Feeling Overwhelmed

Nothing feels worse than starting the week behind the eight ball.  Sometimes it seems like no matter how much time I put into my job after school and on the weekends, it’s just never enough.  Needless to say, I’m feeling quite overwhelmed.

As a special ed teacher, I am entering one of the most stressful times of year, Annual Review season.  For me, this means writing several IEPs, attending numerous trainings and meetings, and somehow maintaining lesson plans and countless numbers of activities in the meantime.  I think the most challenging part of this job is that there is an endless amount of paper and administrative work that takes away the time spent actually working with the kids, which is why we all want to become teachers in the first place.  Most of all, I just feel like I can never “catch up” on all the things that need to get done.

I try to have a few strategies in my toolbox to help deal with these stressful days and weeks.  My favorite coping mechanism is making time to go to my Bikram yoga class.  Sometimes it’s difficult to make room in my schedule for class, but I have to remind myself that I can make time for anything I find valuable enough.  I also have to remind myself to take at least 5 minutes to myself when I get home from work before jumping into the next task.  These are just a few ways I try to maintain my sanity when things become overwhelming!  I’m always open to other tips on how to reduce stress.   Thanks!

Women's Fitness Top 10 Ways to Handle Stress

Overwhelmed - to overcome completely in mind or feeling

Countless – too numerous to count

Meantime - the intervening time; meanwhile

Administrative – pertaining to administration; executive                    

Strategy - a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result

Cope - to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, especially successfully or in a calm or adequate manner

1. I have a wedding shower to plan, but in the ­­­______________________ I need to keep taking care of my other responsibilities.

2. My mother has asked me ­­­______________________ times to clean my room, but I keep saying no.

3. That is an ­­­______________________ decision and should be left up to your boss.

4. She seemed ­­­______________________ by the large amounts of work that needed to be done on the project by a quickly approaching deadline.  I don’t know if she will be able to ­­­______________________ with all of the responsibility.

5. The group needs to devise a ­­­______________________ for exiting the arena quickly and efficiently.

Commas

Two of the most common places to use commas are before a conjunction, or when separating items in a list.  Another way in which commas are frequently used is to indicate pronunciation that is usually found in a speaker’s intonation.  Through a speaker’s intonation, he or she will separate a defining or non-defining phrase.  For example, in the sentence, “The boy, who is new to this school, just arrived from Venezuela,” the phrase “who is new to this school,” is part of one intonation group, as indicated by the commas.

Go on a comma scavenger hunt!

In my blog, I used commas twice to separate items in a list.  Write each sentence below:

1 _________________________________________________

2 _________________________________________________

I also used a comma before a conjunction.  Locate the sentence and list it below:

3 _________________________________________________

Now look back in your own writing and see if you can cite why you used commas!

Quality Time with Girlfriends

Although I was feeling very under the weather this past weekend due to a little sinus infection, I still had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my best girlfriends.  It was one of my best friend’s 24^th birthday, and it was definitely cause for celebration. 

Despite the many acquaintances that have come and gone over the years, one group of girls will always be in my life, and has been since the first grade back in 1993.  It is hard to believe that we have stayed the tight-knit group that we are from early elementary school all the way through post-college life.  These girls are more than friends to me; they truly are like sisters to me.  Our personalities, likes and dislikes, careers, and interests are so diverse, but nothing stops us from talking and laughing for hours on end when we are together.  We have created so many memories over the years, especially during our trips to Key West, Florida.  We have been through a lot together, and I am forever grateful to know that they will always be there for me through thick and thin.  This weekend, while celebrating in Rockville Centre, I had just another reminder of how blessed I am to have these remarkable girls in my life.

2000 - Before the school dance

  2010 - In Key West, FL         

                                                                                                            

Very cute blurb about friendship.

Speaking of 24^th birthdays, mine is in one week from today!  I am still like a little kid when it comes to my birthday; driving my family and friends up a wall with my constant counting down.  One of the reasons I like my “birthday season” (as I childishly refer to the several weeks surrounding March 14^th) is because it reminds me of the time of year when Paul and I met.  Although we both attended Berner Middle School and Massapequa High School together for several years, we had never really interacted until around the time of my 18^th birthday.  The night before my birthday was one of the first time we spent hours talking on “Aim” (who still does that?? OK maybe I do sometimes J), and at the end of the conversation he said, “I’ll say happy birthday to you now because I’ll probably be too tired to remember tomorrow morning in calc.”  Ha!  I never let him live that comment down, and often jokingly say “I might be too tired to remember” when he asks me to do something early in the morning that I am reluctant to do.  After getting to know him for the past 6 years, I know that he was probably just being shy, but I have to laugh when thinking back to that conversation. 

*Opportunity - a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.

