Dealing with Infertility: Adding to our Family

It is really hard for me to believe that 2015 is coming to a close. We have had a great year.

I got a new job in August as a Digital Learning Coach, the hubby is still Assistant Principal at a school in San Antonio. Our daughter is doing great in "school/daycare." She is starting to get potty trained...still having a few accidents. And, our biggest news is that we are adding to our family!

At the end of May we will be welcoming a little girl. We have no idea what her name will be, but so far, she is healthy.

It wasn't easy for me to get pregnant. We tried for almost two years and had no luck. When I started looking into the root of the issue, the first time I went to the doctor--I had been told it was probably a timing issue.

I went back in June and told my doctor I had a feeling something was off. She ran a bunch of tests. My thyroid was fine (darn, I was hoping that would have explained the weight gain.) She scheduled a hysterosalpingogram--basically where they shoot dye through your fallopian tubes. Sure enough one of my fallopian tubes was blocked. I also have a strange shaped uterus and my hormone levels are a little below normal. Three of the four things you can have wrong with you when it comes to infertility were present. My doctor was not very confident that she would be able to help me. I cried, a lot. I didn't want to go through IVF, but could not get pregnant on my own.

We took two rounds of Clomid. The first time, nothing except for major headaches (both literally and figuratively). I was on vacation in South Padre and had to drive to Brownsville to get an ultrasound and blood tests. Timing with Clomid is vital and you also need to be monitored for cysts. That whole thing in Brownsville was more of an ordeal than it should have been. The second round of Clomid made me super tired. So tired, I was falling asleep in church.

I didn't know until 6 weeks later that that was the round of Clomid that worked. After trying for two years, each month was so disappointing. I had convinced myself surely I wasn't pregnant. But, I was.

And now, we are going to have two girls!

This scares my hubby just a little since he comes from a family with four boys.

But, he is an amazing dad.

I am pretty psyched because I just adore my own sister.

5 things I don't miss about being out of the classroom

I have officially been in my new job for three months. Today, I spent most of the morning working in a classroom with a teacher. (So exciting, because usually I get to work with adults.) She is having her students use two apps for presenting Sock Puppets and Toontastic. I was there to help get them set up. We also were trying to figure out ways for them to save without posting to the YouTube Channel. 

Anyway, the whole point of this blog is to write about 5 things I don't miss about being out of the classroom. 

1. Lesson Plans--Our district has a common lesson plan template that looks to be very labor intensive. I don't miss having to do lesson plans, especially when I had three preps. 

2. I don't miss calling parents. I always loved calling parents about a discipline issue and then they turn it around and blame me for their child acting up. Super. Fun. 

3. Dealing with Classroom Management--no matter how fun and engaging I tried to make my class, I hated when I had to discipline a kid for something. Maybe he pushed his buddy, maybe he took someone's phone...whatever the issue, I never liked having to be the adult and step in...or write referrals. Writing referrals is horrible because of number 2....calling parents. 

4. Eating lunch in 10 minutes. Yes, I know teachers are supposed to get a 30 minute duty free lunch, but this doesn't happen. 

5. Holding "it." With my new job I have the luxury of going to the bathroom anytime I want. It is amazing. 

So, those are my top 5 things I don't miss in being out of the classroom. 

PLTW Training: Master Teacher Reflection

I have been teaching Project Lead the Way curriculum for the last 4 years, and I absolutely love it. I love the way that they teach “new teachers” curriculum—by having them go through the lessons and do the activities that their students complete.

I applied to be a Master Teacher in January. I had to make several videos and then I did some online training modules. I had to get 2 letters of reference.

I got accepted and then that meant I was able to train adults to learn the curriculum. I am going to travel to two places this summer—Spokane, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada.

This past week I was able to travel to Spokane, and I worked with 5 teachers from Spokane Public Schools to learn one of the curriculum modules from PLTW, called Science of Technology. This is one of my favorite modules because it involves ice cream, roller coasters, making and testing glue, nanotechnology labs, and simple machines. It is a lot and when I think about how much we covered in three days I am amazed.

Since I had not trained adults before I was nervous. Luckily, I had an amazing Master Teacher (I was the Apprentice Teacher), I was able to learn so much from her. I also got to present on one of my favorite things in the world to talk about “Recruiting Girls in STEM.”

