Soooo...it was bound to happen eventually, and yesterday was the lucky day! I had my first puke experience as a classroom teacher! Not only was it vomit, it was projectile vomit. Oh, I felt so bad for the poor little guy that got sick. I don't want to be to graphic with you, but there was a lot of it. And it was all over the desk and poor fella. I was kind of shocked by my reaction, it's not like I have never seen puke before. I spent a good deal of time babysitting as I was growing up and I worked in a daycare for some time so I just assumed that I would know what to do. Nope! I just sat there and stared at my cooperating teacher! Luckily she knew just what to do, we called the office and moved the students around him. Then she somehow got the students to get back to the journaling that they were working on! Once the student got moved to the office we took the kids outside for a quick recess to air out the germs in the room. I felt bad for the janitor who had to clean it all up, thank goodness for those hard working people!
That being said, I made it through my first puke experience! I'm thankful I got to see it in this classroom so my CT could help me know what to do when it happens in my own classroom someday.
Today was a little crazy simply because it was a BLIZZARD outside! And every single school district around the area closed...except the one I am in! Oh well. I left a little early and made it in with time to spare. Buses were late, some students just didn't show up, and parents were not so happy that school was still in session. At lunch time there were even some parents who pulled their kids and took them home because they thought the students should have been released at lunch!
I am definitely learning a lot about curriculum and the teaching aspect, but I would say that right now I am learning more about the ins and outs of the lives of teachers. There is SO much that goes on every single day that does not simply involve academics and this is where I am most shocked!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Week One-Check!
Well it just so happens that I made it through week one! The last two days of the week literally flew by! My cooperating teacher was gone part of Thursday morning for an appointment so I got to watch a substitute teacher at work for a while. The kids were actually really well behaved for the sub, which I was very impressed by! It also gave me a little comfort seeing that I very well could be a sub next year!
Friday was casual Friday and we didn't have to come in until 8! Awesome! Before the day started we had a short staff meeting about the upcoming field trip that the students are going on. I got to be introduced to the entire staff and was totally shocked that it was all women except one lone guy! What a trooper! I also got a chance to talk with one of my old teachers who is a current teacher at my school I am at now! She was my 4th grade teacher when I went to the Catholic school in my younger years...it was really neat to talk and catch up on how she and her family are doing!
As for the weekend I got to do a little bit of relaxing! On Saturday I got to do some baby shower shopping for my cousin's party in a couple weeks. Afterwards I headed in to work and got to spend some quality time with the work crew because it was not very busy at all! And then last night I was the driver for a birthday party of a guy from my graduating class that a whole bunch of people were going to. It was fun to be able to see Cora and Abby and catch up with their lives! It was also fun to be able to touch base with quite a few people from high school and hear how life is going. I just love being the designated driver, it is a whole lot of fun to observe all of the antics and then feel just great the next morning! One of my favorite parts of the whole night was when Alec introduced me to one of his old friends by saying, "This is my girlfriend Amy, she is going to be a teacher!" He is so proud and excited for me!
All in all it was a very fun weekend, and I am really looking forward to the next week where I am going to start gaining more responsibility in the classroom!
Friday was casual Friday and we didn't have to come in until 8! Awesome! Before the day started we had a short staff meeting about the upcoming field trip that the students are going on. I got to be introduced to the entire staff and was totally shocked that it was all women except one lone guy! What a trooper! I also got a chance to talk with one of my old teachers who is a current teacher at my school I am at now! She was my 4th grade teacher when I went to the Catholic school in my younger years...it was really neat to talk and catch up on how she and her family are doing!
As for the weekend I got to do a little bit of relaxing! On Saturday I got to do some baby shower shopping for my cousin's party in a couple weeks. Afterwards I headed in to work and got to spend some quality time with the work crew because it was not very busy at all! And then last night I was the driver for a birthday party of a guy from my graduating class that a whole bunch of people were going to. It was fun to be able to see Cora and Abby and catch up with their lives! It was also fun to be able to touch base with quite a few people from high school and hear how life is going. I just love being the designated driver, it is a whole lot of fun to observe all of the antics and then feel just great the next morning! One of my favorite parts of the whole night was when Alec introduced me to one of his old friends by saying, "This is my girlfriend Amy, she is going to be a teacher!" He is so proud and excited for me!
All in all it was a very fun weekend, and I am really looking forward to the next week where I am going to start gaining more responsibility in the classroom!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Wednesday!
Another fun day spent with the kiddos today! My ct is going to be gone tomorrow morning so we spent a bit of time today prepping for the following day so both the substitute and myself would know how to handle the class! Something that I was especially excited about today and yesterday was when I was asked if I was a sub! I guess it isn't that big of a deal but it is so awesome to even be mistaken for a real teacher when you are in my position!
