Teaching is hard! There is so much more to being a teacher than classroom management and lesson plans and grading.
The politics of a school...gosh.
It's not enough to just be a good teacher. I feel like an entirely different person the moment I enter my school.
I am no longer me.
I am Miss Cobabe: Social Studies Teacher.
I am expected to know so much, and I am so impressed with myself when the rights answers seem to fall out of my mouth. Where the heck did I get so smart?!
My students like to tell me every day that they love me. What a little confidence booster that is each hour!
However, it seems like I should have had to work harder for this. But its not hard to have your students love you. And its not hard to love all your students.
I LOVE MY STUDENTS! They are just so easy to love, because they love me and my subject. They want to do their best.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Life is heating up!
I have moved to Arizona.
Yes, you read that right. Arizona. That place on the map of the United States, way in the bottom left corner. The one that every morning on national news that has temperatures way higher than should be possible. But, alas, I have learned that these temperatures are no exaggeration to keep people away from this beautiful desert oasis.
I won't lie. I was very nervous about the move to Mesa. It's hot. It's stinkin' hot. And, it means I have to be a real grown up!
I never thought that I would ever move to Arizona. Of all the kids in my family, my brother Johnathon would be the one that would chose to move to Arizona. However, I know the Lord has a special plan for me, that right now, includes me living in this place. However, by putting my trust in the Lord, I knew that this was where I am supposed to be.
I am starting student teaching in the Mesa Unified School District at a junior high. I'm teaching 7th grade US history.
Is this my dream position? No, but I'm like all student teachers straight out of college. I don't know what I really want. I know that I love history, and I love to teach, and I love to teach history. I know that I want to pass my love of history to my students.
I know that this semester is going to be hard.
But, I know that with help from the Lord, nothing is impossible.
I am going to make the most of this experience. I am going to be like a sponge and soak up all the information I can.
I know that the Lord loves me, and I know that He has a plan for me. And this is where it's all beginning.
Yes, you read that right. Arizona. That place on the map of the United States, way in the bottom left corner. The one that every morning on national news that has temperatures way higher than should be possible. But, alas, I have learned that these temperatures are no exaggeration to keep people away from this beautiful desert oasis.
I won't lie. I was very nervous about the move to Mesa. It's hot. It's stinkin' hot. And, it means I have to be a real grown up!
I never thought that I would ever move to Arizona. Of all the kids in my family, my brother Johnathon would be the one that would chose to move to Arizona. However, I know the Lord has a special plan for me, that right now, includes me living in this place. However, by putting my trust in the Lord, I knew that this was where I am supposed to be.
I am starting student teaching in the Mesa Unified School District at a junior high. I'm teaching 7th grade US history.
Is this my dream position? No, but I'm like all student teachers straight out of college. I don't know what I really want. I know that I love history, and I love to teach, and I love to teach history. I know that I want to pass my love of history to my students.
I know that this semester is going to be hard.
But, I know that with help from the Lord, nothing is impossible.
I am going to make the most of this experience. I am going to be like a sponge and soak up all the information I can.
I know that the Lord loves me, and I know that He has a plan for me. And this is where it's all beginning.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Miss Monkey....
My youngest sister, Claira, is about 15 years younger than me. I LOVE having a sister so young! It's so fun at all the holidays, and she gets SO excited each time I come home from wherever I am...especially when I come home from I-dee-ho.
Well, Claira is the monkey of the family, and I call her Miss Monkey, or Claira-Monkey....or something along those lines....
She always says the funniest things. I never thought that a young child could be SO HILARIOUS! Today's conversation at dinner was the best.
Claira's class at school just did a unit on rockets. Part of the homework was to make a rocket between 13 and 23 inches tall, and have at least three different colors on it. So, Claira and Dad made a rocket out of wood and Corian scraps, and then Kimberly, Claira, and I painted it yesterday.
At dinner tonight, Claira was telling us that hers was the best in class. Then, she said that Samuel, her friend, also had a pretty cool one. As did Wyatt. And James.
I asked her if these boys were her friends. She said,
"Samuel is my boyfriend. And Wyatt's the other boy I'm in love with. Oh, and I love James, too. James and Samuel are twins and they ride on my bus."
