My Teaching Portfolio

It's finally done!  I'm not done with the entire class yet - still have to finish a couple of write-ups of my experience with my mentor teacher and my evaluation of the course itself - but I have finished and published the web site that is my teaching portfolio.  It's the major project of the final lesson for this course.  As soon as I finish the rest of the lesson today, I can submit that and then schedule the final for the week of the 13th.  One 3-hour essay-writing final later and I will have completed Latin 4770! 

So here is the website.  It doesn't look like much, but it is a compilation of a lot of work over the past 8  months...

http://web.me.com/ehtruitt/Latin_4770_Teaching_Portfolio/Welcome.html

Look what I did!

As part of the Latin Teaching Methods course I am nearly (halleleujah!) done with, I had to create a PowerPoint presentation for one of the reading passages in the textbook I use.  My professor liked it so much, he added it to the class website and to the Wheelock's Latin web site.  I'm ridiculously excited about it, so I had to share!  On the Wheelock site, scroll down to the section on handouts and powerpoints and find my name....

http://www.wheelockslatin.com/wheelocksteacherguide.html


http://rlafleur.myweb.uga.edu/latn4770/powerpoints.htm

Halloween 2011

 Trying on the costume last night, "just to see how it feels," and in honor of carving the pumpkin.  Matt loves to watch "Nightmare Before Christmas" around Halloween, so in honor of the tradition we have a Jack Skeleton pumpkin face.  The helmet technically isn't part of his costume, but he couldn't find the mask that goes with it.  The mask doesn't really fit or function well anyway, so it won't be used.  We have other plans...

 Step 1.  Spike the hair in place of having horns.  Outline the grand design on the excited boy's face.

 Step 2.  With engineer-like precision, begin applying the yellow...

 Step 3.  Sit still!  Sit still!  Okay, yes, you can smile at mom while she takes pictures.

 Step 4.  Dad, how long is this going to take?  Contrast color being applied.

 Step 5.  Whoa!!!  I am looking awesome!!!!

 Step 6.  Blow dry the face so the paint is dry before the boy is allowed to move anywhere else where he may bump against something that smears off or absorbs wet face paint.

 Step 7.  Starting to look familiar?  Time for clothes!!

 Step 7 1/2.  Explain to Hannah that Christopher is almost ready and that we will go trick or treating soon.  Yes, she can  play with the taken apart computer while she waits.  Yes, she can hold Christopher's sword while she waits...and waits...

 Steps 8-10:  Pose for the camera!  Anybody recognize the character?  It's not Darth Maul, but very closely related.  He's a character from the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

 Complete with the double-sword.

 Which can be used together or apart.  Got to love the options!

 What a team! 

 Savage Opress.  No, I'm not kidding.  That is his name.  I'm not making it up.  But I did manage to capture a little bit of beautiful sunset behind the fierce warrior apprentice.

 One more pose with Savage and Jack. at the end of a fun evening of trick or treating.  We left part of his haul out as a donation for the tooth fairy.  She's going to come pick it up tonight and go share it with other children who maybe didn't to go trick or treating and didn't get any candy.  She leaves a present in its place.

All artwork from this evening - Savage Opress and Jack Skeleton - created by Matt Truitt.  He's got skills!  I took the pictures.  :)

As promised....

The picture of Matt in his referee outfit!

The beginning of soccer season!

Christopher was so excited for soccer to start this year!  Even though we were lucky enough to get the earliest game of the day this morning, it was still pretty warm in the sun and the boys played for a full hour.  He still loved it - and it was more organized of a game than two years ago when he was in the 4-year old league....

 The prerequisite picture of him in his new soccer uniform before the game absolutely had to include his lego pyramid!

 Warming up before the game.  That's Christoher in the front, with his face turned away from the camera...my fault...

 Christopher got to be the goalie in the 2nd quarter.  He was thrilled!  He did great, stopping three goals.  Unfortunately the other team was made up of boys all about a foot taller and a year older than our little guys, so (even though they don't technically keep score) our team was beaten soundly.  A hard lesson for the little ones, but it is only their first game and they're learning to work together as a team.  See the referee in the fancy black and yellow outfit?  It's not Matt.  But next week it will be...so stay tuned....I guarantee pictures.... :)

Halftime pep talk.  Christopher is #2.  Again, the shot is from the back.  I'll work on it, I promise....

July - Matt's birthday

 Christopher decided to dress up for Matt's birthday morning.  So he went into the closet, pulled out an old suit jacket and slacks and dress shoes.  He was pretty proud of himself!

 Cousins came over after the birthday lunch for some swimming.  Then it was time for presents and Christopher couldn't find the time to change out his suit before helping with presents.

 Matt got miniature lemon cakes for his birthday.  He usually gets a lemon cooler cake from Costco, but for some reason they didn't have them for his birthday this year.  Imagine!

Birthday present from the cousins for their engineer uncle!

Developing Self Reliance: Our Story

Our friends just started this new blog and I'm so excited to share it! Read the "Our Story" and then explore the rest of the site. Even though they just started it, they're off to a great start with ideas for how to use zucchini and squash from a garden. I've seen the transformation of their yard over the years and it is amazing to see what they're able to do with the time and resources they have!

Developing Self Reliance: Our Story: "My husband, Todd, and I have six children (ages 1-13). We are busy just like you and just like you, we are figuring out how to make self-re..."

Karate!

I'm going out of order now, putting up a current event before catching up on the past.  I hope you can all forgive me.  ;)  Christopher did his first belt testing in karate yesterday and moved up from white belt to 'high-white' belt (they add a black stripe).  He was so excited!  And he looks really cute too:

He's wearing the new belt and holding the old one.  They earn stripes on the ends of the belts for getting notes from home and friends for service, and for passing off different forms they learn.  We're going to take a little break for a couple of months as school starts and we get settled back in to that routine, but then we'll pick it back up again.  I need to see how the schedule shakes out between his school, me teaching 5 classes at my school, and the soccer team we signed up for several months ago before we went back to karate!  This kid has definitely got the energy for all of that - I just need to see if I do!  :)