Wrapping It Up

The end of the year is always such a crazy time, especially when you are a teacher. December holds various parties, concerts, and other special events. It also means that the kiddos are crazy excited for all these special things, most especially Christmas. I mean, who can blame them!

Even amidst all of the craziness, we had a fantastic end of 2012 in 2nd grade! My students stayed focused till the end. We even topped off our last day of school with a party, including lots of treats, games, crafts, and waffles! Yeah, we made waffles for lunch. It was delicious and slightly insane of me, I realize. It worked out wonderfully though and was so tasty! We also played games with the 1st graders, created our own sock snowmen, and watched the ADORABLE preschool/kindergarten Christmas play. The best way to finish off the first part of our school year.

I have gotten to spend the last part of 2012 in my homeland of Wisconsin. Time here is always so wonderful and goes far too fast! The days have been packed with family gatherings, hang outs with friends, Packer parties, and sleeping in. All of my most favoritest things! Family Christmas gatherings included mockery, Wii sports (with my dad, which was incredibly amusing!), and pigs' feet. We are quite a diverse group.

A few of my phenomenal cousins! Always a great time with this bunch! And check out that stellar Packer's championship shirt :)

This break also allowed me to spend time with friends, ones I don't get to see much at all anymore. It is so great to get to see them when we all come home, even if it is only 1 night! Though it does hurt my heart a little to only see them for one night every few months. Just a result of growing up, I guess!

Sidenote: I've decided someday I am going to buy up land and make a commune, on which all of my friends' can live. Not the weird kind where we make our own food and dance around in the fields. More like a giant cul-de-sac.

Another sidenote: Have you noticed my new blog look? I figured it could use an update with the new year! Woohoo for 2013!

As I contemplate the upcoming year that is 2013, I feel a little intimidated, a smide anxious, but pretty excited! It is going to be a year of changes, for sure. But 2012 has sure been one fantastic year! So thankful God blessed me with such an awesome year of life. Bring on 2013!!

Hunting for Homophones

You know what is fun? Learning about homophones.

Now you may be thinking that I've lost it, that I have taken a big swig of the 2nd grade kool aid. Perhaps I have developed into a bit of a nerd since beginning my teaching career. Er, scratch that. I have totally become a nerd. I speak in phonegrams. I correct grammar and punctuation of anyone who interacts with me. It happens. I've learned to embrace it.

This year has been much easier for me. It is crazy how much better your second year is compared to your first year! Every teacher says it and it is so true. I have worked to make my lessons better and I really feel like I have done so. Plus, this year's class also really loves to learn about anything and everything!

This week we started learning about homophones: words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Here is an example for you: sail and sale. Well, after introducing what these words are, my students went nuts. We covered 2/3 of the chalkboard with these words including there, they're, and their, sea and sea, and peace and piece.

The only problem? My students couldn't stop thinking of homophones. We would be walking down the hall and all of a sudden I would hear someone whispering, "Miss Ongnaaaaaa! Miss Ongnaaaaaa! I thought of another homophone!" They would be working on their own work and a student would raise their hand, "I just thought of another one!" Then again while we were lining up for lunch. And again while we were packing up at the end of the day. They couldn't stop!

Today we dove into homographs and homonyms. You can only imagine their excitement. Seriously, I couldn't even believe it! This excitement makes teaching totally fun, even when teaching what could be a tedious/possibly frustrating grammar lesson. I also made some posters for each of these terms with Mr. Sketch scented markers. I swear to you these markers make everything exciting! They are scented! How could they not make something instantly fun?

So, to wrap up, homophones are fun. So are 2nd graders. And scented markers. Class dismissed!

A Thankful December

I realize I am quite behind the times with this thankful list. November is the thankful month, seeing as it holds the beloved holiday that is Thanksgiving. Well, I didn't quite get my act together to have this ready in time. Also, why not be thankful in December? Or all year round! That is what I say to students so I may as well break off and use a piece of my own advice. So, as we finish off 2012, here is a list of some of the many, many things that I thankful for and have been blessed with.

1. Communication devices: While I love where I live and the people here, I live around mostly new people, which means all my family and friends from home and from college live in a bunch of other states. This means I use my computer and cell phone frequently to chat. It is amazing to be able to text a quick hello or joke to a friend across the country, 2 time zones behind me! And boy does she love those texts at 4 am her time!
   
2. Wisconsin: The love I have for my home state has only been magnified since I left it. I calculated the other day that I haven't lived there consistently in 6 years. Wow! But I always love to go back for holidays and visits. WI is a beautiful place and is filled to the brim with people I love! It will always be home.
   
3. Books: I realize I talk about books a lot. I'm sorry if I bore you with my limited interests. I'm not really though. Who doesn't love getting sucked into a great book?! This past week I read 4 books, all part of a series. I was addicted. I sacrificed precious sleep. I whipped my hair into a ponytail just to get in 10 minutes of extra reading time in the morning. I have a problem, I know. I am not willing to give up my addiction anytime soon though, so there's no use arranging the intervention.


4. Hot showers: The only thing that can take the sting out of waking up at 5:20 every morning is knowing that a delightfully hot shower will be waiting for me. Helping me to not only stay clean but to contemplate life. I make some pretty solid life decisions at 5:30 am.


5.  My coworkers: I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic the people are that I work with. They are amazing teachers who all have such a zeal and passion for what they do. Whenever I need an idea, am struggling with a problem, or just want to share an adorable story, they are always there. I cannot imagine going through my first few years of teaching without them.
   
6. Dorothy Lynch Salad Dressing: This is strange. Don't worry, I realize too. One of my roommates from college and I both had a love for this delicious and random food item. So, this post is for you, Tasha! It is yummy, yummy, yummy! Also, this dressing is not available in PA. Sadness. I'll just have to continue to import it from the west.
   
7. Family Dinners: While I was back in WI, I realize how much I like my family as well as love them. I got to get together with several different parts of my relation, including the always hilarious Voskuil/Beezhold clan. I don't know if you can fathom how much laughter can occur in a couple of hours. I was literally in pain. It is the best feeling ever.
   