*Acquaintance – a person known to one, but usually not a close friend

*Diverse - of various kinds or forms

*Remarkable - worthy of notice or attention

*Interact - to act on or in close relation with each other

*Reluctant - unwilling; disinclined

Vocabulary Practice:

1. It is interesting to watch children ____________________ with one another because sometimes they will speak to each other, and other times they will pretend the other does not exist!

2. The students in my class are very  ___________________; they have come to America from many different parts of the world.

3. My mother is truly a  ____________________ woman.  She is a wonderful teacher, mother, wife, sister, and daughter.

4. I do not know the boy very well.  We are simply  ___________________.

5. I was  ____________________ to wake up early on a Saturday for yoga class, but was very glad I went afterwards.

6. Not as many woman had the  _____________________ to attend college many years ago.

Idioms

The definition of an idiom as defined by linguistic researchers Simpson and Mendis is, “A group of words that occur in a more or less fixed phrase and whose overall meaning cannot be predicted by analyzing the meanings of its constituent parts.”  Some idioms that I used in my writing include, “feeling under the weather,” “through thick and thin,” and “driving them up a wall.”  The meaning of these sayings cannot be deciphered through literal translation of the words in the sentences.  Feeling “under the weather” refers to being ill, and driving someone “up a wall” means to irritate them greatly. 

Take a piece of paper and fold it in half.  On the left side of your paper, draw a literal translation of the idiom discussed above.  On the right side of the paper, draw the actual meaning trying to be conveyed by the idiom.  When you are finished, try researching more commonly used idioms in the English language and put them into sentences.

Florida Furlough!

Before I say any further, I feel like I should explain my choice of the word “furlough” in the blog title.  Today in my Resource Room, I was working on a writing sample with my students and I decided to model the use of the read aloud software’s thesaurus feature.  I looked up a synonym for the word vacation, and saw the word furlough.  I jokingly told everyone to try and use the word in a sentence at some point in the day, and decided that I should hold up my end of the bargain as well!

Now, I will actually discuss my Florida furlough!  Two weeks ago, I was surprised with an impromptu trip to Florida.  My boyfriend Paul and I used to go to visit his grandmother every year, but we hadn’t gone the past two years since graduating college and beginning full time work.  I was certainly missing my small dose of sunshine that I used to get each winter, and was thrilled with an opportunity to get away for a little while.  While we were seeking respite in southwest Florida, we mostly just took advantage of the abundance of sunshine by hanging out by the seashore or by the poolside.  It was extremely peaceful and relaxing.  Unfortunately, the serenity of our trip came to an abrupt end when we saw the weather forecast for New York on the day of our returning flight.  We ended up only having to deal with a two-hour delay, which wasn’t too bad in comparison to some of the other passengers waiting in the Fort Myers Airport.  High winds and heavy rain led to one very turbulent flight!  Everyone clapped when we landed safely at JFK, but I was not happy to be greeted by close to freezing temperatures once again.

*Furlough – rest and relaxation; vacation

*Impromptu - suddenly or hastily prepared

*Feature - a prominent part or characteristic

*Respite - an interval of relief

*Abundance - an extremely plentiful supply

*Serenity - the state or quality of being calm or tranquil

*Turbulent - characterized by, or showing disturbance or disorder

Things to do in Fort Myers

1.      My mother would not have described her trip home from Montreal with the word “_____________” because she had to drive for several hours in white out conditions amongst speeding tractor trailers!

2.      The _____________ of Nintendo Wiis available in stores caused the prices to drop.

3.      The nature of their relationship is quite _____________; they are always arguing and disagreeing.

4.      Does the iPhone 5 have a voice activated calling _____________?

5.      The gathering was _____________.  It was not planned in advance.

6.      Where will you take your next _____________?  Hawaii? 

Compound Words

Compound words are created when two words are combined to form one word.  Recognizing when word is a compound word can be helpful when it comes to spelling.  If you are able to spell the words independently, then you simply have to put the two words together!  At times, compound words can be compound nouns, which are frequently hyphenated.  English language learners are encouraged to reference a dictionary to discover whether a compound noun contains a hyphen or not. 

I used several compound words in my writing.  One example is the word “seashore,” which is made up of the words “sea” and “shore.”  See if you can find four more compound words in the blog!

_____________          _____________          _____________          _____________

Continue your compound word practice by playing this online activity!

Suggestions??

Hello again bloggers!  I have to be honest; I am having some trouble deciding what to blog about this week.  Perhaps I will divulge some information about the upcoming wedding that I am in this summer for which I am trying to plan a bridal shower.  This is the first bridal party that I have ever participated in, and am looking for shower ideas that I can provide to the group.  One idea that someone came up with was a scrapbook to give to the “bride to be” with a page for each bridesmaid’s memories and photos.  Does anybody do a lot of scrapbooking as a hobby and have any suggestions on how to make a memorable page?  Any other cute shower ideas are appreciated as well.

