Covenant Friends Reunion 2009

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19 weeks

Ha! I tried to button my jean jacket tonight and it will barely close. :)

I still can't seem to get a decent picture that actually reflects what I look like, but here's the best of the not-so-great options. Excuse the clutter, we just moved in. :)

Big Happenings in the Bishop Household

We're first-time homeowners (yup, we'll be lookin' for that tax rebate, baby)!!!

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Aug 22 was Moving Day. This pregnant mama didn't lift a thing, and yet I still felt like I could have gone to sleep for the night by 3 pm. We couldn't have done it without the help and support of so many sweet friends!

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First Belly Pics

Well, if you check this blog w/ any frequency, you've probably already noticed a couple recent additions: "tickers" to countdown until Jan. 28th, when we hope to meet Baby Bishop (otherwise currently known as Bito)!!!

So, Thursday we hit the 15 week mark and I've begun to document the belly growth. We discovered that it's really hard to get an accurate view, 'cause in person my stomach seems a lot bigger, but this is as good a shot as any (I promise, Mom, I'm not pooching).

Nationalism in the afterlife...

Heaven is where the police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, and its all organized by the Swiss.

Hell is where the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and it's all organized by the Italians.

--seen on a t-shirt...

Out of the mouths of "babes"...

Ok, not "babes" 'cause they're 7th graders...

Today the kids had a chance to write notes to their teachers/principals/counselors for Teacher Appreciation Week. This was my favorite one-- to the guidance counselor:

"Dear Mr. ____, Thank you for helping me with my problems, even though you have your own problems."

A close second was to another teacher:

"Dear Ms. _____, Thank you for making class fun, except for when you're mad..."

You know it's time for summer break when you catch yourself about to call one of your students "idiot"

With 16 days left of school I feel I am at my wits' end. I am being snippy w/ my students ('course they've been snippy w/ me all year...), crabby, exhausted, and just OVER IT.

I am frustrated at the point my students are at, becoming 8th graders in 3 short weeks. I don't feel like they have learned strategies to cope. They continue to want me to show them how to do things, basically to the point of doing it for them. But I'm NOT doing it!!! I am really backing off and letting them make mistakes, reminding them that they should have listened in class, read the directions, saved their notes, studied, etc. No more spoon feeding. Period. It will only set them up for failure next year.

Today our math lesson had the students cutting out "nets" to create cylinders, pentagonal prisms, and triangular prisms. I repeated several times that the students should cut out the shapes as one whole unit (not cut off the top and bottom circles). I even SHOWED them how it should look and yet I still had a student who did exactly what I warned them not to do!! And, I did not fix it for them or give them another sheet! I reminded them that they should have listened to the directions and that the only way I could have done more to help them avoid the mistake is if I would have cut it out for them, which I was not about to do for an almost 8th grader.

I know this shouldn't be a big deal, but I am just so tired of how much students want you to do for them. It makes me feel like I've failed them that they still want me to hold their hands and walk them through each step. I am determined that I will do better next year at teaching study skill strategies, rather than focusing on how to do individual problems.