States & Countries Visited

 Updated map (from my 2013 post)

We visited Hawaii in 2017, and added multiple states from our 2020 road trip from California to Ohio. I count states that we drove though, but I don't count a state if I have only been inside an airport. 

visited 33 states (66%)
Try Neptyne, the programmable spreadsheet

Now onto the world map... 

visited 5 states (2.22%)
Try Neptyne, the programmable spreadsheet

I am planning to add 3 more countries in 2024. 

My Word for 2024

 Happy New Year! 

It's been a minute (or 11 years) since I chose a word for the year. I was having some angst as the calendar turned over. I have a variety of ideas for the new year and a big trip planned. I wanted to add a structure to the new year without setting a resolution or strict goals. Then I remembered One Little Word! 

Past Words: 

2007 - Discover

2008 - Challenge

2011 - Happiness

2013 - Create

My sporadic assignment of words included some "unofficial" words as life unfolded: Baby/Alex (2009 & 2010) and Change (2012). Yep, those years included some big life changes! 

Now older and wiser, I will try to anchor my year with a word. I happen to have a gift card to cover the cost of the year-long workshop to help me connect with my word. (Thank you preschool families!) 

Here are my top ideas: enough, joy, love, enjoy, journey. 

I am choosing LOVE ENOUGH for my word. I debated between two words and am looking for a word to help me be more self-reflective. 

Cheers to a new year! 

New Hobby: Sewing

 I have been interested in learning to sew for years, and I am finally starting this new hobby. I took home economics in 7th grade, and my mom has a sewing machine, but I never took the time to learn beyond a few repairs and sewing on a button. I am teaching part-time this school year, so I can use my more flexible schedule to have time for sewing. 

Our library allows you to check out a sewing machine for 2 weeks, so that was a good start. I quickly realized that I wanted to learn on my own machine. I started with a budget of $200 and was interested in a couple of Singer machines. 

I also realized that it will be helpful to have classes about my machine and projects. YouTube has a variety of helpful videos, but it won't completely replace in-person learning for me. After looking at a variety of machines at JoAnn's, I expanded my budget a bit. The Husqvarna Viking Onxy 25 looks like a good beginner, mechanical machine. 

I decided to check out a local sewing store on my day off. I tried the Onyx 25 again before asking if they had a ny used machines. It was my lucky day! They only had two used machines, and one was the right fit for my budget and interests. I found a Smarter by Pfaff 260c for $300 (including tax). The machine is less than a year old, and the previous owner was quickly ready for an upgrade due to her stronger interest in sewing than she originally expected. The machine had been serviced and comes with 90-Day warranty and lessons. 

For now, I have made an infinity scarf and am checking out SewingMastery.com for help with my machine. 

Bike Ride from London, Ohio to Columbus

We had the perfect weather for a fall bike ride! It is about 30 miles one way from London to Columbus, Ohio. 

We started with coffee from the London Coffee Peddler, and I will go back from more of the cold brew. We had time to chat and get helpful biking tips from the owner. We had lunch at the M & M Diner, which is a popular spot right off the bike path. We went to park our car for the night in the public lot before beginning the ride. (A call to the London Police Department helped us plan this aspect of our trip.) 

The ride started off with miles of flat, nicely paved trail and beautiful views. We enjoyed both the trees and the fields. Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park was a nice stop during our ride. This park offers another option for overnight parking, shade, and clean restrooms. The park connects riders to the Ohio to Erie Trail with some gravel paths. John's gravel bike was great, and my road bike slowly made it without pavement for a little while. 

It was a change of scenery to enter the Columbus area from rural Ohio, especially later on a Friday afternoon. We had to navigate more road crossings and turns. It was nice to make it to the Scioto Riverfront area with wide paths and a well-kept area of downtown. 

Our ending point was German Village, which we had only briefly explored before this trip. We booked a room at the South Wind Motel and enjoyed our stay. The first floor room allowed us to park our bikes inside. We stopped for Jeni's Ice Cream and walked around The Book Loft. Breakfast at the German Village Coffee House was a highlight with more time to walk through Schiller Park and around the neighborhood of German Village. It was a quick trip, so it makes me want to find time for more biking adventures during the cooler weather. 

