RISING ABOVE

 I don't think that I will post these every month, but I really like how this activity turned out. I knew that going in to a new year, I wanted to focus on an idea that would help my students think about being better and push themselves to be better. Hence, I chose Rising Above.

This is the finished board. Each student was given an arrow page that I designed (see below for more detail).

 This one is my son's. I can do that because I have parental permission to use it on-line. :) Each student wrote in the arrow one or more things they want to do this month to RISE ABOVE. I love how these turned out with all the excuses I hear from students on the bottom half of the page in a faded gray.

 This is what went in the student journals. I printed these from the Foundation for a Better Life's web page.

I know that these are making a difference for many of my students. I have several each month who ask what we are going to focus on next.

What is YOUR goal to RISE ABOVE?

Later...

Snow People (Life Size) Project

I have done snow people glyphs almost every year for the last 5 years. However, last year I got a crazy idea to do them life size. I decided to wait until this year with my son's class to actually try it.

 Let's just say that the 45 minutes I had planned for this activity to take were FAR from enough. I figured since I had created an example (well, okay, my wife had), made up a good instruction board for the SMART board, and walked around and helped, that we would easily be finished.

NOPERS!

However, I will say that they turned out awesome. The kids measured their height and then marked it on their large white sheet of butcher paper. From there they made the snowballs to match their glyph key paper.

 I must say that hanging them up was an adventure. If you do this project and you have very many kids, reserve the main hallway for your display. I had to take over part of the fifth grade hall space (sorry Mr. Parsons) and even then I had to hang four of the eighteen snow people on and near my classroom door. I was hoping to have them all in one large group. But, as you can see, it all worked out okay. So enjoy the view of  the "6th Grade 2012 Winter Edition".

( Notice I re-purposed my hand-tree)

Will I do it again? Probably. The kids LOVED how they turned out and I can't wait to hear what they have to say as they see them in the morning for the first time hung on the wall.

I hope you feel inspired to try a project as big as life!

Later...

2011: A Year in Review

With 2011's last minutes ticking away, it is once again time to share highlights from the past year in An Educator's Life. It has been one heckava ride to say the least. So, without further ado, lets begin by reviewing what my hopes for 2011 were last December 31st! Silly me...

Recap of "Looking Forward in 2011"(from last year's post):

January:
-Take my Praxis test (okay, this isn't really "really good", but it is a necessary step in completing my program!)
-My daughter is getting baptized (and she is very excited about it!)

February:
-Find out if I passed my Praxis test (oh please let it be good news!)

April:
-Welcome our little girl in to our home. (It is supposed to be in May, but we are thinking that with life the way it is going, and past pregnancies, April it should be!)

-Hope to have a way to transport my whole family. I know our van seat is out there somewhere...here little van seat...come here little van seat!

May:
-Complete my Master's Program and hopefully attend my graduation at the U of U (and YES you are coming MOM, and NO, you are NOT wearing BYU blue-lol :) )

June-December:
-Enjoy life as a regular teacher with NO Masters classes, NO administrative positions, and time to clean out my shed, plant grass in the backyard, clean my classroom, organize my books (all 4000+), and most importantly...spend time with my cute little family.
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So, is this what came to pass? So, now that we have reviewed what all my hopes and dreams were, lets take a peek and what really went down in the Hughes Family saga.

What Really Happened in 2011:

January:

-I headed to the U of U to take my Praxis test. That was both a wonderful time (had lots of fun during the NOT testing times) and a Yucky time (hated those 4 hours- felt like I had 20 minutes to do all the writing and questing answering!).


-My daughter turned eight and was baptized. She was very, very excited. She is such a sweetheart. We wouldn't know what to do without our little princess.
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February:

-Found out the results of my Praxis test. What an adventure THAT was!


-Survived what seemed to be the plague in our house (including the case of the Dangeraffe).


-Started my short-lived Victory series.
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March:

-I visited our newly erected monument called the Golden Ratio.


-I was able to order my cap and gown for my graduation in May. Wahoo!
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April:


-Our little princess was born.
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May:


-Was introduced to Fraboom and enjoyed working with the designer/creator (and I still do...).


-Graduated from the University of Utah with my Masters in Educational Leadership.


-My wife became very ill with an infection from her C-Section.


-Celebrated having been married for 12 wonderful years to my wife.


-and Last, but not least, nearly lost my wife to severe illness in which she was in the hospital for almost 5 weeks. 27 days in the ICU, and another 4-5 in a regular room. You can read the whole story HERE. You will need to back track to the first post and then read forward)
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June:


-We spent most this month in the hospital. 


