So today was really an extremely uneventful day when it comes to Samuel (praise God for that!), last night however was slightly more eventful (but only in good ways). As I mentioned yesterday his peripheral IV went bad and they replaced it with a new one. Well, that happened again last night! Only this time they decided not to replace it.
Yesterday I wrote about how that peripheral IV was really just replaced to keep it open while they made sure that he was taking the feedings well. Last night when the IV went bad, they decided that since he had been taking his feedings so well there was no real need to replace it, just keep going forward without it.
So today they starting fortifying my milk. Instead of just giving it as is they added calories. This means instead of 20 calories per ounce he is getting 24 calories per ounce. So far he has been taking to his feedings really well. We continue to be amazed and thankful that everything has been going so well!
This morning Samuel was being slightly fussy. I kangarooed with him during his noon feeding and he was just so cozy and loving it! We hardly heard him the rest of the day!
Today I got out and went the the ymca for a little while. I did a half hour walk using the fancy new gps/activity tracker my brother gave me for my birthday. It's really cool and I can't wait to get out and take advantage of more of the features, but all in good time I suppose. For now I just want to get over to the ymca and do some walking several times a week. Then if that goes well, walk longer and more frequently!
I decided after Samuel was born that it makes no sense for me to stop everything I am doing just because he is in the NICU. This school year I have been tutoring two students once a week, so after going to the ymca, I came home, did some chores and tutored for an hour. It was good to concentrate on something else!
This evening I have just been tired, Samuel seemed to be doing quite well, so I called it an early night and went home before 9pm!! Not that that helped too much as I still need to pump before going to bed and it is already almost 10:20. Alas, I am a slave to the pump! At least I am giving Samuel the nutrition he needs and that is all that matters. :-)
Showing posts with label tutoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tutoring. Show all posts
09 February 2012
10 May 2011
Cinco de Mayo
One of my jobs is being a private tutor of Spanish and German students. Currently I have 6 Spanish students. For a while I have wanted to host some language nights for my students and last Thursday I finally did just that. I hosted a dinner at my house for my students and had a friend come over and make authentic Mexican enchiladas.
It was a lot of fun, I invited my students over and they could each bring one friend. Three were able to come and one brought a friend. So we were a group of 6 (4 students, my friend and myself).
Going into the evening I was kind of nervous that my students would get nervous and not want to talk much. I had asked them to prepare a few questions in Spanish to ask my friend that evening. They were also going to be required to speak in Spanish some with my friend and each other. In preparation for the evening, I made copies of different pages out of the 50 Most Beautiful People edition of People en Español. I was going to have the girls look through them and choose one, then "introduce" their person in Spanish to the group.
It turned out I was nervous for no reason. After we dished up my friend gave them a brief outline of what Cinco de Mayo is all about in Spanish and the girls followed her very well. I think they impressed themselves at how well they did understand. Then they commented on the food (which was very well received) to my friend in Spanish. They started in English, but after asking them to say it in Spanish they were quick to try their hand at it. After a while I had them go around the table and "introduce" the person on the picture they chose. Throughout the evening I made sure that each of them had asked at least one question in Spanish.
The whole evening was a great learning experience for them. They were able to to see that they can make mistakes and still be understood. During our tutoring sessions I tend to be somewhat picky with their Spanish, so this opportunity to show them mistakes are not bad was great.
It even seems that the evening inspired some of my students with their Spanish. It's only natural to be more motivated after having an opportunity to use Spanish in a more real situation.
It was a lot of fun, I invited my students over and they could each bring one friend. Three were able to come and one brought a friend. So we were a group of 6 (4 students, my friend and myself).
Going into the evening I was kind of nervous that my students would get nervous and not want to talk much. I had asked them to prepare a few questions in Spanish to ask my friend that evening. They were also going to be required to speak in Spanish some with my friend and each other. In preparation for the evening, I made copies of different pages out of the 50 Most Beautiful People edition of People en Español. I was going to have the girls look through them and choose one, then "introduce" their person in Spanish to the group.
It turned out I was nervous for no reason. After we dished up my friend gave them a brief outline of what Cinco de Mayo is all about in Spanish and the girls followed her very well. I think they impressed themselves at how well they did understand. Then they commented on the food (which was very well received) to my friend in Spanish. They started in English, but after asking them to say it in Spanish they were quick to try their hand at it. After a while I had them go around the table and "introduce" the person on the picture they chose. Throughout the evening I made sure that each of them had asked at least one question in Spanish.
