As places begin to hopefully open where you are, one of the things that should be opening is the gym. Maybe you've gained a few pounds during quarantine (no judgment). Maybe you're like me, where you keep wanting to get in shape and know that the gym is probably one of the best places to … Continue reading A Beginner’s Guide to the Gym
I enjoy making art. I don't get to do it as frequently as I like, but I do still enjoy it. I painted a canvas over the weekend. It's this week's featured image, and I'll include it at the bottom like I always do. I'm so proud of how it turned out. I'll have to … Continue reading Making Art
As I mentioned two weeks ago, I do my best not to get overly political on here. But at the same time, I cannot be silent while so many are hurting. Again, this isn't about me. I know I speak from a place of privilege. I also know that I have a small but decent … Continue reading It’s Not “All Lives Matter”
For today's blog post, I want to tell a number of small, seemingly disjointed stories. But I promise they all connect, and I want to make my point at the end. I started looking up things for my future classroom on Pinterest. All I searched was "first year teacher middle school". I found a few … Continue reading Starting Small
I try not to be too controversial on here. I try to keep things upbeat, lighthearted, and educational. But I need to speak in this instance. If I try to keep quiet, then all I am doing is allowing the oppressors to win. Please note, today's post will be hard and maybe offensive. If I'm … Continue reading Black Lives Matter
Advice is something we all need at different points in our lives. Advice is also different based on the circumstances. So today, I want to provide you with a good list of advice that I have received or things I have learned to help you out in most situations. As always, the only story I … Continue reading The Best Advice I’ve Ever Received
If you know me, you know I have A LOT of Converse (16 pairs to be exact). Converse are versatile and work well on my feet. I wear them out and take care of them. That being said, I was helping a friend with a project over the weekend, and I was wearing a new … Continue reading How to Clean Converse
In America, and maybe some other places, quarantine and lockdown is beginning to end or at least ease. Whether or not you agree with the stance your state/country/city has taken when it comes to coronavirus is not the point of today's post. What is the point of today's blog post, then, is not about how … Continue reading Now What?
To the Class of 2020, I get this. In fact, I am in the exact same position as you. I was supposed to walk across the stage this past weekend with all my friends and receive my diploma holder. It was supposed to be a wonderful day. But that was just my hope. The reality … Continue reading To the Class of 2020
It's graduation time! I know it's a little different this year because of quarantine and the coronavirus. But it's still a time to celebrate those who (like myself) are graduating this year! With graduation at any level, there usually follows some kind of looking for jobs. I've posted before about job stuff (read it here) … Continue reading Interview Tips
It's been a long time coming! Months of research, writing, phone calls, emails, hours in libraries, nose in books, and eyes tired from the number of articles and newspapers I scoured, but it has all led up to this! For my undergraduate Honors program, the last big requirement is to write a thesis. It took … Continue reading What I Learned While Writing a Thesis
In keeping up with doing recipes, I wanted to share another one with all of you. I originally found this recipe on Pinterest. I make these very frequently, and even people who don't like lemon seem to love these. This recipe is incredibly easy and delicious!!! You Will Need: 9"x13" Glass panNon-stick cooking spray (or … Continue reading The BEST Lemon Squares
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
