It's Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week and I'm Already Behind! | Mentoring in the Middle

It's Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week and I'm Already Behind!



There's this wonderful blog-hopping that started on Monday and I was out of town.  So I'll start today and just add my name to the 400-some teachers who've already posted.  How cool is that?  Thank you Blog Hoppin!



1) Let's start at the beginning.  I am an enigma.  I believe very strongly that women are smart and shouldn't be afraid to show it. I also love to cook things from scratch, make my own bread, and "put up" things from our garden and local farms.  Here's some corncob jelly I made last week.  It tastes like honey!


2) My grandparents came from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany.  My parents were born in Austria.  I was born in France, although my parents were American citizens by then.  So my children are the first generation in my family to be born in the U.S.

3)  My husband and I planned a short get-away this past weekend.  We decided to extend it by going to Cherry Springs State Park, the darkest spot in the United States, east of the Mississippi.  It's just a couple of hours from our house.  One of my daughters (who just happens to be a professional photographer) came with us for that night.  Here's a shot she took of the Milky Way.  As beautiful as this picture is, it doesn't even begin to capture how amazing it was to sit out under the many, many, many stars!  Talk about feeling like you're in the palm of God's hand.    

And then, to make things even cooler, Carly posted this picture on her tumblr blog, and it got picked to be the log-in page! (Yeah, momma's proud!)

4)  I love to read!  I generally have five or six books going at a time.  Three in my classroom for read-alouds, one with each class (more on that later) and one that I read silently when they do.  Then, usually one or two at home.  Works for me.

5)  I get bored easily.  The thought of reading the same books for read-aloud each year makes me cringe!  I can't even read the same book to each of my Cores.  So I always read one for each Core, based on what I think they would like/might need.  Sometimes I'll repeat a book from one year to the next, but it's rare that a book gets read a third year.  There are just too many good books out there.

6)  I am falling in love with British TV.  I really enjoyed Downton Abbey, even though we didn't start watching it until the third season (and stopped and watched DVD's to get caught up).  Then a friend lent us copies of Larkrise to Candleford, another a period piece.  Almost as good and "Mr. Bates" was in that one too.  We're almost finished watching the fourth and final season.  Need to get that done before I go back to school next week!

7)  I am a really slow runner.  But I can't explain it.  I just love to get outside and feel the air on my face.  Can't run on a treadmill unless I absolutely have to.  Put me outdoors at any time of year, and I'm a happy camper.

8)  Years ago, I had my palm read by a woman in Louisville, KY.  Everyone at this restaurant said she was amazing, and she did have some interesting things to say.  One of them was that she saw me living near the water.  I'm still waiting.  And no, my flooded basement doesn't count!

9)   If I had all the money in the world to spend, I'd travel.  And go to see live theater.  And have a getaway near the ocean.  And then, I'd give the rest of it away.  There's only so much you can spend on yourself before it gets tiring.  I think.  I don't know, cause I'm a teacher!

10)  I love watching my children turn into young adults!  Here's a picture of them that was taken just yesterday 12 years ago (!) hiking in the mountains.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better.  Now I'm off to read about some other great teachers in this blogiverse!


                                                                                              

4 comments

  1. What an amazing picture! I would love to see the night's sky like that!

    Hunter's Teaching Tales
    Find me on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That picture is so small it doesn't do it justice. There were just millions of stars in the sky, everywhere you looked. It was pretty amazing! I just sat there with a big grin on my face the whole time!

      Delete
  2. Marion, you seem like such a creative and adventurous person! Your jelly looks amazing...I'd love to eat some right now! Have a great year ahead.

    We Heart Edu

    ReplyDelete
  3. I bet my relatives know your relatives!
    I agree: Flooded basements do not count as living near the water!
    I'm glad I now know that you are a reader. Now I know where to go to get book recommendations.
    I hope you have a wonderful new school year...

    Kim
    Finding JOY in 6th Grade

    ReplyDelete