Always Reading!

This is one of my favorite books by far right now. As I am finishing up my years at college, I wanted to start reading books that would boost my understanding of what direction I wanted to take my life after I graduated college. Check out her book HERE! 

This is a super short read! I think I powered through this within a half hour. It helps you set goals and figure out the best way to use your time in the morning. You can actually get the book for FREE on this link HERE! Lewis Howes also has a podcast, he talks about figuring out your life and setting attainable goals for yourself! 

This was recommended to me by a friend and WOW! This book drops some real truth about life and growing up as a woman in todays society. I think the book is an "inspiring account of how we are all born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all". Check it out HERE! I am still reading it and fell in love with the book by the first chapter. 

EM

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A Mile Deep

When asked to define authentic intellectual work of social studies for my “Teaching Elementary Social Studies” class this semester, I first thought of the idea in a broad sense. The idea that students are learning some type of information and then thinking even deeper. I compared this way of thinking to either an “inch deep and a mile wide” or “a mile deep and an inch wide”. Authentic intellectual work would be digging a mile deep into a subject or topic to truly understand the meaning and significance behind it. This way of thinking promotes many ways of learning within the classroom. During our Social Studies class, we focused specifically on what authentic intellectual work within an elementary school classroom would look like. It is very similar to the broader definition but broken down into specific ideas.

In Social Studies, when students learn about different religions, they are also learning about the beliefs, cultures, and values that go along with them. In Mary Cowhey’s book, “Black Ants and Buddhists”, the students begin to crush a family of black ants in their classroom until Som Jet asks them to stop because, “they are living things” (3, Cowhey). This moment starts an open class conversation about life and values of different religions that continues throughout the year. The crushed ants started a year long growth for the students. They began to learn about different religions, hear from parents and community members who walk with these beliefs. The students are learning a “mile deep” from an “inch” of a moment because they can connect the ideas in class about religion to their own lives outside of school. Another example of this authentic intellectual work is within Ms. Temple’s classroom when she talks about gender issues head on. She explains, “that broadening my students’ ideas of what was acceptable for boys and girls was an important first step” within her classroom. The first step was to engage students, she started by reading a book that could be traced to things the students were experiencing in their lives. Then she brought the discussion back around to gender roles within their classroom.

Social Studies can be done in a variety of ways. So what does it look like for social studies to be “done” in a multitude of ways? “Doing” social studies is being actively engaged in community, news, social justice, and every other piece that fits into puzzle that is social studies. Every day students are “doing” social studies, whether they are watching the news with parents or talking about the hurricanes in the Caribbean. In my life I “do” social studies every day, sometimes consciously sometimes unconsciously. Every morning, I read through my New York Times daily briefing and another news source called The Skimm. I get the gist of the important events and recently I have been focused on the weather more than usual. Having family in the Bahamas makes me hyper aware of the hurricanes and what the effects of the storms are. Truthfully, I tend to “do” social studies unconsciously throughout my day. I think most people interact with social studies on some level each day. In the “Black Ants and Buddhists” book I mentioned earlier, most of the piece is her class “doing” social studies throughout their day without even realizing. In my perspective people are interacting with social studies even after they graduate from primary grades. Every day people watch the news, talk about social justice issues, or what is happening within the their communities every day. For example, I volunteer with a student organization on campus called, Midnight Run. Every week we head out into our surrounding community and volunteer in many different ways. The organization offers reflection sessions where students are then able to reflect and talk about their experiences, Without realizing it, Midnight Run, has created a space for students where they are doing authentic intellectual work AND “doing” social studies all at once. This type of work happened at my field placement during my sophomore year of college.

https://www.regionalfoodbank.org/events/feedinghope

The students I worked with were engaged with a community project within their school. They were collecting food and clothes for a drive they were doing as a school. There was a kick-off assembly and flyers passed out so everyone was fully involved with this activity. The students spent the next few weeks spreading news of their drive and collecting donations. When the drive came to a close they talked about what they collected and what types of things people donated; comparing things they had at home to what they were giving away and what was missing from their donations. The teacher encouraged students to research and discover how many people were considered below the poverty line within their community. This single activity spread over the course of a few weeks and kept students engaged with their community and actively “doing” social studies. Students and youth are always involved in social studies, whether it is Kid President telling us about how we should be treating others and running our country or students completing a food drive for their school.

As a teacher, however, it can be tricky to assess what students are learning from doing social studies in such a multifaceted way. There are ways to discover what students know without giving a written exam or paper. They create a project showing what they learned. For example, the class that participated in the food drive can give a presentation on what they learned about their community, the amount of food raised, and where everything is being donated too. If a class hasn’t done a large scale project such as that, students can complete other types of assessment. If you are only asking them to follow along with news sources. Then they can create a current events piece on what they have been learing.

How I do Social Studies!

You can asses they understanding of good news sources and how they report on what is going on around the world. For a deeper connection, students can connect pieces they write about to events happening within their hometown community. There are many ways to assess what students are learning from their social studies expierences. Social studies give students a wide range of topics and ideas to work with and explore within their lives outside and in school!

This post can also be read on: Medium

Thursday Dinner

I love a good new (slightly healthy recipe), especially when its for a food that I eat all the time! 

