It's finally time! Last year, I taught myself how to make macarons. There were a lot of batches that didn't turn out right and a lot of wondering what went wrong. I have worked out the kinks to getting the shells right. The shells are honestly the hardest part. Filling them can be done with … Continue reading My Macaron Shell Recipe
I know that the Coronavirus is on everyone's mind lately. I can't say I blame you. It's pretty much all the news talks about, and many places have stay-at-home orders. I'm gonna be honest: this was not what I expected for most of March and April. I hoped to be student teaching and not at … Continue reading Blogging in the Time of Crisis
The coronavirus is causing many of us to be isolated and quarantined. For me, not only was my school canceled, but my entire student teaching was finished. This means that if the school were to reopen this school year that I don't have to return and make up my days. I can still graduate on … Continue reading Staying Sane while Quarantined
St. Patrick's Day is a very largely celebrated holiday, especially in the United States. But how did this Irish holiday come to be celebrated? Well, since most of the world is under isolation or quarantine, I thought I could share a history lesson with all of you. Maybe it will distract you from the chaos … Continue reading The History of St. Patrick’s Day
Student teaching has been one of the most rewarding but also exasperating experiences of my life. I am dealing with 140 students every single day. Some of the most valuable things I am learning have nothing to do with the content. Today, I want to share with you-- not necessarily tips because I know not … Continue reading Teaching 7th Graders
I've talked about stress before, but except for a post last month where I talked about how not to be stressed at a stressful job (read it here), I realized I've never done a post on how I handle my stress. So let's change that this week! I'm pretty stressed because of everything I have … Continue reading Handling Stress
I feel like life gets in the way sometimes. We get busy with certain things and neglect others. Life is always a balancing act. It's important to balance everything you do. Doing too much, even if it's something you love, will wear you down and could destroy you. However, that being said, it is important … Continue reading Putting in Work
Teaching is one of the most stressful jobs out there. I'm not trying to criticize any other job. But every single day, I not only have to worry about my own stress, but the stress of all 140 of my students. If they lash out because of what they're feeling, then it becomes my problem … Continue reading How Not to be Stressed at a Stressful Job
I did a post back in November called "Why Education Matters" (read it here) when Red For Ed Day was happening. Now, almost three months later, I'm back to get on my soapbox! I'm student teaching middle schoolers (7th graders specifically) and it's a handful. I'll be honest though. I'm really enjoying it most of … Continue reading Why History Matters
I am starting my first full week of teaching and planning of student teaching! It's hard to believe that I'm already four weeks into this! A huge lesson that I am learning while student teaching is to understand I don't know everything. A strength and a weakness that I have is that I'm a perfectionist … Continue reading Accepting Criticism
As I prepare to step into teaching and take over the classroom, I think back over how I've gotten to this point. I planned lessons last week and have been working on more for next week. Planning one lesson a little over a year ago was a daunting task that often took a couple days. … Continue reading Preparation
This first week of student teaching has already been a whirlwind. I'm trying to learn the names of 150 7th graders, keep their names (and class) straight, and trying to learn them so that we can both benefit from this time together. I won't lie to you: I don't think this will be an easy … Continue reading Assuming Responsibility
Happy 2020! This has been a year I've thought about for a while. This is the year that I graduate from college and get a job based on my degree! That's so crazy to me! I said this last year, but the first post I do as a blogger (in my mind, at least) sets … Continue reading 2020 Vision
Last week, I hit a pretty large milestone for myself. I took my last ever final! Even though I am still technically a college student, I will not have to take any more actual classes or finals. All I have left to do before I graduate in May is complete my student teaching and write … Continue reading College
About a month ago, I wrote on my middle school practicum experience. I spent 4 and a half weeks in a high school classroom and I got to experience and love all of them. It was such a wonderful time, and I just enjoyed being in a high school classroom. I wanted to use today's … Continue reading My High School Practicum Experience
I'm in the last week of my high school practicum. I have been with 11th graders in high school for the past four and a half weeks. They're a lot of fun, and I am enjoying my time with them. But I don't want to talk about them today. Rather, I want to talk about … Continue reading The Biggest Difference Between my Middle School and High School Practicum
