Dear Grandma and Grandpa . . .

(This blog post is from the beginning of October. Apparently I forgot to post it, because I found it hanging out in my drafts.)

..………………………………………………...

We learned the proper format for writing letters this week. Ones like these remind me why I wanted to teach.

Dear Grandma & Grandpa
how are you doing I love you. I am likeing 3rd grade! my teachers names miss Jardine, she is nice.
I hope you are great! I leaned multition, and divition. we leaned cusive, letters, and Riverton,.
you are a good grandma and grandpa! what was your favorite grade?
will you please write Back?

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
     Hello! How are you doing? I am doing great and in third grade I am learning so much stuff! I love learning.
     In third grade I have a really nice teacher. We have learnd a lot from her and that is why we are really smart and know everything in third grade. We have learned about area, proper nouns, multiplication and division. We have learned so much from the best teacher ever. At home I like to read and play piano. I love it.
     I have some questions. How old are you. When can I come over to your house and What is your favorite color. please write me back

And then, there's this one...

Dear Granma and Grandpa,
Hello! How ar you? I am oing good I miss you. I hope we well see echuther soon
My sub is (_____) and she is mean. My teacher is mean     I think we shold be oof track we Hav to wat this weak and two mor. I am doing good at Hom
well you wight me back please


Guess who my little toughie is? Oh well. You can't please them all. But I really do love this teaching gig. :)
♥, Meagan

Summer is for Relaxing?... Psych! Here Comes the PRAXIS!!

Prioritize... Procrastinate... Both P-words, but I am way better at one than the other. Guess which?

As far as prioritizing goes, I spent the last 4 days of my life thoroughly deep-cleaning my bedroom here at home so that I could unpack all of my school stuff and move in long-term. (Still so weird to think about.) But, I am taking the PRAXIS (another P-word!) Wednesday (In like 36 hours!), and I am really struggling to get motivated to study. Told you I was better at one than the other. However, I made myself a friendly reminder and I think it may help me out a little bit:

Or maybe not. We'll see if it has any effect on me tomorrow.

But for now I am going to enjoy some home-cooked food that I did not have to make (yes, at 11:30 at night. Maybe I'm a little unconventional.) And go to bed eventually. I have an entire days' worth of studying ahead of me!
❤, Meagan

The Complete Package

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog lately. It's been 20 days since my last post, and I was doing so well at keeping up! I already posted this on Facebook, but I thought I would share it with my blog friends too. While perusing Facebook the other day I found out that BYU students (That's me!) are the complete package. Don't believe me? Check it!

Colleges Where Students are Hot and Smart

I figured that BYU would be on there, since like 4 of my friends posted the link. However, I didn't expect us to be THE hottest and smartest. Go us! :)

BYU-Idaho made it, too! (Although it is at a slightly less awesome placement than BYU-Provo)

Talk about good press. ;)

I hope all of your lives are wonderful and less stressful than mine has been lately. But it's all downhill from here! My last day of practicum is Wednesday, my internship interview is also on Wednesday, and I should find out that very night whether or not I get it. Updates will come at a later date. Until then I will be a nervous wreck, so wish me luck!

Lots of love!

❤, Meagan

iTeach

I decided that I sort of love 6th graders' humor. Today, one of the boys in my class jumped out of his seat completely out of the blue, and asked "What would you guys say to us doing a Harlem Shake?" That's one of those moments where you have to bite your lip and not acknowledge that the disruptive child is funny. He asked his teacher if they could and she said no. Then he said "What about at recess?" She still said no, and he was a little let down. No one else seemed too torn up about it, though.

We get to go on a field trip tomorrow! To BYU... haha. I can't escape the place! But we are going to the planetarium, so I think it'll be pretty cool. My first observation is also tomorrow. Right after a field trip and recess, so hopefully the kids aren't too wild. I'm teaching them how to write persuasive essays, which is a super fascinating topic. But really... I'm excited to read them. I'm having them write me a persuasive essay about whether or not teachers should assign homework. I think it will be entertaining to see their arguments. :)

Today my teacher also informed me of what I will be teaching for the rest of practicum. It's nice to know so far in advance, but I feel pretty overwhelmed. Next week and the week after I am going to be teaching one math inquiry lesson as well as science, social studies, and book clubs for the whole 2 weeks. This amounts to me teaching about 3-4 hours out of the day for the next 2 weeks straight, when the most I have taught up until this point is like 45 minutes. My teacher wasn't kidding when she said she was going to "throw me off the deep end."

It's gonna be a party... But I guess it will help me to be that much more prepared for real life. :)
Wish me luck!
❤, Meagan

6th Grade. . . Again?!