Cricut Creations

 

I bought my Cricut in the fall of 2019, but I only use it sporadically. I am still looking for ways to learn the machine and use it more often, but I am still happy to have it. In April, I made gifts for my niece's second birthday. I used Cricut heat transfer vinyl and images from Design Space. 

Card Making Shortcut & Shop Hop

Cut and scored white card bases are my favorite card making shortcut! This really does save me time and energy when I am crafting. I try to keep the A2 size on hand, but I am running low on my pack from Catherine Pooler Designs. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the 8.5 x 5.5 size from Catherine Pooler. My local paper store came to the rescue, and I am ready for the Shop Hop in July. I plan to make it to 5 of the stores included this year since we have a variety of family plans in July. 

My daughter is at a morning day camp this week, so I had some uninterrupted shopping time at one of my local stores. I found a good deal on a couple of dies! The Bee Happy set came with my Shop Hop Passport. 

I have birthday and thank you cards to make, so I can put these new supplies to good use. 

2 New Cards

 I bought some craft supplies this year, and now summer allows me more time for crafting. I made two cards with some new and older supplies. A couple of months ago I added large rainbow stripes to some watercolor paper with my set of paints, so this became the starting point for my cards. 

Supplies used: 

from Stampin' Up! (many are retired) 

Amazing Silhouettes stamp set 

Amazing Thanks Dies 

Butterfly embossing folder

Stitched dies

Ink pads

Night of Navy ink and card stock

Glitter and gold papers

Pearls and sequins 

General Supplies

Watercolors & Watercolor paper 

Catherine Pooler white card stock 

Baby Shower Card

 It's fun to see your craft supplies with fresh eyes. My friend and neighbor looked through my supplies as we planned for another neighbor's baby shower during our annual block party, and we found this stamp set. 

I stamped simple advice cards on colored card stock and made a card. It was fun to add layers and details after taking a break from card making. 

I even decorated the envelope! 

Our block party was a hit as we celebrated neighbors expecting their first baby and a family moving to Pennsylvania for new career opportunities. The fire department brought over one of the trucks for the kids, and we stayed out until dark. The disco ball has been passed on, and I know that we will continue to gather on our block. I am grateful for my neighbors, friends, and hobbies as we begin summer! 

So Much Can Change in 2 Years...

 

I shared this picture on the blog two years ago, when I was a fourth grade teacher in California. Our district had a day off on Friday, March 13, 2020, and my plan was to attempt to shop for some household goods that day. I left my classroom on the afternoon of March 12, 2020 all set up for Monday. The lessons were planned and the date Monday, March 16, 2020 stayed on the board for weeks. I received the announcement on Friday that our schools were closing for 3-4 weeks. My daughter was still at daycare until Monday, March 16 when those services were also closed. Those few days changed the course of life for my family, but we didn't know it yet. 

Daily bike rides kept my family active, and the kids could play in our backyard. Schools transitioned to remote learning. One of my former students wrote a short story about this phase of the pandemic, which was published on author Kelly Yang's website. 

The parent email sharing the link to this story made my day! I am glad that a student remembers my smiling face from that time. It was a challenging time. I ran morning meetings from my entry way because  good wi-fi spots in our house were limited. My young daughter watched cartoons during morning meetings and napped during my afternoon small groups and staff meetings. 

I started this post in March 2022 without posting it, but realized that I don't want to lose this story. 

Jacqueline Woodson

(photo from Jacqueline Woodson's current author Facebook page)

 

Introduction

For EDT 603: Foundation of Literacy through Children's and Young Adult Literature at the University of Dayton, I am studying Jacqueline Woodson for my Mentor Author Project. I first became familiar with her picture books through my teaching positions and books discussed in the class, so I read two of her novels to expand my knowledge. I read her memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming, and a recent novel, Harbor Me. (Links at each section of this post will take you to her official website.)

