0 What I'm Up To This Summer

Summer is already in full swing.  We've been out for a couple of weeks now.  The end of May has been filled with VBS prep, Friends of the Library Meetings, prom fundraising, and time spent with family.  Now that May is already over, I'm looking over my calendar to see just what I'm going to be busy with these next two months.  School starts back August 14th with two professional days before that.  But, I've got a ton to do before then!

June

* Vacation Bible School (5 Days) - This will be my 3rd year directing my church's VBS.  Our theme this year is River of Life.  VBS is a huge undertaking, but I love getting to interact with the kids.  Plus, I get to exercise my creative side with decorating and crafts.

Decoration Sneak Peek

* Story Hour at the Drumright Public Library - I'm pretty sure this is proof that I'm crazy or I just can't say no.  Well, actually, I volunteered to run the very first story hour at our local public library.  We're going to be reading If You Give A Pig A Pancake and making a fun pig-themed craft.

* TU School of Urban Education Breakfast and Brainstorming Session - My alma mater is inviting recent education graduates back for a breakfast to share our teaching experiences and insights on what works in our classrooms.

* Monthly Book Chat - My public library has a monthly book chat that is one of the highlights of my month.  What could be better than spending an hour eating dessert and talking about the books we've been reading.

* Tulsa Math Teachers' Circle Summer Immersion Program at Post Oak Lodge (3 Days) - I'm very excited for Math Teachers' Circle Training this summer!  It will be three jam-packed days of math problem solving, hiking, swimming, and hanging out with other math teachers!  I've had a blast at the Math Teachers' Circle Meetings I've attended this past school year, so I'm looking forward to the immersion program!  

* Oklahoma Council of Teachers of Mathematics Summer Conference (1 Day) - This will be my second year attending this conference and my first year presenting!  I'm excited to share with Oklahoma teachers about "Making Note-Taking Fun and Interactive: An Introduction to Interactive Notebooks."

* Oklahoma Geometry and Algebra Project (OGAP) Workshop (5 Days) - Of all the workshops I attended last summer, OGAP was the one that I learned the most at and had the most fun at.  After five days, none of us wanted to leave!  We each made a two-year commitment to this workshop that focuses on preparing teachers to teach Common Core high school math courses.  Last summer, I attended the Edmond Workshop.  But, due to scheduling conflicts, I will be attending the Broken Arrow/Tulsa Workshop this summer.  I'm going to miss getting to reconnect with the teachers from last year, but I'm excited to network and make new connections this summer!  I've used so many ideas this past year from last summer's workshop.  I'm hoping to blog about more of the activities and workshop this summer.  

* Friends of the Library Board Meeting - I'm Vice President of my local Friends of the Library Board of Directors.  My landlord is the President, and she reached out to me to help form a Friends of the Library Group.  We just started this year, and so far we've planned a monthly Senior Book Day and a bi-monthly Children's Story Time.

July

* 4th of July Trip with my Family - I'm not sure where we're going yet, but my parents are closing down their business for the 2nd - 4th for Independence Day.  This gives us 5 days (including the weekend) to go somewhere.  As small business owners, they have a terrible time taking off during the year.  They've found that they only way to take a vacation is to just close the business down for a few days.  

* Friends of the Library Board Meeting

* Church Camp at Kiamichi Baptist Assembly Campgrounds in Talihina, OK (5 Days) - This will be my 15th year to spend at a week at KBA.  I went as a camper for the first time the summer after I finished the 4th grade.  After three years as a camper, I started going as a junior sponsor and eventually a sponsor.  This is a beautiful place that is very near and dear to my heart.

View From Our Cabin

KBA Sign 

* Twitter Math Camp (4 Days) - I am so, so, so excited to finally get to attend TMC!  After reading about it for the past two years, I'm ready to be part of the action!  I'll even be presenting a session!

* OK Math Convening (3 Days) - This will be a new experience for me.  A group of math teachers from across Oklahoma will be convening in OKC to create tools and resources for all of Oklahoma's teachers.  We're supposed to be thinking about what we want to create to share with others.  I've got so many ideas.  Hopefully, I'll be able to narrow my focus by the end of July!

* Monthly Book Chat


As you can see, this is going to be a busy, busy summer!  There were several workshops that I would have loved to participate in this summer, but I couldn't due to schedule conflicts.  I need a summer that is twice as long so I can fit in all the activities I want to participate in.

