Reboot

I am a teacher. A TEACHER! That's a pretty wonderful privilege.

I am a student, too. I learn, and then I teach. It's what I do. It's who I am. I love to teach -- to see kids light up (adults, too!) and to know I had some role in helping that happen. I am a midwife for knowledge and understanding.

Over the years, I have been a schoolgirl, a big sister, a mother of seven,
a homeschooling parent, a mentor, a co-op teacher and organizer, a classroom teacher in multiple subjects, a private school founder, a principal, a seminar writer and public speaker, a published writer, a newsletter editor, a yearbook adviser, a speech and debate coach, an online forum moderator, a tutor, and a grandmother. Yet, in all these, I've always been a teacher.

The dates of my blog posts show that I was busy on here for a couple of years and then dropped off. I blogged actively when I was teaching writing classes here in my home, mostly as a way to keep in touch with my students and their parents.

Then a small 'university-model' school started up in our church, led by a couple who are friends of mine. (In university-model schools, students are in class two or three days and home the other two or three.) Many of my students jumped over there, and I jumped with them. I loved the kids and was glad to be involved in my friends' new venture. As the school grew, my class load increased, as well, until I was teaching different subjects across multiple grade levels, five days a week, multiple complex preps. That is what has kept me busy (and not blogging, or doing much of anything else) for the last three years.

It was a good run, lots of good memories made, and I'm grateful for the experience. The administrators are dear, lovely friends who have been most kind and gracious to me. I expect I might feel a twinge of regret in the fall for not signing my contract renewal. But for now, well, now it is time for a reboot. I have decided to return to teaching classes at home. Turns out, I like that best. It's comfortable, cozy, homey. It's also flexible, focused, and efficient. I will be able to teach in my own way and adjust more easily to the individual needs of my students.

It might take a while to rebuild my client base again to its former level, but that's alright. I'll get there. Or not. In the meantime, I am excited about the thought of opening my front door to a new round of students in the fall!

Summer Schedule Open

Could your child use a boost?

Are you hoping to help your child catch up, keep up, reinforce areas of weakness, or pursue areas of interest before the next school year?

Is your student facing college entrance exams?

Are you intimidated by Shakespeare, compare/contrast essays, or MLA research papers?

Could you use an experienced coach?

I am available to evaluate, instruct, and encourage your students in multiple subjects and skills. My specialities are writing and test preparation, with proven results and testimonies. I generally emphasize academic writing, though I also enjoy teaching fiction writing (short stories and novels) and poetry. I am experienced in teaching and remediating reading, spelling, grammar, literature, and more. I have taught all subjects at elementary levels, and most core subjects at higher levels.

Please help me spread the word that I have openings for group classes and private tutoring in the Frisco/Little Elm, Texas, area this summer. I am organizing class sessions around expressed interest.

During the school year, I teach English, journalism, history, and more at a small Christian homeschool/day school hybrid, Grace Covenant Academy of Frisco.

I am also available to tutor and teach classes on a limited basis during the school year, too, so keep me in mind.

4th - 6th Writing, May 1

The year is wrapping up quickly, and we are spending the next two weeks on our last assignment of this course.

Lesson:
First, I collected the students' finished five-paragraph essays or alternate assignments; as agreed, some students had written compare/contrast paragraphs, which was also fine.

Feeling that we needed more review of pronoun problems, I stressed again the need to be clear about pronoun antecedents, and the need to avoid "you" statements except in personal or informal communication such as letters, emails, or blogs.

After drawing our five-paragraph flowchart on the board, I talked the class through the important parts of the essay's structure. Then we read aloud several of the essays, looking for the key components, especially the thesis statement.

Though most had a bit of trouble getting the format exactly right, which is to be expected at first, the students overall did surprisingly well. In fact, the class did as well as I might have expected from a junior high class encountering this type of essay for the first time. I was quite pleased.

Assignment:
We will finish the year with another five-paragraph essay for those who are able. If that is too difficult, feel free to contact me for an alternate assignment, which is also perfectly acceptable.

Students may choose their own topics for this final essay.

Students are to prepare and bring a rough draft of their paper for this coming class.

We will go over them in class in small groups. Then students will have to final week to revise and edit before our last class day.

7th - 8th Writing, May 1

(Oops! I forgot to hit the publish button on this post! Sorry this is late.)

We are in the final stages of our final project.

Lesson:
Using handouts I provided, we discussed in detail how to write the rough draft, including the use of parenthetical citation in MLA format.

We also briefly covered how to prepare the title page and the works cited page. To aid with that, we played with citationmachine.net as a resource for formatting sources.

Assignment:
Students are to bring as much as they have of their research project drafts, including:
source cards
note cards
title page
outline
research paper
works cited page

We will spend the class period in preliminary read-arounds, checking for completeness and correctness, helping one another over any rough spots or snags.

Additionally, we will schedule an extra optional session for early next week, to give us enough time to dig in (over pizza) and polish all the research papers.

The final project due on May 15.

9th - 12th Writing, May 1

(Oops! I forgot to hit the publish button on this post! Sorry this is late.)

Lesson:
We are in the final stages of our final project.

Using handouts I provided, we reviewed writing the rough draft, including the use of parenthetical citation in MLA format. Next, we briefly covered how to prepare the title page and the works cited page. To aid with that, we played with citationmachine.net as a resource for formatting sources.

Assignment:
Students are to bring their complete research project drafts, including:
source cards
note cards
title page
outline
research paper
works cited page

We will spend the class period in read-arounds and helpful suggestions.

If that is sufficient, students will complete any needed revisions on their own the following week, with the final project due on May 15.

If desired or needed, we will schedule an extra optional session early that week, though this class is well on track without it so far.

4th - 6th Writing, April 24

(This is a quick post for now; I will edit with more detail later.)

Lesson:
We went over more detail about the structure and format for a standard five-paragraph essay. The students have several pages of notes for this.


Assignment:
Students are to write a five-paragraph expository essay. This can be an expansion of their earlier essays on friendship or on some other abstract concept. It can also be a more tangible topic of their choice. The format is the main thing in this lesson.

If this assignment is too great a stretch for some students, please contact me for an alternate assignment.

7th - 8th Writing, April 24

(This is a quick post for now; I will edit with more detail later.)

Lesson:

This week, we covered how to prepare an outline for a research paper. I provided handouts with examples.

Assignment:
Students are to prepare an outline with thesis statement.