Winter Break

I feel like this break is never ending! I can't believe I still have a full week until the semester starts because I am actually ready to get back to school.

One good thing about this break was that I was able to get a lot done. The chart of the New Zealand interventions was a lot harder to do than the U.S. one. Since all the U.S. ones were programs that you purchase, I was able to get a lot of good information from the company website. New Zealand's interventions, on the other hand, were mostly activities that teachers could do without having to buy any materials. Therefore, the information about the interventions was hard to locate. I had an especially difficult time finding out the focuses of the NZ interventions. Using the information in the charts, I made a bar graph that compares the focus of the interventions and pie charts that compare the amount of interventions that are purchased packages between the two countries. I have some questions about some of the focuses that I will clear up once I get back to school. I am sending the charts and graphs to Brittany to do the write up for our poster for Posters at the Capitol.

I have also been working on my lesson plans. I created a PowerPoint about Kentucky and what it is known for. Originally, I though it would be a good idea to give the students a map of Kentucky and markers so that the students could draw some of the aspects of Kentucky (i.e. horses and coal) on their map. Brittany gave me an idea that she got from Dr. Lindsey. The idea was to have objects that represented Kentucky such as a toy horse that I could use as a visual while I was teaching. I might try combining the idea since I need to be prepared in case I do not have access to technology while I'm teaching.

Another job I have been doing is trying to obtain syllabi from other universities. I was able to find the classes on reading at all the universities, but UK was the only school that I found to have their syllabi posted. I have sent emails to the other universities asking if they could sent me the syllabi from the classes.  Hopefully, I will hear back from those schools soon.

My goal for this last week is to go around taking pictures so that people in New Zealand can see what it looks like in Kentucky. Once I get back to Morehead, I will also take a lot of pictures around there. On Tuesday, I am going to a rest stop to get a few items that relate to Kentucky that I can give out in New Zealand. Also, I need to create my lesson plan about teacher training in Kentucky.

For Christmas, I got a travel pillow and an adapter. My parents also surprised me with something else for my trip. My dad saves all of his change is a big container. Usually, he saves up for a year and then we trade in all the coins and use the money for vacation. This year, however, my parents decided that they are going to give me the money for my trip! My dad now calls the container full of coins the "New Zealand Fund." I'll be bringing back a lot more souvenirs now. :)

65 days till the trip!!! I hope those days go a lot faster than winter break did!