In no particular order, here are the things I am especially grateful for this holiday season.

1. The way Harper smiles when I go into her room in the morning or after a nap
2. The tasty combo of french fries (especially McDonalds) and a chocolate shake
3. The smell of freshly laundered sheets
4. That my dad is still around to celebrate Thanksgiving two years after his brain aneurysm
5. My car’s push-button start and hands-free unlock features
6. Fun coworkers
7. Friends who make me laugh but also cry with me
8. Harper’s awesome sleep habits (11 hours a night!)
9. The smell of Jason’s cologne
10. Frozen Stouffer’s lasagna
11. Mini marshmellows
12. Our Bible study group

It’s time for my students to start putting their personalities and unique perspectives into their blogs. I give them assignments each week, ranging from lighthearted (“favorite things”) to academic (“article analysis”) to reflective (“future plans”). You can find a list of student blogs, as well as the links to them, under my “1st Period Blogs” page to the right. I know these students would be encouraged by any positive comments on their work, so feel free to drop by!

This week’s topic is their 3 favorite things to do online. I posted about this too last spring–you can find my entry here. I always learn about some neat new sites when I read these. Mostly, though, I learn how much my students know about technology! Enjoy.

**This year, I want to start using my blog more as a place to record my own thoughts and less as a place for me to simply record assignmments and communicate class information. We built a school-wide Wikispace during our inservice at the beginning of this year, and that space will now where I house that “housekeeping” information. There is a link to it on my sidebar.

I figured there was no better topic to begin reflecting upon than the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Jason and I have been watching coverage all day, reliving that morning and hearing the stories of survivors. We talked about where we were that Tuesday, watching in disbelief from our freshman dorms at Dordt College. It was so surreal.

I spent most of my night planning for my classes this week, thinking about how I will mark this significant anniversary with my students. I came upon a great lesson from ReadWriteThink and adapted it to fit our needs. The culmination of the lesson asks students to write a poem comparing their reactions from 10 years ago to their reactions today. I think my own poem is a fitting tribute to the day and summary of my own thoughts, so I will leave you with that. And go rock my baby girl, thankful for our lives and our freedom and praying for all the families without their loved ones tonight.

Remember

Tuesday.

Freshman, still asleep,

enjoying the luxury of a single late morning class.

Naïve, innocent of tragedy and war,

at the beginning of education and life.

A call to turn on the TV,

fire, smoke, strangers jumping to death.

Glued to the screen as the world changed forever.

Today.

Teacher, wide awake,

planning for classes full of teenage minds.

Weary of war and Iraq and Afghanistan,

but so interested in the stories from Ground Zero.

In front of the TV again,

ceremonies, tears, and testimonies.

Glued to the screen as the world remembers forever.

The Future–what comes to mind when you see that phrase? As you finish up your last weeks of high school, I’m sure there are all kinds of people asking you about your future plans. And that can sometimes be stressful. But hopefully today’s post, a questionnaire of fun futuristic questions, will be a fun break from all of the college and work stress. Copy and paste these questions to your blog and answer them in a different font/color so the answers are easy to see!

• Within the next 3 months, I plan to…
• I believe that my future looks…
• The future of my country looks…
• I hope that the world changes for the better by…  
• 5 years from now, I plan to be…
• 10 years from now, I plan to be…
• 20 years from now, I plan to be…
• If I became President of my country, I would…
• A great invention for the future would be…
• My ideal occupation would be…
• The 3 most important goals that I have right now are…
• I see my best friend 10 years from now as…  
• Things that I hope are better next year are…
• I am determined to …
• I plan to have grown spiritually over the next year by…
• Describe the physical layout of your future home (say 10 – 20 years from now).
• This summer will be …
• If I found $10,000 on the sidewalk tomorrow, I would… (Okay how realistic is this? – but hey it’s fun to dream!)
• My ideal vacation would be…  
• 100 years from now…
• List 5 things that describe summer.
• List 5 things that would make you even happier if they happened tomorrow.

Your assignment this week comes from the Blogging Challenge that I had you join in your last assignment. Go here to see the challenge. Your assignment is to complete Acitivity 1 and Activity 4: create an avatar and write a post about your digital footprint.

You also need to visit the blogs of 4 students in our class and leave comments on their last post (top 5). Try to hit students whose blogs you have not yet visited! Have fun encouraging and learning from each other.

