Things Kids Say

49 days in, ladies and gentlemen. I officially consider it not the beginning of the school year anymore.

I have learned, in my ~3.272 years of experience, kids are inquisitive honest. Sometimes, kids are too inquisitive honest. I've never experienced more of this from children than this year.

"Mrs. Bormann, why are your earrings so weird?"

"Mrs. Bormann, the zipper on your shirt is too big."

"Mrs. Bormann, why did you cut your hair? I liked it better long."

I remember judging taking note of one of my HS science teacher's clothes one year. He seemed to cycle through the same shirts very often. Too often, I thought at the time. I apologize for doing that. Poor guy, he was just trying to keep it simple.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the best "things kids say" moments happened. I will not be able to do the moment justice, but I am going to give it a try.

A student in my last class of the day likes to write notes on my white board to my 1st period for the following day. One Tuesday afternoon, right before the end-of-school bell rang, she began writing her note to my 1st period for the following morning, "Happy Wensday!" When I saw it, I tried to enunciate the word for her, "WED-NES-DAY," in an attempt to remind her it is spelled differently than most people say it, to which, she responded, "huh?" I said to her, "remember, it's actually spelled, "WED-NES-DAY," sounding it out again. So, she proceded to fix the spelling. I began working on something else, partially forgetting what had just happened, when she says, "Mrs. Bormann... [looking puzzled] ... when did they change it?"

... "sweet girl, they haven't."

#middleschool

Happy Monday, my friends! 

Teachers Be Like...

Woah. Is it really already over? Did anyone else feel like this today? I saw this picture last night and almost peed my pants because I thought it was so funny.

Today was the last day of school, and I truly felt like I was in a movie. My sweet kids were so antsy and anxious. They started a quiet countdown 30 seconds from the last bell. Then, they continued to get louder and louder until I had lost control. When the bell rang, paper flew into the air... okay I may be exaggerating a little bit, but I was really happy for them to be finished with finals and their 7th grade year. I know they worked hard and put so much pressure on themselves to do well, so I am proud of their efforts, no matter their grades. I have a class Instagram where I post test dates, things to study, etc. and Monday, I shared with them this eCard on the left that I thought was perfect since they have almost all either read the books, seen the movie, or both. They got a kick out of it.

This year was my first full year of teaching in middle school. For anyone who does not already know, I was hired on at my school as a science teacher mid-year last year, since I graduated in December of 2012. I was extremely lucky and blessed to have a job, especially with such odd-timing, not to mention at my dream school. When the opportunity arose, at the end of last year, for me to switch into a math class, I jumped at the chance. I now had my dream job at my dream school. Well, I just finished my first full year and wanted to share some things that I learned (in no particular order). 

Patience is a virtue. Okay, so I already knew that, but teaching middle school brings all new meaning to both having patience and what is considered virtuous. Just like when I teach my students when reading a word problem to "read, re-read, and then read again," it's like you must be "patient, more patient, and then even more patient." They are kids. Don't let 'em eat you alive. They are thirteen year olds being thirteen year olds. Now, there is obviously a place and a time. When it was not the time, I found that something as simple as "if you take up my time, I will have to take up your time..." tends to work, because they sure do covet their passing period five minutes in the hall.

Those sweet little angels can be dishonest. Does this surprise you? We were all thirteen once. There is a lot of pressure at that age. What they don't realize is that they are not very good at being dishonest. Now, I am not saying that is a bad thing. You just laugh later about some of the things that kids try to get away with. However, I realized there are ways to eliminate the pressures of being dishonest. For example, and I was actually talking to one of my students about this today. She commented on how much she liked that I had boards (cut from particle board at Home Depot) that are placed in between the desks on testing days. She said she liked it better than having folders set up or having a cover sheet. I then proceeded to explain to her the idea behind the boards and how I love that it eliminates the temptation of "wondering eyes" because they serve as personal work spaces--like cubicles.

Don't be the cause of the distraction. Don't add to or fuel your students' rambunctiousness. One sure way to be the cause--hand back those tests at the beginning of class--you've lost them. There is no going back; you might as well pack it up for the day. Thankfully, I did not learn this one by making this mistake. But, it could easily be done, so it's just a warning. Even though you use this system all year, and your objectives are clearly stated on the board, numbered in order: 1) Check HW, 2) Lesson blah-blah, 3) Return Tests, they will ask if you are handing them back ASATWITD (As Soon As They Walk In The Door).