SHE WAS TOTALLY SERIOUS!
My SEVEN year old sister is a PLAYER!
Then she said that she had KISSED THEM!
I choked on my rice.
Why is my baby sister kissing boys?!?!?!?!?!
SHE'S SEVEN!
SEVEN!
For Heaven's sakes......seven!
Well, she's not even 7 yet, she's still 6 until Saturday!
Anywho.
I asked if she was kissin' on the lips.
Claira made a gross face, like she had swallowed something nasty.
"No, Jenn, I kiss them on their backpack!"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Wherever she can get them, I guess, right?
Well, Claira is the monkey of the family, and I call her Miss Monkey, or Claira-Monkey....or something along those lines....
She always says the funniest things. I never thought that a young child could be SO HILARIOUS! Today's conversation at dinner was the best.
Claira's class at school just did a unit on rockets. Part of the homework was to make a rocket between 13 and 23 inches tall, and have at least three different colors on it. So, Claira and Dad made a rocket out of wood and Corian scraps, and then Kimberly, Claira, and I painted it yesterday.
At dinner tonight, Claira was telling us that hers was the best in class. Then, she said that Samuel, her friend, also had a pretty cool one. As did Wyatt. And James.
I asked her if these boys were her friends. She said,
"Samuel is my boyfriend. And Wyatt's the other boy I'm in love with. Oh, and I love James, too. James and Samuel are twins and they ride on my bus."
SHE WAS TOTALLY SERIOUS!
My SEVEN year old sister is a PLAYER!
Then she said that she had KISSED THEM!
I choked on my rice.
Why is my baby sister kissing boys?!?!?!?!?!
SHE'S SEVEN!
SEVEN!
For Heaven's sakes......seven!
Well, she's not even 7 yet, she's still 6 until Saturday!
Anywho.
I asked if she was kissin' on the lips.
Claira made a gross face, like she had swallowed something nasty.
"No, Jenn, I kiss them on their backpack!"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Wherever she can get them, I guess, right?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
My Life SHOULD Be a Hollywood Comedy....SERIOUSLY!
So, I've decided that my life needs to be turned into a movie...a comedy to be exact. Because, I find my life to be VERY entertaining! Here are a few clips of the possible scenes of
One time, a while ago (approximately April 10, 2010, about 1 hour after college graduation, and I am frantically cleaning my apartment so I can move out....well, maybe not so frantically, because I was sad to go, but frantically all the same, because my clean check was coming ever closer, and I didn't want to be charged $800 for not dusting the closet) I was cleaning the cubby space above my closet in my bedroom at Aspen Village. Now, me being the lovely 5 foot 5 that I am couldn't reach the top, let alone the shelf inside the closet. So, I did what every normal person would do.
I got a chair.
I stood on that blue plastic chair (like the ones you find in your high school classroom), and I STILL COULDN'T REACH!
So, I took the next logical step. Literally.
I stepped on top of the dresser inside the closet.
I was standing precariously close to the edge of the dresser top, and leaning slightly back, so I could manuever my arm around and onto the top of the closet to clean out the cubby hole.
Now, why was I cleaning that cubby hole? It wasn't on the list of things to clean, but I still felt like I had to clean it. Maybe it was because I didn't want to take that load of hangers out to the car...Maybe it was because I didn't want to vacuum....Maybe it was the lack of sleep during finals week/graduation (averaged 2.5 hours of sleep a night! :) Aren't you proud?)....Maybe (and this is the reason) it was a combination of all of the above.
Nevertheless, I was cleaning, and as you guessed, the dresser fell over.
I was grasping to the top of the closet for dear life as the dresser topples and the chair is smashed by the dresser. My mom drops the 50+ hangers (no joke. I had like 50 of them, all matching, and because of that, Mom wanted to keep them.) she was carrying out to the car, and runs in to see if I'm okay.
I was.
I was just hanging onto the closet, my feet dangling in the air, and only one slipper on.
Now, ask me:
What song was playing on your laptop?
Another One Bites The Dust
Yup. Seriously. Ironic, eh?
I got down, and I was just fine. But, instead of cleaning up the dresser and chair (both of whom also escaped unharmed), I ran over a couple apartments, because I HAD to share the story with Hannah Baker.
