So, by 4:45 tonight I have to have everything packed and ready for things to be moved tomorrow. Crazy! My apartment is going to be so empty! I have some things I need to do here on Sunday, so I will spend Sunday and Monday here and then... I'll be leaving Utah County! I've lived in Utah County for over 10 years, so it's a little weird to be moving up north, but I'm excited. This week I've explored a little around my new apartment and have already found my new favorite Chinese place there. That's important, right? haha Whenever I'm at the new apartment I dread going back to Provo not just because of the awful drive. It's already starting to feel like my new home, which is awesome. I'm also looking forward to exploring the nearby canyons! The mountains aren't as big there, but there is still plenty to explore. Now I just need to find some new hiking buddies....
Friday, June 26, 2015
Saturday, June 20, 2015
A Fresh Start
Well, today is day one of leaving Happy Valley and moving to Salt Lake City. All of my Christmas village and decorations and other things are all packed up and ready to go. You know when I load up my Christmas village, it's the real deal. Even though this has all happened so quickly, I feel at peace and very excited to start on this new adventure. New place, new job, a fresh start. I have LOVED living here. It's probably my most favorite place that I've ever lived in Utah. It's been a place of healing, discovery, and happiness. I am so grateful for all of my friends here who have really become like family to me more than any other ward has. Things here have been fantastic, so leaving so quickly is difficult, but I've seen how Heavenly Father has made everything fall into place. He has given me the peaceful assurance that this is the right thing to do. I still have my moments where I am scared out of my mind, but I know it will all be okay. I think besides my friends and my apartment, the thing I will miss the most here is running on the Provo River Trail and being kind of on the outskirts of the city. I won't be waking up to ducks quacking outside my window in Salt Lake! I had no idea when I started my half marathon training that it would also be a countdown of my weeks in Provo. It's crazy, but life is good!
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
I'm Graduating Preschool!
I just wrote my resignation letter informing Head Start that I will not be returning to work with them next year. As I started to write it, all the memories and learning experiences I've had over the past 6 years of working at Head Start rushed over me. I still can't believe it. My head has been spinning these past few days just thinking about everything. I'm excited, but also scared out of my mind.
On Monday, I accepted a position to teach 5TH GRADE at American Preparatory Academy, a charter school in West Valley City. You're probably thinking I'm crazy for skipping five grades. Well, you're probably right. I will not move from Provo. Instead I'll be taking the front runner and TRAX as often as I can until further notice. I wouldn't have accepted it except that this school is exceptional in that they already have everything I need to be a successful 5th grade teacher. Curriculum, lesson plans, materials... They already have them prepared. I observed several classes, 1st grade and 6th grade, and was very impressed by their quality and organization. The school runs like a well-oiled machine. They have high standards for teachers and students, but they all work to make an atmosphere of continual improvement and learning. Everyone has a coach to help them, so I will have someone there to help me as I learn the ways and methods of a new school. They use something called direct instruction to teach. It's very impressive to see how much the kids can learn using that method. It will be like learning a new language of teaching.
The only reason I can go from teaching preschool to 5th grade is because I am getting my teaching license through Utah's Alternative Route to Licensure program. I applied last week and should soon get a letter telling me what classes I need to take to become eligible to participate in the program. It should just be a history class, which I am enrolled in right now, but maybe not. Once I'm eligible, now that I have a job that qualifies, I will start taking additional classes and the PRAXIS exam to earn my license. I will have 3 years to get it. It will be a lot of hard work, but I am determined to get it!