Students will be confused--try another way. You know when you are telling a story you have told one hundred times? You might talk 450 miles/hour. You might leave important pieces out. You might be speaking in a different language (hopefully not). Sometimes, especially in math, a student will not understand the way I am telling "the story." You can't get frustrated. If everyone thought the same way, we would be a bunch of robots shaking hands and getting along. That isn't how the real world works, and the classroom doesn't either. Just try another method of saying what you are trying to get across. Start over. Draw a picture. Use your
hands/movements. Try something else. Because, let's be
honest, this is a common feeling about Pre-Algebra...

This is a big one, and one that I struggle with helping my kids to do, because of the trend of today, unfortunately.

Help your students to become problem solvers. Don't solve all of their problems for them. Answer their questions with questions. (Don't you hate when people do that to you?) But it really makes you think. And isn't that what we want for our future generation? We want them to be able to think for themselves, and not be reliant on someone or anyone else. We would be doing them an injustice. This quote says it best...

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don't tell you what to see." -Alexandra K. Trenfor

And when all else fails, just teach like a ninja!

I am looking forward to some much-needed rest, although it is pretty fun looking back at all the memories from this year. It sure was a good one.

Happy 1st day of Summer!

Pi Day

Happy Pi Day, everybody! How did you celebrate 3.14? We celebrated BIG in 7th grade this year. We just recently finished our unit on Perimeter (and Circumference), Area, Surface Area, and Volume. It was perfect timing for Pi Day. Not only did Pi Day fall on a Friday this year, but it fell on the Friday before Spring Break. This means that all we did that day was pretty much fuel the [HYPER] fire that was already spreading among our 7th graders.

Our 7th Grade team found and ordered shirts from Amazon. They were a big hit!

 During my first period of the day, one of my sweet students brought me a shirt that her mom had sewed for me! It was so cute, and even though we were all so excited to match, I just had to change into the one she brought me. It was just so thoughtful, and not to mention- adorable!

About a week ago, we asked for donations from parents. We asked for sugar cookies, icing, and M&Ms, and holy moly, our parents responded. I ended up with about twenty dozen cookies. A-mazing.

The above picture doesn't even touch all the goodies that were donated. To celebrate the day, we had our students measure and solve for the circumference and area of a cookie and an M&M. Then, they iced their cookie, and found the area of the iced part. Then, they decorated their cookie with M&Ms and had to figure out how much area was NOT covered with M&Ms. They had so much fun with it. Here is one of my students' cookies…

How did you celebrate Pi Day?

Nerd Alert: I'm already pumped for next year's Pi Day, because it will be 3.14.15 which is the first FIVE digits of PI- 3.1415 :)

Happy Weekend!

Happy Spring Break!

My Dog Ate Your Homework

It has been one of "those" Mondays. You know the ones I'm talking about… the ones where you are a day late and a dollar short. As a matter of fact, that has kind of been the last week or so for me. It is apparently that time of year when parents [four days until the end of the nine-weeks] have realized that their child is not performing to the best of his/her ability, and the teacher is to blame for the 'Incomplete' homework assignments in the gradebook , etc. No worries, I'm not here to vent. I'll leave that for my sweet hubby and my Monday night glass of wine.

I am here, however, to explain the title of this post, although I am not sure it actually requires any explanation at all. Let's start from the beginning…

Our sweet Avery is a golden retriever who turned two in January. She is everything we could have ever wanted in a dog. She has the best personality, loves to cuddle, and enjoys long walks on the beach. She runs with me, which we both love, and the best part- OFF LEASH. It really is a game-changer, folks. If you run with a dog, you know what I mean. She really is wonderful. Because she is so wonderful, we get suckered into trusting her and believing she is actually a human. Because Matt and I had a busy weekend which included lots of the Houston Rodeo, including seeing Usher (one word- amazing.) that will be blogged about later and working out at the rodeo (also- later), and because we were going to be gone so much, we felt a little guilty leaving Aves in her kennel. Did I say 'kennel'? I meant deluxe suite hotel of a kennel. I'm not quite sure why we feel so guilty. It must be the face… 

Or when she pretends she's sleepy and promises that when we're gone, she is just going to sleep anyway. I mean, what's a girl to do? Apparently, a girl is to trust that sweet face and let her stay out of the kennel and roam the house. We let her do this Friday night, and she did great! She was actually sleeping in her kennel when we got home with the door open. Then, Saturday, when we went to work out, same thing. She was sleeping on the couch and had done great. Not a single thing out of place. Saturday night, third time was a charm, because again, nothing. But then… Sunday happened. While we were at church, she caved. She found one of my student's re-tests and literally tore it to shreds. I'm talking- try to salvage, isn't going to happen, shred. Think she felt bad about it? 