8. The Farm: My parents are farmers, thus they live on a farm. Or is it they live on a farm, thus they are farmers? Huh. Profound, I know. Either way, I didn't appreciate this fact as much when I was growing up. This past Thanksgiving, I hung outside with my dad for a bit just petting the steers and walking around. I love everything about it: the smells, the cows, the absolute beauty, and the hard work that has gone in there. I couldn't be more proud to be the child of an incredibly hard working dad!

A Day in 2nd Grade!

Alright, it has been a while since I've posted. This would be why. I've been working on this post when I've had free moments and I am finally done! I've written out a rough outline of a typical school day in my classroom. I've had a good deal of people ask me what my day is like, so I figured I would write it all out for ya!

If you are completely uninterested in reading my mini-novel, I take no offense. Skip away! If you are interested, I hope you enjoy a peek into my classroom. Believe me when I say that I really enjoy my days and it is fun to get to teach so many subjects in one day! The big pro of being an elementary teacher.

This day, to get specific, would be a Tuesday. I realize it doesn't matter to you but I need to include it because I need to. Yes, I have slight OCD. It's fine.

7:10- I arrive at school, put graded papers into student mailboxes, write the schedule on the board, and get my things arranged for the morning.

7:40- Head down to the office to check my mailbox, make copies, and make my tea (Tazo Passion is my favorite at the moment...SO good!)

7:50- Students begin to arrive at school and they hand in their homework, which I check and file.

8:20- School begins! Students take their seats and we do devotions and calendar time.

8:40- We start spelling: everyday is a spelling test on 24 words, then I teach 6 new words.

9:15- Language begins. We label our sentences: subject noun, verb, adverb, adjective, article adjectives, preposition, object of the preposition, and subject/predicate. There is also time for a quick lesson on quotation marks. "I love language!" said the 2nd graders.

9:45- Just enough time for everyone's favorite: Rocket Math! Students are each on a level and need to write in 40 facts correctly in 1 minute to pass to the next level. They practice orally with each other then move on to the timed test.

10- Music! We line up and I bring the students down to the music room. During this time I make copies, check and return school emails, and work on lessons for the rest of the week. Chatting with other teachers and my principal can also occur during this time :)

10:30- I pick up my students from music class and head back to our room for math. A lesson on adding double digit numbers is up for today! I introduce the topic, explain the strategy to adding the ones and tens, then we move on to practicing on personal white boards. Once we are all on board the students grab their math books and rip out their worksheet for today's lesson. Work time!

10:55- We wrap up and clean up, then pray before we head down to the lunch room for lunch. I head back to my classroom to enjoy some lunch!

11:25- Lunch is over and I head down to pick up the kids. Lots of hugs greet me from various students, current and previous, while we line up to head down to our classroom to grab coats and line up for recess.

11:30- The kiddos head outside for recess while I head to the chalkboard. I write up the afternoon schedule, get my things in order for the afternoon, and snag a quick run to the bathroom. I also stop by the 1st grade teacher's room to chat about field trip plans, upcoming events, and other random news.

12:00- Recess is over and I can hear the kids outside the doors! I take my students into my room and they get settled. I then start to read from "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator", our latest read aloud book. Read aloud time is a big hit and there is always begging for more!

12:15- We finish up our reading and line up to head down for bathroom and drink time.

12:25- As the students get settled, we begin reading. Students take out their reading books, we begin by discussing the topic of kindness and I introduce ideas, vocabulary words, and any other information needed. Students then split off to read the story and complete a worksheet to check their comprehension. Discussion takes place after as we wrap up.

1:25- After reading is finished, we keep plugging right into Bible. We head to the table in the back of our room. I tell the story verbally and students listen, with questions and discussion after. We often times have phenomenal discussions on some pretty tough subjects. Bible ends with a worksheet that could be a crossword, questions, or an art activity of sorts.

2- On to science! This the favorite subject for most, thus a great subject for the end of the day! We have been studying the states of matter and start out with a discussion of what we have learned in the previous lessons. We then jump into an experiment on the weights of solids, liquids, and gases. We hypothesize and test various object weights against others. We then layer liquids in a beaker with the tradition density experiment! A total hit. Lots of "woahs" and "cool"!

2:35- The final chunk of the day. Silent reading time! Students all grab a pillow and a mat and snag a spot in the room to read silently to themselves. One student gets to take their turn on the green reading chair. This time is incredibly silent and the students loooove it! So does Miss Ongna :)

2:50- The school day is over and we pack up and head out! The end of the day also includes thumb high fives and, on Fridays, we do a Friday dance. Yep. You read that right. Friday dance. We have a great time in 2nd grade! It is great to spend each day like this. I am spoiled :)

The Grumble Box

I have to tell you about something amazing that happened at the beginning of this year and has continued through the school year. This is one of those moments as a teacher that you simply cherish because you can see God working through these amazing young kids and they ended up teaching me.

It all started when I read a devotion one morning about a family that struggled with grumbling. In the story, the family decided to make a grumble box and every time someone grumbled, they had to put money into the box.

After I had read the story, we discussed grumbling, the fact that it is a sin, and no one wants to be around a person who is comstantly grumbling and complaining. That is when it happened. One of the students suggested that we put our own grumble box on the board and put checks in whenever someone grumbled. All of the students got very excited and wholeheartedly agreed to work on this and keep each other accountable!

I was completely flabbergasted. Here were my students asking to be held accountable for their grumbling. In what universe does that happend??

Well, we put the box up on the board and started to keep track. It took a bit to get used to being aware, but eventually my students went on to make it an entire week without grumbling or complaining! How amazing is that?! I can only say that God has been doing amazing things with these students. We still have the box up and continue to keep each other accountable to this day.

I feel that it is only fair to admit that yes, I have gotten a check or two up on the board. A stack of papers I had in a binder fell completely out and I let out a small "Ohh man!" From behind me I hear, "Uh oh. Miss Ongna, that was a grumble!" Busted. As embarrasing as it is to be made aware of my complaining by one of my students, I could not have been more proud in that moment! These kids have held each other, and me, accountable for their sinful actions. The best part is, when one alerts another about their grumbling, there is no yelling or getting angry at that person about it. They simply realize and admit that they have done wrong. Seriously! I just can't make this stuff up.

