Internship and End of 1st year of teaching

Ty is in California doing his internship with Ambiance Interiors. He loves it and they love him. I think it has been a great experience for him so far. He loves seeing the things he has been learning actually used and applied in the work force. While he has been doing some design work, he also been working on the sales end of interior design as well. It has also been interesting for him to see different aspects of running a business.
While Ty has been in California (living with my family no less) I have been stuck in Idaho. We have three weeks left of the school year which seems crazy. While it is hard to see it now when everyone (teachers and students alike) is ready for the summer and school to be over, this has really been a great first year of teaching. I have had a great class (and very small at 20 students), great colleagues/mentors, and great moments and experiences that make you want to keep teaching. Next week we have the 6th Grade Track Meet to look forward to, and later we are going to the zoo and the park. There are so many things going on that I only have about 6 teaching days left. YIKES!
For those who haven't heard, I will be teaching 1st grade next year. While I enjoyed the 6th graders this year, I am looking forward to the change. There will definitely be some adjustments, however, so I will be doing a lot of studying this summer.
Ambiance Interiors loves Ty so much that they asked him to stay for the rest of the summer. At least I get to be with in about a month (after school gets out and I take a class). It will be nice to be with family as well. I am most looking forward to the beach and camping!

Photography Business

Ty has a client set up who is going to pay him for his photography! Since then, he has been busy working up his portfolio (including borrowing the neighbors), finding new locations, and working out a price list. I love being his "assistant" and tagging along with him on these photo shoots. When he is taking pictures, Ty is really "in the zone." I love seeing him so happy when he is behind the camera.
I am also amazed at Ty's natural ability. He has a natural eye for his photos and for color/saturation/etc. when using photoshop. In his new business opportunity he has also been reading and watching internet clips about how to take better pictures. This is really how he learns! Watching the food network is how he learned to cook and watching HGTV is how he learned about interior design. Ty wants to add a third major in photography, but I honestly don't think he needs it. I am so proud of Ty and I am so happy that he has this creative outlet.
You may see his photos at http://mooretn.blogspot.com. He is also working on creating a website, however that is still under construction.

camera

I guess the biggest news as of late is that we finally saved up enough money to buy a really nice professional Nikon camera. (Plus Ty found one that was refurbished and therefore cheaper.) We love it! Since we bought the camera, we have found many opportunities to use it. One example is that we invited some of our friends to do a photo scavenger hunt with us for Family Home Evening one night. Each couple had a few minutes to first make the list for the other couple. Then we switched lists and had 30 minutes to take pictures of as many things as we could. Here are some of the pictures we took....




We had a ton of fun and got some great pictures!

blogger

I have determined that I want to be a blogger. So Ty helped me figure this whole thing out and let me really make this mine. I think blogging is a great way to share what is going on in our lives. Granted, not much is going on in our lives right now...it is pretty much the same routine everyday. However, I want to find things in our lives to blog about. I hope this will include pictures and anecdotes and memories. At the very least, I hope it keeps people updated. Be watching for some great stuff....

Rethinking Education (by Natalia)

I have recently started a job as a permanent substitute in a 6th grade classroom (by permanent I mean I will be teaching there for the rest of the school year.) It has been an interesting experience and I wanted to share some thoughts.
First of all, there are many challenges with taking over a class in the middle of the year. The past couple of days I have been really drained and down and wondering if I can do this. The students wouldn't take me seriously, it felt like pulling teeth to be able to get them to do anything, etc.
When I was first assigned to the job, I was worried about creating normalcy for the students and consistency. I wanted to make things the way they were with their previous teacher. However, come to find out, I was failing miserably. I think the teacher I worked with during student teaching had rubbed off on me and I was actually doing things his way.
I realized that, now that this is my class for the rest of the year, I need to make it my own. I need to teach according to my teaching style, make the room mine, and be myself. I was too busy trying to be someone else before.
So this weekend I have been rethinking education. I have turned the room upside down (it is pretty empty right now) and will arrange the furniture and bulletin boards my way. I have also been thinking about my teaching style and how to implement that into my teaching this year.
I am really excited about some of my ideas and now I have new energy to do what I need to do. I also think that my attitude is reflected in the kids, so when I am more comfortable (and even happy) in what I am doing, they will be too.
I love teaching! And I am grateful for this challenging opportunity when I finally get to do things my way.

1 Year Anniversary

We have been married one year! Memories of "Our First Year"
- Thanksgiving in Oregon
- driving to our first apartment in a moving van (hauling Ty's car)
- Christmas and New Year's in California
- Gemma came to visit
- the most amazing Valentine's Day EVER! complete with flower pedals and candles and really good food
- Service Activities retreats
- having our single friends over for dinner, movies, and games
- moving and painting
- Bryce and Jamie's wedding
- Easter with our niece and nephew
- Easter photo shoot
- Charity's graduation
- Anthony David Wardle sealed to us for time and eternity
- a month away from each other as I worked in California
- camping in Utah
- my college graduation
- snuggling
- Sunday naps
- school
It has been a great year!

Keeping my Head Above Water

I just needed to get some thoughts out there and thought this way it would update people about how/what I am doing at the same time.
Student Teaching is hard. In fact, it's crazy hard. There is so much to do: plan, teach, make copies, grade papers, put scores in the gradebook, work sample, etc. Most of the time I feel like I am just trying to keep my head above water. I should be taking more care into planning everything I teach. However, I am so busy that I end up 'winging' some of the lessons. Then they aren't as well thought out or well delivered and turn into management nightmares because I didn't think and work out all the kinks ahead of time.
I feel like my students don't have any respect for me and they walk all over me. Even when I get mad and turn into the "dictator" (which I hate doing) they don't take me seriously. Yesterday, I just came home and cried. It is so stressful.
Because I am still a student I have assignments that I have to do myself, on top of planning and being a full time teacher. It's insane. I have been focusing on my work sample lately but then other lessons fall through the cracks. All I ever do is plan and schedule and plan and schedule because no matter how much I plan or schedule something gets in the way and I have to re-plan and reschedule.
Not to mention that my house is a mess and my dishes don't get done because I am so stressed out, focused on, and busy with everything else I have to do (including a religion class in order to get 12 credits because student teaching is only 10 credits and in order to get Financial Aid I have to be taking 12 credits.)
I am not really doing the best I can for the students. At this point I am just trying to survive and get through it. That is not a good place to be as a teacher. I wish I had more time to plan so we could do more fun activities without ensuing chaos.

On a brighter note:
I am going to be teaching "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen starting next week! This is a book I loved when I was in 6th grade and I am SO excited to teach it. I can't wait!
I also have the best husband in the world who will just hold me tight and let me know that he is there and that he loves me when I come home from school crying and there isn't anything he can do about it. I am so grateful for that.