Due Friday, March 25

1. Go to the post about assignment #1 and sign up for the challenge–the link should be working today.
2. Visit your classmates’ blogs (you can find them on the page titled “1st period blogs” on the right) and leave at least three thoughtful, appropriate comments on other people’s last posts. The idea here is to start conversations with each other. So if someone asks you a question in the comments, answer them. Have fun with it.
3. Write a new post due next week Friday:

For this post, create a “Top 5″ list. The topic of the list is yours to choose–you can do your top 5 songs, movies, albums, TV shows, books (!), vacations, subjects in school, dream houses, etc. Be creative!!

• Start with an introduction about what you chose to focus on and why
• Write a little about each item in the “Top 5″
• Include pictures
• End with a conclusion

Have fun! And visit your classmates’ posts to see what they chose

I thought I would take part in my own assignment this week and show you my favorite things to do online as well.

#1: Read Blogs

Probably about three years ago, I started reading a blog called Bring the Rain by Angie Smith, the wife of Selah singer Todd Smith, who was pregnant with their 4th daughter at the time. Their daughter, Audrey, had been diagnosed with health problems that were “incompatible with life,” and I read each day as she wrote about coping with the loss they knew was coming. I kept reading after Audrey passed away, and her mom turned her story into a book. Angie still writes great things about faith and family, and I read it often.

Her blog also frequently mentioned other blogs, which I also started reading, and I just kept finding things that interested me. A few of my favorites today are Pioneer Woman, Young House Love, and Kelly’s Korner. I have found tons of ideas, entertainment, and inspiration by reading things that other ordinary people are writing every day.

#2: Play with Pictures

Especially since having my daughter in December, I love to go online and edit/share pictures. I also really enjoy making photo books, scrapbooking, etc. My favorite sites to do this are probably Shutterfly and Picasa.  I also recently started a “share site” on Shutterfly to share pictures of my daughter online with family and friends far away (who don’t have facebook). You can find that here.

#3: Facebook

Ok, I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t admit that I really like Facebook. I love reading updates on people I haven’t seen since college, seeing pictures of my old roommates’ babies, and just communicating with so many people so quickly if I need to. I’m addicted.

These are things that enrich my life, and I am thankful to have them!

You should already have your blog set up and ready to go with your welcome post finished. Your first assignment has several parts.

1. We are going to be taking part in the annual “Challenge Yourself to Blog” event hosted by edublogs. It starts in March, and your first task is to get your blog registered. Go to the Challenge blog here and fill out the form to get your blog registered. This is due in class today.
2. Write Post Number 2. This post should be about your three favorite things to do online or on the computer. Ideas: favorite websites, videos, games, articles, news sites, etc. Make sure your post hits about 250 words (or more .   For each thing you list, include a picture so your readers can see what you are talking about, and also include a link if the activity is online.  Due next Friday 3/4.

Keep in mind that you will be graded on content, creativity, and correctness (don’t slack on spelling, punctuation, etc. just because this is the internet).

Finish what you can of this assignment in class, and the rest is homework. Ask in class if you run into problems; you can also comment on this post if you run into something at home. Happy blogging!

Hi Seniors,

Time to finally get these blogs rolling. I created a word document with your instructions: How To Set Up your Blog. You will need access to the email account you gave me. Take your time and experiment a bit once you have your blog set up…we will be in the LMC for two days (Wed. & Thurs) to work on this.

Have Fun!

Hi New College Comp. Students,

Welcome! I am excited to start digging into grammar and writing with you guys this semester, but I’m not coming back until Thursday. So until then, I have a couple things for you to do with Mrs. Huffman. She will hand out a sheet explaining your goals paper, and below are the instructions for the diagnostic test. Enjoy…see you later this week!

Mrs. DG

Click on the “Exercise Central” link on the lower right-hand sidebar of the blog. Once you get to Exercise Central, click on “Take Diagnostic” on the left-hand side of the screen. You will be prompted for your email and password, but you haven’t yet registered for the site. So click on “Student Registration” underneath the email box. Supply the required information (you do not have to include the instructor email address) and hit “Submit”. It should take you to a welcome screen, and then if you hit “Continue”, it will take you back to the main page. Click on “Take Diagnostic” again–hit “Continue” without entering an instructor email address–and it should take you to the test.

When you are finished with the test, go over the answers and then hit “View Report”. After you select the Diagnostic Test in the drop-down menu, copy and paste the table that appears into a Word document. Print the document, put your name on it, and hand it in on Thursday for 15 homework points. I will give them back to you and you will need it as we continue on with our grammar unit, so DON’T LOSE IT!

By the way, this assignment is also a test of your direction-following skills