How fantastic would it be if we could do the same in our daily lives? Simply hold each other accountable for our sins with no hard feelings, judgment, or better than thou attitudes. Their awareness of their grumbling and attitude towardes changing it has, in turn, made me extrememly aware of my tendency to complain and convicted me to work on it. My students are teaching me. It doesn't get much better than this folks!

Wonderfulness!

I'm becoming terrible at keeping up on this blog. I apologize. Life, as it always seems to have the tendency to, has become rather busy during this joyous holiday time. Plus I rather enjoy having a lazy Saturday when I can, totally shutting my mind off from all that may distract it from simply existing as an oozy pile of muscle.

School has been simply plowing forward and my students continue to blow me away! I wish I could have you all in my classroom for a day so you could simply marvel with me at the wonderfulness that is them!

I also continue to enjoy the joy that is hanging out with 7 and 8 year old kids and their most delightful selves! My goodness, these kids are hilarious and awesome. Today, one of our spelling words was chicken. At the end of teaching the kids how to spell the word and putting it on the board, I always ask for someone to give me a sentence. A student did, then they raised their hand and said, "Miss Ongna, could we do the chicken dance, since it was a spelling word and all?"

My answer to that question? "Of course! Why would we not?!" So, we all got up and did the chicken dance, at 9 am on a Monday morning.

Who wouldn't want to? I love that my kids are quirky, energetic, creative, and a bit weird! When they tell me that I am weird I reply with a "thank you so much!" I would hate to think that a child wouldn't be comfortable being anything but themselves in my classroom. Just read the bulletin board outside of my classroom. We have been studying dinosaurs and fossils in reading, so I had my students write a newspaper article about a dinosaur attack. SO creative and hilarious! They all took their ideas and ran with it. Love it so much.

If you can't tell, I am really enjoying my school year. You may think I exaggerate or am simply embellishing because I am writing it on a blog, but please take my word for it: it is completely and utterly true. I don't know how I was so blessed to be able to come teach these kids, but I am so, so grateful for it!

Of course, what would be a post about the joy that are my delightful students without a few quotes? These kids rock.

"You sneeze weird. And you laugh weird. And you're weird! Were you like this as a child?"

Student: "Squish! That's an onamonamona!"
Me: "A what now? Oh, you mean an onomatopoeia?"
Student: "Yeah, that's what I said."

"I'm really in a good mood today. I think it's because I ate ice cream last night!"

"Mmmm I just want to eat you up!"

Doesn't get any better than this!

Just a few things...

As I have said many a times, I am incredibly blessed. I am taking time to appreciate it really and truly this year, a personal goal of mine. That may sound cheesy and this list may very well be just as much, but I enjoyed doing it and it always helps me to write things down and reflect. So here it is: a few things I really love!

Books...
I really love books. Julia and I both do. It's almost a problem at times. We are constantly hearing of recommendations, reading a book, then giving it to the other to read. In other words, we never ever catch up on our "to read" list. And don't even get me started on Half Price Books...There could be worse things, right? One of my new favorites: "The Book Thief." Please go out and read it if you have not. It is amazing! 

New Friends...
A part of living in a big city means that I am constantly meeting new people. I have gotten to be pretty good at it, so I think. I still have my moments where I'll point and make a weird sound and look back in horror. Ugh. Why am I socially awkward sometimes?
Even so, it has been fun to make new relationships and to really become better at getting out of my comfy little box.


Music...
The new Mumford & Sons album came out not too long ago and I have been listening to it non stop. I'm a bit obsessed. Their music is just perfect for any mood! Personal favorite song? "I Will Wait." You need to blast it. Also, my cousin just introduced me to The Civil Wars and I've really liked their stuff too. I pretty much like any music though, so don't take me for an expert music critic. If it sounds good, I likey! 

My Grandma...
I am quite close with my Grandma. I talk to her every other week or so and whenever we talk, I end up laughing till there are tears in my eyes! She is so blunt and hilarious, but she is also such an encouragement to me. She has been a huge part of my life and constantly reminds me that she is praying for me and that God has an awesome plan for me. She also reminds me that in her prayers she is praying very hard for God to bring me a man. I should introduce her to my students.

My roomie...
Julia. She is my roommate and (nearly) lifelong friend, whom I have written about many times. I cannot tell you how much I love her. Moving out here would have been 5 million times harder without her here to vent to, lesson plan with, and figure out how in the world to navigate around the city. Plus we laugh all the time. We have become far too alike and have waaaay too many inside jokes. I love it! She is getting married next summer and while I am INCREDIBLY excited for her and Peter (her fiance), I can't help but be just a teeny bit sad. Living with her has been amazing and selfishly, I don't want to give her up. But we have months of memories still to make and I am very excited for that!

So, after writing this list, I feel pretty warm and fuzzy on the inside! Feel free to remind me with a gentle slap if I ever get ridiculous and start to complain about anything.

Fun and Games and Willy Wonka!

I don't remember a whole lot from when I was in 2nd grade. I do remember some things crystal clear, such as the sunflower field trip to my teacher's house, the Tom Turkey play, "flying" to Mexico, and, of course, the cheese sandwich incident. (If you haven't heard that story, just ask any of my classmates from that year, including my roommate and cousin, and they could tell you. It has followed and haunted me ever since!)

This makes me realize that my students aren't going to remember every single thing that happened in 2nd grade. I also realize that doesn't mean that what we do everyday isn't important--I am preparing them for the next step in their education, each grade building on the next! But it also brings to my attention that kids remember the crazy things, the fun things, and the times when school was just the best!

Don't get all worried now, I don't spend all day playing games with my students, watching movies, and just goofing around! I do, however, look for ways in which I can make learning exciting, interesting, and captivating. Sometimes, concepts just need to be taught and there isn't a rip roaring, exciting way. Other times, I can get creative and do something like hide different words that make up sentences around the room and make my students find and create a silly sentence. I love that I get a chance to make learning fun and exciting for them! Often times that means being absolutely ridiculous, dressing up as Willy Wonka, and speaking in crazy voices. God definitely equipped me with the right personality for the job!

