The Princess of Room 34

In October, we had a mere 13 students, since our roster had not been filled. Now that our class sits at a full 20, I was excited to share Miss Green Country with the kids! We have created big goals for our lives (them and myself alike!), and I wanted to bring my passion back to the classroom.

My students know that I am a “princess” and that I want to become the “queen” of Oklahoma. Keep in mind, my kids are three-five and explaining the Miss Oklahoma system can often be tricky to an adult, let alone a Pre-K student! We had a great conversation about what it takes to become Miss Oklahoma – helping others, using kind words, working hard, and getting smart! Miss Oklahoma has to “grow her brain” too! Each of my kids tried on the crown and I cannot wait for them to watch me compete in June – it is our last week of school! While I am SO disappointed to miss their last days of Pre-K, I know they understand and will continue to strive for their dreams as well!

 

 

Miss Green Country’s Alter Ego

Many are aware of Miss Green Country’s alter ego, but for those who are lost – she is a teacher. I have been teaching through Teach For America (a two year commitment) since early August, in a Tulsa head start on the east side of town. By day, I am just “Ms. Mills.” I am a pre-kindergarten teacher who works with colors, shapes, numbers, letters, writing, reading, social emotional skills, and everything in between. As a teacher, I also make sure the kids have brushed their teeth twice a day, lay out the mats, set up family style dining, clean up messes and sanitize every thing in sight with bleach water mixed daily. I break up fights, wipe snot from faces, and teach four year olds how to prepare for kindergarten and beyond.

Basically, my job is anything but glamorous.

As previously mentioned, my MTLD (manager of teacher leadership and development through TFA) is the current Miss New Mexico USA and has been so helpful in finding ways to implement my title into my classroom. At the beginning of October I decided to utilize my crown as an investment strategy. Several of my kids want to be “firemen,” “police girls,” “princesses,” or “karate kid” when they grow up, so I devised a plan…

Each month I am going to invite a minimum of 1 community leader to my classroom to pump them up about going to college. By introducing the idea of higher education now, my students are SO much more likely to see college as a big goal and an attainable one at that. Teach For America is highly focused on the idea that every child, regardless of where they were born or level of income, deserves an excellent education. This meaning that we are trying to close the achievement gap and propel our youth into a positive future filled with possibilities.

The first visitor? Well, Miss Green Country of course!

Finding a way to explain what “Miss Green Country” was to a group of four-year-olds was a bit tricky! I gathered them in our morning circle after going through our morning learning time and told them I had a big surprise. I explained that when Ms.  Mills is not at school, she is Miss Green Country. Basically, she is a princess in Oklahoma! (Cue every girls’ eyes totally falling out of their head – adorable!). Beyond that, Ms. Mills is a princess in Oklahoma, but she wants to grow up to be the queen of Oklahoma. Then, if she becomes the queen of Oklahoma, she can work hard and possibly become the queen of America!

By this point, I was honestly shocked at how captivated they were. I then asked what they thought Miss Green Country needed to do in order to become the queen of Oklahoma. First, I reminded them that, just like for them to go to Kindergarten, she has to know her letters, numbers, colors and shapes! She is also very helpful, nice to ALL her friends, and uses nice words. Somehow…it was working! We then did “Share the News,” part of each morning  where we partner up and take turns answering the question. I had the kids chat about what else Miss Green Country needed to do in order to become the queen! They loved this!

I passed around the crown and some used it as a steering wheel, while others knew exactly how to put it on! Needless to say…they were a little excited. Some were still a bit confused as to how their teacher was also a princess….but at the end of the day, we knew that each of us would have to work hard and get smart in order to go to Kindergarten OR become Miss Oklahoma!

All About You

(Please forgive me for this post – its the first attempt at blogging via iphone! My internet is struggling tonight!)

This past Tuesday, I drove to Oklahoma City to co-host KSBI 52’s All About You. It was another early morning (by now, I think we’ve established that I’m not a morning person!), as I arrived at 9:45 am. Somehow, I missed the memo that the show had moved from 10 am to 11 am. When I arrived, I checked my @MissSoonerSt Twitter and found a message from my friend Michael, who works at KSBI, letting me know about the change. Since I was an hour early, I headed to the nearest Starbucks for a mid morning pick me up (new favorite: light caramel frap!). I made it back to the station around 10:45 and headed in to meet Kealey while getting mic’d!

