As we go 'Twitter'ing...

Let's face it, I'm a pretty regular user of Blogger, Facebook, Pinterest, Feedly (R.I.P. Google Reader), Google Docs, and Evernote. And I regularly visit sites like TED, NPR, NYTimes, TJP, and other sites to stay up to date on what's happening in the world (and also in the worlds of education & my faith).

And I was fine with that.

Really.

But more and more, my friends started posting what the Pope tweeted on Facebook. And one of the priests at my parish started referencing Twitter a lot. And I kept noticing hashtags (e.g. #isitfridayyet). #everywhere.

So I finally joined the Twitter nation (@KFoyle), not because I necessarily have the desire to tweet my own thoughts but mostly to follow and engage with the tweets of others. However, if I do post, I will try not to be obnoxious, nor will I attempt to bore people with the mundane happenings of my life. (We'll just have to see where the tweeting spirit leads me...)

So, happy Monday, friends. We made it.

And here's a little Twitter humor/food for thought for your day:

- "On Twitter we get excited if someone follows us. In real life we get really scared and run away." ~Unknown

-"It's not just about consuming content, but sharing it, passing it on, and adding to it." - @ariannahuff

-“LinkedIn is for the people you know. Facebook is for the people you used to know. Twitter is for people you want to know” ~ Source unknown

Weekend Musings...

This weekend has been filled with activities but has seemed slow. And that has been wonderful...

On Friday, I had aftercare, but one of my co-workers took over for me around 5, and I ended up spending about 3 hours sitting in Panera with my sister. (The good news is that their summer salad is back...) It was relaxing, good-quality sister time. We were both (although, probably she more than me) exhausted from the week, and after I dropped her back off at home, I went home, checked some emails, and headed to bed. It was going to be an early morning (and a full day) on Saturday.

And so Saturday morning did roll around - with the sun shining for the first part of the day, I thought I had overslept. (Thank goodness that was not the case - going through the day without a shower was not an option.) Up and at 'em for Marisa's kiddos' First Communion, I picked her up and was able to get in some reading while I waited in her room before Mass began.

Her students were all beautifully (and handsomely) dressed, and they were beyond excited for both the Eucharist and for their parties that would follow. I was blessed to minister the Blood during Communion to some of her students for the first time.

After about 2 hours' worth of Mass, we peaced out pretty quickly in order to make the afternoon portion of a day-long young adult retreat at our parish. We made it in time for the tail-end of lunch - score! And, while there was some confusion among our friends - "Wait, when did you get here?" and "Were you here this morning?" - we explained where we had been and continued on with the day, which included witness talks, discussion and reflection time, a brief Taize experience, Mass, and dinner. The night continued at a local bar, which had karaoke. (No, I did not participate.) Overall, it was another great retreat experience. (I love my Church!)

When I first woke up this morning, I did a little bit of work for school and wasted a bit of time on the internet before meeting up with my sister for a run. On the way, I encountered these lovely tulips blooming right alongside the road -->

Needless to say, I was very glad I had my phone with me.

Our run was pleasant - the sun was shining, but my oh my was it windy! I think we ran about 10 miles - we're trying to ramp up our mileage to get ready for a half marathon coming up. We'll see how it all goes... Following the run, I came home, cleaned up, ate, and have been working here and there on Religion reviews and other various activities for school. I think I'm just about ready for the week!

I also talked with both of my parents on the phone, which was lovely. We had some good story swaps and some good laughs too. Can't wait to see them this summer!

And, last of all, Happy Mothers' Day to all moms, especially mine. I hope you have a special, wonderful day!

Sometimes...

I had aftercare duty today, and, while there, I noticed the following "prayer" in the prayer corner:

I believe that sometimes this is the best we could possibly say because sometimes there just aren't words...

P.S. Check out our class banner for Mass today in honor of mothers:

(And, no, we did not get our idea from Pinterest...)

Student Teachers...?

As a teacher, learning how to let go of control over exactly how a lesson will flow can be a hard one to learn.

But it's one I'm learning how to do quickly in our fourth grade classroom, as students are turning in their DOJO points to become "teacher" for a subject.

So far, we've had four different students step up to the plate and embrace the challenge of planning and carrying out lessons in Math, Social Studies, and Science. At home, they've taken the time to find videos, create activities, make Powerpoints, and pre-read the book material.

I must admit, it's harder to let someone else teach than it looks/sounds. It's a lot more work up front to make sure the student knows exactly what lesson we'll be covering, to check in about activities and plans, etc., but during the lesson it's more just gentle guidance and chipping in when necessary to emphasize a point, generate the start to a discussion, and manage classroom behavior. (Actually, students are generally more well-behaved for their peers. Imagine that!)

