Is there anything better than summer vacation? Long days, warm nights, and nothing to do. I always loved summer break . . . for the first 6 weeks or so. And then boredom started to kick in. I had already read all my books, tried […]
I’m not going to lie – I don’t want to write this blog post. I’m tired, cranky, and think I’m coming down with something. I’ve managed to distract myself with lots of other tasks. So, I’m being productive, but not on the task that I […]
If asked to pick a fictional character that most closely describes me in high school, it’s Hermione Granger, hands down. That girl and I are way too similar. Super organized, high strung about school, and bit too judgmental. (I’ve calmed down since high school.) Like […]
Every summer break I had great plans. I was going to work out every day, paint my condo, read all those teaching books I meant to read, travel to new places, plan the first month of the school year. Oh yeah, and sleep. When summer […]
I recently had a question pop into my head about my great-grandmother’s confectionary (a sweets and food store) that she ran a century ago in rural Idaho. Did the store have a name?? I’ve never heard anyone in the family refer to it by a […]
A few years ago, I visited Niagara Falls with friends. On the Canadian side, I spotted a small history museum and convinced my friends to go in with me. It blew our minds – even my friends who aren’t into history – and made me […]
Is there anything better than summer vacation? Long days, warm nights, and nothing to do. I always loved summer break . . . for the first 6 weeks or so. And then boredom started to kick in. I had already read all my books, tried […]
My one-year-old daughter is nicknamed the “Destroyer of Books.” She puts everything, including books, in her mouth. And proceeds to gum them to death. As a life-long book worm, this is incredibly painful to me. I wouldn’t even highlight my own college textbooks because I […]
When I was teaching, my goal was to only have 2 crying kids per semester. I’m a sympathetic crier, so it gets awkward real quick. 😭 But when I started teaching seniors, the number of cryers increased. I needed more tissues. The stakes were high […]
School’s out for summer! As both a student and a teacher I looked forward to summer vacation, probably even more as a teacher. While I do believe in an old-fashioned summer for kids, that doesn’t mean that your teen should stare at a screen the […]
I’m not going to lie – I don’t want to write this blog post. I’m tired, cranky, and think I’m coming down with something. I’ve managed to distract myself with lots of other tasks. So, I’m being productive, but not on the task that I […]
As an AP teacher and now tutor, I spend every spring in the trenches with my students, reviewing content, creating study plans, and going over test strategies. And come July, it is all about the test results. What did my kids earn? How much college […]
A few years ago, one of my history students asked, “What was life like before the iPhone, Ms. P?“ As much as that question made me feel REAL old, I could see her point. My students’ lives have been completely taken over by cell phones. […]
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