Alaska Recap Part 1

So I know I said I would blog while I was in Alaska, however, life has a way of becoming very busy on trips such as the one I took, so there was no time. Combine that with a lack of widespread wifi and my attempting to blog via my iPad instead of a laptop and it just didn't work out as I had planned. With that being said, I'm going to recap the trip here, probably in a few parts. This first part will be about our first couple of days on the trip.

We landed in Anchorage around 1am Alaska Standard Time, which felt like 5 am to all of us. The four hour time difference was not a highlight of the trip. But after landing in Anchorage, we made our way back to First Presbyterian Church in Anchorage, which would serve as a home base of sorts for the trip. The pastor and people there were so gracious to us, putting us up, as well as helping to organize and plan the rest of our trip around the interior.

After getting a couple hours of sleep, we awoke to finally see what Anchorage was like. I walked out of the church, turned right and was greeted with a magnificent mountain view. These views would come to be standard for every day of the trip.

The grass you see stretched out in front in the above photo is Airstrip Park, where the airport once stood.

Once we woke up, found the shower, and explored for a while, we set off on a tour of the city. Stops included Earthquake Park, where you can see the ground rolling from the earthquake in 1959 as well as a view of Sleeping Lady, a mountain you can see from many vantage points in Anchorage.

This was also when we saw our first moose of the trip. I don't know exactly how many moose we saw, but it came to be like seeing deer around western Pennsylvania.

Day 2 came the learning part of our trip. We spent the morning at the University of Alaska Anchorage meeting a Aleut man (Aleut is the native Alaskan people who are from the Aleutian Islands). He discussed his peoples' views on what is happening in Alaska and the environment. We then spent the afternoon at Alaska Native Heritage Center where I held a baby Alaskan Husky!

Days 3-5 were spent in Seward, where we played tourist, going to Exit Glacier and on a cruise of the Kenai Fjords. It was amazing being able to hike up the the glacier and learn from a National Park Ranger about the different formations and why there are no trees or certain types of trees in the different areas. If you ever go to a National Park or Forest, I would definitely suggest doing something with a Park Ranger, since they are so knowledgable! Just make sure to make a reservation!

 On the cruise, we saw orca whales, a hump back, and many different types of birds as well as another glacier. One of the college faculty who went on the trip was an ornithologist (someone who studies birds), so it was a really neat thing to learn from her about the birds and be able to have an identity for them! While the cruise was long and rocky, it was definitely an awesome experience.

Once we were back in Anchorage, we spent time relaxing, going to church, visiting a local market on Sunday afternoon, then kayaking at a local park thanks to some of the church members who lent us the use of their kayaks and a canoe!

Well, that's the end of Week 1! The next week was spent with people from the University and Park Service, as well as our first Alaskan hike up Flattop Mountain in Anchorage. I'll do a post on that, as well as our time heading north into the interior of Alaska later in the week!

-Sydney Liz

I'm Off on an Adventure!

This is just a quick note to say that I'm off to Alaska today! Yes, there will be lots of daylight, yes I'll be trying moose stew, and yes, this is an adventure of a lifetime. But, I'm not going alone! I'm going with a group of 14 other students from my college and 2 advisors, our college chaplain and a biology professor.
With that, I've decided since I'm not good with keeping a travel journal (sorry Madam!) I would try travel blogging. The idea is that everyone back home can follow along on our journey. I'll be posting pictures, funny things that happen, and trying to chronicle this amazing adventure on this space so we'll have the memories forever, even when the details may be a little fuzzy.
So look out for my posts when we have wifi available and I'll try to keep you up to date on this adventure!

A Note About the Holidays...

As Thanksgiving approaches next week and Christmas comes quickly after, I just want to write a little note about this time of year. It is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the decorations, the cool weather, hopefully some snow, the music. Most of all, I love being together with family and friends. People forget to be thankful for what we have. To be thankful for health, friends, a roof over your head, an education, safety, or food in your belly. So many people don't have all of these things, but everyone has something to be thankful for. And it shouldn't be something material. As the Grinch famously said:

So, this wonderful time of year, let's remember that Christmas and the Holidays aren't all about things, but also about people, time, and love. 

Find something to be thankful for in the coming week! 

-Sydney Liz 

My First Conference

This past Friday, I got the chance to present at my first Early Childhood Education conference. It was held at a local college for area educators, and it was so. much. fun. It was wonderful to get to share what we've learned in college classes with other educators. Our topic was "iCommunicate with Parents" and we talked all about technology to use when communicating with parents, since PA is huge on parent-teacher communications. We went beyond the classroom newsletter with what we presented. The three apps that we talked about were Twitter,  Showbie, and Kid Reports. (By the way, this is in no way sponsored, I just wanted to share links in case you were interested!) These apps, along with good ol' Facebook are great for keeping in touch with parents.

Showbie:

Showbie is a platform you can use to create an online, paperless classroom. If you work in a classroom that doesn't use a school wide platform such as blackboard, this is a great (free) alternative!

Twitter:

Most people know how to use Twitter, but this is great to use with parents to send out reminders about field trips, important days in the classroom, or link to helpful websites you think parents would like.

Kid Reports:

Kid Reports is a program for mainly child care centers to use. This system will push out information about an individual child or all the children in a family to parents or other pertinent family members. This can give parents a detailed report of their child's days and fill in the blanks they forgot to ask about at pick up. Teachers can also upload pictures and videos of a child throughout the day. These go only to the parent or family member so there's no privacy issues.

