Week 9: "Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing..."

This week...

Was a fairly normal week in Dubuque, IA. We had some heavy, wet snow one day and today it is very windy but it is starting to warm up a bit more these days. I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Carver and am also enjoying many conversations with Dale Twesten, whom I am staying with, and with family via Skype.

I have loved my Bible reading and have been learning how often Israel grumbled against the Lord. It has been convicting me to realize how I give so little thanks to the Lord in all things. I will often hop into the car in the morning and say out loud, "Thank you Lord" and name all the things I am thankful for that morning. Praise the Lord for His bountiful provision and His great faithfulness!

Top 10 of the week:

1. Knowing that my family is safe in Japan even with the magnitude 8.9 earthquake
   
2. Giving hugs and high fives to my students at the end of the day
   
3. Using tangrams in math to teach area, edges, vertices, perimeter, angles, and congruency concepts
   
4. Finished reading Judges and Ruth
   
5. Started Cloud With a Chance of Meatballs with my students
6. 2nd and 3rd grade Carver musical performance Lights, Camera, Action!
   
7. Played racquetball with Dale. Lost 10-15!
   
8. Watched Bourne Ultimatum with Dale Twesten, and Katie & Peter Fleming on Friday night
9. Read Island of the Blue Dolphins and parts of Understanding by Design
   
10. GAC Potluck
    

Week in Pictures:

The Music Program Lights, Camera, Action! (2nd and 3rd graders)

Two thumbs up... :)

Brewers fans!

Dressed up and looking sharp!

Ready to sing!

Top Quotes & Stories:

• On the morning of the Music Program day one of the girls in my class asked me, "Mr. Eby do you like my dress?" Its great being a teacher. They all did such a great job during the program.
• Amelia came up to me and said in a chipper voice, "Mr. Eby, you look great today!"
  
• One of the girls in my 3rd grade class came up to me and gave me a hug. She said, "Mr. Eby, you smell like my dad." To which I replied, "I hope that's a good thing." She said, "He smells good."
• The students were supposed to create riddles/jokes and one of the students wrote, "What do you get when you cross a spider with a mouse? A SPOUSE!" Mrs. Breitbach and I got a good laugh out of that.
• One of my students wrote this postcard in our immigration unit:

Dear Pablo,
I really miss Mexico but in the United States
you can watch movies. But I hate that you
have to pay!

-Vincent

• Dale had told me about an earthquake that had hit Japan that was in northern Japan and I told him it wasn't a place I had heard of and my family hadn't mentioned anything so I didn't think anything of it. Well, on Friday morning my internet was down so I couldn't check my email. I went to school and Angie Breitbach said, "I heard about the earthquake. Is your family alright?" I assured her that they were fine, assuming it was the earthquake from several days ago. It was until I got home that I really realized the enormity of the earthquakes that had been going on on Friday. I had assumed it was the one from several days prior and had heard nothing about the quake of magnitude 8.9. Apparently, I need to keep up with the news better. Well, I ended up Skyping with my family for a good hour or so and was able to catch up on the news.
  

Teacher Thoughts:

1. Wait until students are quiet before you speak.
2. ALWAYS, leave time for summarizing the lesson. You feel better about it and the students do also.
3. If the students can do it, structure it so that they can. For example, if they can pass out papers, assignments, textbooks, or organize something. Assign jobs or tell students you have a special task for those who finish early.
4. If students have messy desks, every once in awhile clear the students desks and put everything on the floor. Allow for an "organize the desk" time.
5. When parent-teacher conferences come around have the students fill out a form sharing their goals, their favorite classes, least favorite classes, and what they learned in each subject area.
6. When learning about sequence in stories, type up several parts of the story on a word document, print them and cut them out. Place them in an envelope. Provide an envelope for each group and have them put the parts into the correct sequence. The kids are very engaged in this activity!
7. Angie Breitbach has books that she collects so that whenever a student has a birthday she can let them choose a book to keep.
8. Use sticky notes to tab where you are in your teacher guides because then you can open to it immediately
9. Use manila folders to keep copies of different graphic organizers
10. When you read a story, checkout a number of books on the topic so that students can have them available to read in their free time or make it a seat work activity so that it gives them further learning on the topic
    

Please Pray...

• that I will read the Bible and pray with diligence
  
• that I will be prepared and confident in my teaching and that I will be "on top" of all of my teaching responsibilities
• that I will be a Christ-like example and encouragement at Carver Elementary School
• for my family in Japan and their continued safety
• for the relief efforts that will be going on in Japan
• for the Lord to do a mighty work in Japan in the midst of this national crisis
  

Praise

• I have been getting more rest lately and have been able to run every Saturday morning
• I have had some great conversations with some teachers recently at Carver.