A Very Busy Second Semester (Gratitude)

I have so much going on right now, I feel the need to blog about it so that I can see it all in one place. So, as it is for many bloggers, this is more for me to just put it all down somewhere, organize it, and hold myself accountable!

TEDx and my new TED-Ed class

I have put in an application to host a TEDx event at my school. This is really exciting, but it is also nerve-wracking at the same time. I've decided that one of my New Year resolutions is to give students a voice. I read recently that one of your New Year resolutions shouldn't be about you. I like that, and so I spent a few days during winter break really thinking about how I can commit to that. I planned my TED-Ed class for two weeks, curating TED talks to watch, assigning small assignments, explaining the purpose of the class, etc. I'm getting excited. The irony is that I am a math teacher who at one time was so paralyzed by public speaking that I can't believe I am the one to teach students how to give a TED talk!! But I see it as an opportunity to give students a way to spread an idea that is unique to them and that makes their hearts beat faster. I'm pumped. I'm nervous, but it's a good nervous. And after 27 years of teaching, it's exciting to have something new to do!

I have been preparing by using the amazing modules provided by TED-Ed clubs (click the link to find out how to get the valuable resources) and by reading Chris Anderson's TED Talks book. He's the curator of TED. I met him in person at TED-Ed Weekend, which is enough to inspire me to help my students do incredible things. Stay tuned!! The video below explains TED-Ed clubs. Watch below!

A Math Fair

I wish I could remember how I figured out about the Julia Robinson Math Festival. Each year, I've charged my Mu Alpha Theta vice-presidents to come up with a school-wide community service project, and this is the first year that I have students who followed through! The goal is to have a math fair, grades JK - 8, for students and their parents, with our club members facilitating. I've listed some info below. The goal is to have our 85+ club members work with younger students to inspire them to enjoy mathematics. I hope that this will be a yearly festival! 

Speaking at NCTM

Again, never would I have thought that I could do public speaking. A sudden calm came over me in the last few years. I seriously used to get so nervous when I found out that I had to speak (not in the classroom, of course!), that I would be sick to my stomach for weeks, obsessing about what could go wrong. However, in the last year or so, this feeling has dissipated. I don't know why. But I'm not going to question it. I spoke publicly twice last year, once in front of a a group of alum and once in front of maybe a hundred and fifty people, telling my story about my love of my school and my job. It was extremely rewarding, which is another reason why I want to help students share their unique stories.

I applied to speak at NCTM Annual in Washington DC last year and was happy to hear that I was selected to speak about my TED-Ed project Students Teaching Students. I have yet to plan this talk, but hey, that's what spring break will be for!! This is another first that I'm excited about, but it feels stressful not having it ready yet. 

Competitions

There are a lot of MAO competitions coming up as this is our season. We have three regionals: January 20, February 3, and March 3, along with States. This year, we are hoping to take students to Universal Studios the night before states (by student request), and all of this takes so much time to organize. It's very enjoyable, and for January 20th, we have over 70 students signed up to go! This also means giving up 3 Saturdays and one weekend as a chaperone, but it is totally worth it. 

Spirituality

There is one thing that really helps ground me other than working out, and that is attending things that help me spiritually. Here are some of the things I am going to/going to do this year:

• Glennon Doyle Jan. 16
• Women's Day of Wisdom Jan. 21
• Adrienne Gold Feb. 4
• #YouDoYou  retreat Feb. 23-25 (Atlanta)
• Rachel Brathen yoga retreat in July (Aruba)
• Local yoga classes and those on oneoeight, especially Lara Heimann
• Weekly discussions with my spiritual guide Bruchy :)
• Will finish my 200 hr yoga teacher training this summer!! 

I'm also reading this book.

I also listen to Rachel Brathen's podcast "From the Heart" weekly. 

And I try to do something with at least one girlfriend a week - this is so necessary for my soul. 

After writing all of this down, I do feel better. I can see what's ahead. I know I have a lot to accomplish, but it's all doable. And I'm grateful for my family for supporting me through it and for this venue to share it. I am thankful for my health, my home, my friends, my job, and my students. I am thankful I can write this, and that my body is able to do the things I ask it to do each day: wake up, take me where I need to go, work out, and know when to relax (working on that last one!).

I'll leave you with this Glennon Doyle post from Instagram, in which my two worlds of math and spiritually collide: 

In which my nephew Bobby mansplians geometry but my niece Alice reclaims her damn time.