Lots of people ask me if I am a fun teacher and I tell them, I try to be! But I also hope that beyond the fun they are learning a whole bunch about themselves, the world around us, and they God who created it all. That is my ultimate goal. I continue to pray that they reach this every single day.

I now leave you with some pictures AND a video! My students just finished a unit studying fairy tales, so they wrote their own reader's theater and then performed it, using items around our classroom for props. It is awesome! I love their creativity. Such an amazing group of kids :)

To practice using "spicy" adjectives, the students chose an adjective, then illustrated it on a pumpkin!

Our rapidly growing bookworm! Each segment has a title of a chapter book on that the students have read.

Book Character Dress Up Day!

Since I went as Willy Wonka, I HAD to give my students "Wonka" bars with golden tickets inside!

My People

People.

The world is full of them. Living in a large city, I see and am around people I don't know nor will I ever see again. I can walk into a store and interact with dozens of people who I know nothing about.

Then there is the small population of the world that you can call yours. Your friends, your family, your people. These are the people who know you, who accept you, who love you.

I am grateful to say that I have been blessed with the most fantastic people in my life.

Last weekend, I was blessed to be the personal attendant for two dear friends' wedding. This was a wedding of two people from a group of friends of mine. We all met at college and, through many ridiculous and awesome times, became incredible friends. We now live in 6 or so different states with various jobs and lives. It is not often when we see each other, but when we do, we have an incredible time!

There was a moment last weekend when we were all laughing about something when I just stopped for a moment and thought...how was I so blessed to come out with the most phenomenal friends?

I have been thinking about it recently. My life is filled to the brim with encouraging, loving, friendly, considerate, kind, Christian people who love me and accept me for me. I get to be my oddball self and they are still my friend. How blessed am I?!?

It is my hope and goal that I am as good of a friend to others as they are to me. Even living hundreds of miles away from most of my friends and family, I still feel love and hope I am sending plenty their way as well! I cannot thank God enough for these people. Let's be honest, I am a bit of a people person. People in my life get me through, encourage me and are the driving force through the tough times and are there to celebrate and share in the joy of the great times!

So I say to the wonderful people in my life...I am so thankful for you!!

Three extraordinary girls, my besties, at Alex and Aaron's wedding. These girls are all sorts of awesome!

Cruise Control

School has been in session about a month now. It's already October, which seems CRAZY to me, but all the same, I will take it! I looove fall--as does everyone else. (I mean, have you seen the facebook statuses? The cyber world is a little fall crazed.)

While I love the crisp leaves, cool weather, beautiful trees, I also love getting back into school and all of the fantastic activities that come with fall including book character dress up day, field trips, and celebrating those delightful fall holidays!

Here in 2nd grade, we have been cruising along, pretty much since the 3rd day of school. My kids are all such eager learners and really love school! It allows me to just simply teach and flow right from one concept to another! One thing in particular they all love: reading. These kids devour books. It is phenomenal to teach a group of kids that are pumped to go to the library, love read aloud time, and want to read for homework!

To help encourage this love, I have created a bookworm in our classroom. The rules are simple: you need to read a substantial book that is mostly words. No picture books for this book worm. Every time you finish a book, let Miss Ongna know and I stick up a part of the worm's body with the book title on it. I started it at the beginning of last week. It is already halfway across one wall of my room. Love it! I think I may be in trouble with this idea, however, seeing as it is only October. We may have to extend in the hallway by the end of the year...

We've also been doing lots of fun activities in our other subjects. The students needed practice with the their, there, and they're words. Why not use shaving cream? I plopped some on their desks and I gave them a sentence, they have to write the one that was used. Needless to say, they enjoyed it :)

Getting into it!

Animals have been the focus of our studies in science, so we have done several activities including making tinfoil animals and dunking them in hot/cold water to understand cold blooded animals. We also created candy insects to go over the three parts of insects: head, thorax, and abdomen. We also talked about the exoskeletons, but it's hard to create that out of candy! And what better way to learn than to observe the real thing? One morning, one of my students hauled out that lovely snake in a bag out of their backpack. It was dead and totally in tact. Coolest thing ever!

The dead snake. Amazing!

Candy Insects

As you can see, 2nd grade is off to a great start as we head into our second month of school! I am so thankful for such a studious bunch who are SO excited to learn. Such a blessing :)

Happy Camper

I talk about my job a lot. Kind of the point of this whole thing. Also, I really love it. Also, it's a big part of my life. I have been blessed to be called to be a teacher in life and I thank God that He has placed me in this vocation. I try to pinpoint exactly why I love this job so much and I came up with this--a list of 5 reasons. This is the most pinpointed I could get! 

1. I get to be myself
            I take teaching very seriously and I work hard to provide these kids with an excellent education. Not only are their parents paying for it, it is my responsibility as a teacher. That being said, I am also blessed to be at a job where I can completely be myself. Myself is a crazy, weird, quirky, loud, and jazzed about life person. My kids tell me "You're weird Miss Ongna, in a good way!" I'll take it :)

2. Books, books, and more books!
            I LOVE reading and it is so exciting for me to help kids further learn to read. I've said before and I've said to many people that one of my favorite parts of this job is helping kids discover books and get excited about reading! I think I scared a 4th grader this past week when I spotted him reading a book I've been wanting to read for a while and I yelled out of excitement! The best part? By lunch he had finished it and handed it to me to borrow. Sweetest kid ever! And no, I am not ashamed to say I am borrowing a book from a 4th grader.
 (The book is "Wonderstruck" by Brian Selznick, if you were wondering)

3. Speaking 8 year old fluently.
              Kids say the most fantastic things. I get to hear a lot of it and participate! It is exciting to be able to have a conversation with a student about something they are excited about or passionate about. It is also equally exciting when I share something about me or going on in my life and they remember and ask me about it! Kids rock. Just the other day, we had a moment of miscommunication between one of my students and myself, which resulted in the whole class laughing till there were tears in our eyes! Awesome, I tell you!

4. Teachers are awesome.
               Teachers are this special group of people, so I feel. When you get a bunch of us together, craziness ensues! I love my coworkers. They are the most fantastic group of people. We can share prayer requests, listen, give advice, and support each other. We can also be laughing at the top of our lungs and giving each other hard times for accents, footballs teams, and lessons gone wrong. I could not have survived my first year without the amazing group of teachers at my school.

