Salt Lake is indeed beautiful! We have spent lots of time already at Liberty Park, and driven around Sugar House and the 9th and 9th area quite a bit. This past weekend, we spent time with Brandon’s family up in Jackson Hole- hiking around and relaxing. Brandon is beginning orientation on the 15th, then we head out to Zion National Park with the University of Utah that weekend, can’t wait! Residents and their ‘significants’ are invited to enjoy the beauty of Zion together, as a way of bonding everyone before the real work begins.

I’ve decided to find a new means of ‘blogging’ (check out my new art website, http://ecgart.blogspot.com/ ) so this will be my last official post on this site- especially since I won’t be teaching full time this upcoming year. I’m currently looking for jobs with art and/or kids here in Salt Lake, but nothing has popped up yet! I know God has a perfect plan for me, ‘job’ or not!  :) Now, my main job is taking care of my hubby and our soon-arriving puppy, Okie May- a Bernese Mountain Dog! She comes home with us next month, and we can’t wait!!

Thanks to those of you who have read or commented on here. I hope this blog has been informational, encouraging, and interesting for you!

Signing off,

Emily Curley Geister

#1. We are moving to Salt Lake City, Utah this summer for Brandon’s medical school residency program!!! We are super excited! We just found out this past Friday, March 16th! It was our number one choice, for many reason- the program training and schedule we liked best, his little bro is out there for graduate school, we love the mountains & various outdoor activities the city and state has to offer, K2 church is awesome, there are tons of parks and tons of dogs, beautiful & clean city, friendly people, and there’s straight flights back to OKC and Tulsa! We are excited about the next 3yrs. out there!

#2. We got our dream car on Saturday, St. Patty’s Day!- a Subaru Outback, in deep indigo blue! We are so thankful, and know we will get a TON of use out of it in SLC, with its All-Wheel-Drive, and space for a dog and baby (one day!) Too bad the ‘luck of the Irish’ didn’t last on Sunday… when we got a huge nail in our front left tire… wah wah- Good news! Brandon knew how to fix a flat no problem, so I helped out by shining a flashlight where he needed it, haha. It was also good that he fixed it last night, because today has been POURING rain!

#3. Today is our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary! It has been an incredible year! After getting married in March and settling down in our little apartment, we waited for me to finish the school year at SHA before leaving on our Hawaiian Honeymoon in June! What a blast! We enjoyed Maui & Kaui, and before going home, spent time with my sister in Vail, Co. I switched jobs to Crossings in the fall, and we became an Aunt & Uncle for the first time for Miss Ava Magnolia on October 11th. We enjoyed time with Brandon’s family for Thanksgiving, and time with the Curley side for Christmas, my Bday, & New Years! It’s crazy to think that we’ll be leaving for SLC in just under 3 months! If someone had told me we’d be moving there a year ago, no way would I have believed them! I am SO GLAD we are though- what an adventure! I will have lived in the Midwest (or South, as some say), the Northeast, and the Northwest! The Utah program might even give us the chance to go to Africa for a short time! How cool would that be?

As for now, I’m giving thanks for the past year, and looking forward to another exciting chapter in His story of my life!

I have started the spring semester at Crossings, and am currently preparing about 24 kiddos for a pre-Easter performance that will take place in April! God has laid it on my heart to direct a dance/dramatization to a worship song called “Break Every Chain,” by Will Reagan. Practices will start THIS WEEK! I’m excited to get this opportunity- and I feel a little more urgency to do it, and do it well, since I don’t know if I’ll be back next year… We shall see! As the title of this post states, many decisions ahead, lots of hopes in our hearts for the future, and big changes coming around the corner! One month ’til rank, and less than 2 months until we find out on MATCH DAY, where we’ll be for the next three years! May the peace of God rule in our hearts, during this exciting spring!

For starters, teaching at a private, Christian school – specifically Crossings, has been a true blessing. I am reminded of Psalm 23 so often, because I really feel like God has taken me from the valley of the shadow of death my first few years teaching, into the greener pasture today. Even in those darkest times (read my EARLIEST posts to get a glimpse of my reality then…), God still provided for me, and never left me. Those two years in DC were so difficult, but so sweet. God pruned me down time and time again to remind me of my need for Him, to make me stronger in Him, and to prepare the way for this DEEP GRATITUDE I have now to be where I am. It is almost laughable in fact, to think on my situation my first year teaching, and to see it now! NIGHT and DAY. The best difference of all, is the FREEDOM to teach my faith!

