Goldie Blox-Helping Girls become Engineers?

By now, I hope you have seen this video.

This week I had it sent to me 3 times, once from my sister, once from a co-worker and another from a follower on Twitter.

Finally, I took the two minutes to watch it.

I wasn't amazed.

I know that kids can do this. I see it everyday in my STEM classroom. The skeptic in me knows for these three girls to make a Rube Goldberg of this magnitude it would have taken months.

Last year, my 7th graders made their own Rube Goldberg's out of everyday household materials. They made them out of a 12 x 12 square of plywood. It took them over a month to come up with ideas, put them on paper and then they had to create their simple machines to transfer energy from one groups device to another. They tried and tried and failed. Then, they improved. They failed and got frustrated but when it worked, they were so happy.

One of my classes was successful with their energy transfers and one of them was not. Those Rube Goldberg's took a lot of time and dedication. There were days when I thought they were just wasting time, but I tried not to intervene unless it was really bad.

But, the point is--the world needs Goldie Blox. Most schools don't have STEM programs. They don't have Project Lead the Way. Goldie Blox could give girls the opportunity to start building and innovating.

I have found that my girls are the ones who are really good at building--even if they are working on something that involves ugly, cold metal. (Also known as VEX kits.) They do such a great job, they have more patience than the boys, and they even think about aesthetics.

So, if you have a daughter and you want to get her something different for Christmas-maybe you should look into Goldie Blox?

Inspiring creativity in class

There is a debate occurring in STEM right now--adding an A to make it STEAM.

I have been thinking a lot about differentiation this year. I have some awesome Gifted and Talented kids in my 8th grade Gateways to Technology class--in fact over 50% of my class is GT. I had the pleasure of teaching them last year as 7th graders and I know they need to be challenged.

This year, thanks to my recent obsession with Twitter, I decided to incorporate Genius Hour in my classes--at least in my 7th and 8th grade classes. I wanted to add the creativity component and I was hoping Genius Hour could help with that.

Here is a link of everything you might want to know about Genius Hour:

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/829279

So, in looking at how Genius Hour has gone--the 8th graders have done a fantastic job. Honestly, I knew they would.

We had a group that made their own water color paints out of cornstarch. Then, they created a huge mural and titled it, 'Psychedelic Frog.'

Another group found my styrofoam cutter (taught themselves how to use it) and made several airfoils. They then used my Pitsco wing tester to test their airfoils.

A third group taught themselves how to use Gamemaker and made a game. They added music and their own sprites.

A fourth group wanted to make a restaurant/sports bar. They research land that was available and actually made a menu and a game in Minecraft.

These were just some examples. I was thoroughly impressed.

Some changes I made: I had told them we would have a different due date. I thought most of the first projects would take until Thanksgiving, but as they started to finish or they looked like they were on vacation, I changed the due date to mid October--making them finish up earlier. The 8th graders hated having to rush. The 7th graders needed the earlier due date or they would have gotten into big trouble.

Also, It was hard for me to not have them fill out some sort of reflection at the end of each class period. So I added an exit ticket. I graded them on what they learned by reflecting in their blog.

Today, when I told my students to bring their supplies because tomorrow was Genius Hour, they got very excited.

Some kids tried to propose that we do Genius Hour two days a week.

Can't wait to see what the kids come up with this round of Genius Hour!

Scary times to be a teacher

Maybe I am just overly emotional today.

But in the wake of two school shootings two days in a row, I will admit I held my baby girl a little tighter this morning.

Yesterday was one of those days that I just felt unsafe as a teacher.

I can't go into many specifics, but the days are becoming a little more frequent.

I hate that this has to come up at all.

School used to be the safest place you could be.

It was where you would go during a tornado, or to seek shelter during a hurricane.

People used to look at teachers as heros.

Now, crazed children are showing up to school with guns and box cutters.

I just want to see smiles on my students faces.

I just want to be safe at work and be able to go home at night and not worry about my students or my own safety.

I think I would smile a lot less

It was a year ago today that the hubby and I went to the doctor for what we thought was a "normal" doctors appointment, only to be told that the doctor was concerned that our Kedzie was not growing properly and we had to be induced.

Thankfully, she is totally fine.

So, as it has been one year (give or take a technical day), I can say being a mom has changed my life.

I didn't know how fast babies grow.

I didn't know how much I would love this little girl.

I didn't know how fun it is to be a mom.

I didn't know how much I would love to see her smile and even better--laugh. (Man, I will do some of the craziest things, if I can get a laugh.)

At one year, our girl:

Has 4 teeth

Can walk

Can crawl super fast (it seriously is another level)

Loves her Labrador Retriever, Chauncey

Smiles all the time (especially for the camera)

Loves carbohydrates

Is into everything (I can tell where she has gone, because she leaves a path of destruction in her wake)

Sleeps on her belly with her butt up in the air

Hates getting her diaper changed

Loves bathtime and water in general


We think she is pretty amazing.

And, I know for a fact without her in our life--we would be so bored.

I know I would smile a lot less.

Happy (early) Birthday, Kedzie Emmalyn.

How time flies....pictures for a one year old

I had put a request out to my friends on Facebook about a month ago, looking for a photographer to take pictures for our almost one year old.

I had gotten a recommendation from one friend, and after that three or four more people recommended her. I e-mailed her and she had a date available before Kedzie's birthday. She was actually running a discount because she had some new ideas from Pinterest. It was a sign--I was sure of it.

