Summer Nights :)

 Well so far this Summer has been a great one for Kai and I.  After Kai ended his baseball season with Utah Valley I surprised him with World Series tickets! For those of you who dont know, the series is always held in Omaha, Nebraska.  At first I didnt think Omaha would be all the exciting but it was actually a really really fun trip! Besides the games, We stopped at baseball museums, Winter quarters, the Omaha Zoo, and even a Lithuanian Bakery! Kai was Sooo happy!

This was the view from our Seats!...Awesome!

Right when we got home we had a really fun family reunion with Kai's mom's side the Bickmores! It was a lot of fun and props to Mica for putting it all together. We had it in St. George and it was so goo to see family.  But since then Kai has been studying his cute little tush off for the DAT and I have been trying to find things to do to keep me busy besides work.  So I decided that I wanted to try to reupholster a chair! Let me tell ya it was ALOT of work!! But i was able to do it and it was worth it once it was all over haha. 

This is the chair I first started out with. It was 25 dollars at DI and I bargained down to 15 bucks! I didnt even know you could bargain at DI until I heard someone next to me do it so i tried it out lol.

 I first stared off by picking the fabric I wanted.  At first I wanted to go with a color that popped but after talking to many employees at the fabric store they recommended to go with a beige and then add color through throw pillows, flowers, ext.  This way the chair will always match your furniture and you could put it into any room. So I picked up six yards of really nice fabric for about 35 dollars. Then I tried looking up tutorials, there weren't very many specific step by steps where they showed you how to do it.  So I basically unstitched the fabric, laid it on my new fabric and traced it and then I put it back on.  

This is the finished project! Instead of buying a chair for about 500 dollars, it ended up being about 50 bucks all together! I was proud of myself! :)

SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER....But Not Forever!

Love These Girls!

Well another semester is over for our little Hatch Family! It was a great semester and we are so close to graduating! I am a senior and will be doing my student teaching in the fall! I will teaching second grade here in Utah and cant wait! The only bad thing is I dont get to see all my classmates anymore.  I have been with the same girls for about a year and a half and I love them so much! I will miss them.....


      Kai has been super busy this semester with Baseball and school! He is so Amazing :) I am so blessed to have such a hard worker as a husband.  This is Kai's last year playing baseball for UVU and we are both sad to see it soon come to end but are excited for what the future holds next for us.  This upcoming week is the conference tournament in New Jersey and Guess What??? I Get To Go!! I Get to go with the Best In-laws Ever and the Best Sister in Law Ever Mica!  I leave Monday and am there for a week.  Hopefully we bring UVU good luck!

   So this semester has been a little different for me because i have not had volleyball in it.  It was really weird at first.  I actually had a really hard time at the beginning because i had so much time on my hands i didnt know what to do with myself.  But i am use to it now and am getting into the groove of being an actual normal college student.  I am working right now as a baby sitter for two darling little girls named Bella and Sophia and i also work at a bakery called the Sweet Tooth Fairy! It is such a fun job! You never get any grumpy customers bc who is grumpy while buying dessert?! lol But dont worry i havent gained any weight! haha The number one question i get is how do you stay skinny working there?  Good thing cupcakes are not my weakness :)

Cupcake Anyone?

Blog Posting 3!

Differentiated instruction is responsive instruction. (pg. 2)

            I believe that this really is the truth of differentiated instruction.  I am going able to use responsive teaching in my classroom. I am going to learn about my students.  I am going to get to know who they are and their characteristics so that I can adjust my instruction that fits best for their needs.

If we risk taming the fox, days in school are no longer monotonous. Each day is  a revelation. (pg.9)

            I love this quote especially that part where it says each day is a revelation.  If we take the time to understand our students each as individuals and their uniqueness we will see what is on the inside of them.  Each and every day will be a new and exciting day. 

Until a human feels safe and a sense of belonging, energies cannot go to learning. Emotions trump learning. (pg. 15)

            This is statement is so true.  That is why I am going to make my classroom such a warm, friendly, and trusting place.  The environment of classrooms makes such a big different.  Emotions play such a big part in our learning and are affective so much by the people and places around us.

Not only people tell me I am worthwhile, I can actually see that I am. (pg.17)

            I want to make sure that each of my students feels this way. No matter what differences they have I want each one of them to have confidence.  Self-esteem plays such a big part with children wanting to come to school and learn and also be social.

Becoming the kind of teachers who shape their students lives to reflect a greater hope, confidence, and promise.  (pg. 25)

            There are a lot of excuses that we can for ourselves as teachers.  Such as there are to many kids, to many readiness levels, and not enough time. But the teachers who make their students lives better is the teacher that I strive to become one day. I can do this through differentiation in my classroom. 