The first success that God gave me this year, was in a project I did with 4th and 5th graders on Eph. 6:10-18 “Putting on the full armor of God.” Our mascot is the Knight, so each student was to draw a knight with armor in pencil, outline in sharpie, color it, add texture with puff paint and/or glitter, write the school song “I Will Stand” around the portrait, and attach a picture of their face to the knight! They turned out AWESOME! I was so proud of them, and really felt like God answered my prayers with this assignment on how to start the year! I had kids whose parents told me that their child who generally didn’t care for art, or didn’t think they were good at art, say that they learned how to draw and really felt like theirs was good! That’s HUGE to me! Thank you Lord!

In other news, my niece is due to arrive THIS WEEK! I am hoping she comes soon, so I can join the rest of my family in Tulsa! The hubby is already there, doing a rotation with my family doctor. Needless to say, my substitute plans are lined up and ready to go! Come on little Ava Magnolia!!

As Brandon and I look towards the future, we realize some BIG decisions are not far off… as he’s currently in his FOURTH year of medical school, and MATCH DAY for residency is just 5 months away! We have narrowed down our “top” places to live during residency (not in any specific order) as OKC, Kansas City, and Denver. What’s funny, is that when I was narrowing down my cities for TFA, I had DC, Kansas City, and Denver on my list I think I could be happy in any of those places! Really, wherever WE are, TOGETHER, is wonderful. (sorry to get all gushy on ya, but I realllly love my husband!) It makes me wonder if I’ll be teaching for a FIFTH year next year, or finally throwing myself out into the ‘art world!’ I go back and forth all the time with what I think I want… GOOD THING God knows what’s best, cuz I sure don’t! ;P If we stay here, it’d be pretty easy to stay at Crossings, stay at our current church, and keep moving forward with life in OK- many perks to this, but part of me wants the adventure of going away again! I don’t know if it’s part of how God’s made me, or if I have a problem sticking with the same ‘job’ or ‘routine’ for longer than four years…but it seems like every FOUR YEARS, there’s a big SHIFT in my life…

The #4 has ALWAYS been my favorite number…I loved fourth grade the best- I was #44 for four years in basketball- I graduated high school in 2004- graduated from OU after another four years- I have taught art for 4 years…  Though this may seem silly and mindless chatter about the number 4, I always think about number symbolism, and how it’s the number of “completion.” There are four directions, four seasons, etc. Could this be my last year teaching? We shall see!

As for now, I’m going to enjoy this season of greener pastures. Thank you for this wonderful FOURTH YEAR Lord- what long-awaited respite for Brandon and me…FINALLY!  *Sidenote: if you’re not in the greener pasture now friends, keep trusting! He won’t let go. Ever.

1. I got married March 19th, 2011 to my bestfriend & greatest love! I am now Mrs. Geister!

2. I interviewed with a private, Christian school here in OKC called Crossings, and GOT THE JOB as the Prek-5th grade art teacher for the upcoming school year!!! I am so excited for the opportunity to teach THE WORD via art everyday to little ones, and acquire more spiritual/artistic knowledge.

3. My sister and many of my friends are having babies this year! Whoa! I’ll be an auntie in October, and helping close friends with their babes here in OKC!

4. Along the lines of babies…I’m painting an entire Newborn’s Nursery at a church in Norman this summer! The theme is ocean/beach, so I’m painting cartoon-like sea creatures, along with verses about the ocean on the walls. Fun stuff!

5. It is summer… which means, FREEEEDOM to choose how I use my time! What a miracle that is! Every teacher knows the blessing of summers off! God has given me great time with my husband, family, & friends already. I have also had time to do extra artsy things (like the nursery mural), playing outside, dog-sitting, reading, & planning/preparing for the upcoming school year! The best part of summer is getting to leave for our HONEYMOON in less than 2 weeks!! We will be in Hawaii (Maui/Kauai) for a week, followed by spending time with my other sister in Vail for a few days- hiking, etc. So excited!

I will try to keep posting… but I might be changing to an entirely new blog site that allows me to feature other aspects of life than just teaching… update to come! God bless!

In recent news- it’s a NEW YEAR! Sweet! Happy 2011 everyone! We are just under 55 days until the wedding, and showers have begun! I can’t wait to change my name and confuse all my students haha

In recent art classroom news, these are my ideas laid out for 3rd quarter….  Overarching theme “Watch Me Grow!”….artist to be studied: Claude Monet. Students in K-5 worked on a still life their first couple weeks back from break, and I was impressed with many of them! A few kiddos came out of the woodwork and displayed technical skills I didn’t know they had! That’s always a bonus

I am currently collaborating with kindergarten on their day & night theme by doing a warm/cool color collage. Tomorrow I am going to experiment with them on doing an easier version of a tempera batik. We will fold construction paper in half, draw a day scene on the right side with chalk & a night scene on the left with chalk. Students will paint inside the chalk lines and let dry. Once dry, wipe off the chalk so there are lines in between their painting, and cover the right “day” side with blue ink, and the “night” side on the left with black ink. Hope it turns out as cool as I’ve seen it done! With 5 and 6 year olds…. you never know what you might get One of my kindergartners has an imaginary snake named “Snakey,” enough said right?