Some people may think this idea of students teaching students is crazy, and 5 years ago (when I started teaching), I may have agreed. But I truly feel that we, as teachers, can use opportunities like these to empower students to master material and lead their classmates. When they can explain concepts to each other, then we know they've understood it in the first place.

And who knows - we may have a few future teachers on our hands...


(On a completely unrelated - but funny - note... At dismissal yesterday I was trying to call a student down to the office, but I ended up paging Pierce Brosnan instead... No big deal.)

St. Louis de Montfort on Our Mother Mary...

In the spirit of May (the month of Mary, Our Mother), I wanted to share (even though I already blogged today) a thought from The Magnificat: Year of Faith Companion -->

"Mary will share her faith with you...Therefore, the more you gain the friendship of this noble Queen and faithful Virgin, the more you will be inspired by faith in your daily life. It will cause you to depend less upon sensible and extraordinary feelings. For it is a lively faith animated by love enabling you to do everything from no other motive than that of pure love..."

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

You can lead a horse to water...

This is how I felt at a number of times today:

I was literally standing over students in their seats with their blank papers after we had stopped to answer some questions and have our discussion. (In my head = Participation is not an option!) I pointed, coaxed, and invited...however, much to my chagrin, the paper remained empty by the end of class.

What more can I do? 

<Enter Chinese Proverb from above>

Some days I feel so ineffective...yet there are most students who are participating and completing their activities. So, we must be doing something right...

I'm still looking for ways to keep those daydreamers and (I say this lovingly) 'space cadets' engaged...when I get that mastered, we'll really be in business...

What I've Learned from Going SCREEN FREE

Where do I begin?

At the beginning, of course...

It all started when...

Just kidding.

Having been away from blogging for about a week, I've actually been flooded with ideas, thoughts, reflections, and more - I probably should have kept blogging during SCREEN FREE WEEK just to keep my sanity. Ah, well, such is life...

Here are just a few conclusions I have come to during the past 168 hours (7 days a week x 24 hours a day):

1) In an age where society is constantly "plugged in," I can see how television, social media, and computers suck us in and suck up a lot of our time.

And I also realize that getting students to READ over watching TV or using their iPod apps is oftentimes going to be an uphill battle. My mission, therefore, over the next month is to come up with some way to make our students accountable for reading over the summer months. Let's face it, summer book assignments (of 1-2 books) is NOT enough...

2) As long as I teach at the 4th/5th grade level, I will use the book Tuck Everlasting.

When students come into school in the morning and before even saying "Good morning," they say, "Ms. Foyle, Tuck Everlasting is SO GOOD. I can't wait for book club today!" you know it's quality stuff you've put into their hands. The students in my group this year have literally been swept up in this idea of everlasting life, weighing the pros and cons for both themselves and the characters. (Plus, one student keeps reading to find out if Jesse and Winnie get together in the end - she's obsessed with the "love story" I suppose.)

I LOVE IT!

3) Facebook and Pinterest are both well and good, but they often prove to be sources of time-wasting.

I'll admit - it was difficult to be away from both of these sites for a week. (Granted, I would sometimes pin websites to Pinterest, but I would not go on and browse.) But the time I gained from my withdrawal was incredible. In the mornings, I had more time to read blog posts & prayer reflections and to just sit in the peace and quiet. At night, I spent more time preparing for school by getting additional resources and videos for the students to enhance what we would be doing from the book chapters this week. I even scored student science assessments OUTSIDE on the back patio. (It was LOVELY!)

So I guess you could say I learned that while I thoroughly enjoy using Facebook and Pinterest, I can live without them - that means (at least for now) I should think about cutting back on my site visits. :) Time is a precious thing I am tired of losing.

4) The hardest times to go without television are a) at the gym and b) on the weekends...and c) when you buy tickets in advance to see NPR's first live cinecast event)

Honestly, I don't watch a lot of TV. But it's hard to escape it at the gym. (I suppose I should have just chalked up my gym membership fees for this week and gone outside to run instead, but I figured since I'm paying to belong to a club, I should go.) So, I guess I did cheat. A little.

It's also hard to not just flick on the TV when you're home at night on the weekend and your brain is fried. Going out with friends obviously solves that (as it did for me Friday night - see below). Reading is also a good pastime, if you can concentrate. And sleep is good too.

What I've learned here, then, I suppose is if I ever need to give up cable, I can do it!

at my sister's school's fundraiser event

I hope you have had a most wonderful week. And I encourage you, if only for a day or two (at the least), to try "unplugging" and go SCREEN FREE.