Blog Posting #2

6 Statements of Differentiation

This reading was so hard to condense into 6!

1. Differentiation in teaching is a teacher’s ability to understand and then act upon what they see and understand.  It’s a commitment to see your classroom as individuals and not as a group.  It is an ongoing process.

2. My classroom will be very diverse and filled with all different types of students.  My job as part of differentiation teaching is to realize the diversity and act on it.  I need to get to know my students individually so I know WHO I am teaching.

3. We need to still teach the curriculum but at the same time differentiate WHAT we are teaching to our students. The more we know our students the more we know WHAT to teach them the best way individually.

4. The Environment of my classroom is one of the most crucial impacts in learning.  Children need to place WHERE they feel comfortable and respected.  Through doing this it can open up more widows to explore educational opportunities. One of the things that can help me do this is through morning meetings.

5. Through Who, what, and where these all combine to help us HOW we teach.  I can achieve this by always being aware and alert of the ongoing learning styles, readiness level, and the interest of my students.

6. I need to realize that even though I am going to try my best I wont be able to meet all of my students needs throughout the year but the most vital thing that will bring the best success in the classroom is being persistent with matching my instruction to each of my students.   I need to set my goals high and try to obtain them by continuous reflection.

Great Quote: “Talent is what you bring, Effort is what you give.”  And Effort is the great equalizer.  By Coach Mac August 12, 2001.

Differentiation- We Can Change the World

This semester in school I am taking a Differentiation class.  Throughout the semester our professor has asked us to create blog posting responses to the questions she poses!

Blog Posting #1

Morning Meetings

Morning meetings have always intrigued me as a teacher.  I have always had the desire to make it a priority in my classroom.  I feel that it provides a community of trust in our classroom.  I feel that it is very important for my students to feel comfortable in my classroom to be able to share and open up with one another.  A morning meeting is a way to be able to do this.  I also feel that it starts the morning off with a positive atmosphere.  Besides the students, the teacher benefits as well because she gets to know her students on a personal basis.  The opportunity of getting to know my students is one of the main reasons I want to be a teacher because without knowing them, you cant make a difference in their life. This is why I think we star this course of with morning meetings because it allow us as teachers to set the right environment. The only thing that I am worried about is not being aloud to because of my tight schedule for the day.  

Christmas Time!

Christmas time is our favorite time of year! After school got out on the 14th we headed straight for Vegas! we were able to go to Broklyn Bickmore's wedding! She is Kai's cousin and it was a beautiful wedding.  So through out our break we basically just hung out! No worries or stress about school or sports! I feel like we totally deserved it because of this last semesters hectic schedule.  But one of the biggest highlights throughout our break was celebrating Kai and I's first year anniversary on the 17th of December. Its crazy that it has already been a whole year! We Love It! :) We kept the top of our cake from our wedding day and took a little bit of it! It didnt taste to bad either lol

Then it was christmas time, Greg and Dawn were down in Vegas as well so we had all the family there. It was a ton of fun and we got so spoiled.  We love spending time with our family! Then it was soon time for New Years. We played some farkle of course and hung out with some of our couple friends. We tried watching fireworks from our roof but that didn't work out to well! It was still fun and we watched the fire works of the strip on t.v. 2013 is going to be an amazing year for the Hatch family. We have many things in store for this upcoming year and we can't wait for the new experiences and growth that lie ahead of us!

Christmas Jamies!

Happy New Year

IT'S Been Forever!!

Wow! Sorry I havent updated our blog for so long! This last fall semester was a crazy one let me tell ya! Kai and I both had probably the hardest semester we will ever have! But at least we got it over with! This is a pic of Kai and I on our first day back to school!

Ready to Start the New Semester!

Right after we got back from Bellingham we moved into a new condo! It's the cutest thing ever and so much better than our little shack  we had!  I'll post pics of it later.

Love these Girls!

So we were back in action, I was already busy with my volleyball season when we started school.  This Season was so much fun! We learned and grew a lot as a team and as individuals.  We ended up wining our Conference Championship! We worked really hard to attain this goal through our dedication and commitment on and off the court.  We totally deserved it! :) It was a good way to finish my volleyball career. Yes, I am done.  It is said to think about, I am really going to miss the sport itself and also the relationships I built with all the girls on the team.  I have made so many memories and friendships that will last forever.  Volleyball has been so much apart of my life sometimes when I think about it I feel lost with out it.  But I am ready to take on new experiences and life opportunities.  I am excited for the future and the things it holds in store for Kai and I.

My two main Girls!