Feeling The Love February 2015 Blog Hop

Happy February and Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope that you are absolutely Feeling the Love! Here’s a bit about me:

1) Something you love about teaching: First, last, and always: teenagers.  No, seriously, I love the fact that the people I hang out with every day are teenagers, and the people I work with are also love being around them. Teenagers are no longer children and are not quite adults, but they want to be–with a crazy inconsistency–both, sometimes simultaneously. Teenagers are funny, honest, anxiety-filled, joyous, doers, strugglers, fragile and strong beings, innovators, thinkers and more–and just the kind of people I really like.

2) A resource/lesson/strategy you’ve tried that you love or would love to try (yours or someone else’s): Plickers. (www.plickers.com)

At #edcamphbg, my first edcamp, I learned about Plickers, something you might like to try yourself.  Plickers is a low-tech formative assessment tool that uses printed QR codes that are distributed to students. Students hold up the side of the Plicker that corresponds with the answer they want and the teacher scans it with her cell phone.The results display on the phone or smart board. Super Cool! It is my hope that by the time this blog post goes live, that I will have tried Plickers with my students. (Come back for a post with tips and ideas.)

3) A funny, unique, or special V-Day gift that you’ve ever gotten or given that you loved: My best ever Valentine’s day gift is my husband, as corny as that sounds. I was single for sooooooo long, and I grew to hate Valentine’s day, avoiding Hallmark stores (for obvious reasons) and the grocery store (with its torturous bakery, floral, and seasonal departments.) Then I met my husband (on Match.com, of all places!) and now I no longer have to face the month of February with disdain! (Love you, honey!)

4) Something you would love to ____________ (Fill in the blank: read, do, say, etc.): Aaaahh–There’s so much I want to do and so little time! After tossing around these ideas

• Have thighs that don’t “communicate” with each other, IYKWIM
• Sleep like I did before menopause
• Live within walking distance of my grandchildren
• Sing, draw, dance–and all of those creative things I just cannot do at all (or only do well after having a nice cocktail or two!)

I decided on this:

• Live in Italy for a year–or more. After visiting Rome, Pisa, the Cinque Terre, and Venice a few years ago, I’ve longed to go back, but next time, for much longer than a two-week vacation.  I’d LOVE to experience the country for an entire year–through the holidays, the spring, multiple feast days, ordinary mornings and evenings, and the hot, glorious, tourist-filled summer along all its coasts. I long to try much more local cuisine (the octopus was great!), learn much more about customs and traditions, drink much more fresh brewed Italian coffee, eat a lot more (Nutella) gelato, ride on a Vespa, and learn to play bocce! There’s a volcano I long to hike (Mt. Vesuvius) and caves I’d like to snorkel, and canals I want to explore. And if I could teach (teenagers) while I’m there, that would be a bonus!

5) A blog post or book you’ve read that you love: I LOVE Free Technology for Teachers! (http://www.freetech4teachers.com/)

Richard Byrne, blogger, teacher, and tech guy extraordinaire, posts FREE technology info that I’ve used time and time again. I follow him on Facebook and nearly everyday some very cool and very useful info pops up on my phone. I’ve learned so much and have found some cool things there. Here’s a link to one of my favorites:

100 Word Challenge – A Fantastic Blogging Activity for Students

 

I’m so glad that you’ve stopped by. As you can probably tell, I’m a beginner blogger, so having you visit means a great deal to me. Please come back soon and sign up for updates–just as soon as I get that update widget installed!

All the best to you today and all month long,

Maryann