The answer is 'yes', she did. This mamma was so mad at her. I even remember when she yawned, I yelled, "No, you are NOT allowed to be tired! You should have been sleeping, and you weren't! Too bad! No yawning!" But… after about three minutes, I had to get over it. What is it about dogs? You just can't stay mad at them. I decided that since it was only a Re-Test (meaning the student can make up to a 70), that this child… no matter how they had actually done… would be getting her 70. She can thank Aves for that one. 

There are so many other things going on around here it is a little crazy to even think about. We are about to start another challenge over here at the Bormann house, so stay tuned to hear about that. Also, the rodeo has started up, which means we have been volunteering, enjoying some good ole Texas rodeo-ing, and some stinkin' awesome concerts. More on all of this coming soon! 

Hope you are not having "one of those Mondays," but if you are, you aren't alone. 

Keep Calm and Tuesday On.

Christmas Break

Well, we are all moved in to our new place. We feel like we have been working non-stop trying to make this our new home, and with Christmas in two days, it is definitely starting to feel like that. After today, we are taking a break from working until after Christmas.

 So, here is a glimpse into our Christmas Break so far…

To end my semester in 7th grade math, we had many visits from Fabio, our Elf on the Shelf. Here are a few of our favorite Fab-moments. On the last day of class, he brought us a present--a math clock. What a sweetheart! He will be missed. Until next year, Fabio!

Matt has been wanting to try hot yoga for a while, so I agreed to join him even though everything I had ever heard about hot yoga was "miserable, horrible, etc." I mustered the energy and decided to try to be a good wife and go with him. It was actually a very good workout. Other than both of us pretty much sweating out our body weight, we kind of enjoyed it. With all the moving, we needed a little relaxation time. We also gave a couple of pieces of our furniture a makeover. One of the pieces has been sitting in our storage unit for about a year and a half, and the other was hidden in our bedroom. Neither completely went with our decor, so now they both are looking much more like our style. I will post about the makeover later, but for now, here's a summary in photo-form…

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said until them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For until you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:9-14

Merry Christmas to you and yours! 

Love,

The Bormanns

Holiday Happenings

Saturday is the day we move! We have been non-stop packing for the last couple of weeks, and we cannot wait to finally be moving this weekend. I had no idea how much stuff could fit into a one-bedroom apartment. Even with all of the packing, we had a wonderful weekend. The closer we get to Christmas, the better these weekends are getting! They are so busy, but oh so fun! Saturday, we had a marathon day of packing boxes and organizing furniture into one room to make it easier on moving day. Here is what our apartment currently looks like... We like to call it "an organized mess..."

Right in the middle of all of the packing and work, we look over and realize that our little helper was of very little help... what a stinker!

In other news, my classroom got an Elf on the Shelf last week.  My kids named him Fabio Phillipe Mathematic and call him Fabio. He has been very busy this week finding new places to hide around the room. The kids get a big kick out of it! Here are a few of his hiding places so far...

This past weekend, we had four Christmas parties in two days. It was awesome. Christmas is my favorite season. I made Christmas Funfetti Truffles for one of the parties. They were delicious. I ate too many. They are way too easy and yummy not to make for yourself! See the recipe below.

[Eggless] Christmas Funfetti Cake Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup white cake mix
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons red and green sprinkles,
     plus extra for decorating
- 1½ cups almond bark
Preparation
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix,  
  flour, and sugar.
- Add in the melted butter, vanilla, milk, and
  sprinkles.
- Using a cookie scoop, create even-sized balls,
  and place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
- Refrigerate (or freeze if you're in a hurry) cake
  balls for about 30 minutes to harden the mixture.
- After 30 minutes, melt the almond bark according to package.
- Using a fork, dip each cake ball into the melted almond bark.
- When completely submersed, take it out and place on wax paper.
- Decorate with sprinkles, as desired.


To wrap up a great weekend, I addressed Christmas cards... that still have yet to be sent. I was so on top of sending them last year, but I am totally being a slacker this year. And once again, my little helper was of even less help... again.

Can't wait to send out all these bad boys. Man, I love this time of year :)