Well, that's a quick overview of the presentation I was fortunate enough to be a part of on Friday. I can't thank my professor enough for the opportunity to present for other educators! If you have any questions about technology in the classroom, don't be afraid to ask! Also, these blogs are great for technology use in an effective and appropriate way in the classroom:

2 Techie Teachers
Mrs. Banister's Blog

Before I go, I want to share this picture of my presentation group!

My professor, the head teacher of my college's preschool lab, me, and a fellow student!

Stay warm!

-Sydney Liz

A Pampering Saturday

This Saturday, I spent the day being pampered and shopping with my mom. It was sooo nice to just sit back and relax for a while. I was able to get both a pedicure and manicure which was amazing. While I got my pedicure, I sat back and read the June issue of Vogue, which was a wonderful escape from my busy weeks.

I got the OPI Summer collection on both my toes and fingers. The toes are "Aloha" and the fingernails are "Do you take Lei away?". I love the pop of color on my toes, but I can't do the color on my nails. I think a neutral there is a much better way to go with my "look". 

After my mani/pedi, we headed over to Crocker Park, which is a really nice outdoor shopping area near Cleveland. We had lunch at Brio, a great Italian restaurant. I loved that there was outdoor seating that was under cover, just in case the skies decided to open up and rain. 

 My mom had chicken with Quinoa and roasted red peppers and feta. I tried a bite and it was wonderful!

I went with the soup and salad. I'm a fan of all things lobster so I had to try the lobster bisque and I also love a good Cesar Salad. Both did not disappoint. 

Some retail therapy was also in order. I had to hit up the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale as well as Barnes and Noble to pick up a new magazine for some light reading by the pool on my Monday off (hopefully the persistent rain holds off for a day). 

I hope you've had a wonderful and relaxing weekend as well! 

-Sydney Liz

Life Lately

So once summer started, life began to get away from me. I have had some relaxing time, as evident below, but most of my time has been spent in a classroom of some sort or in Pittsburgh. Being so far from "home" is tough. I haven't seen any of my friends from high school, and it's a two hour drive (when there's not a wreck on the Turnpike) to my boyfriend. So… a bit of catchup is in order on my morning/ afternoon off of work. 

 My first two weeks of summer were spent in a classroom doing field experience. I was with a wonderful first grade teacher and learned so much from her. I also got to teach two lessons, which were so much fun. This experience made me so much more excited for my future.

Now onto the fun stuff! The beginning of June meant I got to see the bf for the first time in over a month. A MONTH! It was a very long month and we both are hoping that never happens again. But when I did finally get to see him, we had a blast. We went mini golfing with some of his high school friends (even though they've all graduated college now, they are still super close), I went out on a duel sport (dirt bike that can go on/ off road) for the first time (on the back of course), took him to his first drive in experience, and spent tons of time together and with his family. It was a much needed break from work and a wonderful time. 

 And because of my graduation present to him, we saw each other two weekends in a row! I got us Pirates tickets so we went to the game this past Saturday where we got to see an awesome win and a bit of the concert after the game. It was super hot and muggy, but well worth it. We also went bowling at the Meadows Casino which was super nice. If anyone in the Pittsburgh area wants a super awesome bowling experience where you are basically waited on hand and foot, head there! It wasn't super expensive either.

Due to crazy storms, I didn't head back to northeast Ohio until Monday morning when I had to work, which was a pretty good idea given how much flooding we saw on the news last Sunday night. While work has been super stressful, I know it will make me a better teacher having this experience, and the weekends help make it bearable.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer, even with all this rain!

-Sydney Liz

Five On Friday: Beginning of Summer Edition

Hello! It's been a crazy few weeks for me. Between finals, graduation for my boyfriend, and the beginning of field experience and work for me! So… my five for Friday is a catch up on all the happenings for me.

One
 I had tons of time during finals week to relax, which was weird. But my finals were spread out and not that bad, so I went to Dunkin one day for Happy Hour! I'm obsessed with Cookies and Cream iced coffee! And I drank it sitting out by the lake on my college's campus. It was glorious.

 Two
I got to see my friend Elise!! She drove up from home to go to dinner with me. It was so much fun getting to catch up, even with a crazy waitress at our Eat n Park.

 Three
The boyfriend graduated last Saturday! I'm soooo proud of him and his amazing accomplishments! I stayed around campus and extra few days just to be there, and it is definitely a day I wouldn't have missed for the world! I can't wait to see what he does and where life will take him!

Four
I started field experience this week, which means I'm in a first grade classroom all day. It's a ton of fun and a wonderful learning experience. I love the kiddos and I'm at a great school. It's strange to not be at the school I grew up in, but when that school is two and a half hours away, I could not handle that commute! I am so glad I decided to become a teacher and I cannot wait for the future.

Five
I started my summer job! I'm doing day camp with a bunch of school age kids at a local preschool/ child care center and I can't wait! It'll be a lot like last summer, where I worked at the sleep away Christian Camp that I grew up at, except I can go home at the end of the day to my own bed, and I have weekends to see people! I can't wait to plan activities and spend time with the kids!

So… I am now linking up with April, since the other wonderful hostesses are on summer break!

Happy Weekend!

-Sydney Liz