Marsha Roth
“I’m Marsha, the devoted wife of a Nebraska Husker fan, mother to a sweet laid back 11-year-old boy named Kellen and a 9-year-old spunky know-it-all named Rowen. I am a Kansas City native, proud Northwest Bearcat Alumni, and enthusiastic 4th grade teacher! I enjoy stolen moments where I can read in peace, indulging in chocolate chip cookies whenever possible, tending to my vegetable garden and finding new ways to annoy my daughter! My goal in life is to be my authentic self, follow the motto of ‘She did what she could,’ and share that with other moms!”
What Romance Novels Got Wrong
Romance novels like 50 Shades, Crossfire, After, even the Twilight series got it all wrong. Poor innocent clumsy girl needs saving from a successful, often rich man who is usually reformed but still harboring some deep,...
Sharing Black History with an All White Class
With Black History Month upon us, I have been nervously trying to figure out how I plan to incorporate Black history into a classroom full of white fourth and fifth graders. I am the...
Tips for Life on the Hybrid Schedule
Life on the hybrid schedule sucks.
I wrote this post twice, and when I reread each one, I realized all I was doing was venting and complaining and making myself angry all over again. So,...
No Fall Classroom Parties, No Problem: Ways to Celebrate at Home
The sound of plastic costumes. The smell of sweaty children racing from craft to craft. The spider rings. The candy apples that are too hard to eat. The giggles and excitement of fall classroom...
Video Games are Changing How Kids Play
Back in the day, play used to consist of banging on neighbors' doors and riding bikes (sans helmets) all over the neighborhood, possibly to the gas station if you were brave enough. It was...
Back to School: Six Things You Can Do to Get Ready
The upcoming school year is at the forefront of most minds. Do we send the kids? Do we keep them home? What about homeschooling and virtual school? Will my kids be safe at school?...
When Self-Consciousness Takes Over
It was my rock bottom. I had to spend over an hour on the phone with the credit card company to cancel charges for “magic pills” that turned out weren’t so magic after all....
My View: Cleaning Out Our Classroom
I walked into a time machine. All of your things were there from March, lots of St. Patrick's Day green! Your books were right where you left them, your coat was still hanging in...
I am a Familyvert
noun, singular -- Familyvert. A person who likes hanging out with his/her family a lot. “Man, I must be a familyvert because I'm having so much fun spending all this time with my family...
Chores Done Easy!
If you are like me, maybe you didn’t have set chores when you were a kid. No one ever showed me how to properly clean anything. I just watched my mom (when she did...
When Your Parents Move In
Being an “Elder Millennial,” I am on the cusp of sending my kids away to college (I mean, like seven years from now), but that was the step we were mentally preparing for. Instead,...
The Day the iPad Crashed
Our iPad was slowing down and hadn’t worked correctly for about a week. It kept turning off, wouldn’t load things correctly and continued saying there was no space available. I was sitting in a...
Cooking with Crazy
Raise your hand if you grew up in a house with a feminist mom who was into women’s rights and breaking down stereotypes! The kind of mom that taught you Barbie could have any...
The Power of Noticing
Children need to be noticed. They need more than just, “I like that!” or “You are so nice!” If you stop and think about it, who doesn’t? If we rephrase our words to focus...
Game Night Lessons
Games. Board games or card games -- it doesn’t matter. Bring on the games in this house! There is so much to be learned through a simple, no-risk game. In our home, game night...