Spokane was absolutely gorgeous. It is in the mountains, they have water (and waterfalls), pine trees, some rolling hills, low humidity and abundant sunshine. My hubby came along to and loved seeing the sights in Spokane. He walked the trail, found some amazing restaurants and visited four of the campuses that were close by.

Like any teacher, this experience helped me to reflect on what I want to improve upon for my next training.

1. Time—There is not enough, and we are going to have to stick to deadlines better. There may need to be more homework assigned, but we also need to realize that the adults have lots of responsibilities when they head home each night—not just school related responsibilities.
2. Discussion is vital—even though we are on a time crunch, we have to allow for discussion. This is what helped our group in Spokane because they were able to see how the curriculum would work for them.
3. Advance Planning—communication between the affiliate, the master teacher, and myself is important. We have to make sure the supplies we need are there ahead of time and we need to know who is presenting what and how we are presenting it.

We had a great group of teachers and it was such a positive experience for me. If I didn’t have so many other responsibilities at home, I would seriously consider traveling and training more this summer. However, mommy, grad school, new house, wife duties—they all have to take priority. (I am ok with that.)

Here is a Flipagram that I made to highlight what we did. You can check it out, here:


http://flipagram.com/f/YA7p7KnirS

Five Things I learned from having an all-girls STEM class

This year I was lucky enough to have 24 girls in an all-girls STEM class. It was an idea I proposed to my principal almost 3 years ago and for the 2014-2015 school year we were able to make it happen.

I loved having my all-girls class. I loved them for a million reasons and I learned a lot from just teaching girls (and I was used to having almost all boys in my classes)—so they were a welcome change.

1. Girls love working in groups even more than boys do. I think it is the social aspect, but I never heard them complain when I assigned them to a group and I never had anyone ask me if they could “just work alone.”
2. Girls love to see how engineers make a difference in the world. The idea of an engineer being a super hero really resonated with them. If you haven’t seen this video, you have to check it out. https://vimeo.com/86537339
3. Girls will bring in their own materials from home. For example, when we would do Genius Hour, my girls class was the most organized, the most on task, and they brought in the most materials. I had one girl who made a dress, and bought the materials at Hobby Lobby—I had another group make ice cream and bring in all the supplies they would need—another group made a birdhouse and used some leftover materials from their recycling bin.
4. Girls can be nice to each other. Maybe it was my group of girls—they were just not the catty type?  My experience in the past with girls (even coaching them) was that they were really mean and kind of awful. My girls in my STEM class were amazing.
5. Girls don’t need boys to work with in a class. In fact, if they don’t have the boys as a distraction, they seem to be more at ease working with tools, they aren’t afraid to take the lead on the project; they are more willing to speak their mind.
    
   I don’t think I will be able to have another all-girls class this year, but I really feel that being able to have them for one year was amazing and a great experience for them and me. I know they will do great no matter what class they take or who their teacher is, but I hope we started planting some of those seeds to get them excited about a future career in STEM.

Transforming your classroom with Genius Hour

Along with recruiting girls in STEM, Genius Hour is one of my most favorite topics to talk about.

Today I had the pleasure of presenting to some of my colleagues in my district about Genius Hour, for district run conference, called Hays Fusion. I talked about transforming your classroom with Genius Hour. I have been doing Genius Hour in my classroom for the last two years. My top ten pieces of advice for doing Genius Hour are the following:

1. The launch of "doing" Genius Hour is  very important. Your kids need to buy into Genius Hour.



2. Genius Hour is not really a new idea. It has been around for quite some time (I found information that dated back to 3M’s 15% time in the 1950’s.)
   
   
3. Genius Hour can and will transform your classroom if you do it properly.
   
   
4. To do Genius Hour properly--Make sure your students understand what a guiding question is and have your students do some sort of presentation. (An authentic audience lends itself to greater presentations, if students know that they will be presenting to an audience, they will do a better job.)
   
   
5. However, there is no wrong way to do Genius Hour. If you get stuck or it is not working to your liking—REVISE it! Make changes until you are happy.
   
   
6. Do not abandon Genius Hour. Your kids really do enjoy it. (Even if you feel like they are “wasting time,” they are doing important stuff.
   