This post doesn't even begin to touch all the things I'm planning on doing this summer outside of scheduled activities.  But, that's an entirely different post!

Detail: What I'm Up To This Summer

0 Asking Why

Can you guess what our lesson was a few weeks ago in children's church?

Wise Man / Foolish Man Object Lesson

Yep.  We studied the story of the wise man and the foolish man.  The wise man built his house upon the rock.  The foolish man built his house upon the sand.  When the wind blew and the storms of life came up, the wise man's house stood firm on it's foundation, but the foolish man's house was demolished.

Storms of Life

My mom found a template online to print off tiny lessons for an object lesson.  Each house was taped together and weighted down with a small rock inside.  It was my job to tell the story and pour on the storms of life.

It was rather nerve-wracking because we did not practice this beforehand.  I spent a lot of time asking the children what they thought was going to happen and why.  What will happen when I pour the water on?  Why will the house on the sand fall over?  Why?  Why will the house on the rock stay standing?  Why?  Why is the foundation important?  What is the foundation made of?  What is the foundation adhered to?  Why would it be important to build your house right the first time?  Which house would you want to spend a warm sunny day at?  Why?  Which house would you want to spend a stormy, tempestuous day at?  Why?

Anticipation was building.  The kids were expecting the house on the sand to fall and the house on the rock to stand.  But, wouldn't the stream of water from my milk jug knock over both houses?  One girl thought that they were both going to fall over.  Others were convinced only the house built on the sand would fall.

Nervously, I started with the house on the sand.  A few moments after the water hit, the sand was soggy and the house was laying in the water.  So far, so good.  Now, the house on the rock.  I tried my hardest to pour the water directly on the roof of the house.  Amazingly, the house stood firm.  I continued pouring the water, clearly shocked that the illustration had worked.  My hands must not be the steadiest because eventually the house started sliding across the rock.  But, it remained standing, and I quickly stopped pouring the water to avoid messing up my illustration.

So, what's my takeaway from this?  I need to ask my students "Why?" more often in math class.  Why do you think that?  Why will that happen?  First, I need to start asking my students to make more predictions.  What do you think will happen if we do this?  Why?  My students will be more engaged and learn more if they see cause and effect in action.  Desmos will be perfect for this.  What will happen if I change the sign of this number in the equation?  Why?  Demonstrate.  Did it do what you expected?  If yes, yay!  Let's explore what happens if we change something else.  If not, why not?  What would we have to do to the equation to bring about the change that you originally predicted?

I need to ask more questions.  I need to have my students do more of the thinking.  I need to have my students do all of the thinking.  I get so caught up in trying to "cover" everything that they never grasp a full understanding of the basics.  I do the thinking for them ahead of time and give them the cliffnotes version.  But, they don't get to experience the math for themselves.  They don't get to get their hands messy with math.

Next year, my students will explore more.  Next year, my students will experience more.  I just ordered Max Ray's book on noticing and wondering, and I can't wait for it to get here.  This isn't the way I was taught, and it's going to take some getting used to.  But, I'm excited about the changes that are to come in my classroom.    

Detail: Asking Why

0 Kingdom Adventure - Castle Themed VBS Decorations

High school math teacher is just one of the growing number of hats that I wear.  This will be the third year that I serve as Vacation Bible School Director (VBS) for my church.  I guess it's a role that I kinda grew into.  I've been going to the same church since the summer after I completed the 4th grade.  The first time my family visited this church was actually for VBS.  That led to an invitation to church camp, and long story short, we never left.  The summer after I finished the 7th grade, I started volunteering as a helper during VBS.  And, my role has only grown since then.  Now, I'm in charge of organizing volunteers, emceeing our programs, and making sure everything runs smoothly.

Since I attend a very small church, we have to make a lot of modifications to make purchased curriculum materials work for us.  So, for the past few years, we have created our own curriculum.
Last year, our theme was Kingdom Adventure.  And, we spent the week exploring the stories of various kings and queens in the bible.  This year, our theme is River of Life.  We will be studying four water-themed stories: Baby Moses, Crossing the Red Sea, The Woman at the Well, and Jesus' Baptism.  As I've been desperately searching Pinterest for river/water-themed decoration ideas, I realized that I should share the decorations we made last year with the world.