The whole evening was a great learning experience for them. They were able to to see that they can make mistakes and still be understood. During our tutoring sessions I tend to be somewhat picky with their Spanish, so this opportunity to show them mistakes are not bad was great.
It even seems that the evening inspired some of my students with their Spanish. It's only natural to be more motivated after having an opportunity to use Spanish in a more real situation.
07 April 2011
Verdi
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sing the Verdi Requiem with the community choir I am a member of. This work is demanding on the choir that sings it and the orchestra that plays it. The choir was composed of our choir and the choir from a local college. We put in long rehearsals and many extra rehearsals during the week before the concert and when it came to concert time, I was only able to sing the Saturday evening concert, as I developed a bad sore throat before the Sunday afternoon one. Regardless, it was COMPLETELY worth it! Check out this video of the Dies Irae.
It kind of reminds me of several undertakings that I have had since Christmas. Currently I am training for a marathon (see last post) and fundraising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Not only am I putting in long training sessions (which getting sick made very difficult recently), but I am working on raising at least $2,900 (but I would love to surpass that by a few hundred if I could). So again, I am doing something that is very demanding and takes a lot of long hours and extra work.
Also I am working on building up my tutoring business. Tutoring includes working evenings and doing a lot to prepare for my students. Yesterday I have been working a lot on gathering and creating resources all in one convenient location. Check out my other blog Spanish Practice and see the work I have done on that. Feel free to use those resources and pass them on to others that are learning Spanish. The materials on the site are of course focused on my students' needs and catered to the curriculum their schools are using.
I am active at Church as well and recently have been selected as a Young Women's Representative for the LWML 2011 National Convention. When it comes to LWML I am also helping start a new circle at Church. Right now we are focusing it on other young women in the congregation and basically we meet and have Bible Study once a month. So far we've met twice and I have really enjoyed it so far! I can't wait to get more involved in LWML as time goes on.
Along with that I am also still working as a substitute teacher. March was rather slow with it, but that was fine. We had a lot of company and I was sick. It is also to be expected due to spring breaks being on different weeks. There are just not a lot of jobs in March. I still enjoy working as a substitute. I think what I like the best is seeing the students and giving them as hard of a time as they try to give me.
I am just amazed at how busy I have been since student teaching finished, but it has also all been a lot of fun. It keeps me busy and at times I am probably busier than I should be (my husband can attest to that), but I can say that I at least enjoy the work I am doing and the activities I am involved in.
It kind of reminds me of several undertakings that I have had since Christmas. Currently I am training for a marathon (see last post) and fundraising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Not only am I putting in long training sessions (which getting sick made very difficult recently), but I am working on raising at least $2,900 (but I would love to surpass that by a few hundred if I could). So again, I am doing something that is very demanding and takes a lot of long hours and extra work.
Also I am working on building up my tutoring business. Tutoring includes working evenings and doing a lot to prepare for my students. Yesterday I have been working a lot on gathering and creating resources all in one convenient location. Check out my other blog Spanish Practice and see the work I have done on that. Feel free to use those resources and pass them on to others that are learning Spanish. The materials on the site are of course focused on my students' needs and catered to the curriculum their schools are using.
I am active at Church as well and recently have been selected as a Young Women's Representative for the LWML 2011 National Convention. When it comes to LWML I am also helping start a new circle at Church. Right now we are focusing it on other young women in the congregation and basically we meet and have Bible Study once a month. So far we've met twice and I have really enjoyed it so far! I can't wait to get more involved in LWML as time goes on.
Along with that I am also still working as a substitute teacher. March was rather slow with it, but that was fine. We had a lot of company and I was sick. It is also to be expected due to spring breaks being on different weeks. There are just not a lot of jobs in March. I still enjoy working as a substitute. I think what I like the best is seeing the students and giving them as hard of a time as they try to give me.
I am just amazed at how busy I have been since student teaching finished, but it has also all been a lot of fun. It keeps me busy and at times I am probably busier than I should be (my husband can attest to that), but I can say that I at least enjoy the work I am doing and the activities I am involved in.
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