Biography

Jacqueline Woodson was born on February 12, 1963 in Columbus, Ohio. Her mother was from the South Carolina and father is from Ohio, so her parents' hometowns provided differing views on the Civil Rights Movement. Jacqueline was mainly raised by her mother and maternal grandparents. Her mother was able to move the family to Brooklyn as Jacqueline started school. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Adelphi University and continued studying writing at the New School. Her first novel was published in 1990 when she was 27 years old. She is a prolific and award winning full-time writer. She uses her eloquent and lyrical style to tackle tough issues through her writing in picture books, novels, and novels in verse. Most of her books span children's to young adult literature, and her recent shift to adult fiction is notable. As of 2020, she has published 33 books and 13 short stories. She will publish two new picture books in 2022. 

Quotes

"I used to say I'd be teacher or a lawyer or a hairdresser when I grew up but even as I said these things, I knew what made me happiest was writing."

Jacqueline's writing was first recognized in fifth grade. Her website biography pages gives a fascinating perspective on story telling and a link to watch her TED Talk from April 2019. 

From The New York Times:

“When I go into classrooms,” Woodson said, “I’ll look at the class makeup and it will be all these kids of color, and they’ll have all these books with no people of color in them. I’m like: ‘Come on! Is it just by accident or by design that you’re not letting the literature reflect your young people?’ ”

Awards (selected)

A variety of awards from 1995 to the present recognize Woodson's contributions as an author and her amazing books.

Newberry Honor 2015, 2009, 2008, & 2006

MacArthur Genius Award 2020

Hans Christian Anderson Award 2020

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2018

Young People's Poet Laureate 2015 - 2017

National Ambassador for Young People's Literature 2018 - 2019

Coretta Scott King Award 2021, 2015, & 2001

Coretta Scott King Author Honor 2013, 2004, 1996, & 1995

Picture Books (selected)

Coming January 2022

Coming May 2022

Novels  (selected)

Common Threads 

The power of friendship is a theme in both Brown Girl Dreaming and Harbor Me. In her memoir, Woodson writes about her growing friendship with Maria even though their families have different backgrounds. Jackie and Maria are still friends as Woodson notes at the end of Brown Girl Dreaming. Woodson brings together six kids of different backgrounds in Harbor Me and uses their weekly time to talk and share stories to examine their growing friendships.

Woodson uses her home of Brooklyn, New York as a setting for multiple stories including Harbor

Me. Woodson uses places she knows well, including New York and the South as the setting for many of her stories.

Woodson used one of the poems in Brown Girl Dreaming as the inspiration for her picture book, The Day You Begin. Her mother's story of Jacqueline's great-grandfather, William Woodson, was the basis for her poem.

Her own story is part of The Great Migration from the South to the North for many black families. She writes about her family's experience in Brown Girl Dreaming and examines another story if migration in her picture book This is the Rope.

Woodson tackles many challenging, thought-provoking topics in her books including race relations, religion, poverty, loss, divorce, and incarceration. In Brown Girl Dreaming, she shares stories of her Uncle Robert, who was in prison in New York. Her main character in Harbor Me, only remembers her father in prison, but it takes time for Haley to share this significant part of her life with her new friends. Once others share their stories, Haley begins to share her family's story.

Reading Strategies (Pre-K to Grade 5 licensure)

Woodson writes stories for young children to adults, so there are a variety of reading strategies to use with her books in classrooms. 

1. Semantic Map of the Civil Rights Movement (grade 5)

After students read This is the Rope, excerpts from Brown Girl Dreaming, and two to four informational books about the Civil Rights Movement, they create semantic maps in small groups. The Civil Rights Movement is in the center and other areas may include details about the time period, leaders, events, issues, and laws. Each group shares their semantic map with the class. 

2. Read with a Writer's Eye (grade 4)

Discuss how we can "read with a writer's eye" as a whole class and create an anchor chart. After the second read aloud of The Day You Begin, small groups look for evidence of good writing supported by text examples. Each group is given a copy of the text and writes 1-3 examples on 3x5 cards to be shared with the entire class. The 3x5 cards be made into a class anchor chart. (The book can also be connected to motivation for writing personal narratives.)

