Summer is in full swing and after taking a month to relax and wind down after the school year I am getting antsy. Here is what I am most hoping to accomplish in the next 6 weeks before I go back to work.
My reading goal has not been going lol So I hope to read at least 4 books before work begins again. I am about 40 pages away from finishing one book and hoping that the next few books I choose will be great enough to fly through. Fingers crossed.
Continue readingMy energy has been squashed from the last few weeks of the school year. Second graders have been in summer break mode for a month now, so you can imagine what my classroom volume level has been like. (and if you can’t just message me and I will send you an audio recording of it haha) I’m a few books behind, but am still proud I’ve read anything at all.
“The only way to beat death is to chase it.”
Struck with the same death curse his father, the king, died from just a few days before Red finds himself stuck. Will he have to accept his death, or will he have to learn to trust the very person he blames for his father’s death? The royal sorcerer.
The magic world-building was fascinating. The royal sorcerers’ magic is tied to their King/Queen’s Truthwell. It was a slow build as this is just the first book in a series, but that was probably the most interesting part of the whole thing. While I did enjoy reading it, I didn’t feel totally invested in the plot because there are many qualities of the two main characters that bothered me. Probably won’t be continuing with this series.
Continue readingMarch flew so quickly that it’s actually the middle of April now. AH! But here is the best of it 🙂
As a kickoff for our Jogathon, we had a BMX show for the students, and some of us teachers got jumped! One of my students even hugged me after saying she was happy I was still alive. Meanwhile, another went “I thought, eh see you at the hospital I guess” HA!
The final installment of the Ireland Diaries is here. If you haven’t read the others you can find the links to them below 🙂
Sligo and Easkey were the final places I visited on my Ireland journeys and it was also the part that I was most excited about. My cousins on my dad’s side live in Ireland and, with the exception of one, I had never met any of them in person before. We had been chatting on the phone and emailing and skyping etc since we were little kids but that was all.
Our whole lives we spent every year hoping it would finally be the year we could meet. It only took me 21 years but I did finally get my grandparents to take me to Ireland to meet them, and it was like we had been hanging out in person all our lives.
Welcome back to another post in the Ireland Diaries. If you’ve missed the others you can find them HERE.
Getting to go on a train trip was one of the things I was most excited to do when I went to Ireland. I told my grandpa that he could choose whichever trip he wanted as long as there was a castle to see. The trip we chose went from the Heuston Station in Dublin to Cork, then a van ride up to Cobh, and a train ride back. It takes about 3 hours by train to get from Dublin to Cork and the ride there didn’t seem as long as I expected. Though it may have been because I dozed part of the way.
Continue readingThe fourth installment of the Ireland Diaries is finally here!
I was going to include the journey through the Guinness Storehouse in my other post, but then decided it deserved its own. My uncles and my dad were adamant that I visit, since they hadn’t gone before, and everyone wanted to know what it was like. The Guinness Storehouse, as stated on its website, has “seven floors of fun and excitement as you explore the story of Ireland’s most iconic beer.” Guinness Brewery began in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, and from what I heard a lot of people told me that they think Guinness tastes better in Ireland. I personally think it’s disgusting but more on that later.
Ireland is beautiful. That is the only way this story can begin. I waited my whole life to go there and it did not even, in the slightest, disappoint. I think it exceeded my expectations, which is why it gets a whole series of posts because it deserves it.
For today’s post, we are going to start at the beginning, because it is a very good place to start.
An extra day in February gives me the extra wiggle room to help get a blog post out without feeling last minute. Phew. This month went by so fast. I blinked and now I have to change my classroom bulletin boards. (The worst moment of the month, yuck)
While it was a bit crazy I also got to spend a week with a college friend who I haven’t seen in almost two years so it was awesome! Yay to February break. Here are some of my favs from the month!
The Beyond Van Gogh: Immersive Experience is an exhibit that is currently happening around the country. The exhibit’s purpose is to show the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh in a way never experienced before. With the use of projection and original scoring, you can view 300 of Van Gogh’s art as though you are in the paintings.
My uncle bought us tickets for my birthday last year, but it didn’t come to San Diego until this month. I thought it was worth the wait.
You begin in a room filled with projected information depicting Van Gogh’s life and includes quotes and empty frames creating the walkways. They are also a fun photo opportunity.
And just like that month 1 of 2024 is gone. A whirlwind of a month jumping back into another semester of teaching, the end of the holidays, and lots of SoCal rainy days. Let’s just say the first week after break having no outside time is NOT conducive to calm, attentive classroom behavior. Ha.
A new series I am adding this year is Monthly Favorites! (Thanks Melissa for the recommendation *waves*) Anything from random things I’ve bought that month to interesting trends on Social Media can be discussed. So tune in every month for something new!