30...

I turned thirty. Wow. I dreaded this birthday and milked every bit of 29 and since turning thirty in January I have had my phone stolen (and with it all of my personal information, private family photos and classroom projects just to name a few things) had the flu, several tooth problems, sinus infection, and a strange neck/nerve disorder. Getting older sucks!
I will say that after a long and crazy school year last year, I am very excited to be teaching in gifted education. It has been a challenge balancing the curriculum and challenging and entertaining a variety of personalities and skills. It's a common misconception that gifted students or higher level thinkers are an easy group of well behaved children. They are mentally challenging and very egocentric when it comes to boundaries. However, they are amazing thinkers and possess such creative thoughts that the mental challenge is incredibly stimulating. I still have a few students that come from homes with little to no family support systems and one or two with anger issues and internal frustrations/low self esteem and self worth. These students need the challenge and mental stimulation even more so to help them gain the tools needed to overcome their environment and succeed. I hope whatever I can offer them stays with them and they continue to build on it. I am always surprised at the amazing conversations and discussions we have as a class. I'm so proud to help them grow and encourage free thought on a local and global level. They are all so diverse and amazing.
In other news-I do have great things to look forward to this year. I am looking forward to an upcoming trip with Faith to Colorado in March. It will be so good to see her and spend some quality time! It's so hard being far away! Thankfully we live an age where smartphones and webcams help. Also planning a vacation over the winter holidays with Curt and Carla.
Jeff and I went to Lowell observatory in Flagstaff this weekend and had an amazing time. Flagstaff is beautiful and if we could get jobs there and afford housing I'd love to live there. We learned about the discovery of Pluto and were able to view the research, slides and telescope used in the discovery. So interesting! Then we were able to view Jupiter, the moon and several star clusters and Orion's Belt through a variety of telescopes. Learning about the construction of the DCT was also incredibly fascinating. Can't wait to go back.
That's about it...thus far anyway.