In collaboration with 1st grade’s “plants” unit, kids are making a mixed media plant collage! They are kinda good so far! Students first draw plants with pencil and label the parts “roots, stem, leaf, flower, fruit,” followed by collage with yarn, beans, pom poms, textured paper, and anything else that would be great for this project. I have high hopes for this one.

2nd grade is getting ready to do a “textured landscape,” also using mixed media for a collage. They are learning about cultures in their homerooms, so my desire is for them to see how different topography and landscapes impact the cultures of their people- what they wear, eat, and what type of shelter they have.

3rd grade needs to work on their fractions, so we’ll do a drawing where I tell them to put certain lines or colors in HALF of the drawing or a FOURTH of the paper… etc. You get the picture I think If you don’t… review your fractions!

4th grade is doing medieval age stuff so we’ll first learn how to hone our 3D form drawing skills, and then we’ll see if they can draw a medieval castle in 3D style with correct perspective!

5th graders need to know the difference between a pyramid and a prism, so I may review this once more with them before moving onto Claude Monet-based projects.

I’ve tried to plan out all of 3rd quarter since this is WEDDING CRUNCH TIME. I know God will help me to get all that I need to get done DONE, and that I don’t need to worry or be anxious about anything! He is Sovereign, He is Faithful, He is good. My hope is that these lessons help our kids make connections with what they’re learning in homeroom, but even more, they learn some life lessons in patience, perseverance, & other good things! I know God is teaching me these life lessons as well. I am pumped to be half way through my 3rd year teaching art- I can’t believe how far I’ve come and I am looking forward to next year (most likely my last year), and what God seems to be stirring in me for my future…. he he, ciao!

Kinders have “sing & paint” as a grade level theme this winter, so I’ve decided to have them paint pictures that illustrate the lyrics to “Seasons of Love.” The display will showcase things like “daylights, sunsets, midnights, & (that’s right…) cups of coffee…” other pictures will include drawings of those they love and hold dear, along with clocks, rulers, & roads to depict the measuring of time, space, & journeys in a year. I hope it turns out as cute as  I see it in my head!

2nd & 3rd grade will be creating a “community quilt” by painting their own square of canvas, also illustrating the lyrics from “Seasons of Love.” All of their squares will be stitched together and hung in our school’s art hallway (<so nice to have one of these! All schools really should have a designated space for the artwork to be displayed!).

In other grades, my 1st graders were quite successful with their community career uniforms- created on 8×12 inch paper, using crayons, sharpies, & watercolor. The uniforms could be any chosen career, drawn from only the neck down to about the hips. I need to start uploading pics…. coming soon I hope!

4th & 5th grade will be replicating four different paintings from Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series. Each will paint one section of the painting, so that it is a collaborative “community” effort!

In the midst of projects, I’m working on a wintery landscape mural for our Holiday Show next month. This thing covers the whole back wall of the cafeteria…quite an undertaking… wish me luck!

Changing subjects- I got to attend the Creativity World Forum, hosted right here in OKC! I went to one day of session on Wednesday, and was very inspired by the ideas, technology, & performances shared by students, professors, artists, genius minds, etc from ALL OVER THE WORLD! Why in Oklahoma City you ask? You got me! This is the first time that the CWF was in America though! BIG DEAL apparently.I was so encouraged by the discussions on how to cultivate creativity & why it’s important for our future. It was also encouraging to see people from Oklahoma and OUTSIDE Oklahoma, take our state so seriously on the grounds of creativity! It has definitely helped to boost my own state pride. Yeehaw!

On a personal note, tomorrow is the 4-months-away-from-our-wedding mark for me & my fiance, Brandon!!! Hooray! We’ll be going to Tulsa to be with my fam & knock some more stuff out.

Although this time can be crazy busy & emotional, I am so thankful for all the blessings of family, friends, a job that lets me use my gifts & talents, & most of all, a God who loves & accepts me as I am…. a work in progress. Amen!

“Heavenly keeper, we rejoice in the shades of yellow, brown, and orange that you use to paint your autumn canvas. We stand in awe of the beauty and nostalgia of this season. May we make time to be still this fall and be amazed at the elegant grandeur of your creation. Amen.”