A post shared by Glennon Doyle (@glennondoyle) on Jan 6, 2018 at 6:56am PST

Back to School Night QR Codes, Playful Yoga, Ghirardelli Brownies

Math ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to school night is very early at our school - during our second week! I usually try not to change things up from year to year because I am so busy getting ready for the new school year. Of course, that never seems to work, because I inevitably have learned something over the last year that I want to add in. This year, it's QR codes. Last year, I got an idea from Pinterest to make a label for a single bag of microwave popcorn. It said "Thanks for 'popping' in!" and gave all of my information on the label. Not only did parents go home with some popcorn to make, they had a label with all of my info which made it easy for them to contact me. This year, I decided to use a QR code to give parents all of my info, so that they could store it in their phone if they so desired, and so they could begin to see how technology is being integrated into my classroom. I used the website http://goqr.me/ to create a free QR code that included my information. It was so easy! Then I bought 2"x4" labels from Target and created labels just like the one below (by the way, 120 labels from Target's brand up&up cost less than $5.) I hid the QR code here just because I didn't want my cell phone number out...so obviously it does not look like that on the label. 

My cat, Tiki, loved the idea of the "popping in" popcorn for Back to School Night.

Labels for single size bags of popcorn.

Here is a copy of the labels...insert your own QR code:

Play ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoga is an activity that I have been doing for about 15 years now. I have been to numerous studios and several different instructors. Here is my guide to finding a good studio:

1. Go to several local yoga studios to find one that you like. If you have to drive far, you probably will not go. Instead, you could use DVDs, but I find that when you don't anticipate what comes next in yoga, you actually feel freer ,and you can do more than if you know what is coming up.

2. See what the other members of the studio do before class. Are they welcoming? Do they smile or say hello when passing you? Or are they taking themselves too seriously, and are there noticeable cliques? I feel so much more comfortable in a studio where everyone is chatting before class than one that is serious and quiet. 

3. Does the instructor recognize you and/or greet you by name? This is not a must, but it makes me feel very comfortable when the instructor is personable. It definitely makes me want to go back for more.

4. Are there a variety of good instructors at the studio? If you only like one instructor, you are very limited to the times you can go, which means you won't go when you have the time if your instructor is not teaching.

5. Are the instructors playful? What does playful mean? It means they laugh during class, they can have fun, they do not take themselves too seriously. Maybe they yell out a big "WOOHOO!" They have a good following because people are drawn to their energy. They will take risks and try new things and will admit when they cannot do a pose. And they will help you to become your better self by allowing you to play and possibly fall - only to encourage you to get back up and try again. 

Of all the places that I have gone to, the most playful and joyful studio is Haute Yoga. Holly is the owner, and I have been going to her classes before she opened her studio. Her studio is one of pure happiness. Holly always has a smile, and her enthusiasm during class is catching to others. She loves to challenge you to your fullest, and I come out of her classes drenched, sore (a good sore), and craving more. I love Holly!!

Here is a picture of Holly taking a Caroline's class (another awesome instructor!) at her studio. I mean, seriously, how cute is she???

I want to mention that I bought a pair of pants at her studio from http://www.thejivashop.com/. They are amazing and are out of Palm Beach Gardens. I love the bright colors, and the pants are so comfortable and colorful that I feel so much more playful during yoga when I wear them. I wash them constantly because I want to wear them time I do yoga.

I emailed Nikki from Jiva and she offered 5% off if you order Jiva pants (so worth it!) Use the code EPM5 at checkout! You will definitely feel playful! 

Eat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These are the best brownies out there...better than scratch, according to my brother-in-law. And they are sooooo easy! I use the Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix from Costco. 

I timed myself, and it took 3 minutes 45 seconds from start to oven from this picture below:

I top with powdered sugar from a shaker. Another option is to put a can of frosting in the microwave (no lid) for 30 seconds, stir with a butter knife, and pour on top of uncut brownies. Then smooth with the knife. So so easy and tastes so good. You can also add a little kahlua and/or walnuts to the batter, but I don't do this when making it for students. 

Hmmm two pieces are missing...like father like son...

By the way, the next morning, more was missing?!

My students seemed to enjoy them!

Have a great week!
~Lisa

Course Guidelines - Paddle Boarding - Gazpacho with Tortilla Strips

I have one free day before I have school commitments, so I thought I would write again while I have the time. Summer has been ebbing away...but I am ready to go back!? I have a new classroom, a new Pre-Calculus book, and several other "new" things happening this year. Most importantly, I am implementing tech in my classes, and at the expense of sounding totally geeky...I really can't wait. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE summer and being able to dictate what I want to do each day...but to me, summer allows the brain to churn and to get ready for these kids! So many of these things are true on BuzzFeed's 26 Signs You're a Teacher on Summer Break --especially #6, 7, 14...however, I actually do miss our cafeteria food!

