HeartBreak

^{Isaiah 5:1-7}

¹ I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
² He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.

³ “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
⁵ Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
⁶ I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”

⁷ The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

I planted the vineyard that was my relationship with my ex-boyfriend. I treated it so well, loved it and protected it, but it yielded only bad grapes.

What more could I have done for my vineyard?

Emergent Lit final

A poem I wrote for my final project for Emergent Lit. The two guidelines for our final project said 1. it needed the be creative and 2. it needed to demonstrate we understand the concepts from this year. Here is my creative project for the class, a poem.

Teaching Emergent Literacy

It isn’t easy to teach literacy.

No, it isn’t easy as you can see.

Just how can you teach those ABCs

Extremely quickly and extremely effectively?

Literacy is more than just letters you know!

It’s how to say them and where in spelling they go.

It’s interacting with words as we travel to and fro.

It’s reading, writing, speaking, and listening also.

Kids learn in many ways each year.

Phonological awareness is what they hear.

With children, they may fail at it they fear,

But once they master literacy, you will hear them cheer!

To help kids become literate there are many ways

You can teach many things in just a few days.

Give kids the option of many kinds of play:

Dramatic or block or active activities each day.

And whatever you do, don’t forget to read books—

Out loud, in small groups, or wherever you look.

Kids can read silently or in pairs in a special book nook.

Often, you can use circle time as an interesting hook.

Don’t forget to connect learning at school with learning at home, too.

Literacy is a skill students will want to pursue.

Though they might sometimes moan and complain they are blue,

Keep teaching, and one day, you’ll see a breakthrough!

As teachers, we must be our classroom’s guide.

And teach kids to take both success and failure in stride.

At the end of the year we’ll look back with pride

As we match educational goals and practices side by side.

It isn’t easy to teach literacy.

No, it isn’t easy as you can see.

But it’s about as rewarding as it can be

To give emergent learners the gift of literacy!

Dreams

I dream of educational equality and clean water.

Two huge projects, but with the right support and passionate people, I believe we can change the world!

Here are two videos about my two favorite organizations right now. I've joined the first organization and will begin teaching in my own classroom in the Fall! (You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjtRmsdK4h8&feature=relmfu

The other organization is a wonderful one called Charity Water. Here is their most recent video explaining the water crisis and what we can do to change it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCHhwxvQqxg&feature=player_embedded

I want to get involved with Charity Water and begin bringing clean water to countries all over the world. To help in this cause, visit www.charitywater.org

100% of your donation goes directly to the field!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's official! I AM A TEACHER!

Best. News. Ever.

I found out on Tuesday that I have been accepted by Teach For America into the 2011 corps! I will be teaching elementary school in Saint Louis, Mo. I'm so EXCITED!!!!

I won't know the actual grade I'm teaching or what school I'm placed in until the summer. Cross your fingers I get to work with the little ones (K-2nd). But no matter where I'm placed, I know it'll be fantastic! I cannot WAIT to start!!

PRAISE HIM!

Pray Pray Pray

I have my final interview session with Teach For America October 19th from 8 am to 9 pm. AHHHHHH!!! Fire up those prayers, people (and keep your fingers crossed).

TfA Update!

Soooo I've been invited back to the final interview session for Teach for America, which is quite exciting! I will be involved in a day-long interview that starts at 8 am. It will consist of a group interview, I'll have to teach a lesson, do a one-on-one interview, sit in on a few seminar-like workshops, and do an activity/quiz. I'm nervous but very, VERY excited. If you believe in praying, now would be a great time! You can also cross your fingers.

I don't know just yet when my day-long interview will be taking place, but I will let everyone know for sure when it is once I hear/sign up. (They are taking place October 18th-22nd). Eeep! I'm really, really excited!

The Rose that Grew from Concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared. --by Tupac Shakur

What. Is. My. Life.

If you like stories about ridiculous and awkward things, check out this blog about awkward/ridiculous things in my life:

http://whatismylife-erin.blogspot.com/

It's a pretty good read, if I do say so myself. I have quite the assortment of random life stories.

EEEEEP!

The Teach For America application is up...and I have been working on it! Keep your fingers crossed, and for those of you who pray, fire up those prayers!

Smart, Pretty, and Awkward

My dear friend Julia introduced me to a fantastic blog which has captured my attention. It's witty, wise, and pertinent to life, and I suggest checking it out when you get a chance. Here is the link: http://smartprettyandawkward.com/

Here are some of my favorites from smartprettyandawkward:

How to be (less) Awkward: If a boy takes you to the zoo, he likes you a lot. (truth. at least in my case. I adore anything outdoorsey, and what is cuter than a hot guy taking you to the zoo? Not much.)

How to be (less) Awkward: If you are going to have a facebook photo of you holding a small child, be sure to clarify in the caption whether the baby is yours, a niece/nephew, or a friend’s-to avoid confusion.

How to be Smarter: I really believe that one of the best compliments you can receive is “you’re fun.” Being called fun means that you are easygoing, reasonably humorous, cool to be around, social, chatty, and make others feel welcome and included. It is an all-in-one compliment. Trying to work to earn this compliment, and being generous in giving it out to those in your life who deserve it, is a great way to spend your days.

How to be Smarter: Don’t date boys that make a huge mess at the sugar/milk station at Starbucks and don’t clean it up themselves. People that make huge messes and expect someone else to clean it up, both at sugar/milk stations and in life, are to be avoided. (hahaha, I will NOT be someone's mother. unless, in fact, I actually AM their mother)

i also just really like this quote
“If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?” — Stephen Wright

Goodnight, dear reader. Here's to being smarter, prettier, and (less) awkward. Although I believe a little awkwardness is good for the soul.