5. Teaching is so fun/rewarding/awesome!
                As if you couldn't already tell from all my posts on this blog! It is so rewarding to go to work everyday and help a kid read, solve a math problem, study parts of a plant, or write a paragraph. I realize that I don't remember a whole lot from 2nd grade myself and most likely these kids won't either. But if I can help prepare them for the next step, I am a happy camper! I may not know where I'll be in a year, five years, or ten, but I pray that I will still be teaching.

Silent reading time. Loved by teacher and students alike!

The Tough Stuff

Sometimes life isn't all peachy. Sometimes I struggle with stuff. Sometimes it is really hard for me to stay positive. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you want.

I try to push those thoughts away and put on a smiling face, but I figured it was time for me to be honest. I would be lying if I wrote about life constantly being a bed of roses sans thorns, even though my life is pretty fantastic. I have this need to never show anyone my struggles, though I am positive I am not the only one.

Well, tonight I finally broke and had a mini meltdown.

As I allowed myself wallow a bit in my ickiness that was the meltdown, I realized that I am not turning to God like I should. In fact, I've been getting so caught up in my busy life that I haven't been giving Him much time at all.

Sometimes a mini meltdown is just what you need to realize just how much you really need God, not just during those hard times, but daily and consistently. If I can show anyone my struggles, it is Him! God has been showing that to me recently.  It just, sadly, took me this long to really open my eyes to it and really confront it head on. It isn't fun or easy to realize and admit you've been slacking in a relationship, let alone the relationship with your Lord and Savior. I can cast my cares on the Lord and He will take them upon Himself, keeping me in His care the entire time. How amazing of a deal is that?!

How wonderful it is to have a loving and patient God, who continues to stay by our side, love, and forgive us, even if it takes us a bit longer to realize it. Tonight, I am thanking God for His love and sacrifice for me, even though I most definitely do not deserve it.

"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken."                                  
                    Psalm 55:22

A Lesson Worth Repeating!

Lesson planning can be a tough thing. Sometimes you work so hard at trying to figure out the perfect way to explain a concept to students. As a teacher, you want to make it 1.) easy to understand and 2.) exciting, interesting, and/or fun in someway. I will usually have these random moments where a bunch of ideas will all of a sudden flood my brain and I have to work through the logistics to make them into legitimate lessons!

I had one of these moments the other week when planning for a science lesson. I was planning for science and the first unit of science is all about plants and their various parts. I love doing hands on projects to get kids involved and excited about what they're learning. I had an idea that would really get my kids involved in exploring the fruit and seeds of a plant--dissecting fruit!

After talking with our upper school science teacher, I worked it out to have my students come down to her room to use her supplies. She also has tile floor! A must when having kids chop up fruit.

The kids were outfitted in lab coats, given some plastic knives, and, after talking about various rules, were given fruit and allowed to explore their fruit and seeds! I brought kiwi, nectarines, and a pumpkin. We cut each piece of fruit open and explored the location and size of the seed. We also talked about if we could eat the seed or not.

It was such a fun activity and the kids LOVED it! The pumpkin was most definitely the favorite. Don't worry...I cut that one up myself! It was so much fun to watch their excitement and see them explore. It was also rewarding to see a lesson that I really liked when I plan work out. As a teacher, you have lessons that can end up flopping. Fortunately this was not one of them! This one will definitely be repeated.

Chopping up fruit is so much fun!

Found it! The seed from the nectarine!

The class favorite...I wonder why? :)

Dutch Dancing, Pumpkins, and Soup.

The first few days of school have come and gone! They were amazing. My new batch of second graders are sweet, incredibly well behaved children. The first day of school I had them sit down when the bell had rang and they simply did it, sat silently, and smiled at me.

My jaw nearly dropped.

I was waiting for the excited chaos, telling them repeatedly to raise their hand, or having to settle them all down a few times.

Nope. Nothing. They were just sitting there, ready for me to fill their brains with new, second grade information!

So I have definitely took and will be taking advantage of that throughout this year. They are so eager to learn and I am so excited to, like I said before, amp up my lessons and improve my teaching! This week I have a few really cool lessons coming up. They involve dutch dancing, pumpkins, and soup. I am so pumped! I'll let you know how they go...

In other news, I had an awesome weekend with lots of time with friends. Julia and I talked a lot this past weekend about how crazy it is to look back at what we were doing a year ago this weekend. Hint: it involved a lot of "How are we going to do this?!" and "Over which hill are you talking about??" It is amazing how much this place has turned into home!

Friday night, Ryan, Julia, and I went out, seeing as we hadn't with just the three of us in quite some time. We literally laughed until we cried about 5 different times. We have become incredibly close this past year. If you knew the 3 of us in grade school and high school, you would have never guessed this possible. I love how God brought the 3 of us here together. Now we are all starting out our 2nd years and doing pretty darn well if I do say so myself!

So excited to see what God does in this next school year!

Excited Hands!

This is a much needed post. I have been so busy in the past few weeks visiting friends, getting ready for the school year, and, in all honesty, being lazy when I could take the opportunity to! I enjoyed every ounce of my summer I could and it was unbelievably amazing!

Now I am ready for school to start and to get back in the groove of school year life. Last week I spent a good deal of time at school getting my room ready. I also spent a good deal of time talking to my fellow teachers. We all love talking. A lot! (Go figure....teachers loving to talk, crazy!)

It was beyond invigorating to talk with them about the upcoming year, what they will be teaching, and the various activities going on. Everyone is so dedicated to Christian education and to the students that you cannot help but get jazzed about it all! It also helps that I teach with some of the most fun, hilarious, amazing, talented people. I cannot even imagine how different my first and now second year of teaching would be with out them!

Heading into this second year, I am so relaxed and ready for it all to start. I realize that times will still come where I may not be as prepared as I should be or moments where things won't go as planned. Life is not perfect and I most definitely am not!

However, I am happy to know that I am aware of what is coming as far as curriculum and what I am expecting from my students. Plus I have revved up my plans to give my students better lessons. I had a great discussion with my principal about really continuing to learn and to push myself to do better and better. I couldn't agree more. I am ready for the challenge and excitement of another year!

