Hello All! Sorry it has been So long since I posted anything. Life has been crazy to say the least.. In december I moved back home, mom had back surgery on Jan 15th and then had to have another surgery  a week later because of a Strep C infection! After the 2nd surgery she had an air-vac placed in her back to help the wound from the surgery heal from the inside out, and what a long process that was.. On May 5 my sister, Mollie went into labor 6 weeks early with my adorable nephew Charlie. He was so early he had trouble sucking, swallowing and breathing at the same time. Therefore, he spent his first almost 2 full weeks of life in the Neo-natal ICU @ Womens hospital in Greensboro. I graduated from Appalachian on May 9! Wahoo!! It was an amazing day filled with joy and laughter. I was so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family.  On May 21st I had my surgery and everything went great. At my post-op appointment the DR said everything was great and “we did what we needed to do and we needed to do what we did”  He said he removed all the abnormal cells so when I go back in October everything should come back as normal. Keep your fingers crossed it does, because I don’t wanna go through all that again..  On other news. Benji got a job with Graham, NC and he was sworn in on June 5. He is now on week 7 I believe and loving every minute of it. It’s been hard for me to adjust with his schedule but I’m just a selfish girl who wants to spend every day with him haha. I  am still struggling to find a job, but should be hearing more positive news by the end of the month. Just trying to keep my name out there and stay hopeful. Things will change and things will get better. If its Gods will it will happen. I know that teaching is my calling from God and he has blessed me with so many opportunities to prepare myself for the future of teaching. I just need to be patient and positive.

~ Smile God loves YOU! ~

Charles Robert Vaughan born May 5, 2009.

Bradshaw is now 18 months old

MULTITEXT STUDY

      For my published Me Map, I created a scrapbook. I chose to do this because I love scrapbooking. I feel like scrapbooking is a great way to save memories and use your creativity in any way that the individual wants. I used a lot of stickers, and anything I did not have an actual photo of, I tried to find it in a magazine or “special” stickers that represented whatever I needed. I believe my scrapbook would be geared more for Third or fourth grade. It is very simple, it included some acrostic poems and a lot of colors. As a teacher I would place this Me Map scrapbook on my bookshelf in my classroom library. This way, the students can refer to it whenever they please. Another idea is to make a special shelf just for the me map scrapbooks and the students could also store their completed scrapbooks on the shelf. This would allow each student to explore their own scrapbook as well as the other students in the classroom. Having them out throughout the year allows the students to add or remove pages as their opinions, thoughts and ideas change.

This sounds like SO much fun!! I only wish I could be student in the class that is having these pirate units. I love how intriguing the books sound and how interactive the unit is. I would bet that this is the student’s favorite unit to participate during the school year. I never knew there were so many books about pirates that were suitable for students! I also love how it integrates social studies.

I thought having areas was a great idea, because it exposed the students to pirate facts and provided a different approach to beginning the unit. The teacher did not go up front and say (in a monotone voice) “Today class we are starting our pirate unit.. get out these books.. blah blah blah” – this would have not excited the kids. Her approach was very creative and original.

I think it was important for them to learn the pirate language or lingo. And I appreciated how hands- on the unit is. The fact that the students were able to “live like pirates” and write diaries, I can only imagine how much they learned. This is incredible!

My name is Katie Elizabeth Wade. When I first began learning about my name all I knew was that my mother named me Katie after my Aunt Katie. An aunt I never met and my mother only knew for a short time of her life. However, she was an extraordinary woman and my mother had always wanted to name her child after her. My middle name came from my dad’s side of the family. There was this older lady that lived across the street from my dad’s family growing up and her name was Elizabeth. Everyone called her “bu” because that’s all the kids could pronounce when they were younger. Bu was like a second mother to my dad, she practically raised him while my grandmother and grandfather were working all day every day. Bu taught my dad how to sew, cook, clean and many other skills he still uses in life. Because Bu made such an impact on my dad’s life he thought it only necessary to name his second little girl after her.

            When I went to www.behindthename.com and entered Katie it said that Katie was a diminutive of Kate, so when I looked up Kate it said it was diminutive of Katherine. Of Course, the name my mother refused to give me because she did not want me to be called by a “nickname” is where my name originally came from. Katherine comes from the Greek name Αικατερινη (Aikaterine) and the meaning or derivation of the name is debated. During the early Christian era it became connected with the Greek name: καθαρος (katharos) “pure”, and the spelling in Latin was to Katharina from Katerina. It was also born by three of King Henry VIII’s wives, including Katherine of Aragon, and by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great. ((How cool is that!!))

            On the same website I looked up the name “Elizabeth”. Now Elizabeth is found in the Hebrew form as אֱלִישֶׁבַע (‘Elisheva’) which means “my God is an oath’ or perhaps ‘my God is abundance”.  It is a very common name among Christians and also in England. Ever since Queen Elizabeth I reigned the name became very popular in England!

            According to www.howmanyofme.com there are 172,358 people in the U.S with the first name Katie. And from the derived name Katherine there are 477,417 people in the U.S with the first name Katherine.  There are 122,023 people in the U.S. with the last name Wade. NOT TO MENTION THERE ARE 69 PEOPLE IN THE U.S with the name KATIE WADE. -this totally blows my mind.

By clicking on this blog you are being exposed to the True Life of Katie Wade.

Explore at your own risk!

I’m pretty much awesome… Not gonna lie..