So, this isn't math.  But, this my blog.  And, my life revolves around more than math (hard to believe, I know!), so it would make sense that this blog would, too.  So, if you're not in the mood to see our medieval / kingdom themed decorations, come back tomorrow for something different!

We taped flags to each post in the sanctuary.  And, the walls were lined with shields made out of cardboard, aluminum foil, and shiny wrapping paper.  

One of the volunteers made this piece of medieval weaponry to hang on the wall.

Here's a close-up of one of our aluminum foil shields.  We made quite a few of these because they were super fast and easy to make.

We made fake windows to hang in our craft room.

I think the windows helped spice up an otherwise drab room.

Scroll signs were made to hang on each classroom door.  The arts and crafts room was known as the "Artisan's Workshop."

To keep kids out of the storage room, I called it the "Dungeon."

Our office was dubbed the "Office Of The Scribe."

Along one side of the hall, we made shields for every book of the bible.  A scroll was hung above each section of books to classify them.

Snacks were served in the Feasting Hall.

Cardboard boxes covered in brown paper made an awesome throne that you could actually sit in!  My mom used some fabric to make a pillow and seat cover to complete the look.  I printed VBS 2013 on a pennant banner to hang above the throne.  I thought this would make a cool picture backdrop.  I printed the banner off on parchment paper that was originally purchased for a 9th grade Shakespeare project.  My mom keeps EVERYTHING!  :)

Our stage backdrop was covered in paper to look like a castle.  I made more pennant letters to proclaim our VBS name, Kingdom Adventure.

The moat around our castle even featured an alligator!  A fish tablecloth formed the water of the moat.  And, crumpled brown paper marked the moat's boundaries.  One of our volunteers picked up this alligator hat at Dollar Tree.  We started decorating several days before VBS started.  On Sunday morning, our preacher walked up to the pulpit not knowing that there was a fake alligator about three feet behind where he was standing.  Let's just say he got a little surprise!  

Here's another shield that we designed from cardboard and aluminum foil.  The swords on each side of the shield were made out of painted paint sticks and craft sticks.  The kids wanted to play with these swords so badly!

One of the ladies who used to serve as VBS director is super crafty!  She made this coat of armor out of cardboard boxes, recycled food containers, and lots of duct tape!  So cool!

She also made this shield to hang in our feasting hall.

My mom picked up some candle holders at a thrift shop to add some flair to our feasting hall.  After VBS was over, these candle holders made their way home with me to be hung up in my hall.

We draped some tulle to add a little flair to the kitchen area.

We each scoured our houses for decorations that could be used.  Someone brought these fake grapes to display.  They were perfect for the feasting hall.

A giant pineapple from a previous luau themed VBS found a new use.  Those are some candles that I borrowed from one of the cabinets at church.

We made torches out of brown paper to line the hall.  The flames were made out of yellow and red paper and/or cellophane.

My sister made tiny golden crowns for the men's and women's restroom signs.

I thought this was so creative!

Along one of the halls, we made shields for each of the four stories we would be studying during VBS.  Each shield featured a silhouette of the bible character they would be learning about.  Around the outside of the shield were various clues.  Children could lift up the crown to reveal the correct answer.  These were a big hit!

During the week, students memorized The Lord's Prayer.  My mom made this visual display of the different phrases that compose The Lord's Prayer.

This table set in the back of our sanctuary.

Another table was set with candles and pushed against the wall in our kitchen.  We covered the table in paper and added a red cross for decoration.

Online, I saw the idea of making metal bars out of duct tape.  I guess that's what they're called.  Oh well...  These look easy to make, but they took FOREVER.  They looked cool in the end, but I'm not sure they were worth the frustration.

I found a roll of red paper ribbon in one of the cabinets.  This was used to form a large shield shape in the hall.  A poster about The Order of the Cross was hung inside the shield.

Remember that treasure box on the back table in the sanctuary?

Inside, I placed true treasure - a bible.  I put a note on the bible that said, "True treasure is found in the Word of God."

As you can tell, we used a lot of candles in our decorating!  Don't worry, we didn't actually light any of them.  That would be a major fire hazard.  They were for looks only!

So, there you have it.  A peek at last year's decorations.  I'm not sure how useful my regular readers will find this post, but I hope that it will help someone looking to decorate for a castle, kingdom, or medieval themed vacation bible school!  

Detail: Kingdom Adventure - Castle Themed VBS Decorations