I'm still wrapping my mind around teaching 9-11 year-olds rather than 3-5 year-olds. Ironically, fifth grade was my least favorite in elementary school because I didn't like my teacher. She was mean and yelled a lot. She even threw a chair at a student. I promise I won't do that. I cringe thinking about how I was at that age. Oh man. I felt a little better after when I was at Barnes and Noble today and I looked at the section for 9-12 year-olds. I saw a lot of art related stuff including stuff that I remember loving at that age- stuff to make bracelets, cool pens, and materials to make cool designs. It brought back lots of good memories. I also looked at the books they read and saw many of my favorites- A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, and The Hobbit, to name a few. While I was there I couldn't help but look at the younger kids' books. I found so many that I would have bought if I were still teaching preschool or even kindergarten. Changing my perspective and learning a whole new way of teaching will be very challenging, but I'm excited to start on my new adventure. :)
On Monday, I accepted a position to teach 5TH GRADE at American Preparatory Academy, a charter school in West Valley City. You're probably thinking I'm crazy for skipping five grades. Well, you're probably right. I will not move from Provo. Instead I'll be taking the front runner and TRAX as often as I can until further notice. I wouldn't have accepted it except that this school is exceptional in that they already have everything I need to be a successful 5th grade teacher. Curriculum, lesson plans, materials... They already have them prepared. I observed several classes, 1st grade and 6th grade, and was very impressed by their quality and organization. The school runs like a well-oiled machine. They have high standards for teachers and students, but they all work to make an atmosphere of continual improvement and learning. Everyone has a coach to help them, so I will have someone there to help me as I learn the ways and methods of a new school. They use something called direct instruction to teach. It's very impressive to see how much the kids can learn using that method. It will be like learning a new language of teaching.
The only reason I can go from teaching preschool to 5th grade is because I am getting my teaching license through Utah's Alternative Route to Licensure program. I applied last week and should soon get a letter telling me what classes I need to take to become eligible to participate in the program. It should just be a history class, which I am enrolled in right now, but maybe not. Once I'm eligible, now that I have a job that qualifies, I will start taking additional classes and the PRAXIS exam to earn my license. I will have 3 years to get it. It will be a lot of hard work, but I am determined to get it!
I'm still wrapping my mind around teaching 9-11 year-olds rather than 3-5 year-olds. Ironically, fifth grade was my least favorite in elementary school because I didn't like my teacher. She was mean and yelled a lot. She even threw a chair at a student. I promise I won't do that. I cringe thinking about how I was at that age. Oh man. I felt a little better after when I was at Barnes and Noble today and I looked at the section for 9-12 year-olds. I saw a lot of art related stuff including stuff that I remember loving at that age- stuff to make bracelets, cool pens, and materials to make cool designs. It brought back lots of good memories. I also looked at the books they read and saw many of my favorites- A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, and The Hobbit, to name a few. While I was there I couldn't help but look at the younger kids' books. I found so many that I would have bought if I were still teaching preschool or even kindergarten. Changing my perspective and learning a whole new way of teaching will be very challenging, but I'm excited to start on my new adventure. :)
Monday, June 1, 2015
Kelly's Take Vegas
On Saturday we drove our cars, so we didn’t have to walk as much, but it
was still a lot of walking. We went to the Las Vegas sign and then we
tried to find a free aquarium for Tyler to see animals, but the one we
went to wasn’t free, so we didn’t go. I think I just got the hotel
wrong. We didn’t want to be driving back and forth to see things either.
But at that hotel there was a really cool waterfall in front! We then
went to the Venetian to go to where Cake Boss’ Carlos has a bakery. We
got some treats there and it was super yummy. We rode a short tram and
then walked a little around Treasure Island before splitting up. Tyler
wanted to have “family swim time,” so they went back and did that while
me, Ryan, Dad, and Mom went to the Luxor to see the Body World and
Titanic Exhibits. It was expensive, but absolutely worth it! Seeing real
human bodies seems like it would be weird or gross, but they did it
tastefully and I loved it. I learned a lot. I think my favorite part of
the exhibit was the part where it has real fetuses at the different
stages of life. As sensitive and sad it is to think about it, it was
really interesting to see what a fetus really looks like at those
different weeks. They grow so fast!! The Titanic exhibit was really
cool, too. We each got names of actually passengers and at the end we
found out that all of us survived except for Dad, who was a third class
person. The exhibit had parts that replicated the actual ship and it was
really impressive. At then end they had a huge piece of the actual
Titanic that they’d brought out of the ocean. It made everything else
seem so real. On Saturday night, Ryan and I went to the Penn &
Teller magic show. It was really fun. We’d seen many of their tricks
before, but it was cool to see them in person.
