My Little Munchkins.

My students, though they gripe at first, are loving the comic strip project. I graded the first group's comics this past Saturday...outside, under a tree, in the sun! And, I laughed the entire time. These kids are bright and quite clever!

My other two classes began working on the project today and are just amazing me with their creativity and productivity. Here are two of my favorite comments:

Dylon: "Ms. Stromgren, I think this is the best work I have ever done!"

"Ms. Stromgren, can we please stay in your class for study hall to work on our comic strips? We're all done with our math. We'll be really good!" Marcus and Dylon

Wow!

On another note, my students finished presenting their posters today, and I cannot express how impressed I am with their work. These posters are incredible...so incredible I spent an hour putting them up in the hallway! If only I had a refrigerator big enough, that is where they would be posted! *See bottom of blog (VERY bottom) for pictures!*

Lastly, I've applied to three school districts now! Austin, MN; Jackson, MN; and Sioux Center, IA. This week I hope to apply in Northfield, MN; Mankato, MN; Orange City, IA; and Kasson-Mantorville, MN. Next week, it will probably be Fridley, MN and St. Louis Park, MN. I just keep praying that God will bring me to the right school. God has been incredibly faithful in the past, so I'm trusting that things WILL work out again!

I. Need. Friends!

I have seriously not had any human interaction outside of school for the last five days, and I think I just might go crazy. On the radio this morning, they mentioned that someday it might be possible to time-travel. If that were the case, I'd go back to my college days and live with all the girls again. This time I wouldn't take them for granted! Here are a few of my fondest memories: sorry, they probably only mean anything to me and a few of you, dear readers!

* Gnome dances in the hallways...and library! :)
* Midnight Wal-Mart runs.
* Hanging out at the coffee shop writing stories.
* Meetings in the creepy library basement (remember the boys, Kate?!)
* All-nighters studying for ridiculously detailed psych exams.
* Re-enacting the nativity scene and being pelted with snow
* Sitting around the coffee table under low lights analyzing art.
* Tea Time!!
* Passion belts...taking pictures of Leah out the window!
* Coming back to campus with outrageous stories of babysitting the devil-children.
* Running across campus on windy days with our umbrellas surrounding us in attempts to block the wind!
* Friday nights at Hemmingways.
* Playing in the rain outside of Zwemer.
* Sitting in the showers during tornado warnings.
* Chasing squirrels on the green as a study break.
* Walking on the puddle jumper.
* Macaroni and cheese night, especially the night we blew a fuse using too many hot-pots!
* Wednesday night roommate meetings.

Friends, I MISS YOU TERRIBLY!

Seriously.

I left my cell phone at home. I seriously feel naked without it.

I finished my summer Kidstop plans. I seriously feel as though my back might crack from stress.

I found three more school districts to apply to. I seriously might cry; the applications take SO long!

I have a meeting to attend in 13 minutes. I seriously might fall asleep.

I must make a Wal-Mart run after work. I seriously might go broke.

I have the most amazing students in the school-system. I seriously might not ever want to leave them!

Actually, my kids were fantastic today! No one got in-school suspension. No one cried. No one swore at the class. Nothing. No drama. Hallelujah! I somehow motivated them to do their best on their final project posters (pretty much by showing them one that seriously raised the bar). I cannot describe the quality of work they produced today. Nor can I describe the phenomenal effort they all put forth today. I had to MAKE them to go to lunch and P.E. They didn't want to go; they wanted to continue to work on their posters! What?! I couldn't have been more pleased with my little munchkins!

So. Much. To. Do.

I sent in my first application today for an elementary teaching position in Austin, MN. By the end of the week, I also hope to have an application sent in to Jackson, MN (Yes, Alex, Jackson!) I also found about 20 more places to apply but am feeling lazy. Very lazy.

By Friday I must also have my first five weeks of planning done for this summer. And, I just cannot motivate myself to finish. By the time I'm done planning for my next school day, I have little mental energy left. Very little mental energy.

But, life moves on. Here's a cute dialogue I overheard today while my students were creating their physics comic strips.

*Cristian: "Ms. Stromgren, we should watch 'The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift!' There are tons of cars in that movie. Oh, and there's friction! And motion!"
* I give him a quizzical look...that shows him I'm just a little skeptical about that idea.
* Cristian: "And...there's a little violence. Oh, and little girls in mini-skirts!." At this point, he is blushing and definitely not looking me in the eyes! "But, it's okay, Ms. Stromgren, us guys could plug our ears!"
* I laugh hysterically.
* Cristian: "I mean, close our eyes! CLOSE OUR EYES!" He yells. "But, I'd be like this..." He whispers as he opens his fingers in front of his not-so-closed eyes!

Ahh! I just love these kids!

RaNdOm.

Thoughts from a crazy day in 6th grade:
* I LOVE teaching! Where else do you get to hang out with the coolest kids in town and get paid to do so? Or, have ridiculous amounts of snacks waiting for you in the lounge? Or, get to spend a whole Friday afternoon watching basketball games? Or, laugh so hard you want to cry? Or, cry so hard, you have to laugh? Ahh. I love it.
* I am SICK of winter. After a treacherous slide to school, I am ready to drive on dry roads. Spring, come soon!
* I miss all of my former roommates! I seriously need some girl-time!