-We did make it home by the 19th of the month. It was a long and scary month. One that I would rather NOT ever redo.
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July:


-Made an emergency visit to the ER in Provo. We thought my wife had developed another infection. That was fun.... NOT!


-Celebrated the 4th of July AT HOME!


-Celebrated my 4 year-old's birthday (AND had a dr. appointment in Provo)


-Was the recipients of a large out pouring of love and support at a benefit dinner in our behalf. This event was put on by some pretty amazing ladies here in town. We still can't thank them enough.


-Celebrated the birthday of my youngest son. That was a wonderful celebration with family and friends.
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August:


-Our family went to my wife's family family reunion (that just doesn't look right, but I am pretty sure it is).


-School started. This year I am teaching my oldest.
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September:


-Survived another Melon Days.


-Pulled off another Pirate Week in my classroom.


-Attended Christmas in September (birthday party for a close and dear friend) as well as had a mini-family vacation.


-My son got his Arrow of Light award in Cub Scouts.
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October:


-Had my 36th birthday. Yippee...wahooooo....just great....
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November:


-Decided to share more "school" ideas on my blog. Like THIS, THIS, and THIS.
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December:


-Started SMART mentor training. I know...I know. Why do I do this to myself?


-Elfed my children in our annual Elf Yourself Event.


-Our family was the recipient of a random act of kindness and it was VERY MUCH appreciated.


-The kids were able to visit good ol' Santa Claus at the firehouse again this year.
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This years predictions for what is to come...


Due to the fact that my crystal ball is in the shop for repairs, I can't really make any predictions for the coming year.


I guess I could safely say there will be whining and gnashing of teeth about the rough life of a teacher. I mean, after all, what fun would it be to read this blog if I didn't throw in a bit of the "woe is me" every now and then.


All I hope for 2012 is that my family will continue to be happy, healthy-ish, and can move forward through all that we have survived this past year. From my wife's near death to my 4year old needing dental surgery due to a lame dentist here in town, we have a lot to still overcome. But, nothing, and I mean nothing is going to hold us back. Thanks for being a loyal reader. I appreciate your thoughtful comments.


I wish all of my readers a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR!


We will return in the new and glorious year of 2012!!!!

Later....

Merry Christmas

I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons.

Later...

A Visit From St. Nick

We went to the firehouse today for the annual visit with St. Nick. It was fun to see the kids excited to see the jolly old elf. While we were waiting, My two youngest were more than happy to give hugs for the camera. What a cuties they are!

My little boy was SO sweet. He was very anxious to climb on Santa's lap, but once he was there, he gave Santa a HUGE hug. It was really sweet to see him do that. He also proudly told Santa that he wanted Lego's for Christmas. Way to go buddy!

My oldest wasn't too sure about sitting on Santa's lap this year. It is hard to see my son getting all big and old-ish. He is quite the young man. He is in to sports, hanging with his friends, and technology. He is hoping for drums or a Kindle Fire...Good luck with that my friend....

My oldest daughter wanted a picture with her sister on Santa's lap. So we did a quick picture of them together. Such cute girls. Love them both very much!

My second son is at a curious age. He is attentive, clever, and observant. He is also the middle child and has the attitude to match (wo is me, I am so picked on). He is hoping to get a cell phone from Santa. He wants to be able to take pictures, film videos, and listen to music. Last year, when he got a scooter and not his money and what ever else, he threw down his gift and pouted. Curious to see if Santa come through this year or not. 

   Here is the ham and cheese of our family. With out this child, we would rarely have anything to share with you on our Moments with the Hughes Family blog. He was a little nervous to get up there (and it was funny to watch Santa grunt as he hefted him up) but once he was there he too was ready to spill his Christmas wishes to Santa. This child is hoping to get an Innotab System this year. Seriously? More technology? Sigh...

When my daughter had her turn she was a little shy, but not unwilling. She climbed on up and told Santa that she wanted an Easy-Bake oven for her Christmas. Interesting choice, to say to least. I guess I can have her whip me up a batch of cookies if I ever get the rumblies that only cookies can satisfy! Yea!

Little miss was not at ALL into Santa. She smiled for a moment, tried yanking off his beard, and then broke down into tears. So, needless to say, that one didn't last long at all. 

Well, I guess that wraps up another firehouse with Santa.

It is time to get back to our evening of festivities. Homemade pizza, looking at the lights in town, and opening a gift or two early. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Later..

It is Nice to Be Loved...