Last weekend I took part in the Polar Bear plunge in Long Beach.  This was my second annual dip in the chilly February waters, and I plan to keep the tradition alive.  I noticed that the air temperate is a big factor in how cold you feel when exiting the water.  Last year, the air temperature was near freezing and the wind was blowing.  Luckily, the sun was shining this year and it was a great day with friends and coworkers.   

1. Divulge - to disclose or reveal
2. Scrapbook - an album in which pictures, newspaper clippings, etc., may be pasted or mounted
3. Memorable - worth remembering; notable
4. Hobby - an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation
5. Plunge - to bring suddenly or forcibly into some condition
6. Tradition - a long-established way of thinking or acting
7. Annual – occurring once a year

1. My senior prom was very _________.  I will never forget how much fun I had getting dressed up and dancing all night with my best friends.
2. Knitting is just my _________, not my something I do for my career.
3. I overheard the girls _________ secrets at the slumber party.
4. I would like to keep the _________ of spending holidays with family alive for my children.
5. Macy’s _________ sale is happening this weekend, and it’s only once a year!
6. After graduating from college, my roommate created a _________ of pictures and memories from our four years at Geneseo.
7. Some people are not ready to get married and take the _________ into such a long standing commitment.

The Past Tense

Did you notice that I switched tenses from the first to second paragraph?  In the first paragraph I was discussing an ongoing event, so I wrote in the first paragraph.  In the second paragraph, however, I wrote in the past tense because I was discussing an event that has ended and is no longer occurring. 

Below, sort the following verbs as either a regular past tense verb, an irregular past tense verb, or a helping verb plus an –ing verb in the past tense.

took                            was freezing                 noticed 

More info about the Long Beach Polar Bears

Welcome to Blog Fun!

I can’t believe that it is 2011 and this is the first experience I’ve had creating my own blog.  I’m glad that this class is slightly nudging me into the 21^st century!

I’d like to begin my blog by briefly introducing myself.  My name is Sarah Jane (yes, that’s my first name, not my middle name) and I have just recently begun the TESOL Program at Molloy College.  (I’d like to avoid sounding too much like I am on a job interview, but sometimes I can’t help it because I don’t like talking about myself!) 

Before coming to Molloy, I attended Massapequa High School and SUNY Geneseo.  I graduated from Geneseo two years ago with a dual major in elementary and special education with a concentration in Spanish.  It was my first student teaching placement in the Rochester City School District in a bilingual classroom that ultimately led me to pursue TESOL.  I loved the experience of working with English Language Learners, and couldn’t have been happier with the thought of teaching in a dual-language classroom.  As it turned out, after my graduation, I did not feel completely confident in my ability to conduct full lessons and school days in Spanish, so I decided to combine my love for language and passion for teaching into a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.  I am currently a middle school special education teacher and I love every minute of it.  My blog will most typically share stories from my teaching, my daily life, and my recent venture into the world of Bikram Yoga.  Bikram Yoga, which I began partaking in this past September, has been a life changing experience for me because it has taught me to take care of my mind, body, and spirit.  Because I am so passionate about this new endeavor, I will be sure to mention it in my future posts.  Thanks for reading!

1. Dual – Composed or consisting of two parts
2. Ultimately – Lastly; ending a process or series
3. Pursue – To seek to accomplish
4. Typically – Characteristic of or pertaining to
5. Partaking – Participating in an activity or routine
6. Endeavor – An attempt

1. ______________ I wake up at 5 am, but today I was quite tired and decided to stay in bed until 5:30.
2. Are you going to ______________ your acting career by moving to New York City and working on Broadway?
   1. That is a good question.  I am not sure if I am ready to embark on such a challenging ______________.  ______________ I would like to end up on the big screen or television.
3. The staff is holding a volleyball game fundraising event where each department will play against each other.  Are you planning on ______________?
4. He goes back and forth so frequently because he has ______________ citizenship.  He is a citizen in the United States and Canada.

Contractions

As you may have noticed, I used several contractions throughout my writing.  The purpose of a contraction is to shorten a word, syllable, or group of words by eliminating some of the internal letters.  Some contractions seen in my writing include can’t in place of cannot, I’d in place of I would, and don’t in place of do not.  The function of contractions in my writing was not simply to save myself a few taps of the keyboard, but to also give my writing a more informal feeling, similar to that speaking. 

One contraction in particular tends to pose a problem for many students.  Can you guess what it is? (Pun intended.)  It’s it’s and its!  A simple way to check whether you are supposed to use it’s as in it is or its possessive is to replace “it’s” with it is and see if your sentence still makes sense.  Try the examples below, filling in either its or it’s in the blank.

1. ______________ going to be very chilly tomorrow…The high is only 13 degrees!
2. Please return the book to ______________ proper owner.
3. Who is going to inform the dog’s owner that ______________ missing?
4. Check ______________ collar, perhaps the owner’s phone number is listed.

For more info on Bikram Yoga...