3. Book Cover Predictions and a One Pager (grade 5)

Books clubs are formed based on interests and reading levels. (The teacher has given choices around the theme of friendship, which is not revealed to the class until later.) Each book club is given their novel to make predictions based on the cover, and one or more groups is reading Harbor Me. The groups begin posters with their predictions about the books in the left column, and then the groups fill in actual details for the books after the reading to compare and contrast with their predictions. Individuals complete a One Pager for their book. After all books clubs are finished, the class has a gallery walk to view the posters and One Pagers to spark additional reading interest in these books. 

  

Back to School

In January 2019, I earned my California Preliminary K-8 Teaching Credential. I chose to pursue my second career in elementary education through the CalState TEACH program. This is a university-based, alternative teaching program. I was drawn to the program because we had to spend time in schools each semester of the program. I worked on college campuses from 2002 - 2014, so I needed to broaden my experiences instead of going back to traditional college classes. 

I attended the CalState TEACH program from 2016 - 2018 because I took maternity leave from the program when my daughter was born. My teaching journey has been the circuitous route, but each experience contributes to who I am today. I landed my ideal job and started teaching fourth grade in August 2019 in our school district. And then a global pandemic began, so I did not pursue another teaching contract in California. 

We moved to Ohio in the summer of 2020 to be closer to our families. I stayed home with my own two children while they settled into their new schools. I knew that there were discrepancies between my teacher preparation in California and the Ohio requirements for a teaching license, but the differences were larger than I expected. 

As with many aspects of life, it's beneficial to take things step-by-step. I am slowly completing 12 credit hours of reading instruction coursework and studying for two state tests. I am a graduate student again at the University of Dayton (Go Flyers!). I completed a master's degree in College Student Personnel (higher education administration) in 2004, and many things have changed on campus in 17 years. I try to stay grateful for the slow path as it allows me to learn more and spend more time with my own children, who are growing quickly. I may be able to line up a full-time teaching position with the time my youngest begins kindergarten. 

My craft desk has been taken over by stacks of books as I take a children's literature class and study for exams. My next post will be sharing about one of the outstanding authors that I have read this semester. I am using Goodreads to track my reading, and I am on track to read over 50 books this year (which includes picture books). I want my children and students to be life-long readers, so it's important for me to also stay on this path. 

With Sprinkles on Top

 Yesterday I made two birthday cards using items from the Ice Cream Corner Suite from Stampin' Up!. Once I have my supplies out, it seems just as easy to make two cards instead of one. My card designs evolved as I stamped and cut. I need to make more masculine birthday cards for upcoming family birthdays, so I will keep working on those. 

Supplies Used

From Stampin Up!

Sweet Ice Cream Bundle

Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper

Baker's Twine (retired) 

From Close to My Heart

White Notecards

Pattern Paper (Retired)

Lagoon Ink & Card Stock

Bluebird Card Stock

Other Supplies

Big Shot

Fiskars Paper Trimmer

Neenah Solar White Card Stock

Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Dies

I even cleaned my craft desk last night after making the cards. Unfortunately, I am still on the hunt for my favorite "happy" stamp from the Lawn Fawn Happy Everything set. It's too easy for me to lose small, clear, sticky stamps! 

Cards 4 Guys #263

 I finally made it to my local (independent) paper craft store yesterday. If we were not in pandemic times, I think that I would have visited before living here 6 months. I bought 2 new Distress Oxide pads, so I am trying them out on some cards. Speckled Egg is my newest blue to compliment Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers. Here is my first color combination for blending:

    

I splattered some white and silver paint for the background. I added the soccer ball stamp and some die cuts to turn this into a masculine birthday card. I used the Cards 4 Guys #263 as my inspiration. The challenge is to make a card with any sport or sports. 

