New Literacies for Internet Comprehension

 As teachers, we get to have our summers off. During the school year, everything is so hectic and busy that it's nice to have a long break in the summer.  I spend my summers as a camp counselor in Framingham. I've gone there since I was a kid and have slowly moved up the ranks. It's a nice easy job and I love that I get to be outside all day everyday. It does get exhausting sometimes and I'm never free but it's a nice job to have. During the summer is also a great opportunities to travel. The past couple of summers I've had some awesome vacations across the U.S.  Last summer, my boyfriend and I went out to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. That vacation was amazing, we got perfect weather and we saw some amazing sites. In the Tetons, we got to hike, swim in its famous lake, and even see moose, bison, and pronghorn! We even tried elk and bison meatballs...sorry guys! After the Tetons we travelled to Yellowstone National Park. This park was amazing and beautiful a...

 One fact about me is that I'm a huge animal lover. I always have been since a kid and I would always ask her if I could have animals all the time. If I wasn't working with kids, I would want to work with animals.  Over the last 2 weeks I have visited 2 different aquariums. I am typically more of a land animal type of girl but fish are cool too!  June 10th my boyfriend and I took a trip to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. We've been wanting to go to Mystic for a while and we finally found a good weekend that worked for the both of us. We drove down to Mystic and stayed one night and 2 days.  I've always heard good things about Mystic and I know they have beluga whales which I was really excited for because I've never seen them before! We walked across the street to the aquarium and the belugas were the first things we saw. They were amazing and so beautiful. Such a unique type of whale and they have a beautiful white color. We got there just in time for their...

 Today my family and I traveled to Buffalo, New York to see Niagara Falls. My mom has been bugging us for a while that she wants to travel and go somewhere once school ended. She was debating between a few places but ultimately decided on Niagara Falls. The drive was a little too long so we decided to fly which was perfect as it was only an hour flight.  Sunday morning we got up at 4am and left the house around 5am for our 7am flight in Boston. We had no problems getting in, until we got to security. We handed the man our IDs and he told us that my sister's birthday on her ID didn't match up with the plane tickets so she had to go back to get it fixed... By this time it's around 6:30am so we were all panicking a bit that my sister wasn't going to make the plane. The rest of us (my mom, older brother, and myself) all got through security and sat at our gate anxiously waiting for my sister.  After a few short minutes they started calling to board so I text my sister and a...

  As a camp counselor and babysitter, I embrace the craziness of it all. I often think that I need to work on my professional relationship with the students but at the same time, I love to see them express themselves and get a little silly. There are so many reasons why we should let kids be themselves.  When kids are able to express themselves, it proves their mental health. This is crucial as a lot of people deal with mental health issues these days. It is also a form of self-regulation and coping. Simple activities such as drawing, reading, and listening to music are all beneficial to kids and even adults. Self-expression gives kids a sense of freedom. Freedom they might not be able to attain in school or even at home.  It is important to me that I create an environment where kids feel that they can be themselves without being judged or disciplined. Sometimes forget that learning can be fun and it’s so much easier to teach when kids are having fun and engaged and being...

End of the school year is always a bittersweet time of year for teachers and students. Everyone transitions to a new teacher and new class and it can be nerve-wracking for some. Not only is it a lot for students but their teachers as well. Teachers have a laundry list of things to accomplish before the end of year. For the most part, students have checked out. I decided to look for some end of the year activities that might hold on to the little bit of attention they may have left.  One idea I thought of are end of the year read aloud. I came across a woman’s blog that included some read aloud about students growing and moving on and the love their teachers have for them. Some books on the list are: Love Is by Diane Adams, Little Tree by Loren Long, The Big Test and Last Day Blues by Julie Danneburg, etc.  Another idea I thought of was some fun end of the year activities that have students reflect on the past year. Some examples were making a video of yourself talking about me...