Unfortunately, the University doesn't distribute any sort of name tags to us and my school that I am in doesn't give name tags to student teachers so I am sort of stuck without any identification! I told my CT today that I just wanted to make my own!
The students have been working on graphs and they finished up a big project today by creating their graphs on the computer! Oh my goodness it is so easy to forget how slow typing is when you first start out. They only had to type the title and labels on the graph but it took forever!
The afternoon was filled with more math and projects having to do with Martin Luther King day so there was a lot of crafting going on!
Something I am really looking forward to in the next few weeks is the hundredth day of school! Amongst the second graders they adopt a 100 year old woman and write letters to her, and then on the one hundredth day of school we will all be dressing up as 100 year olds!
So much fun to be had!
Here is the promised picture of my desk :)
Unfortunately, the University doesn't distribute any sort of name tags to us and my school that I am in doesn't give name tags to student teachers so I am sort of stuck without any identification! I told my CT today that I just wanted to make my own!
The students have been working on graphs and they finished up a big project today by creating their graphs on the computer! Oh my goodness it is so easy to forget how slow typing is when you first start out. They only had to type the title and labels on the graph but it took forever!
The afternoon was filled with more math and projects having to do with Martin Luther King day so there was a lot of crafting going on!
Something I am really looking forward to in the next few weeks is the hundredth day of school! Amongst the second graders they adopt a 100 year old woman and write letters to her, and then on the one hundredth day of school we will all be dressing up as 100 year olds!
So much fun to be had!
Here is the promised picture of my desk :)
Not decorated yet!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Day One!
I made it through day one! It was so awesome and my cooperating teacher (ct) made me feel so at home and comfortable! I was definitely nervous on the way in this morning but as soon as I got there I felt perfectly fine!
Did I mention that it was -8 out when I left this morning!!!! Oh my goodness, it was freezing!
When I arrived in the morning I thankfully had a little time to get acclimated before the students came in. It was great to talk with my CT and get settled into what was expected of me during the first week! When the students arrived it was fun to see all of the smiles as they walked into the room and got right to work. My CT has amazing classroom management!
During the reading block I got a chance to work with a several different readers at a variety of reading levels. It is amazing to me just how much the reading skills can differ among students at the same age. In the upcoming days and weeks I will slowly be able to work in small group intervention with the students who are still working on catching up to their grade level in reading. I am really looking forward to helping these students out and learning about intervention as it is becoming more and more prevalent in the classroom today.
After lunch I got to do a read aloud with the students! The book was 50 below zero by Robert Munsch! It was so fun to be able to jump right in and get involved with the students! Plus I love reading out loud, I think my mom taught me just how much fun this can be, so I really loved this part of the day!
We moved on to math where students are working on graphs. It was awesome to watch my CT implement the lesson. You could tell she had taught the lesson before because she knew exactly where to give the students extra details and direction.
I know there was a ton more that happened throughout the day but it is all kind of jumbled right now! I promise to keep you up to date as often as possible and hopefully tomorrow I can get a picture of my little desk area to post on here :).
Here's a picture of my encouragement from Alec today!
Did I mention that it was -8 out when I left this morning!!!! Oh my goodness, it was freezing!
When I arrived in the morning I thankfully had a little time to get acclimated before the students came in. It was great to talk with my CT and get settled into what was expected of me during the first week! When the students arrived it was fun to see all of the smiles as they walked into the room and got right to work. My CT has amazing classroom management!
During the reading block I got a chance to work with a several different readers at a variety of reading levels. It is amazing to me just how much the reading skills can differ among students at the same age. In the upcoming days and weeks I will slowly be able to work in small group intervention with the students who are still working on catching up to their grade level in reading. I am really looking forward to helping these students out and learning about intervention as it is becoming more and more prevalent in the classroom today.
After lunch I got to do a read aloud with the students! The book was 50 below zero by Robert Munsch! It was so fun to be able to jump right in and get involved with the students! Plus I love reading out loud, I think my mom taught me just how much fun this can be, so I really loved this part of the day!
We moved on to math where students are working on graphs. It was awesome to watch my CT implement the lesson. You could tell she had taught the lesson before because she knew exactly where to give the students extra details and direction.
I know there was a ton more that happened throughout the day but it is all kind of jumbled right now! I promise to keep you up to date as often as possible and hopefully tomorrow I can get a picture of my little desk area to post on here :).
Here's a picture of my encouragement from Alec today!
Monday, January 21, 2013
One More Day!
Well, here we are! My final day before student teaching! A lot of my friends were starting today, but the school district I am in has off today! I was a little worried when so many people were starting already today and posting about it on facebook...I kept checking and double checking my e-mail from my cooperating teacher to make sure I wasn't actually supposed to start this morning ;)! I can't wait to hear about everyone's first days!
