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. […]
My mom grew up in Chicago, IL. It’s not called the “Windy City” for nothing. Located right off of Lake Michigan, the wind blew coal dust and dirt into her family’s house all winter long. She remembers having to spring clean the house from top […]
When my husband and I brought our first daughter home from the hospital, we just stared at each other and thought, “Well, what do we do now?” Does she need to eat? Should we take a nap? (The answer to that is always yes.) What […]
I hate being late. For anything. A party, an appointment, a TV show, class. (Don’t even get me started on how to switch classrooms, use the bathroom, and prep my new classroom for class all in 7 minutes.) I love being on time and always […]
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