Which NCTM math process standard did you encounter more throughout years of learning mathematics?

Which NCTM math process standard did you encounter more throughout years of learning mathematics?

            I would have to say that problem solving is an area that I remember most during my school years.  Almost every concept learned can be turned into some type of problem to be solved.  Word problems were not my favorite because I would struggle with them at times but with years and years of using them I finally got to the point where I understood what was being asked and was able to complete them with minimal errors.  Problem solving can be in the form of word problems or in just answering a problem such as subtraction or multiplication.  Math revolves around problem solving in its variety of forms.

What NCTM math content standard did you enjoy learning in school?

What NCTM math content standard did you enjoy learning in school?

            My favorite math concept in school was algebra.  I remember my ninth grade year having algebra 1 part 1 with Mrs. Abernathy.  Her method of teaching was to use the overhead projector and review how to use a concept and then reviewing multiple problems until we understood.  We would take turns working on the overhead projector to answer the problems.  I caught on to each concept with ease and enjoyed working each problem.  I felt accomplished and smart after her class.  Fully understanding a concept makes math so fun and I hope that I am able to bring that to my future classroom.  

Why does the atmosphere in the classroom matter?

Why does the atmosphere in the classroom matter?

            The atmosphere is vital in the success of a classroom. Teachers should make their classrooms neat, clean, orderly, and comfortable.  There are many ways to do this.  With the observation that I have been able to do I have seen many different ways to make the atmosphere inviting.  One in particular that sticks out to me, which I remember my teachers doing when I was in school, is to greet the students as they come in by name and with a smile.  This lets them feel like they are special.  Keeping materials in a place that they students know with labels is a great way to keep organized.  Atmosphere matters and can be the make or break point for successful learning.  

How have my experiences influenced my attitude toward teaching math?

How have my experiences influenced my attitude toward teaching math?

            Knowing how hard I had to work to understand math and watching the outcome of my hard work, I want to teach math and help my students learn to love math as much as I do.  Math is one of those subjects where once you understand a concept and can do the work you feel accomplished.  We all want to feel accomplished and we all can once we fully understand the concept being taught.  I want all of my students to feel a sense of accomplishment after my lessons.

How I was taught mathematics throughout my school years.

How I was taught mathematics throughout my school years.

            I loved math during my school years.  I remember struggling at first but once I got it I loved it.  In second grade I struggled a lot.  I was coming from a school district that was very relaxed in its teaching.  My second grade teacher knew this and helped me tremendously.  I remember using manipulatives a lot which really helped.  My teachers were dedicated to making sure that each student learned the material and was confident in moving on to the next lesson.

Easterr 2013

Easter this year was fun.  We had a dinner with some great friends at our house.  Now that we have a house and not an apt it is so nice to entertain and I love it.  We had some friends from church come and some people from Chris' work come as well.  We had tons of food and played some games.  It was a blast.  Chris, Noah, and Kaitlyn were all spoiled rotten by the Easter Bunny.  They are so lucky.

Blessing/Sealing

I haven't blogged in a very long time so I figured I would catch you all up.  So let's start with two amazing experiences our family had in March.

1st---Our adoption of Kaitlyn is now officially final.  It is as if she was born to us.  I remember getting the final decree in the mail and having this overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness.  She is now all ours legally.  Our court date got pushed back almost a week which was very frustrating but a week later we got the call that everything went well and our papers were in the mail.

2nd---We had Kaitlyn blessed at church.  What a wonderful day.  It was super awesome.  I was trying to fight back the tears but couldn't anymore.  When they announced that Chris was to come forward to bless her I lost it.  I was so excited, happy, and felt the spirit so strong that my emotions got the best of me.  I remember smiling all day til my face hurt.  Such an awesome day.

3rd---We had Kaitlyn sealing to us in the Denver, Colorado Temple.  This was by far the best out of the 3.  The spirit was so strong in the Temple that day.  An LDS sealing is when we are sealed together as families forever in a ceremony held in the Temple.  Kaitlyn was so beautiful in all white and her happy little smile.  Noah was able to come in and watch since he was already sealed to us almost 6 years ago.  The happiness we felt in the Temple that day has stuck with us everyday since.  We realize the amazing blessing she is to our family and know that through the miracle of adoption we get to have her as our little girl forever.