This is what we found when we returned from being up North for a couple days. It was nice to arrive home and find assorted goodies and gifts left on our doorstep. My wife said that is was nice to be loved. I couldn't agree more. Thank you to all of our friends and acquaintances who shared come Christmas spirit with our family this season.

Later...

Secret Elves

Little did I know how my day would take a turn for the better. It was a Friday like any other Friday. I taught my class and enjoyed spending time with them. We finished out our morning and I got the students ready to go home.

Just as the final students were leaving, the secretary paged my classroom and said that I was needed in the office immediately. That made me a little nervous and I tried to get there as quickly as possible.

When I made it to the office, I was told that the HUGE box sitting on the counter was mine and that it had been wrongly delivered to the high school. I looked at the label on the box. Sure enough, it had my name and the high school address. The shipper was simply, "For You, Inc.". It was a pretty large box and I was very curious, so I cut the tape and opened it up.

As I folded back the the box flaps, what I saw registered several different emotions. I went from shock, to surprise, to gratitude in the blink of an eye. The box was full of canned goods, boxed foods, and other various sundries. As I scanned the box, I noticed a lid that signaled a home canned good was hiding beneath. Being a fan of canned food, I was anxious to see what tasty morsel was there for me. Imagine my surprise when I lifted the jar and found it full of change. As I turned the jar in my hands, staring unbelieving at the money, I noticed that the bottom was covered with several different denominations of money. The secretary was peeking here and there. I looked at her and she looked at me. "Crazy" or something silly like that was about all that came out of my mouth, but, had my heart been doing the talking, it would have said something like, "This is overwhelming. We have already been given so much, how can we continue to take? We feel so humbled by those who have and continue to do so much for our little family. I am sure that there are others who need this more than we do. I am so thankful for those who are willing to give of themselves to help others. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Thankfully I tend to not be an emotional person, so I didn't shed tears. But it was a very special moment.

We don't know who you are, you giver of love and concern, friendship and selflessness, but we will be ever grateful for your act which exemplifies the true meaning of Christmas. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Later...

A "Giant" Happy Christmas Project

Each time we do a Winter Program at our school, each class is asked to create a decoration to put on the gym walls. Not only does this help with creating a festive atmosphere, it helps the students focus their excited holiday energy on something productive and fun.

This year I decided to dig out the Giant Card project. Not only does it cover several art objectives and forces the students to use their mathematical skills, it allows them to see how important their small piece is the to the success of the whole.

In my eleven years of teaching, I have only done this project twice before. It requires having the students practice copying an image, and then learning to enlarge a photo. I kind of had to rush through that part this year. The kids got about 10 minutes for both.

Next I show the students the card in it's whole form. This is the one this year:

 Next, I hand out small pieces to the students that are numbered so I know what order to put the picture together in. They look like this:

The students put their name on the back of their big blank white square paper and the tile number from the small cut Christmas card. This year I cut 6 inch by 6 inch squares for the students to enlarge their small pieces on. There are 36 squares from this card, and thankfully I had 18 students this year. So, each student did 2 squares. The final project turned out like this (Thanks to my lovely wife for gluing it all down):

I think that it turned out pretty good. If I were to do there this again, and I am sure that I will, I will have the kids work with the students who have tiles around theirs so that they can better align the picture. I also think that I will use a different card.

I hope that this post will inspire you to try something new.

Happy Holidays!

Later...

Elf Yourself 2012

Hope you all have a very merry holiday!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Later...

Reading Is A Gift

Each year at our school, each grade is assigned a month to do the bulletin board in the main hallway. This year I was given the month of December. I enjoy this month because you can do such fun things. When I was teaching in Alpine a few years ago, one of the teachers on my team wanted to do a "hand" tree. So each of the 90 students cut 9-10 hands each, and then we complied them into a mammoth tree. For that tree we used lots of hands cut out on white paper to make the tree look snowy. It was really, really neat. Then the students made ornaments and we "hung" them on the tree.

I knew that this year was the year for the major project. Hand tree it was. I had each student work to cut out 30 hands (they were SO thrilled with that, let me tell you). It took a lot more time than I had hopped for the students to cut the hands. However, we did discover that if the kids fold the paper and trace one hand, they can cut out several at one time. From there, I turned the hands over to my amazing wife, who cut a triangle and then started gluing each hand on, fingers down. 

We decided to go with the theme "Reading Is A Gift". As you can see from the picture below, the board turned out really simple, but eye catching. I love the rope lights that go around it. It makes me feel like I am looking out a large window, with a tree in front.

The students are currently making ornaments that will hang on the tree that will display their favorite book titles. I think it will look great.

Happy Holidays!

Later...