Skip to main content

It's Been Awhile...

Well it's been since Christmas break since I've updated my blog! This has been the busiest, but one of the best semesters I've had at BYU! Since it's been a good three month since my last post, I'll just share some of this semester's highlights!

1. Long weekend in California: 
Over President's Day weekend, my roommates Caroline, Alicia, Alyssa, and I decided we needed a little break from Utah, so on Friday afternoon we packed up Alyssa's car and started the nine hour drive to her house in Southern California. We spent Saturday shopping at an outdoor mall, reuniting with Chipotle (it's really time for Provo to get one already) and exploring the town. On Sunday after early morning church, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Ventura Beach. Caroline, Alicia, and I ventured into the FREEZING cold ocean and we took a long walk and laid out on the beach. It was a perfect little mini "spring break."


2. Sending off Elder Shipp 
The following Wednesday, Amy, Matthew, and I got to send our cousin Elder Shipp off to the MTC to begin his two year mission to Brazil! We ditched class to meet him at Denny's for brunch and took some pictures in front of the Provo Temple for the family of course! I am so proud of him and have loved reading his weekly letters! I know he will bless so many lives and be an incredible missionary!



3. The most temperate winter EVER.
This is my fourth winter by Provo and it has been BY FAR the most temperate. For the most part the weather has been beautiful, it's barely been cold at all, and I think it snowed maybe twice since I got back from Christmas break. Sorry to all of my friends and family in Virginia who've had to endure the worst! We've taken full advantage of the beautiful weather by spending tons of time outside and taking beautiful hikes! This picture is from a Saturday hike to Bridal Veil Falls! 


4. Practicum Round 2 
I just finished my second week of my second practicum! I was in first grade last semester, and this semester was assigned to sixth grade. I'll admit I was TERRIFIED, but I am absolutely loving it! The kids are just so fun to teach and be around and I'm learning so much! I was particularly afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up in math since it's not my strong suit, but we just finished teaching a unit on proportions which I thankfully after some practice was able to master/teach! I taught a lesson on Friday on real life situations where we will need to use proportions, and the kids were SO into it! After I showed them some examples from my life where using proportions has helped me, we made a list of situations where using proportions would help us solve real-life problems. Then the kids got to write their own word problems based on one of those situations. When I asked for volunteers to share, nearly every hand in the class went up! It was so exciting! I love it when I can make material interesting and bring it to life! We are also teaching a unit on Ancient Rome, one of my favorite time periods in history, and it's been a blast! I love teaching and feel so lucky that I get to make a career out of it! Life is good!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life Changes and New Adventures

          I thought that I had the next couple of years of my life all figured out. I am a prime example of a chronic over-thinker, and the queen of the pro/con list. I had carefully thought out every recent decision I had made. I was settled at the school where I had been working, I had a good apartment and ward, and I had just been accepted to a 2 year long Master's of Education program, which would fulfill one of my long term goals. Yet something still felt off. Despite the fact that I thought I had a good direction in my life, I felt confused and unsettled. It felt like I was trapped inside a box. I would walk in one direction, hit the wall of the box only to turn in another direction and hit another wall.          The problem was, I just could not figure out what it was that wasn't right. I started taking the long way driving home from work each day and praying about my concerns. It took a couple of weeks of this before seemingly o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shipps on a Ship Part 1

        It truly feels like just yesterday my grandparents gathered our family in the living room of our rented beach house and told us that they were taking us on a Disney Cruise. In reality, it was a year and a half ago and at the time it seemed like November 2014 would never come. It still almost felt like a dream even as we boarded our plane to Orlando last Saturday after MUCH airport turmoil, i.e. Michael forgetting his carry on at security, Jonathan getting a bloody nose, and me almost losing my debit card. Against all odds, the Shipp cousins made it to Orlando in one piece. I always get teary-eyed when I see my family after a few months away, and this time was no exception! Just as we were getting settled into our hotel room, we found out that our toilet was broken, so we had to move rooms! Once we were finally settled, Uncle Dave was kind enough to take as many cousins as could pile into his van for a McDonald's run. We spent Sunday in Downtown Disney, visiti...
Post a Comment
Read more

Until We Meet Again

           On Friday, my Grandma Freeman passed away. She was almost 90 years old and lived a long, full life. She was kind, loving, a hard worker, and fiercely loyal. She taught elementary school, and I've always loved the fact that both of my grandmas were teachers, and good ones at that. We joke in our family that teaching runs in our blood, and it's an honor to be able to carry on her legacy.            For most of the years I was growing up, she lived in New York, in the small, small town of Hornell. My dad would take us on weekend trips to visit during the summers. In fact my first time driving on the highway with my learner's permit was on the way up to visit them one summer, and I remember proudly announcing that when we walked into the house. We would always start off our visits with a trip to the ONLY restaurant in town (Pizza Hut) and then stop by the ONLY grocery store in town (Wegman's) for ice cream to take home,...
1 comment
Read more