Stories that make me laugh:
* I always give my students a "pass option". That is, if I call on them and they don't know an answer or feel uncomfortable giving one, they can say "pass" and I will move on to another student. Well, lovely Andrew has taken this gift of mine to a new extreme. Randomly throughout the day, he will yell (because nothing is ever done quietly with Andrew) for me to come over. And, of course, in my enthusiasm I practically run over to his desk to answer his dire question. Yet, every time, without fail, I arrive at his desk and Andrew looks up at me with a smirk on his face. "Pass!" He yells. Dang! I think, I fell for it again.
* During an interview for the school newsletter (yes, I get a whole article written about me!!!), my students ask when my birthday is, and I tell them. "Have you had your half birthday yet?" Colin asks. After the other students harass him for not paying attention to my age, he replies in his classic saucy manner, "I wouldn't ask a lady how old she is! That's RUDE!"
* This morning, for the first time in about a decade, I decided to sleep instead of shower. I pinned my bangs back and threw my hair into a high ponytail-as high as I could get it! Well, I cannot count how many compliments I got! About a dozen students stopped me in the hallway to tell me I look pretty. Aah! How sweet! Who knew it was so easy to please 6th graders; I'm never showering again!
* As of this very minute, I have two students visiting me. Marina just commented, "Ms. Stromgren, you are probably the only teacher in the entire school students would want to come back and visit."
* After a heart to heart with Jeffrey over his misbehavior, I mention that girls can be very mean. "Ms. Stromgren, you are never mean!" He comments. Wow. I almost cried.

Direction.

Right now, I am in a place of complete uncertainty. I feel absolutely no direction as to where I should go or what I should do after this summer. The job search has been futile; there really is very little out there right now. I'm experiencing a time where I can do nothing but completely trust God to direct me. And, that is so scary and frustrating for me to do. I know God has been faithful in the past...college, friends, my job...it's all worked out. Yet, it is still so hard for me to apply that to my future. I just keep praying that God will point me in the right direction, whether that be here in Northwest Iowa or closer to the cities, etc. I am also struggling to determine whether I really want to teach or find an alternative way to work with kids.

So, friends and family, if you think of it, please pray for me to have patience and peace in this process. I love you all!

On another note, I read this recently in a book called "Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America". It's provocative and has got me thinking about my faith and life in general.

"The preaching goes on, interrupted with dutiful 'amens.' It would be nice if someone would read this sad-eyed crowd the Sermon on the Mount, accompanied by a rousing commentary on income inequality and the need for a hike in the minimum wage. But Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse: the living man, the wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he had to say. Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify him again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth."

Time flies.

4:30 I arrived at school bright and early at 7 am. I will not leave until 9 pm. Oh, parent-teacher conferences... Time aside, these conferences are quite entertaining. I like to see which parents actually make eye contact with me. Thus far, I've found that most of the men avoid it at all cost. Interesting. Overall, the parents are amazing. I enjoy meeting them and starting to see why my students are the way they are! And, I just LOVE bragging about the students to their parents. My homeroom kids are fantastic, how can I not speak highly of them to those who know them best?!

5:30 On a completely different note, the more time I spend teaching, the more I think that I'm not cut out for this profession. I don't know if it's just that I have not found my niche in lesson planning or if I just really can't do it. My lessons are creative and engaging for the most part, but they just don't 'flow'. I don't know what it is. I try so hard to outline a lesson and make it cohesive, but something is just not clicking. It's so frustrating, especially since I am the first teacher to arrive at school and the last to leave. Not only that, but I spend hours every Saturday and Sunday working. Working. Working. And, it just doesn't ever to seem to help any. I LOVE working with students. It's all I've ever wanted to do. But, this whole teaching gig is just not matching my abilities and personality. So, if anyone has any ideas of alternative careers, please let me know!

6:20 Remember the uncle I mentioned before? Well, Kendra and her parents just left from a half hour conference! Kendra is amazing, and I can see where she gets it from. That was probably my favorite conference yet! Well, her parents just raved about Uncle. Kendra's dad made her give me his number. And, apparently, they've been talking about me to him. Now he's "curious". Oh, wow. I didn't know what to say. It seems as though my students tell their parents everything about me. Pretty sure I blushed. And, yes, I got the rash on my neck... Good times. Aah.

7:00 Now for some cute kids stories:

1. Our unit includes a lot of topics that are related to physics. Today we discussed concepts like force, motion, and design. Well, while teaching about force (which is a push or a pull on an object, if you wanted to know!), I asked the students to use a force to move their K'NEX car. My little friend Rylan gets this saucy look on his face and thrusts his hands toward the car, closes his eyes, but never touches it. "Rylan!" I say, "Use a force, not the force!" What would I do without sassy kids?!

2. Later, I hear a couple boys having the following conversation.
Willie: "We got out of study hall. Ha! We are smart and devious!"
Dylon: "What does devious mean?"
Marcus: "Well, he said smart right before it, so it must mean that we are really smart!"
Willie: "No. It means evil. We're evil."
The other boys just look at him and shrug. While I, in the corner, laugh until it hurts.