As many of you are aware, I started my second and last practicum on Friday! I was nervous because this one is in 6th grade, which is very different from my last one in 1st grade. I absolutely loved the younger grades, and worried that I would not do as well in the upper ones.

One thing I was worried about is that I wouldn't be "cool" to the 6th graders. I know, I know, you don't have to be their friend, just be their teacher... Blah, blah. But it's nice if they actually like you, not just tolerate you because they have to respect authority.

I was also concerned that I wouldn't know how to connect to these students. I feel like my forte is with the younger kids. I've always babysat younger kids, and they have a tendency to just latch onto me right away. I love their unending energy and excitement, and their unconditional love. I was convinced that 6th grade wouldn't be able to match up to that.

On Friday, though, the teacher put some music on, and all of the kids started freaking out and getting excited because it was Imagine Dragons. I LOVE Imagine Dragons! Immediately following this I got several compliments on my nails, and even one on my handwriting. :) Right away I knew that I was going to like it better than I thought.

Today I gave my introductory lesson, and just showed the students a bunch of pictures of me and my friends, and silly things I've done. When I told the students that I liked going to Jazz games and showed them pictures I took at one, one boy jumped up and said "I LOVE the Jazz! Gordon Hayward!" I agreed that Hayward is obviously the best, and then showed them the picture from the Jazz game Friday night where I got to sit right down by the court with my family to watch warmups and got an autograph from and a picture with Hayward! This kid's mouth just dropped and he shouted something along the lines of how awesome that was and that he was jealous. After this I asked if they had any questions, and the same kid asked me what type of music I like. I told him Imagine Dragons, and he was quite excited. He then proceeded to inform me that his name was          (I'm not actually sure if I'm allowed to say his name or not) and that he is "awesome." Self-proclaimed, but it must be true, right? :)

After my little picture show the teacher gave a speech about how the kids need to listen to me, and whatever I assign they have to do, because I am going to be giving them grades on it. The same kid from before jumped up and proclaimed that "She likes Imagine Dragons, the Jazz, and Hayward. I'll do whatever she asks!"

Win. I think I'm going to like it here. :)
❤, Meagan

I ♥ Snogging? :)

Since I was back in South Jordan today, it was supposed to be laundry day (It did not end up happening.) But...I definitely wore this shirt in public today.

Surprisingly, I didn't get too many funny looks (that I noticed, at least), no creepy offers, and only had to explain what snogging meant once... which was slightly embarrassing. I'm glad I decided a while ago not to give much credence to what other people think of me. Life is more fun that way. :)
❤, Meagan

Everybody's Gonna Love Today, Gonna Love Today, Gonna Love Today!

So it's that time of February again. That day where half the people I know are bitter about their love lives... or lack thereof, and the other half are all lovey and goo-goo eyed. I'm in on secret plots to help other people show love to their significant others, but not getting anything from one myself, haha. It's not my favorite day of the year, but I'm not totally averse to this day either. My mom always sends me something special, and that's sweet. :) I still know that I'm loved.

Guess what?
Today I had a revalation. A year from today I will be in my very own classroom! Forget not having a "valentine". I will have 30! Do you know how much chocolate and candy and cute little cards that is?? I am so excited. I have a feeling this will become one of my favorite holidays. :)

And just a little note for those of you that feel like you are "all alone" on Valentine's day... You are most definitely not. You don't need that one special someone to make this day bearable. Just look around you and realize how many other special people are in your lives. Love is a many splendid thing, but it can come from anywhere, not just a man. I have wonderful family and friends, and they make my life complete. The romance will happen eventually, but until then? I'm still going to enjoy my life.

Also- I found this video earlier. Oh my cuteness! It is the most adorable thing ever. I'm pretty sure my favorite part is when they ask the kids if they have ever been kissed and they all freak out. And the little girl that is going to marry her daddy. Classic. I am so stoked to spend every day of most of the rest of my life with such innocent and special people! :)

On a random note... I searched and I have exactly 239 songs in my iTunes that have the word Love in the title. In case  any of you wanted to know. Awesome. :)

I love you all!

❤, Meagan

Best Excuse Ever.

I totally have a soft spot for special needs people. There are many reasons for this, and one of which is that they say some of the cutest things ever.

A couple of days ago when I was working at the theatre two people with down syndrome came to my till. They wanted to go see Cars 2. The man tells me: "We're going to go see a movie today because it's my birthday this year." The woman promptly agrees with him. "Yep, it's his birthday this year. He's my boyfriend." It was completely adorable. :)

But cute story aside, I have decided that if I ever want anything and you feel like turning me down... You'd better not, because it's my birthday this year. Just sayin'... :)
❤, Meagan