Last year, I did a post on gratitude and shared what I was thankful for. (Read it: https://battlekimoftherepublic.com/2018/11/20/gratitude/). This year, it's a lot harder to determine what to write because all the same stuff rings true from last year. However, there are a few things I want to add to this year's list: Teaching- This … Continue reading Thankfulness
Today in Indiana is Red for Ed Action Day. Let me tell you what this means. People, including teachers, wear red in support of educators. A lot of schools are closed today, and there is currently a multitude of teachers, some of whom I know personally are marching in downtown Indianapolis and taking on the … Continue reading Why Education Matters
I know I've done writing tips and advice in the past. But today I want to do something different. I gave a presentation today, so I figured why not give you some speech tips? Many people are uncomfortable with public speaking. It doesn't bother me because I've been doing it for so long, but I … Continue reading Speech Tips
I want to start today's blog post with a story. So you may know (or you may not) that I am a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a history professor. Part of my responsibility for this professor is grading certain assignments. Long story short, the class had an assignment due last Monday, and I had an … Continue reading Giving Up
This week is pretty awesome here on Battle Kim of the Republic! It's my three year anniversary!!!! When I wrote my first post back in October 2016, I had absolutely no idea if anyone would read it. Honestly, I had no idea if anyone would enjoy the content I put out. When I first started … Continue reading Three Years and Counting
Fall is my favorite season! Maybe it's yours too, or maybe you don't really have a fall (or autumn) where you live. Regardless, I want to share with you the things I love most about fall! The Colors!- I have to start here! The leaves on the trees change color, and it just gets so … Continue reading 10 Things I Love About Fall
Lately, I've just felt off. Nothing is wrong, but something isn't right. The main sufferer has been my personal time and hobbies. My schoolwork is still fine, and I'm on top of just about everything I need to do. I even got my Honors thesis approved and applied to graduate yesterday! So like in that … Continue reading Catching Up
As I mentioned last week, I spent the past 4 weeks in a 6th grade classroom for my first practicum rotation. Honestly, going into it, I didn't expect to get much out of it. I pretty much had my heart set on teaching high school. But now, I'm not sure that's entirely the case. I … Continue reading My Middle School Practicum Experience
I am in my fourth and final week of my middle school practicum. For those of you who are not familiar with teacher vernacular, let me explain what practicum is. Practicum is done before you student teach to give you some experience in a real classroom. You co-teach and assist and hopefully teach on your … Continue reading The ONE Big Thing People Don’t Tell you about Teaching
I wrote a post about two years ago called "Life is a Balancing Act" (read it here). I feel like that is even more me now. I have so much going on in my life that it can feel overwhelming. I think for a bit there, I got my priorities out of order. I'm holding … Continue reading Balancing Act
It's my birthday week!! Whoo! I love celebrating my birthday! I'm often the youngest of my classmates and most of my friends, so when I celebrate, I feel like I'm "catching up." I know that's not true, but still, my birthday is exciting for me! In the almost three years I have had this blog, … Continue reading I’m as Old as…
I love movies! I am building up my collection with movies I enjoy or think I would enjoy, including both old and new ones. As a result, a lot of the movies I buy are secondhand. One place that I get movies from puts stickers on the cases that are on the top left corner … Continue reading DIY Removing Stickers from DVD Cases
You know what's really cool? Seeing yourself make progress and accomplish things you never thought you could do! When I started college three years ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do besides be a history teacher. Then I found out we had to add concentrations. I took geography, psychology, and sociology my … Continue reading Accomplishments and Progress
This is my third semester being a TA for an introductory history course. I did a post last year around this time called "Advice from a TA" (read it here). I think a lot of these points are relevant a year later. I want to rehash these as well as add more that I have … Continue reading 10 Tips from a TA
Starting a new week of college is a crazy experience! There is so much to do, see, and learn. People often refer to the first week of classes as "Syllabus Week," because professors often go over the syllabus in the first couple of days of the semester. Most of the time, professors try to ease … Continue reading Surviving the First Week of a New School Year