Is my enthusiasm annoying you yet? Sorry if it is. I think it's just the side affect of being a 2nd grade teacher. It's also partially my ridiculous personality. When I was a kid, I would get so excited about something that I would get excited hands! This involved me squeezing my hands together crazy hard just because I couldn't even bear how excited I was. Weird? Yep. And I just told you this willingly. Please don't mock me. If I was still that weird little kid, I would so be doing excited hands right now!

Lastly, I finally got pictures up of my room! The camping theme didn't really work out. Now it is more or less "God's creatures". No matter what you call it, I really like the way everything turned out!

My desk and the back of the room!

Front and side, including what I like to call the "reference and work area", the library, and far to the left you can just see the reading corner.

I am probably most excited about this! The new writing center! An area where my students will have time and resources to write, write, and write some more!

The science section of my classroom and the one and only Gus Gus Nane! He is already quite popular!

Finally, the new reading corner! Comfy chair, pillow, and rug to encourage some hard core reading.

News Flash!

It's August.

When the heck did that happen?!

Last thing I remember is saying goodbye to my precious 2nd graders for what seemed like an incredibly lengthy summer vacation.

Now, it's August.

School starts in August...

...and when it does,  I will no longer be a first year teacher. I am so unbelievably excited to be able to say that! I have experience. Only a year, yes, but experience nonetheless.

I must say that this year, I feel a million times better about school starting. I know what is going on, the ins and outs of what my school does, I know what I want my room to look like and how it should function, and I also know exactly what I want to be teaching and how!

I'm a whole new teacher this year. It feels absolutely fantastic! I learned so much last year and have already done a good bit of work this summer to get myself ready.

A few things I am excited for in this coming school year:

1. Writing Center:  I want my kids to be challenged to become great writers and to really enjoy it, so I have researched and will be setting up an area in my classroom dedicated to all different types of writing.This gives my students time to practice, practice, practice!

2. Reading Corner: I'm going with a camping theme this year and I have some awesome ideas for decorating my classroom, especially the reading corner! I love reading and we do quite a bit of it in 2nd grade, so anyway I can encourage reading I am all for! If my idea works out, I'll be sharing!

3. New Year, New Kids, Same Curriculum: While it is a different year with new kids, I'll be teaching the same thing! I am so much more calm knowing what will be coming, how projects work, what I want to change, and what I want to do the same. This year will be infinitely easier, planning wise!

4. Confidence: I always doubt myself and worry about how I am doing, but this year I am feeling a hundred times better about myself! Given a year under my belt, I feel so much better about what I want to do and why. I've also learned that I am a bit of a kooky teacher...and I am embracing it full on :)

All in all, I am really excited for this school year! Not that I am rushing it coming, but when it does arrive, I am going to be brimming with 2nd grade excitement!

Also, pictures of my classroom will arrive as soon as it's all set up. Lots of work ahead!

Just a little teacher humor for ya :)

What Comes Next...

God has this great way of keeping us in suspense. We don't always get to know the plan far in advance, in fact, I would say we rarely do! But we know His plans are always good and right, because they are HIS!

It is hard for me to keep this in mind. A few things about me: I am very OCD, I love plans, and I love being in control. Great characteristics for a teacher, not so great for giving up control and trusting the Lord. And as far as my life plans are concerned, I will be the first to say my life has not gone as I had once imagined.

I attended a small, Christian college that is very marriage minded. Freshman year I thought I would meet the love of my life, date through college, and have a wonderful wedding after graduation! Then I would become a Christian school teacher in a small mid-west town, we would live in a precious little house, and live happily ever after. Yeah...this didn't happen.

Now this is not to say that I am not happy, because I am so thankful my life has gone the way it has. It just didn't go according to my 18 year old self's plan. I continued to make plans throughout college, plans to teach here, do this and that, live over there. Silly, silly me...

God must get so frustrated watching us try to control and plan out every aspect of life. I fried my brain and nerves trying to figure it all out. I should have relaxed and known that the Lord had an AWESOME plan for me!

This week marks one year of the three of us, Ryan, Julia, and myself, living here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh definitely did not even come into my brain until a few weeks before graduation! Scratch that: the entire eastern side of the country was not even a possibility to me! Now I am a resident of PA, teaching at an incredible school, and I've met the most incredible people. God works in the most phenomenal ways!

Since my dear roommate has gotten engaged, lots of people have asked me, "What are you going to do after she gets married?! What is next?!" They all seemed rather nervous, worried, or concerned for me. Well I've learned better. I'm not going to worry about it! God will lead me to where I need to be, to do what He wants me to do to better serve Him and His Kingdom. I am blessed to be teaching another year of 2nd grade at RTCS. What comes after that, I don't know! But I know God does and I have peace knowing that He is in control and He has something fantastic in store for me.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

            Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34

Book Worm

You know what I love? Books.

I have this deep seeded love for reading and books. It does help that I am a teacher so I am constantly surrounded by and working with books. However, my love for literature greatly extends outside of my classroom walls.

I am going to admit something to you now. I feel like I should perhaps be ashamed of it, but I'm really not.  I am actually quite happy about it! You ready? Alright, no judgement.

Since moving to Pittsburgh, I have bought somewhere around 70 books.

Yeeeaahhh...

Oops! I didn't realize it until a couple of months ago when I had to buy another bookshelf. It was that bad. I can't help it! Like I said, it's a deep seeded love!

Well with all this book buying going on and teaching going on during the year, I haven't had much time to enjoy my purchases! This summer I resolved to change this. I made up a summer reading list (nerdy, I know) and have been working on it since school let out.

I figured I would share some of my favorite reads as of late, some more recent books and other fantastic classics!

1. "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
This is the amazing story of Louis Zamperini, a World War II survivor that will hook you in and have you feeling like you are right there with the soldiers. I cried numerous times.

2. "Divergent" and "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
If you have read "The Hunger Games", these books are right up that same ally.  The book is set in a fictional dystopian world, where people chose from 4 factions in which to live. Each faction has specific characteristics and helps society to function.
I really don't do justice in explaining it. Also, the third book isn't coming out until next year. It is KILLING me.

3. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
These books were talked about quite a bit a few years ago. I just read it a few weeks ago and it was a phenomenal story looking into the lives of women in the middle east. The same author also wrote "The Kite Runner", another wonderful book!

4. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
This is terrible, but I didn't read this book until just a few weeks ago. LOVED it. An American classic that needs no explanation.

I realize I am no book expert, just a person who enjoys a great book! There are just too many books out there...I can't take not having the time to read them all! Currently I'm working at some Jane Austen and about to attempt Les Miserables.

So the point of this post and my teachery advice for you today? Go read a book! Original, I know :)

My Best Friends' Wedding

Yes, I did snatch that title from a favorite movie of mine, "My Best Friend's Wedding". However, if you were paying attention and are grammatically gifted enough to realize, I did place that little apostrophe after the s. Nerdy moment.

Nerdy as it may be, it is completely true. Last weekend I attended the wedding of not one, but two of my best friends, Adrian de Lange and Kaylee Engelsman, and now, de Lange! (It's going to take me a bit to get used to that...) I got to watch two of my best friends get married to each other. Crazy and awesome!

I met these two in college at different times. I became incredibly good friends with each of them individually. I spent a ton of time with each of them, being ridiculous and doing awesome college activities including chair races, office parties, baking bread, watching movies, and eating large amounts of deep fried cheese curds!

Well, college went on and then came the middle of junior year. Kaylee and Adrian met officially and hit it off, and eventually began to date. It was a strange time, when two of my best friends started dating each other. Once my brain processed it, I was super excited for them!  I spent a lot of time with these two, hard core third wheeling it, which I hope they didn't mind too much! College was so awesome because of these two, and most of my memories from college involve the two of them!

Good times in college!

So you can now imagine why this wedding was so special for me. It was such a blessing to watch these two become husband and wife! Adrian and Kaylee are two of the most kind, considerate, loving, passionate, hilarious, and wonderful friends a person could have, and I have gotten to be friends with them both! It was a wonderful day and to top it all off, I got to spend the week beforehand hanging out with them and their ridiculously awesome families!

I am so thankful God placed these two people in my life! They are the best-est friends a person could ever ask for :)

I was blessed to be maid of honor in their wedding!

Love them so very much :) 

Peace and Quiet

This post was actually written over a week and a half ago, when I was in WI, but I have been crazy busy and unable to post till now! So it's a little post from the past :) 

I was watching TV with my mom and dad last night when a delightful breeze came through the window. The smell of fresh cut hay wafted through the living room and my mom closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and says to me, "Mmm...hay! Just can't get that smell in Pittsburgh."

It's true! I have spent the past two weeks looking around me and having a renewed perspective on my hometown. My parent's house is surrounded by fields and woods. I spent last night just sitting and listening to the quiet. There were various insect noises, an occasional moo from a disgruntled cow, and every once and a great while a car will go by. For the most part, it was peaceful and quiet. Living in the country blesses you with lots of beautiful moments such as these.

In that moment I realized that more than anything, I need to take more moments like this for myself. In the crazy busy that is life, I don't take near enough time to pause and enjoy what is going on right at that moment, I'm always looking at what is next on my calendar.

Getting to spend 2 weeks back in Wisconsin gave me that time of peace and refreshment that I needed after a year of teaching and living in a brand new city. I spent lots of time catching up with family, laughing and crafting with friends, cuddling with cats, and enjoying the beauty that is Wisconsin.

I am spoiled in that I get the entire summer off. Don't worry, I have lots of work that I will be doing yet this summer. I'm not rushing off to it quite yet though. I have lots more of my summer to soak up and enjoy yet!

Members of the Ongna family playing corn hole

Taz, one of our many, many cats

You Know You're From a Small Town When....

Since I am blessed to have a job where I get the entire summer off, I am taking a vacation back in my homeland of Wisconsin! I love living in Pittsburgh, I do, but in my heart, I am a small town girl. I come home to my awesome, wonderful, quirky, small town that I love.

So here is my list of how you know you're from a small town, in no particular order: 

1. You live on the outskirts of a town whose population is "Uncorporated" which means "your town was too tiny for us to count".

2. You stop your car in the middle of the road to talk to person walking on the side of the road for a solid 15 minutes. My mom literally did this 2 days ago.

3. Walking into the local grocery store (Piggly Wiggly, in my case) and you immediately see 5 people you know. I talked to my friend's mom/elementary music teacher for 15 minutes the other day!

4. People crank their neck and point fingers as they see your out of town license plate rolling through town. 

5. When you tell people who you are, they ask you about who your parents/grandparents are, where they live, and whose places those used to be.

6. We have no stoplights in our town. Unless you count the one that only lights up when a fire engine goes through town.

Yes, all these delightful qualities add up to one pretty special town! I will continue to enjoy my time at home for another 2 weeks. Allows me plenty of time to get back my Wisconsin accent!

A Tale of 2 Celebrations!

This past week, I got to celebrate some pretty exciting things! 1. Julia, Ryan, and I all finished up our first year of teaching, in-service days and all! 2. I celebrated my birthday!

The three of us (Julia, Ryan, and I) started out this crazy year moving out here with each other, so it was only fitting we celebrate our accomplishment together! We have been each others' support systems and family this past year. There have been exciting and amazing moments, and moments that were challenging. Through it all, we made it! Year one, done.

We celebrated by going to a new pizza place and getting ice cream afterwards. A bit glutinous, yes, but we just finished a year of teaching! We figured we could splurge a little...

Saturday also happened to be my birthday, which we celebrated Friday night as well as with some shopping Saturday. I was gearing up for a pretty mellow and uneventful day, then, lo and behold through the wonders of Facebook, I discovered my church from Wisconsin, Bethel OPC, was sending their youth group to Washington DC for a mission trip. They just happened to be stopping for the night in the Pittsburgh area!

Julia and I met up with them and had an awesome time! Three of the leaders who were along on the trip were former teachers of Julia and myself, so it was really fun to discuss teacher stories! They also somehow got an ice cream cake to the hotel and surprised me with it! So sweet of them. My cousin Jeremy was along on the trip as well, so it was a great little reunion. We shared our limited knowledge of the Pittsburgh culture and also enjoyed the Wisconsin accents of all who were visiting!