Response from Hannah: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I forgot to tell her about the song, but I think if I had included it at that moment, she would have needed to change her pants.
Moral of the story? Don't clean the top of your closets, especially if the above mentioned song is playing and you have a wimpy dresser in your closet.
One last story?
Alright. I'll enlighten you.
And just to let you know, my mom might kill me for sharing this story in cyberspace, but it just about made me pee my pants.
My little sister, Claira, couldn't find her teddy bear, Lily. And it was bedtime.
Bad combination, right?
Of course. All little kids need their teddy bear to be able to sleep a full night's sleep and keep the boogy man away. (except for me, obviously. I slept with a stuffed koala that I named Koaly. Original, eh? I had a bunny, it was a Netherland Dwarf. I named it Netherland. And most all my fish have been Mr. Fishy. Anyway...)
So, Mom and Claira search for HOURS (in reality, it was like 20 minutes, but to Claira, it seemed like an eternity), for Lily. Mom asks, "Can you just go to bed and we'll find Lily in the morning?"
Bad question.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!! I can't sleep without Lily!"
Which is quite interesting, since Claira has only had thedumb lovely pink and white bear for a couple years. She's just about 7! What about those 5 years she never had Lily? Claira wasn't scared of the dark before Lily...I would know. She would come down into the basement to my room and throw her cup across the room, yelling, "JENN! JUICE!!!!" at around 2 am. Every day.
Back to the story:
Claira is hitting the hysterical point of her search. Mom is looking in the family room, and Claira was upstairs about to have a mental breakdown.
Then, Mom sees Claira with that blasted teddy bear walking around downstairs.
"Claira, where'd you find Lily?"
Claira's answer was classic. It will be remembered and preserved for all of posterity:
"She was hiding in my closet. She scare the hell out of me!"
Oh my, Mom tried so hard not to laugh. She sent Claira to her room and then laughed SO hard! It was one of those moments that you know you have to get mad at her, but it was just too dang precious to be too mad. Now, if Claira was 16, I'm sure that language would result in her mouth being rinsed out with soap.
But, for some reason, Claira is the cute one in the family, and also the youngest. Quite a combination. The world will need to watch out when Claira hits 16......
Jen Kabob: the Movie!
One time, a while ago (approximately April 10, 2010, about 1 hour after college graduation, and I am frantically cleaning my apartment so I can move out....well, maybe not so frantically, because I was sad to go, but frantically all the same, because my clean check was coming ever closer, and I didn't want to be charged $800 for not dusting the closet) I was cleaning the cubby space above my closet in my bedroom at Aspen Village. Now, me being the lovely 5 foot 5 that I am couldn't reach the top, let alone the shelf inside the closet. So, I did what every normal person would do.
I got a chair.
I stood on that blue plastic chair (like the ones you find in your high school classroom), and I STILL COULDN'T REACH!
So, I took the next logical step. Literally.
I stepped on top of the dresser inside the closet.
I was standing precariously close to the edge of the dresser top, and leaning slightly back, so I could manuever my arm around and onto the top of the closet to clean out the cubby hole.
Now, why was I cleaning that cubby hole? It wasn't on the list of things to clean, but I still felt like I had to clean it. Maybe it was because I didn't want to take that load of hangers out to the car...Maybe it was because I didn't want to vacuum....Maybe it was the lack of sleep during finals week/graduation (averaged 2.5 hours of sleep a night! :) Aren't you proud?)....Maybe (and this is the reason) it was a combination of all of the above.
Nevertheless, I was cleaning, and as you guessed, the dresser fell over.
I was grasping to the top of the closet for dear life as the dresser topples and the chair is smashed by the dresser. My mom drops the 50+ hangers (no joke. I had like 50 of them, all matching, and because of that, Mom wanted to keep them.) she was carrying out to the car, and runs in to see if I'm okay.
I was.
I was just hanging onto the closet, my feet dangling in the air, and only one slipper on.
Now, ask me:
What song was playing on your laptop?
Another One Bites The Dust
Yup. Seriously. Ironic, eh?