Noah is a stud...

Noah had a court of honor.  He got several awards.  I couldn't be more proud of the young man he is becoming.  I look forward to many more court of honors and for him to earn his Eagle Scout.  Noah is a remarkable young man and I absolutely adore him.

Mommy/Daughter Ponytails

So Kaitlyn's hair on the top of her head is long enough for a ponytail so we had mommy/daughter ponytail day where we both sported our ponytails!  Having a little girl is just too much fun!

Kaitlyn turns 6 months old...

Kaitlyn turned 6 months old today.  I cannot believe that she is getting so big already!  I love her cuteness.  She tries to roll over from her back to her tummy but hasn't quite mastered that yet.  She loves baby food, bathtime (with bubbles and lots of splashes), she smiles and giggles all the time, she loves to eat her fingers and her toes, she sits up with help and is getting better and better all the time, she has enough hair for a little ponytail and mini pigtails, she cut her 1st tooth, and she is just so beautiful!  She is such a joy and has brought so much happiness to our family.  I can't imagine life without her!

So since she is now 6 months we let her have her 1st taste of real people food.  Noah's 1st food was a breadstick from little caesers.  Kaitlyn's was a cheesestick from pizza hut!  hahahahahaha SHE LOVED IT!
Oh and check out her cute pigtails!!!!

Snow Day!

So apparently Colorado is not as equipped as Utah is when it comes to snow.  It snowed about 4 inches and school closed and so did post.  Chris got to come home early and surprise us with a day at home with all four of us.  When he came home we were outside taking Kaitlyn on the sled for the 1st time.  She just sat there like "whatever" and we were all having a great time.  I really enjoy being a mother to two amazing kids and the wife to one amazing man.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are my two little Valentine's!

Nana came to visit...

My mom came to visit us and meet Kaitlyn for the 1st time in person.  I have been waiting for this to happen for so long.  It was so much fun.  We laughed, shopped, ate, and just enjoyed each others company.  Kaitlyn and I got to go to pick up my mom.  Here is us waiting for Nana at the airport...

My mom and I were able to get pedicures and manicures together.  This is something that we both enjoy and it is always tons more fun when we can do it together.

Nana enjoyed her time loving all over Kaitlyn and Noah got to teach her how to shoot his airsoft gun in our garage.  It was great.  We also got to go see a movie while she was here and eat out a ton.  We went to Texas Roadhouse one night and I told the people it was her birthday.  She had to sit on the saddle while they sang to her.  hahahahahaha It was great!

Nana was able to go to church with us and she also made herself at home helping out in the kitchen.  Boy is it great when your mom comes to visit!  I love her so much.  She is not only my mom but she is my best friend.

Trip to the ER and down some stairs...

Kaitlyn is finally ready to start eating some baby food.  We have been trying her with it since she was about 4 1/2 or 5 months old.  Each week we would introduce a new food.  We started with squash and then went to Hawaiian delight (because her dad loves that stuff), gave her apples, and then introduced BANANAS!  Well miss Kaitlyn loves her some bananas but they don't like her so much.  She broke out in a rash all over her face.  Nothing serious but she needed to be seen by a Dr.  The Dr's office was closed so I asked Chris if he would take her to the ER while I took Noah to his Scout Court of Honor.  Noah was getting some awards so we didn't want to miss it and like I said Kaitlyn was fine just wanted to get a Dr's opinion.

I think Kaitlyn was just happy to be naked.  She loves to only wear her diaper and loves it even more when you take it off for bathtime and diaper changing time.  She is too funny!

Noah did great at his Court of Honor.  He lead the flag ceremony and got several awards.  He is such a great scout and he loves it.  So on our way out the back of the church we noticed it started snowing, bad!  We walked out the back of the church and well...I slipped down several stairs and bruised my butt pretty bad.  Luckily no one saw but Noah.  He got a good laugh out until he realized I was really hurt.  We hurried to the car so I could get out a good cry.  My butt was bruised really bad and I had a rough time for about a week or two afterward.  It was horrible.  Good new though is that Kaitlyn was fine and Noah got tons of awards.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

I love animals so one of my favorite things to do is go to the zoo.  Noah loves the zoo too and Kaitlyn had never been so we wanted to get her to the zoo to see all the animals.