An oreo ice cream cake. Seriously the best thing ever!

More cousins!

To top it off, Sunday we talked with the husband of one of the teachers from my school and he shared with us his love for....Culvers! We literally talked about it for 10 minutes. It pretty much made my day! And made me crave Culvers.

The whole weekend made me grateful for my life here as well as making me very excited to go to Wisconsin soon! Summer has already been so delightful and relaxing, for which I am very thankful! Now I'm looking forward to taking some time to visit the great state of Wisconsin and see family, friends....and to satisfy the craving for Culvers!

Mission Accompished!

This is it. I've reached the end of my very first year of teaching! It has been quite the year and it feels AWESOME to have come to the end.

As I reflect on the past year, it is so cool to see how much my students have learned! They have worked unbelievably hard to accomplish all they have. In 2nd grade this year, we have made animal diagrams, memorized dozens of Bible verses, learned double and three digit addition and subtraction, labeled prepositional phrases, discovered what homonyms are, learned how to spell words from write to educational, studied people including Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr., discovered how to write 2 point paragraphs, and so much more.

Whew! This group of kids worked hard to learn all this new content and I could not be more proud of them! Not only am I proud of all they learned, I am so proud to see how much they have grown in other ways in 1 year. They have become more responsible, more independent kids and I have gotten to witness it first hand! How cool is that?

These kids are so special to me. Not just because I got to teach them, but because they are my first class and will always be my first class. These children are hilarious, kind, loving, loud, crazy, smart, sensitive, caring, and a whole lot of other adjectives! I can't begin to even describe my relationship with my students. You spend 7 hours a day, 5 days a week with kids and you get pretty fond of them!

While watching RTCS's high school graduation, I realized the immense reward in being a teacher. We get to help our students find their way, figuring out what they want and who they are. Then we watch them leave, go into the world to try and conquer it! In what other profession do you get that joy? I have said it before and I will say it again. I love being a teacher!

Now I am going to start soaking up my summer vacation! Another reason I love being a teacher :)

I Have a Dream

Last week, my students were reading about and discussing the life of Martin Luther King Jr. This was the last story in our reading books and was a great story to end with. Everyone knows his inspirational story, and my students knew a bit about him. We talked especially about his dream's for the United States and his work for equality for all people.

I did a little experiment with my students to get them to understand how unfairly people were treated. I asked the oldest in the family to come up to the front of the room with their chairs. I gave them pillows to put behind their back and gave them some candy to eat while sitting there. I told them they would stay there for the lesson. I started to get back into the lesson when I started to hear some complaining. "Miss Ongna, that's not fair! I can't help it!" After hearing a bit of their frustration, I got everyone back to their seats. It was then that many of them realized why I did it. We discussed how upsetting and frustrated it is to be treated differently for something that you cannot control and doesn't make a difference to how you are. It amazed me how deeply some of these kids were affected and how they now had a bit more of an understanding heart.

The poster they made along with writing the paragraphs.

Following this experiment, we jumped into our project. I found an idea for a project online that I also turned into a writing project. I talked with them about his famous "I have a dream..." speech and read part of it. After dicussing Luther's dream for a place where his children will be judged by their character, rather than by their skin color, I challenged them to think of their own dream for the world. Each student made a poster, then wrote a paragraph writing their own mini "I have a dream" speech. The result was wonderful, heartwarming, and nearly brought me to tears. Their dreams were so pure and wise beyond their years. Here are a few of their paragraphs:

"I have a dream that no one will be bad which means no fighting, no gossiping, no stealing, nor anything else that involves sin. This dream will come true when Jesus comes again."

"I have a dream that someday everybody will treat each other nicely. That no one would say mean things and that no one will hurt other people's feelings."

"I have a dream that everyone would get along. I wish no one would fight. I wish for a land of peace.

"I have a dream that everyone will believe in Jesus. I have a dream that everyone will follow the ten commandments. I have a dream that everyone will be faithful to God."

This whole year, I've been working hard to teach my students the basics. Sometimes I forget the big picture, until assignments like this one help me to see it. I hope that my students know how to identify prepositional phrases, add 3 digit numbers, and write a paragraph. I also hope and pray that my students have learned more about themselves and their role in God's kingdom, that this school year has been about more than just learning facts. These are some amazing kids and I thank God that he has allowed me to play a small part in their amazing lives!

Almost there...

The end of the school year is coming. It actually popped out of nowhere and surprised me! I was just cruising along, teaching, teaching, teaching, and BAM! Someone told me there were 8 days left of school.

Whaaaaat?!

I am nearly done with my first year of teaching. I don't even really know how it is possible for a year to go by that fast.

Here in 2nd grade, we are working on finishing up our chapters, taking tests, studying the last few lessons in grammar, and tons of other parts of our subjects that need to be finished! The big final project of 2nd grade is working on making some of our very own children's books. It's a daunting and patience testing project, but one that will turn out really awesome! Or I am working frantically to make sure they do. Either way, the kids have been really excited about them and it has required them to use a lot of writing and artistic skills. Great practice!

Overall it has been a really fun past few weeks. I keep looking forward to summer, but I am continually reminding myself to enjoy these last 2 weeks! I won't teach these kiddos again and I've got to make the most of it all. I've been taking lots of extra hugs this week, which has been an awesome reminder of the amazing kids I have gotten to teach. I've got to stop now before I start tearing up all over my computer! Not doing that yet!

To add to the fun that has been the last few weeks, my roommate's boyfriend, Peter, came and visited the past week! He's a pretty swell guy and it was fun to hang around with him. He is Canadian and, in truth, I've been in withdrawal of Canadian friends since leaving college, so it has been nice to get a little dose again!

Julia and I also had some friends over at our house for the first time this past weekend. We had a little shindig on our deck. Sounds sophisticated huh? Yeah, we are adults. We have parties on our deck. We had appetizers. Pretty cool stuff! It was fun and we have been blessed with some pretty awesome friends!


What more can a girl ask for? Nothing. Really and truly. Just praying for the strength to make it the last few weeks still standing! I've made it this far. Almost there!

Oh, the life of a teacher!