I got down, and I was just fine. But, instead of cleaning up the dresser and chair (both of whom also escaped unharmed), I ran over a couple apartments, because I HAD to share the story with Hannah Baker.
Response from Hannah: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I forgot to tell her about the song, but I think if I had included it at that moment, she would have needed to change her pants.
Moral of the story? Don't clean the top of your closets, especially if the above mentioned song is playing and you have a wimpy dresser in your closet.
One last story?
Alright. I'll enlighten you.
And just to let you know, my mom might kill me for sharing this story in cyberspace, but it just about made me pee my pants.
My little sister, Claira, couldn't find her teddy bear, Lily. And it was bedtime.
Bad combination, right?
Of course. All little kids need their teddy bear to be able to sleep a full night's sleep and keep the boogy man away. (except for me, obviously. I slept with a stuffed koala that I named Koaly. Original, eh? I had a bunny, it was a Netherland Dwarf. I named it Netherland. And most all my fish have been Mr. Fishy. Anyway...)
So, Mom and Claira search for HOURS (in reality, it was like 20 minutes, but to Claira, it seemed like an eternity), for Lily. Mom asks, "Can you just go to bed and we'll find Lily in the morning?"
Bad question.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!! I can't sleep without Lily!"
Which is quite interesting, since Claira has only had the
Back to the story:
Claira is hitting the hysterical point of her search. Mom is looking in the family room, and Claira was upstairs about to have a mental breakdown.
Then, Mom sees Claira with that blasted teddy bear walking around downstairs.
"Claira, where'd you find Lily?"
Claira's answer was classic. It will be remembered and preserved for all of posterity:
"She was hiding in my closet. She scare the hell out of me!"
Oh my, Mom tried so hard not to laugh. She sent Claira to her room and then laughed SO hard! It was one of those moments that you know you have to get mad at her, but it was just too dang precious to be too mad. Now, if Claira was 16, I'm sure that language would result in her mouth being rinsed out with soap.
But, for some reason, Claira is the cute one in the family, and also the youngest. Quite a combination. The world will need to watch out when Claira hits 16......
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Bittersweet Blabberings
I'm taking a break between finals, procrastinated projects, packing, and goodbyes.
I AM IN MY FINAL DAYS AT BYU-IDAHO!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!?
Oh, that's right. I spent the last four years of my life battling wind, snow, ice, and professors to get through my classes, and they (meaning the professors) actually passed me! Huh.....It's absolutely crazy to think that I'm completely done with school.
This is a bittersweet feeling.
One the one hand, I'm ecstatic to be done and move on to the next phase of my life:
..............otherwise known as:
STUDENT TEACHING............................
But at the same time, its so hard to leave my friends, this lovely podunk town I love, and all the memories.
I know that life is full of hellos and goodbyes.
Eveyone you meet is put in your life for a reason. These people are meant to teach us something and bless our lives.
I've really come to understand that in the past year.
No matter how tough it is to say goodbye, its going to be okay.
So,
GOODBYE
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Windy/Icy/Snowy/Never-can-make-up-its-mind Rexburg
Difficult and rewarding classes
Ghetto Aspen Village
BYU-Idaho 15th Ward
my amazing roommates
Potatoland
Eastern Idaho
and everything else associated with Rexburg/BYU-Idaho
I will miss you! But, I've decided to move onto bigger and better things!
Rexburg, don't feel so bad, you'll always hold a special place in my heart.....
Love, Jenn
I AM IN MY FINAL DAYS AT BYU-IDAHO!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!?
Oh, that's right. I spent the last four years of my life battling wind, snow, ice, and professors to get through my classes, and they (meaning the professors) actually passed me! Huh.....It's absolutely crazy to think that I'm completely done with school.
This is a bittersweet feeling.
One the one hand, I'm ecstatic to be done and move on to the next phase of my life:
..............otherwise known as:
STUDENT TEACHING............................
But at the same time, its so hard to leave my friends, this lovely podunk town I love, and all the memories.
I know that life is full of hellos and goodbyes.
Eveyone you meet is put in your life for a reason. These people are meant to teach us something and bless our lives.
I've really come to understand that in the past year.
No matter how tough it is to say goodbye, its going to be okay.