I love to make spaghetti squash, I try to find ways to change it up and try new ways of cooking with it. I found this GREAT recipe for a version of it off Pinterest. 

I edited it to make it my own but find the original recipe HERE.

What you'll need: 

1 spaghetti squash - I got a real big one so I could have leftovers 

6 cloves of garlic -put this through a garlic press. I love my garlic press from Williams and Sonoma. 

1/2 c. water

1 chicken bullion cube -crumble this up a little bit! It helps it dissolve faster

1 1/4c. heavy cream

1 c. mozzarella

1/2 c. provolone

1/2 c. asiago 

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 sprig of fresh thyme

parsley to add extra flavor

What to do:

1. Spaghetti squash is super hard to cut up! But poke a few holes into it and throw it in the microwave in a little water for a few minutes in order to soften it up.

2. Preheat to 400 degrees F. Cut the top and bottom off and then the entire squash in half. Scoop out the insides and place it on a pan, inside facing up. That is the part we will stuff! I sprinkle some of my pepper over it at this point. 

3. In a bowl, mix garlic, cream, chicken cube, water, fresh thyme and parsley. 

4. In another bowl, mix the cheeses together and sprinkle a handful at the bottom of each squash. 

5. Divide the cream mix in half and pour one half into part of the squash and the other half in the last one. 

6. Then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the squashes. 

7. Throw it in the oven to roast for 40-50 minutes. 

8. Serve immediately! Enjoy

I will someones make some veggies and steam them a little for a side dish! Or I will make some croutons from bread at home to enjoy with the squash.

EM

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#OOTD

Running around doing errands and teaching today! This is a great go-to outfit for when I have a busy day but need to teach as well. I am teaching in a variety of schools right now, so my attire change based on my school. 

Coat HERE, block color pastel scarf HERE, black sunglasses HERE, everyday grey sweater HERE, lighter wash jeans, love THESE & THESE, spring flats HERE but have my eyes on THESE

EM
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Cancun Adventures: Part 2

Beach Selfie! Suit HERE Sunglasses old, but love THESE, necklace was a gift! 

Shirt HERE, necklace HERE, lipstick HERE

The view from our hammock! Love these leggings from Nordstrom HERE.

Have y'all heard of the HUJI app? It makes your photos look like they are from a film camera. The other two pictures above this one are taken on the App. 

Leggings & Shirt linked earlier. Shoes are J.Crew HERE.

Chilaquiles for breakfast! 

View from our last lunch on the resort! 

Bye Cancun!

That is the end of the Cancun pictures, but I head off to Grand Bahama Island next week! Keep an eye out for beach outfits and shoes I am loving for spring!!

EM

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Beach Clothes I am LOVING

Love Emily Gemma's summer style! Find more at her page: HERE

As always, Jess is stunning, whats new!? Find more from her beachy clothes I love HERE

Found this girly on Pinterest and am OBSESSED with her skirt. I am on a hunt for it now, the stripes are just SO in right now. HERE is where I found her style.

~update: Check out here for the link to her stripes~ 

I have been dreaming of getting my hands on a kimono lately and I FINALLY found one I love from Shein but I have never ordered from there before. I will keep you updated if I do. 

Kimono love continues but I just bought THIS white swim suit and have my eye on THIS top. 

What are y'all wearing this spring break on the beach??

EM

Planning My Week

I use a few different planner but my Passion Planner is my favorite!

I first go through and write my classes in for the week with my Papermate Flair pens! 

Then I add in work and fill in the hours I will be doing each task with my Midliners. 

Next come the extras like gym, teaching times, sorority events, sleep times!

I set my goals for each day at the top! 

Then I write a focus for the week.

Then I added a space at the bottom for "Finances" and "Looking Ahead". 

Finally, I add in things under my "To-Do" and "Work" lists.

That is my planner! I write out my planner two weeks in advance and then add things in as the week progresses. Most weeks it starts out looking nice and organized like this but sometimes when life is extra crazy, it starts to look like the one below. 

EM
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Women Teacher Blogs I LOVE

The Magnolia Teacher was one of the first teacher blogs I ever followed when I became a "future teacher". She uses a science notebook to guide her class and it is such creative idea! It keeps the students engaged and out of the textbook world! Plus, she has a super cute class pet, Winston, the guinea pig. 

The FiveFootOneTeacher is another absolute favorite of mine. Her school was the one that most recently had the school shooting and man is she making change in her school and community after this disaster. Follow along with her never ending positively and encouragement within the classroom. 

I recently found TheDesignerTeacher as well! I was looking for teachers who really talk about and work with social justice issues in their classes and she was the first I found. I can't wait to follow along for more about her and the work she is doing in her classroom. 

EM

Cancun Adventures: Part 1

Hat is from American Eagle! 

Swim suit is HERE, Cover up is old but love THIS & THIS, Sunglasses are HERE,  Hat is old but adore THIS & THIS plus its only $25. And as always my watch is Daniel Wellington. 

So many sunny days spent in Cancun, Mexico at Villa Del Palmar with my girlfriends! We laid by the pool and relaxed in the sun. We shared some island drinks and spent time in the ocean. The food was SO good so I ate lots of fish tacos, chips & guac, and also some Mexican rice and beans.

Keep an eye out for another post with more pictures to come!

EM

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