Sunday morning we
cleaned up the place and then Mom, Ryan and I played a quick game of
Ticket to Ride. I won by a lot. haha. We all left by 11 am. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend with my family! I miss them already!
Here is the video of Day 2.
was still a lot of walking. We went to the Las Vegas sign and then we
tried to find a free aquarium for Tyler to see animals, but the one we
went to wasn’t free, so we didn’t go. I think I just got the hotel
wrong. We didn’t want to be driving back and forth to see things either.
But at that hotel there was a really cool waterfall in front! We then
went to the Venetian to go to where Cake Boss’ Carlos has a bakery. We
got some treats there and it was super yummy. We rode a short tram and
then walked a little around Treasure Island before splitting up. Tyler
wanted to have “family swim time,” so they went back and did that while
me, Ryan, Dad, and Mom went to the Luxor to see the Body World and
Titanic Exhibits. It was expensive, but absolutely worth it! Seeing real
human bodies seems like it would be weird or gross, but they did it
tastefully and I loved it. I learned a lot. I think my favorite part of
the exhibit was the part where it has real fetuses at the different
stages of life. As sensitive and sad it is to think about it, it was
really interesting to see what a fetus really looks like at those
different weeks. They grow so fast!! The Titanic exhibit was really
cool, too. We each got names of actually passengers and at the end we
found out that all of us survived except for Dad, who was a third class
person. The exhibit had parts that replicated the actual ship and it was
really impressive. At then end they had a huge piece of the actual
Titanic that they’d brought out of the ocean. It made everything else
seem so real. On Saturday night, Ryan and I went to the Penn &
Teller magic show. It was really fun. We’d seen many of their tricks
before, but it was cool to see them in person.
Sunday morning we
cleaned up the place and then Mom, Ryan and I played a quick game of
Ticket to Ride. I won by a lot. haha. We all left by 11 am. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend with my family! I miss them already!
Here is the video of Day 2.
What Happens In Vegas...
Vegas was a lot of fun and exhausting. I’d never been so it was kind of overwhelming. The strip was a lot different than I expected (less porn and much cleaner). I could explain more but you’ve most likely have been there, so you know what it’s like already. On Friday afternoon, I went swimming with Tyler at the hotel pools. There were 3 pools and several spas, one with a few small waterfalls. They also had a lazy river. I helped Tyler practice holding his breath under water and floating. We also played hide and seek. He did a really good job about getting in and everything. I was really surprised actually. Steven had his car show thing, so the rest of us went down to the strip to see stuff. We went to M&M World, Hershey’s, and then walked all the way to the Bellagio fountain to watch the short show there. There were 25 MILLION M&Ms in those tubes in the picture and that Liberty statue is made all of chocolate. There were two others made of jelly beans and licorice. They also had a ton of different kinds of Reese’s. The ones in the picture are half a pound each! Crazy! It doesn’t seem like it’s that far down the street, but the way they have you go to avoid intersections, we ended up going on lots of elevators and escalators. I’ve never been on so many elevators and escalators on one trip, let alone in one night! We also had to go through a tunnel and over a couple bridges. Needless to say, Mom and Dad (especially Dad) had a hard time walking, but they did it. There were so many people out, especially as it got later. It was kind of cool to see all the people dressed up really fancy to go out on the town to a club or something. I only ever see that in movies. It was also interesting walking through the casinos with all the tables that people sit at and play card games and gamble. I’ve only ever seen that in movies, too. There were some weird people on the street. There were a bunch of guys dressed up as all the Avengers and then Spiderman. Spiderman was super bold asking for 10-20 dollars for Tyler to take a picture with them. Yeah, right.
Here is the video of Day 1.
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