Chris had the day off from work and Noah was out of school because of Martin Luther King Jr. day.  It wasn't that cold so we figured we would spend the afternoon checking out the animals.  One bad part was the Elephants were not there because they are redoing their living area but the rest was awesome.

 Kaitlyn almost got licked by the giraffe.  It was funny.  She just looked at them all bug eyed.

 That tongue is nasty looking!  Looked like a giant slug!  GROSS!

Noah was having a blast too.  He made us all go on the ski lift to the top of the mountain.  I actually did really well and didn't have a panic attack which is a miracle since I am terrified, not just scared, terrified of heights!

 The wonderful ski lift.  We ended up having to sing to Katerbuggs cause she didn't like it about half way up and half way down.  hahaha

 Noah really likes the Okapi's.  In 5th grade he did a report on them so he likes to tell us all about them each time we see them.  He is just so smart and I love it.

 Checking out all the monkey's.  They had a ton of them and we got to see one picking fleas off the other one.  Kind of gross!  

 Boogs (don't ask, that is just her nickname we ended up for her) fell asleep before we made it to the bears.  That is the only thing she missed.  No big deal cause when we go home to Virginia this summer we are going to the Richmond Metro Zoo so she will get to see some there.

And of course we had to stop at the gift shop.  Noah got a tube full of sugar, Kaitlyn got a "Goodnight Zoo" book, and then we bought a HUGE panda for the kids to share.  It was a great trip. 

I love that Chris works for the Army.  He gets all kinds of holidays off so we are able to spend a lot of time together...well until he deploys that is!

Kaitlyn is 5 Months Old

Today Kaitlyn is 5 months old.  WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE? She is such a little ham.  She is full of smiles and giggles and is such a morning person.  She is eating baby food now and LOVES it.  She is trying to sit up but hasn't quite mastered that yet.  She is also trying to roll from her back to her belly but still needs more practice on that.  She loves to put everything in her mouth.  Her bottom gums are getting a little white so we should be getting some teeth here soon.  She loves to play with her toys.  Her favorite time is bath time and she loves to kick her little legs and make the biggest splashes.  She has a scream that is piercing but she does it just to be cute and well......it is.  She is such a good sport and lets me put her in tutus and take pictures all the time.  This baby is simply adorable and I love being her mommy!

Happy New Year....Bucket List!

Happy New Year!  Usually with a new year we all make new year resolutions which last about a few weeks and then we forget about them and end up living in the moment.  This year my Aunt Kandy had posted that she was making a 2013 Bucket list instead of making resolutions.  This way she can check off items that she has accomplished.  I love this idea.  I was much better at checking off a "to do" or "bucket" list than I am in keeping new year resolutions.  I wanted to share a few ideas that I have for my bucket list for 2013:

• Lose 40 lbs
• Exercise a few times a week
• Finish 2 cross stitch projects
• Get caught up on my scrapbooks
• Make birthday cards for each family member
• Read the Book of Mormon twice
• Read 6 books
• Learn how to use photoshop better
• Complete 100 hours of teacher observation
• Stick to a stick monthly budget
• Start the adoption process again
• Run one mile without stopping
• Plan an overnight getaway with Chris
• Learn 2 new piano pieces
• Have date night twice a month
• Save Money

I have a plan for a few of these times.  Some I got from one of my sister in laws and some I have actually gotten off of facebook.  I am using myfitnesspal.com to lose weight.  The program is great and it is free.  All I have to do is plug in my information and stick to the amount of calories listed to lose weight.  My total goal for the year is to lose 80 lbs but that number scares me so I broke it in half and am hoping for that number by June.  Then I can focus on the remaining 40.  I am working out at the gym with friends a few times a week.  One of my friends introduced me to Fit Mommas.  I get to take Kaitlyn with me and it works your butt off.  Then I have another friend and we go to Zumba.  The days that I do not go to the gym I am doing the insanity videos at home.  So far I have gotten through the warm up.  hahahha  I will eventually make it to the actual workout.  I also have this plan for saving money which is something that I got off of facebook.  Here is the schedule for saving (I am also going to put more in when I can for the most money saved).

All the others I just have to make sure that I am making myself a schedule and sticking to it.  We have some amazing changes coming for our family this year so stay tuned for what's to come!