Since Kedzie has been born we had gotten her pictures from Walmart and Sears. We had always wanted those super cute and fancy pictures (You know the ones where the baby is camouflaged like a green bean or wrapped so tightly in a papoose?) but we are totally too cheap to buy them.

But, the discount was too good to pass up. And, she'll only turn one--once.

To prepare for today, last weekend I went to HEB to order some helium balloons and a little smash cake. The pictures were scheduled to begin at 9:30am, so I knew I would be in a bit of a time crunch. The balloon lady was really hesitant to promise that the balloons would be ready by 8:30. She went on and on about how busy they were--but her manager overheard and told me that she personally would see that the order was completed in time.

This morning I hurried to get ready and headed to HEB. The balloons were at the counter all ready to go. Then, when I went to the bakery the lady told me that they were late taking the smash cake out of the freezer and it wasn't ready yet. She told me it would be ready to go in about ten minutes. Ugh. So, I wandered around the store until it was ready.

As I was leaving HEB, I heard a train in the distance. I was hoping it was really far away....sadly it was not and it turned into the world's longest train. Six minutes later, I was finally on my way back home.

Luckily, hubby was at home and he was able to feed Kedzie a nice big breakfast.

When I got home, I changed her into her first outfit for her pictures. Some cute jeans and a sparkly shirt--as soon as I sat her up, she spit up all over her shirt. Nice.

Could anything else go wrong? Did I mention that the baby decided it would be a good idea to wake up at 1:49 in the morning the night/morning of the pictures? Hubby went in to comfort her and ended up taking her downstairs to the recliner. After an hour, I could her signs of Daddy frustration, so I headed downstairs to help. A bottle, a diaper change and two books later--I finally got her back to sleep.

We pulled up to the photographers house with several bags in tow. I was nervous--until the camera came out. From then on, things went wonderfully. Kedzie smiled for every picture and through four outfit changes. She even kept the headbands on her head!

If you are looking for a photographer in the Kyle/Buda, Texas area, I highly recommend 'Our Lovin Lens.' Amber is awesome. She shares her props, even has outfits/headbands if you need them. She is great with kids.

Changes in my classroom for 2013-2014

Last week was the first week of school with kids.

It had its positives and it had a few negatives.

Mostly positive was that I got to see my old students who I get to teach again. Due to the nature of my class, there is a possibility that I can teach many of my students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade. This year I am seeing about 65% of the 6th graders I taught the year prior. That has some negatives as far as behavior, but it is really nice to know the names of all my kids in 4 of my 6 classes.

I also get to teach 14 of my 7th graders from last year--they are now 8th graders and the most awesome kids I could ever fathom to teach. Most of them are Gifted and Talented--and the few who aren't probably need to be referred. They are a bit chatty, but we also have the best discussions. They are 100% my guinea pigs, as they are first hour and I don't technically have a curriculum for them. I get to create what we are going to learn and I love it. We are starting blogs on Tuesday (via kidblogs.com) and I also rolled out genius hour to them last week. (If you don't know about genius hour, you should check it out:  http://www.geniushour.com/ ) They were so excited. One group wanted to improve on the airfoils they created last year. Another group wanted to make electricity out of lemons and light up a football field. Another group wants to make their own watercolors and recreate a masterpiece (or create their own)....tbd. I was pretty happy to see how excited they were. I hope to keep the momentum going.

I also have a twitter page for my class, @wmsgtt. I haven't taught my kids how to use twitter yet, but once I do--I am hoping I can convince several of them to sign up.

We also have some really fancy cupboards and bookshelves that were brought in for storage. It is really going to help alot when we start building playgrounds, wiring some electrical circuits, and building with the VEX kits.

I am pretty excited for the year. It is a bit challenging because I have 3 preps that are not doing anything close to each other. I am also still trying to get my knee stronger after my surgery--but I am hopeful in another month I should be good to go.

Is it bad to admit I am ready to go back to work?

This summer has been fun. We took a few trips, went to some fun places--but I am ready to start this school year.

Recovering from my knee surgery has been harder than I thought. My knee is still really swollen--and my physical therapist has really been on my case to take it easy.  Well, it's really hard to take it easy when you have a ten month old. I love Kedzie to pieces but she is into everything.

Yesterday, I brought her to work for an hour and she was into (literally) my desk. She had opened my hot cocoa drawer and I noticed she was drooling a lot more than usual. She was also fussing a bit. I finally pried her mouth open and realized there was a thumbtack in her mouth! I checked her over and things seemed fine--no blood/puncture wounds, but it was scary. Of course when I mentioned it to my hubby he freaked out on me.

Then this morning as I was getting ready, I saw she had spit up. Then, she started to get sick. Dry heaving and everything.. It looked like white chunks and I realized she had gotten ahold of a sliver of Dove soap. Granted, her mouth smells clean and after doing some googling I think she will be fine...and I don't think she will have bubbles in her diaper tomorrow....but seriously. Not sure if I will mention this incident to hubby.

I think she will be safer at my parents house. It's not that I don't pay attention to her, she is so darn fast. I haven't started running in physical therapy yet.

And then I feel guilty. Aren't moms supposed to feel sad about going back to work? I know a few of my coworkers have been posting on Facebook about how sad they are about going back to work.

I just want to keep my daughter safe.