I have my outfit all picked out for tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day...) That's what I was just doing actually! Here was my runner up choice:
But I decided I wanted a little bit of a brighter top for the first day so here is the winner! All I have to do now is find shoes!
What a dorky picture ;)
I got a little excited thinking that since I have two placements I can totally recycle all my outfits after 9 weeks! Woohoo!!!
I've been getting a ton of encouraging words and support from friends and family and complete strangers to be honest! I am so genuinely thankful for all of the encouraging words.
I am feeling a little sappy and emotional right now...so bear with me! I have to give a special thanks to a few people in particular.
Mom and Dad, thank you for supporting me all the way through my college experience. I know I didn't follow the "easy" or "traditional" path, but you kept believing in me the entire time and respected every decision that I made.
Alec, thank you so much for all of your support (And for letting me just play CandyCrush when I am freaking out). I have no idea what I would do without all of your love and encouragement! Also, thanks for leaving the best notes ever in my lunch when I have to work ;) (See below!)
Miss Sarah Brooker, you are so sweet! I honestly cannot imagine making it through my college experience (especially abstract math) without such a wonderful, kind, and understanding "sister." It is going to be really hard for me to go through this without you, best of luck to you in your last semester :)! Sarah just surprised me and sent me a package in the mail with an awesome teacher bag and a bunch of stickers!
Aaaand I think that is all the sentimental thanks I have to give for right now ;). I am literally going to go pack my lunch for tomorrow and get everything ready :P I will try to post on here fairly often so I can keep all of my family and friends in the loop!
Best of luck to all of my classmates who started student teaching today or are starting in the next few days. Also best wishes to all of my friends that are starting school this week!
Here we go!!!!
I have my outfit all picked out for tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day...) That's what I was just doing actually! Here was my runner up choice:
I got a little excited thinking that since I have two placements I can totally recycle all my outfits after 9 weeks! Woohoo!!!
I've been getting a ton of encouraging words and support from friends and family and complete strangers to be honest! I am so genuinely thankful for all of the encouraging words.
I am feeling a little sappy and emotional right now...so bear with me! I have to give a special thanks to a few people in particular.
Mom and Dad, thank you for supporting me all the way through my college experience. I know I didn't follow the "easy" or "traditional" path, but you kept believing in me the entire time and respected every decision that I made.
Alec, thank you so much for all of your support (And for letting me just play CandyCrush when I am freaking out). I have no idea what I would do without all of your love and encouragement! Also, thanks for leaving the best notes ever in my lunch when I have to work ;) (See below!)
Miss Sarah Brooker, you are so sweet! I honestly cannot imagine making it through my college experience (especially abstract math) without such a wonderful, kind, and understanding "sister." It is going to be really hard for me to go through this without you, best of luck to you in your last semester :)! Sarah just surprised me and sent me a package in the mail with an awesome teacher bag and a bunch of stickers!
Aaaand I think that is all the sentimental thanks I have to give for right now ;). I am literally going to go pack my lunch for tomorrow and get everything ready :P I will try to post on here fairly often so I can keep all of my family and friends in the loop!
Best of luck to all of my classmates who started student teaching today or are starting in the next few days. Also best wishes to all of my friends that are starting school this week!
Here we go!!!!
Saturday, January 19, 2013
T-Minus 2 days to Student Teaching
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Well…here goes nothing! As I get closer and closer to actually starting student
teaching I can’t help but have a million things on my mind! I also have family and friends all over
the place so I figured it might be fun to collect all my thoughts into this
blog so I can share them with everyone at once. Please don’t mind my rambling ;)!
Something that keeps running through my mind is how
bittersweet all of this is! I am
going to miss all of my friends that are still at school working on their
degrees, I am also going to miss all of my classmates that are going to be student
teaching. We had so much fun
during class every single day so it is going to be tough to go through this
experience without them right by my side!
It is also quite a bit frightening for me to think about it almost being
time for interviewing for actual positions and joining the “real world.” Nevertheless, I am SO excited to be
able to get started on this part of my life. I feel like it has all just been a dream and an aspiration
for so long and now it is finally coming to life! I love children!
I can’t wait to be able to work with them every single day!!
There are definitely a lot of worries at this time! I keep waking up in the middle of the
night and just thinking over scenarios and wondering what will my student
teaching be like! I honestly worry
about the strangest things. Where
will I eat lunch? What if I get
there on the first day before my teacher does? What am I going to wear? What if I oversleep!?
How many names am I going to have to remember? Where will I go to the bathroom?! Seriously…who worries about that? I think that once I actually get started everything will be
a lot less stressful and I will be way less anxious. I just have to make it through these next couple of days and
then I can finally get started!
This is what is written in a small picture frame I got from
Alec, I read it every morning…and I have to keep it in mind in the next few
days and weeks!
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're
braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you
think.” -Christopher Robin to Pooh
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