the Stewart family
taking a tour of the Warner Brothers Studios (thanks, Emily!)
spending a weekend thrift-store shopping with my grandma and mom
having lunch with some neat women
traveling to Philadelphia and New York for my precious friend’s wedding
spending lots of busy (but fun) days with our friends Dan and Sandra (I miss you guys!)
spending the weekend with my beautiful friend Taryn
watching the Los Angeles Galaxy play a few games at the Home Depot Center
running the America’s Finest City Half-Marathon (in San Diego)
watching as much Olympics as NBC could air

In addition to all of this “fun” stuff, I had the opportunity to do some staff development (a.k.a. “teaching teachers”) in the Stockton Unified School District and Compton Unified School District. Both were very interesting experiences! I think I expected a little too much from these teachers. I thought they would be great students, excited about learning a new math program. Boy was I wrong! There were a few teachers who eagerly accepted our teaching, but I was surprised by how many teachers were very, very difficult students. I even caught a few teachers cheating (copying homework from others, answering test questions together, etc.). I was so disappointed! I really did not expect to be in the presence of a bunch of overgrown, whiny 8th graders! Alas, it was not all bad. It was a great experience and I actually had fun (after all, just like in my classroom, I had to convince these people that what I had to say was interesting and important…a challenge I love). Who knows if this experience will lead me elsewhere, but I was grateful for a few weeks of something new (and a little extra money on the side).

So, now, more than ever, I’m ready to go back to my classroom. I’m excited and the back-to-school nightmares are minimal. Despite the many, many challenges our schools face in the state of California this year, I am thankful for a new school year and a great job.

I *love* new beginnings…

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i think she really means it…