Supplies used:

Distress Oxides 

Close to My Heart black card stock

Close to My Heart Soccer stamp 

Versa Mark ink

Memento Tuxedo Black ink 

Stampin' Up! silver embossing powder

Stampin Up! Playful Alphabet dies

Lawn Fawn Happy Everything stamp

Stampin! Up! circle die and label punch (retired) 

Marco's Paper white card base

White acrylic and silver watercolor paints for splattering 

Thank you for visiting my blog! 

Paper Players #526

 I made another valentine card. This time I played along with Paper Players Challenge #526. For this tic-tac-toe challenge, I chose the row across with red, embossing, and sparkle. I used Real Red card stock  and a heart embossing folder (retired) from Stampin' Up!. I punched some red glitter paper (from my stash) with a heart punch to add the sparkle. The stamp is from the Happy Everything set from Lawn Fawn. 

Thank you for visiting my blog! 

Otter Valentine

 I kept using my plaid paper and two more challenges to make another valentine card. 

I was happy to find the Retro Rubber Stamp Challenge because it encourages us to use our older stamps. Each card must use a stamp that is at least a year old. I started stamping in 2008. I did not keep some of my oldest wood mount sets, but most of my stamps are over a year old. 

For this card, I am using two older stamps from Lawn Fawn. I love the font and mix of greetings in the Happy Everything set. The set was released in 2012, so I estimate that I purchased it in 2012 or 2013. I think that I purchased the Year 5 stamp set when it was released in 2015 because I think that both river and sea otters are so cute. For this card, I wanted to color it gray using my sole gray (C05) Copic marker and the colorless blender. 

I was still playing with my card design until I found Freshly Made Sketches #471 to tie the card elements together. 

Additional Supplies:

Neenah Solar White Card Stock 

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Glossy Accents

Stampin' Up! Read Red Card Stock

Stampin' Up! heart punch and stitched circle die (retired) 

Mad for Plaid

 Thank you to my friend Pam who sent me some retired plaid papers from Stampin' Up! after my last order. It is fun to play with these! I made this card for the TGIF Challenges #301 with a plaid theme. 

It's been colder here, so it's a good time to stay inside to make cards. I am revisiting a variety of challenge blogs to find inspiration. 

Supplies:

Current from Stampin' Up! 

Real Red card stock

Smokey Slate card stock

Playful Alphabet dies

Banners Pick a Punch

Current from Close To My Heart

White cards and envelopes value pack

White Daisy card stock

Retired Supplies

Embossing Folder and Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up! 

Thank You Card

 I made a thank you card for a new friend who helped us out last week. I used Freshly Made Sketches #470 with an old and new stamp to put this card together. I still have a few wood mount stamps that have made the cut after a few moves. I focused on using the color Bermuda Bay. 

Current Supplies:

from Stampin Up!

Bermuda Bay Ink Pad

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad

Oh So Ombre 6x6 Paper (Sale-a-bration)

A Touch of Ink Stamp Set (Sale-a-bration)

from Close To My Heart

White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack

Next up I plan to use the hummingbird image from this new stamp set. 

I also figured out how to import blog posts from 2015. I kept a separate blog called Craft Break while I was a Stampin' Up! hobby demonstrator. I like to be able to look back over my past cards sometimes. 

Cards!

 I have some new Stampin' Up! products to play with and have made 3 cards so far. CAS(E) this sketch will no longer be posting new sketches. I used their last sketch, CAS(E) this sketch #405,  to make 2 cards:

Then, I used a Mojo Monday sketch for another card. The sketch and archive have great inspiration even when I miss the link deadline. 

Current Supplies:

from Stampin' Up

Sweet Ice Cream Bundle

Ice Cream Corner Designer Series Paper

Oh So Ombre 6x6 Paper (free for Sale-a-bration)

Playful Alphabet Dies

from Close to My Heart

White Cards and Envelopes Value Pack

from Lawn Fawn

Happy Everything Stamp Set

My 3-year-old craft assistant has not found my new ice cream cone punch yet. I plan to share it with her in time, but for now I am having fun punching out different papers.