August 13 is International Left-Hander's Day! I am so proud to be left-handed, along with only about 10% of the world's population. But because there are so few of us in a right-handed world, there are some struggles that we face. You righties do not understand how lucky you are. So I want to highlight … Continue reading 20 Left-Handed Struggles
It still blows my mind that most schools have started the new school year already! Colleges are starting soon as well, and that means I'll be starting my senior year! Summer is one of my favorite times of year, especially as a college student. I get to do things, see people I care about, and … Continue reading 30 Ways to Make Summer Memories
School is starting soon for a lot of places. Many high schools have started or are starting this week, and colleges are not far behind. I'm entering my senior year of college, so hopefully by now I have figured some things out. What I want to do today is unpack my backpack, similar to showing … Continue reading My College Backpack
I've talked about this post in similar capacities before, but this is currently on my mind, so I am going to talk about it again. I am a planner. I like to have things planned out of where I'm going and what I'm doing. But the truth is, things don't always work out the way … Continue reading Unplanned
I realized that I had made a few posts about my cruise, but I haven't yet told my favorite story. One of our ports was in Jamaica. We went bobsledding and climbed a waterfall! But I am getting ahead of myself. My parents have been on a number of cruises. My sister and I had … Continue reading The Unexpected Brings the Greatest Stories
June was such a cray month for me. In a three-week period, I slept in my own bed only 4 times! I was off and gone out of state or out of country for most of the month. Because June was so travel-heavy, I didn't really feel like I had time or opportunity to do … Continue reading Getting Back into the Swing of Things
One thing that you may not know about me is that I collect keychains. Pretty much everywhere I go that is something new, I usually have to get a keychain for. When I was visiting colleges, I collected a keychain from every college I officially visited and some others that were "unofficial" visits. When I … Continue reading DIY Keychain Display Tutorial
One of my favorite things to write about is obscure holidays and sharing the history of them. I enjoy doing the research, and compiling it into a story form for you. Friday, June 21st, is National Selfie Day. I love obscure history, so I figured why not tell all of you things that I learned … Continue reading History of the Selfie
Being on vacation was so great! I enjoyed being away and relaxing. I'll probably take some time to tell you stories later (like how I climbed a waterfall or why you should never put inflatable climbing things and trampolines on the ocean or even what it is like to be the only thing making light … Continue reading Packing for a Cruise (Or any Vacation)
For those of you that do not know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I hope you know that mental health is just as important as physical health. People tend to prioritize one over the other, but both are part of your well-being. Your physical health doesn't matter if your mental health is in shambles, … Continue reading Mental Health
I don't know about you, but I am not a patient person. I like things to be done pretty much instantly. But lately, I have been working on trying to be more patient and wait. I was working out with a friend on Friday, and she made a comment that stuck with me. She basically … Continue reading Instant Results
Here in America and a couple other countries, Sunday was Mother's Day. It's a holiday to celebrate mothers everywhere, but do you know how it started? Well, if not, get ready because I'm going to give you a brief history of Mother's Day. So there's a couple of different dates that are recognized as the … Continue reading A Brief History of Mother’s Day
I am so glad to be home for the summer! I enjoy school, and I love what I'm learning. But sometimes, honestly, I just need a little bit of a break. That being said, you should (hopefully) know me well enough that you know I'm never really relaxing all that much. I feel like I'm … Continue reading Summer Plans
You've probably heard the saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff." Yes, that statement is definitely true, but what about noticing the little things? Do you ever do that? On Sunday night, when I went to go to sleep, I was cold and shivering. So much so thatI grabbed my second blanket. I woke up Monday … Continue reading Notice the Little Things
Do you ever find yourself changing your style? Maybe it's your clothes, the way you write, or the you music you listen to. Sometimes your style changes, and that's okay. I have found myself changing styles recently. Nothing bad, just expanding and finding new things that I like. But you know what's nice about changing … Continue reading Changing Styles
February is such an interesting month. It's a shorter month with 28 days and 29 days on leap years. You also come into Valentine's Day right in the middle of the month. Personally I have always loved Valentine's Day, but I know not everyone feels this way. To some people, I know Valentine's Day serves … Continue reading Ways to Boost your Confidence