I am so thankful that I get a Fall Break (seeing as DC didn’t provide this type of schedule…), and plan on reflecting and rejoicing and resting amongst the planning, creating, and engagement pictures that will also take place! Brandon and I leave for Tulsa on Friday to spend time with family & friends. I will try on my altered wedding dress, and we will take pictures at Woodward Park on Sunday! I am so excited, as we will be using Kevin Paul- an AWESOME photographer!

My theme for 2nd quarter is “Community.” The artist we will be studying is Jacob Lawrence. Here is just a list of projects and/or themes that will be taking place, some incorporating the grade level themes used by homeroom teachers, some not:

K- “Nutrition” Still- Life (with “fall” foods)/ Thanksgiving projects/ Winter projects…

1st- “Career Uniforms” in our Community (they create their own career uniform, to express the idea of how we all work together in a community by serving one another)

2nd/3rd gr- Some type of Community “quilt”

4th gr: Wreaths (one is Jacob Lawrence/Black History theme, the other is Van Gogh)

5th gr: European Exploration & The Migration Series (how these impact & form communities)

Hopefully they learn a lot, and have a lot of fun doing it! I’ll letcha know how it goes

1. I am in my third year of teaching art (that’s a big one by itself)

2. I only teach K-5 art now (rather than prek-8th grade!!! ahh!) and have about 300 students total (rather than 400 or so!)

3. I teach 3 to 4 classes a day (not FIVE), and I get longer than 5 ridiculous minutes of prep time in between! THANK YOU! The kids benefit from this even more than I do!

4. I have a smartboard, tons of art materials, two sinks, and my own fridge! (didn’t have ANY of this in DC)

5. My charter school has had the same principal since the beginning (about 12 years ago), and most of the staff has also been there since the beginning (not to mention that a few have fostered some of the kids for a time or  are still doing so!) aka: the people REALLY care about the kids and are willing to dig their heels in and be committed to what they’re doing for the long haul (which even though I may not be an art teacher forever,… because I may go back to school for art therapy… I am inspired and appreciative to those that teach their ENTIRE career in the SAME district. This really makes a huge impact on the community to have STABILITY and CONSISTENCY of staff! Props to all of you who have done/are doing this!)

6. We have a school-wide discipline plan using colored cards for behavior and a “cool cash” incentive where kids can buy stuff once a month with their paper money in the library. EVERYONE does this.

7. I can get to work in my CAR (no metro this time baby!!) in about 10 minutes! Yahoo!

8. First graders are NOT on the same floor as middle schoolers (WORD TO THE WISE: THIS SHOULD NOT EVER HAPPEN IN MY OPINION! Not in urban OR suburban areas! Inappropriate…)

9. We have a gym that I can coach hip hop in (not a cafeteria!), and even crazier, I get PAID for my after school coaching!

10. Maybe my favorite… EVERY CHILD HAS A MENTOR! So great!

The only negative I can even think of at this point, is that my classroom is not connected to the main building, so I feel a little isolated sometimes. On another note, this can also be a positive…. because I’m not interrupted constantly like I use to be! I hope that Hope is able to provide some of these 10 things for the betterment of their teachers and their community (or shall I say DC or the Imagine Charter Board.) Keep on keepin’ on Hope staffers- you are on tough ground I know! Don’t give up, there is still hope

As for EVEN MORE EXCITING NEWS… I’M ENGAGED! Brandon proposed on Tuesday evening, July 20th, 2010 on the biking/running trail behind my parent’s house in Tulsa, OK. I was completely shocked, as I’d been telling everyone that he probably wouldn’t propose until Christmas time, and in HIS mind, he didn’t want to wait any later than Thanksgiving! Ha! I love it. We are getting married on Saturday, March 19th, 2011 in Tulsa, OK. The wedding planning has already begun, and we’ve got our date, the church, an officiant, most of our wedding party confirmed, a rehearsal dinner spot, (pretty much a reception place…still talkin’ some details out there), my dress, our colors, and possible cake and flower ideas! Praise to God for giving us time to work some of these things out before I start school, and the busyness of fall begins!

My curriculum for art this school year will be based on “themes” for each quarter, which will result in long-term projects for each grade level. Short-term projects will be created from the core subject curriculum for each grade, and showcased outside their individual classrooms. For example, if my theme for quarter 1 is “All About Me,” with an emphasis on Picasso, I will showcase long-term art projects at the end of the quarter in my “art hallway” that might look like a Picasso-style self portrait. One of the short-term projects from 5th grade may have to do with landforms, so we may draw specific landforms in art ,which will then be displayed outside their own classroom! I use the OK Pass Skills as foundation for the lessons, and tie them in with my own themes and goals.

Wish me luck in all this planning! More to come…