Facing Challenges Face to Face

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When you train for a major running event, or motivate a loved one on their journey, there is a lot of reflection that takes place along the way.

This past year has been a bit tricky between the individual training schedule that both my husband and I were following. Weekends were saved for long runs, but at times it seems like more of a game of tag with the passing of each other through the door on the way out to hit the pavement.

This past weekend my husband completed one of his biggest challenges, his first official 100 mile race. For a man who never ran, outside of an occasional friendly football game with mates back in London, I admire his commitment and dedication that he has shown since he first became intrigued in running. From his first local 5K in 2011 to now a 100 mile race in 2018….WOW!

I’ve cheered my husband on at various running events, as he crossed the line from just being a marathon runner to an ultra runner. He has ran two, 24 hour races in a row, with the ultimate goal of achieving 100 miles. Running a 3-4 mile loop repetitively just blows my mind, I couldn’t do it. However, with minimal mileage for loops, it makes it extra convenient for refueling or planning for weather changes.

We checked in early Saturday morning. One thing I like about Ultra running races is that it is a smaller scale. Hundreds of runners all with the same purpose, and families who are there and ready to track their runners. In a marathon, you have dedicated families who cheer you on for up to 6 hours, but this race, the love carries those families through the late hours for nearly 27 hours. It’s something about knowing you are supporting a loved one that the exhaustion never fully kicks in until they cross the finish line.

This 100 miles on the other hand, was a tad different. 20 mile loops, so less daunting in that you don’t have to see the same scenic sights so many times, but also intimidating, knowing . you don’t have as easy of access to all your supplies every 3-4 miles. My husband was up for the challenge!

I managed to pace my husband for 20 of his 100 miles in the late night. While we were in the complete darkness, the course was tough regardless. Even with exhaustion, you really have to be mentally awake. Crossing slippery bridges, tree stumps that stick up out of nowhere, animal sounds from around the corner. You really have to stay focused. Each 5 miles or so they had a service tent, each one with a different theme, which really helps to keep the spirit going.

After a quick nap in the car, following my 20 mile pace…did I mention I just ran a marathon the week prior? I anxiously awaited the arrival of my husband. At just over 25 hours, he finally came through the finish line. He achieved his goal and earned his buckle! This made me think about the times in education, those times that are a big struggle, where we don’t think we can make it to the next day. Could my husband have stopped? Yes! When he was trembling in the night from being cold and sweating, could he have just decided to leave and go to bed? Of course! Even if this may have crossed his mind, he never once took this action. As an educator, I try to remind myself that tomorrow is a fresh start. The day may not be perfect, but those hurdles only get you closer to making your goal.

Mystery Inferencing

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A 5th grade teacher at one of my buildings approached me with an idea she had seen on Twitter. This particular lesson she read about involved reinforcing inferencing skills through a crime scene investigation. This tweet served as inspiration for what was about to unfold.

The teacher and I met to plan out our ideas, goals and objectives. Instead of the idea of a crime scene in school, we decided to turn it into a detective academy!

Prior to students arriving, the teacher and I set the tone for the room. Items were knocked down, lights were off, caution tape was up, mystery music was playing in the background, and flashing lights added ambiance. The mystery…. who broke into the classroom?

The students were provided a digital detective journal that was setup as a template using pages. Students took turns taking photos of the evidence to complete their inferences in their journal. Their goal, was to see if they could discover who the mystery individual was.

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We connected a BreakoutEDU in with this particular lesson. As students were unlocking the boxes, they were being provided with even more clues about our particular suspect. More evidence they could add to their journal. Students then created a mystery writing piece based on the chain of events. Once students had their inferences narrowed down, they called the suspect to the “hot seat” for interrogation. It really was a fun lesson and project!

So who was our mystery suspect? The principal!





Chicago Marathon 2018

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When I originally created this blog, the name was created with the intention of merging two passions together; teaching and running. Running for me, really is a great way to reflect on the day or even clear your mind.

The first time I ran a marathon was in 2016, it was by far the hardest race I have ever ran. Crossing the finish line in tears and the biggest disappointment of not having an official finish time was very discouraging. Mentally, I took a long time off from running following that. Two years to be exact. I ran races over those two years, but my heart wasn’t fully in it.