So,
GOODBYE
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Windy/Icy/Snowy/Never-can-make-up-its-mind Rexburg
Difficult and rewarding classes
Ghetto Aspen Village
BYU-Idaho 15th Ward
my amazing roommates
Potatoland
Eastern Idaho
and everything else associated with Rexburg/BYU-Idaho
I will miss you! But, I've decided to move onto bigger and better things!
Rexburg, don't feel so bad, you'll always hold a special place in my heart.....
Love, Jenn
Sunday, April 4, 2010
I ♥ Conference!
I love, absolutely LOVE!, General Conference! It makes me so happy, and I love the spiritual upliftment that I receive. Especially in these past few sessions.
The encouragement we receive from the Brethren and other speakers calms my soul from the things I have been worrying about. I know that everything is going to be just fine. I know that my Savior loves me. I know that my Savior died for me, and He Lives. I KNOW that He lives. I have received confirmation of this fact. The hymn, I Know That My Redeemer Lives, is my testimony:
I know that my Redeemer lives
What comfort this sweet sentence gives
He lives, He lives who once was dead,
He lives, my Ever-living Head.
He lives to grant me rich supply
He lives to guide me with His eye
He lives to comfort me when faint
He lives to hear my soul's complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears
He lives to wipe away my tears
He lives to calm my troubled heart
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives to bless me with his love
He lives to plead for me above
He lives my hungry soul to feed
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while He lives I'll sing!
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!
He lives and grants me daily breath
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives, my mansion to prepare
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same!
O sweet, the joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same!
O sweet, the joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
How perfect that General Conference lands on Easter Sunday this year! I am enjoying the apostolic testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the Savior, even Jesus Christ. I add my testimony of Jesus Christ and the Atonement to the others that have been expressed in the last two days.
He Lives! I know He does. He loves me. He loves you. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then died on the cross for our sins. He is the very reason that the plan of happiness works.
Enjoy the rest of this Easter Sunday, and the rest of this wonderful General Conference!
The encouragement we receive from the Brethren and other speakers calms my soul from the things I have been worrying about. I know that everything is going to be just fine. I know that my Savior loves me. I know that my Savior died for me, and He Lives. I KNOW that He lives. I have received confirmation of this fact. The hymn, I Know That My Redeemer Lives, is my testimony:
I know that my Redeemer lives
What comfort this sweet sentence gives
He lives, He lives who once was dead,
He lives, my Ever-living Head.
He lives to grant me rich supply
He lives to guide me with His eye
He lives to comfort me when faint
He lives to hear my soul's complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears
He lives to wipe away my tears
He lives to calm my troubled heart
He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives to bless me with his love
He lives to plead for me above
He lives my hungry soul to feed
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend
He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while He lives I'll sing!
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!
He lives and grants me daily breath
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives, my mansion to prepare
He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same!
O sweet, the joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same!
O sweet, the joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!
How perfect that General Conference lands on Easter Sunday this year! I am enjoying the apostolic testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and of the Savior, even Jesus Christ. I add my testimony of Jesus Christ and the Atonement to the others that have been expressed in the last two days.
He Lives! I know He does. He loves me. He loves you. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then died on the cross for our sins. He is the very reason that the plan of happiness works.
Enjoy the rest of this Easter Sunday, and the rest of this wonderful General Conference!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
O My Father
I have just come to find this hymn to be one of my favorites. The words mean more to me than I had ever noticed. (LDS Hymnal #292) Read these words carefully:
I love this hymn. It speaks to my spirit, and it comforts me in the hardest times of life. I especially love the arrangement by Sally Deford. Check it out: http://defordmusic.com/comethoufountomyfather.htm
It's also the same musical arrangement she uses for Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, another great hymn.
"O My Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured by thy side?
For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast place me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet oftimes a secret something
Whispered, "You're a stranger here,"
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exhalted sphere.
I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav'ns are parents single?
No the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me a mother there!
When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length when I've completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With you mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.
I love this hymn. It speaks to my spirit, and it comforts me in the hardest times of life. I especially love the arrangement by Sally Deford. Check it out: http://defordmusic.com/comethoufountomyfather.htm
It's also the same musical arrangement she uses for Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, another great hymn.
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