   
7. Genius Hour is not a time for you to catch up on your grading. (You need to meet with students and work right along with them. You can model your own Genius Hour projects, so they can get more ideas.)
   
   
8. If you want to do Genius Hour, join Twitter.  Some of the nicest and most helpful people are on Twitter and they WILL help you!



9. You need a supportive administrator to have a successful Genius Hour. They should know that when they come in your room, if it looks like chaos—students are learning.
   
   
10. Genius Hour can open the door for your classroom to start Project Based Learning.
     
    One way I plan to improve on my students Genius Hour experience this year is that I am going to have my students find state standards of the projects that they want to work on. That way, they can see the connections to their learning (and my administrator can see the cross curricular work). This will help them with their guiding questions.
    
    
    
    I could write so much more, but I won’t. If you would like to view my presentation it is on slideshare at the link here: http://www.slideshare.net/kcampbell2/transforming-your-classroom-genius-hour-presentation
    
    
    
    Please feel free to let me know if there is anything I can do to help you and your class with Genius Hour!

A letter to my 8th graders

Side note: Since I have had this blog, I have enjoyed writing my students a blog post to reflect on the year.


This year I am feeling particularly sentimental as I am saying goodbye to my 8th graders who I have had for three years!


Dear 8th grade students of Lab 199,


What a long way we have come! I am so impressed with all of you. I can't believe how much you have grown and changed over the last three years.


When we first met, I was pregnant with my first baby. I had no idea what to expect and I worked so hard to get you into routines--when I came back and the sub had let you do whatever you wanted for three months, that made me so sad. After that summer, when 7th grade started, I was able to see you growing into the people that you are today.


Some of you, we had disagreements. I think you like arguing with me. A few of you had to do a little more of Learning.com than I would have liked, but I worked to make sure each day was a new one.


Now, you are moving on to high school. My "baby" is now 2 and a half. Thank you for oohing and ahhing over her baby pictures and asking me how she is doing. I love that about you. I also love how many of you asked me for mothers day advice--asking me "what does a mom really want?"


You helped me through this year--a transition, where my hubby no longer works at the same school as me. You ask me how he is doing, and tell me that you do miss him. I miss him, too.


I have seen you come into your own. Some of you had some big changes happen in your life--divorces, moving to a new house, loved ones have become sick, loved ones have passed on, and then the good things--new puppies, new babies, new hobbies, new friends...


You have learned a lot about STEM. You have completed some awesome projects and never given up. Some of you have never stopped working and learning even on Fridays during Genius Hour. You could have taken the easy route, but continued to work hard. Your hard work will pay off. 


I also loved the handful of letters you wrote me for teacher appreciation week. I loved hearing thank you and I appreciated it more than you will ever know. I cried when I read your notes, and when my 6th graders came in for advisory--they thought they were dealing with a crazy person.


Thank you for getting me. For knowing when to cross the line--yes, the one behind my desk, and the one by the door.


You all mean a lot to me. I feel like I say it every year, but this one has been my favorite.


Thank you for dealing with me for three years. (And no, I am not moving on to high school with you. Neither you or I want that.) Be safe this summer.


:) Love, Mrs. Campbell

PBL Tip: Project Manager

I am lucky enough to be a teacher, and I am even more fortunate to have a sister who is also a teacher. We both teach middle school. She's an 8th grade Language Arts teacher, and I teach middle school STEM.

We talk everyday and compare notes about our classes. She was starting a project this week where they are integrating Language Arts and Social Social Studies, and her kids are creating a movie about a period in time.  It's her first try at project based learning, and she was a bit nervous.

She said the first day of the project was not good. Her kids were not buying in to the project. They were off task. They were messing around. 

She needed some help.

I told her to "have her kids elect a project manager. This person can then meet with you daily, they can grade their group, they can be the ones who remind people to be on task, etc." 

I have found once you create that sense of ownership, you have buy-in. 

I have done this in my class when they have a huge project. 

I told her, "you can switch your project  manager each week, after a couple days--but they have to meet with you--makes the kids feel important and needed."

So, I talked to my sister again yesterday. She said the project manager tip saved the project! It has made a huge difference!

Glad I could help, sister!