Math~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the blogs I have been following is Everybody is a Genius and I got this idea from the author Sarah. Rather than hand out pages of typed info that have bored my students for the last 24 years, I will be handing this out. What's great is that it is very visual, as you can see, and it has QR codes so students can get where they need to quickly (I covered some of the things that needed to remain private.) I will probably do something similar for Back to School Night for the parents.

Front 

Back

Play~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever tried paddle boarding? I happen to live in Florida where it is fairly easy to do this every weekend. It is one of the most calming activities I have participated in. I wish I had a paddle board to use whenever I wanted to in order to clear my head when necessary. Recently, I celebrated my 21st anniversary in Key Biscayne and rented a board--it was beautiful! 

Paddle Boarding in the Biscayne Bay

Last year, I went to Puerto Rico with family. My nieces, my friend Lili, and I did yoga paddle boarding at https://www.facebook.com/PaddleYogaPuertoRico. It was unbelievable. The class ended with the most beautiful sunset. Throughout the entire class, I was worried about staying on the board, and not falling...and right at the end of class, I heard splashes...my nieces had tried something difficult on the paddle board...headstands...and fell right in! So then I did the same...what a relief to finally fall in and not worry about it! My moral from this story is: don't be afraid to take a chance and fall in. All our lives, we worry so much about being perfect and not having fun...the BEST part of yoga paddle boarding was trying something new and actually falling in the water! I tell my students that story when they are afraid to try new things. Falling is sometimes better than standing still and being afraid to fall. 

Yoga Paddle Boarding in Puerto Rico

~~~~~~

I also want to share this poster I saw when I was out to dinner at The Cooper Restaurant this weekend. I thought it a good reminder to think about admitting to ourselves the good along with the bad.

Eat~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My son has been asking for Gazpacho all summer, and I did not come through till this week! Oddly, I used to make Gazpacho often before he was born but not since! A friend had given me a cookbook entitled A Slice of Paradise, from the Junior League of the Palm Beaches many years ago (1996), and it has a recipe for Gazpacho that I love...I dug it out, dusted it off, and adapted it a bit:

Gazpacho:

• 3 cups peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes (I used Pomi chopped tomatoes--1 box is 26 oz. I have two boxes in the picture because I doubled the recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable cocktail juice
• 1/2 cup chopped avocado
• 1/4 cup peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I actually used 1 jalapeño, seeds and inner-membranes--the spiciest part--removed)
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor except parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and black pepper. Using on-off pulses, process until coarsely chopped. (My note: I like gazpacho with veggies coarsely chopped in it. You could use a hand blender if you like it without the "chunks!") Refrigerate until chilled. Transfer to bowls; add parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and black pepper. 

I like to put more chopped avocado and a dollop of sour cream on top when ready to serve...and of course, the baked tortilla strips! I made these strips at Publix Apron's Cooking School and they were so good!!

Note: My brother-in-law suggested that I cut up another cucumber and put it in before serving, so it's even chunkier! Next time I will only place half the peppers, cucumbers, and Pomi chopped tomatoes in the food processor and chop the other half and add it in at the end. 

Baked Tortilla Strips: 

• 4 Spinach tortilla wraps
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper
• baking spray, such as Pam, or a drizzle of oil

(I did not have onion powder, so I substituted dried minced onion, but the powder would have been better.)

Preheat oven to 350º. Cut the wraps in half, and then cut them into thin strips. You want to cut them so that the knife is perpendicular to the diameter of the semi-circle (see how I used math there??). I got lazy and actually put the halves on top of one another and sliced that way...worked well!!

Place the strips in a bowl and either spray with Pam or drizzle with the oil so that the spices will stick to the strips. Place all other ingredients in the bowl and mix...I did it with my hands! Place coated strips on a baking sheet--I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper, which makes clean up super easy. 

The directions from Publix said to bake for 5-7 minutes; I liked it better at 12 minutes--the strips were crunchier, so adjust the time as necessary!

Here is the final result! My husband grilled chicken rubbed with lime, salt, and pepper, and I placed it on a small spinach and arugula salad with balsamic dressing.

Hope you enjoyed. Have a great start to the school year!

~Lisa