I probably haven’t mentioned this, but my original major was broadcast journalism! Needless to say, this was right up my alley. I loved journalism, but found my niche in public relations, so co-hosting the show was a nice preview of what my life could have been like! We discussed the upcoming Miss Oklahoma pageant and Twenty Something Magazine June issue. If you’ll remember, KSBI asked me to co-host as the winner of the June Twenty Something magazine contest! We then spoke with John of St. Anthony’s about the hospital’s night time 5k. I’m anything but a runner (I mall walk on the treadmill!), and they played a clip of Phoebe from Friends running…much like my own style! After watching that, you’ll completely understand why my bum ankle and I choose the mall walk!

Kealey and I also spoke with JaNiece, the producer of All About You. JaNiece recently went to Las Vegas and had several tips from Cosmo about how to stay happy, a straw she picked up in Sin City, and the ever interesting topic of whether I had a boyfriend or not. It’s apparently a popular question among any age, not just the children I speak to about my platform! Haha, Kilpatrick Oil was also represented by a college friend, Ross. The company recently acquired an interesting piece of art, which is on display in front of the building. Ross was actually on my Student Alumni Association Class Ring committee, so it was nice to see a familiar face!

Cloth diapers arrived on the set from The Changing Table. We learned so much about the diapers, baby toys, and even teething necklaces. I had no idea there was such a huge market for clog diapers or even how they were used! With a Pre-k class coming my way in a few months, I don’t expect them all to show up perfectly potty trained so diaper information in general may be useful as an early childhood teacher! This isn’t the first time I had heard of cloth diapers. My capstone client, MommaCounts, is an Oklahoma City based group buying site for families and the company had offered deals for similar businesses in the past!

Later we discussed my plans to work with Teach For America and Kealey spoke with a trainer about how to become swimsuit ready. I had such a fun time at KSBI and really enjoyed co-hosting the morning show. Everyone at the station was very warm, making it seem like a wonderful job. Even the camera crew kept us entertained with interpretive dancing between takes! Be sure to check out the videos on Ok52 All About You’s Faceboon and on the KSBI website!

Keep Calm and Carry On

Seems like I just picked my theme for Miss Oklahoma life this year! The past few weeks have been something else, to say the least. Last Saturday, I graduated from the University of Oklahoma, moved out of Norman, and somehow brought a small village’s worth of stuff to Shawnee. I’ll be back at home until Miss O, and directly after the pageant I will hop on a plane to Phoenix, where Teach For America institute is held. I found out Tuesday that I will be teaching at the Community Action Project, an early childhood type center in Tulsa. This means I’ll have teeny tiny ones, 4-5 years old! I will be in Phoenix until July 16th, when I’ll drive home and begin training for CAP July 18th. No summer for Miss Sooner State! I also met Kimberly and her mom in Tulsa to apartment shop on Monday, so to say the least – I’ve been a busy graduate!

Tomorrow I have another school assembly and later meet with Brian. Saturday I take my teaching exam in the afternoon, then a wedding Saturday evening (not to mention the Thunder game!), and Sunday I’m meeting with my choreographer again. I also have an estimated 30 hours of Teach For America homework to do in the next week, on top of working out, dancing, and preparing to be thrown into the real world. YIKES! 

Yesterday, Rep. Pittman’s anti-bullying bill failed to pass. The final vote was 44-52, incredibly close numbers. Though the bill did not pass, I know Rep. Pittman, Kirk Smalley, and others who have a passion to see the end of this hideous cycle will not stop seeking out schools, civic groups and lawmakers until something changes. If nothing else, I am more determined to visit an even greater number of Oklahomans to spread my message about relational aggression. Rep. Pittman intends to make a plea to State Superintendent, Janet Barresi, to join the cause against anti-bullying and help amend rules which are currently in place.

After yesterday’s photoshoot, I went to pick up my evening gown. I’ve been so excited for months, anxiously awaiting the day my gown would be in my hands. Unfortunately what arrived was not what was ordered, by no fault of the store itself. Somehow the factory had misinterpreted the designs sent and what came back was simply not my gown. This is not the first place Keep Calm and Carry On is necessary (nor the last I’m sure), but I find the words much more comforting after my moments of sheer panic. The poster was introduced by the British government in 1939, at the height of WWII. It was intended to raise morale in the event of an invasion. I’m putting a huge poster of this in my classroom, Miss O dorm room, and probably my future apartment in Tulsa. 

Miss Oklahoma is just a few short weeks away and today I am gownless. I have not decided what to do just yet, but I know that by remaining calm and thinking through it, God will provide an answer. I’m a huge believer in “everything happens for a reason,” and the good Lord would not give me more than I am capable of handling. This is just one more obstacle which I will overcome while gladly accepting the challenges which are ahead. At the end of the day, this is not the end of the world, just a bump in the road.