When I made the decision to run Chicago in 2018, I knew I didn’t want to do the lottery, I wanted to make a difference by connecting my training to a charity. Finding the right charity took some time, but I made the decision to run for the Organization for Autism Research (OAR). Running for the organization connected me with our Chicago Area Runners Association and our local Yankee Runners. This was a group I committed to training with each Saturday for the “long run” portion of the marathon training. It was, one of the best decisions I made.

Many of us in the group were educators or were married to educators. Long runs up to 20 miles gave us plenty of time to discuss “shop” but to also lend support to one another. However, these long runs didn’t feel like those I ran in 2016. I looked forward to going at 5am on Saturday mornings. We told stories, we laughed, we got stuck in the storms and heat. I honestly have to say I had fun!

Leading up to the marathon, I won’t lie that challenges weren’t faced. The heat this summer was brutal. The morning of the race, I planned to meet with a few of my running pals, as our goal was to stick together. I saw colleagues from work in the racing corral and I knew my husband was out on the course waiting for me. I was ready, and I was PUMPED!

I feel like race day came and went so fast. I think people believe I’m lying when I say that I had the best time for all of 26.2! Sure, there were times I was in extreme pain, the end was rough, and just trying to go up stairs…. well we won’t talk about that. Erasing all of those horrible moments, I danced at mile 13, gave high 5s to strangers and friends who I was surprised by along the way. At mile 21, I even busted into the Carlton dance while the music played over the loud speaker. It. Was. FUN!

I honestly feel that running with this group and not doing it alone, is what helped push me in the fun direction. My running buddies and I had a great time together, I helped a 1st time marathoner finish, a multi-marathoner finish, and I finally got my medal and an official finish time!

Templates in Numbers & Book Creator

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If there are two apps that I have completely fallen in love with for templates, it has to be Numbers and Book Creator. While I also love giving students the freedom to create, both of these resources enhance the organizational process for students when a template is needed.

Numbers, I often feel is overlooked for its data stereotype. However, once you erase the tables if they aren’t needed, it provides a wide, blank canvas, that can be transformed into whatever your imagination creates.

For this particular example, I had a 3rd grade teacher who approached me with a goal of having her students research a variety of countries around the world. She wanted to eliminate paper packets and keep the project digital. Knowing her goals through our discussion, I suggested Numbers. The students loved the picture placeholders and the text box placement. We discussed researching ethics and copyrights. The students even used Numbers as their presentation tool when sharing their research with their class.

As I mentioned above, another great resource to build templates in is using Book Creator. One trick that I recently learned as well, is that images from Keynote copy and paste well to Book Creator. It’s a great way to give students another library of shapes to use!

This particular template I’m referencing was for 3rd grade as well. They had been learning about the continents in social studies and planned to jigsaw them in the classroom. During our prelesson conversation, I brought up the idea of a rotation schedule. There happened to be 7, 3rd grade classrooms, so this worked out perfectly. My team was very open to trying this idea, so on the day of an early release, each 3rd grade teacher was responsible for a continent specific activity in their classrooms. The students rotated into each classroom, taking notes and photographs to document their learning. All of this was completed inside of their digital passport.

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Makey Makey Workshop Training

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Last year at our local Illinois Computing Educator conference, I had the opportunity to participate in a full day training for implementing the Makey Makey into curriculum.

The goal of this workshop was not only for us to be hands-on learning, but to walk away being able to train others after our full day together. Recently, our local chapter of Illinois Computing Educators held a mini conference at a local university, not only where attendees could attend rotation workshops or sign up for a full day session on the Makey Makey with myself.

This was my first time presenting on the Makey Makey, but I was confident that between my training and use in the classroom, that everything would turn out just great. Prior to this day, I’ve never spent so much time in Harbor Freight before. I think that is the hardest part, is just making sure you have all the additional extra supplies.

One thing I really like about Makey Makey, is that you don’t necessarily have to have a lesson set in place. Students can simply investigate various materials to test for conductivity, program their Makey Makey with Scratch, or creative an updated book report. I love the excitement of watching adults or students accomplish mini-milestones such as creating a circuit or making a switch.