Field Trip and 100th Day

Yesterday was the field trip and ohhhh what a day it was!  We arrived at school in the morning and at 8:25 we had to head out to bus duty.  This was something I haven't helped with yet in the morning and it was certainly interesting!  Instead of the kids just going in right away when they get off the bus, they have time to run around and play outside before the bell rings at 8:40.  My CT is teaching the trick of greeting and scanning.  That way the students know you are always on the lookout! 

Since the kids were going on a field trip to the Y, they had a lot of things they were carrying to the field trip and one of the other 2nd grade teachers was saying to me that she was hoping that the students wouldn't misplace anything...well not more than five seconds later a student came up to her carrying a little pink swimsuit and one boys shoe.  HUH?!!  It was so funny we just had to laugh.  Well the morning only got more interesting from there.  We had a student forget a swimsuit and a student that was going off the walls he was so excited!  In the fifteen minutes we had to load the bus though, my CT somehow managed to find a swimsuit and handle the little guy who was off the walls.

One of the things that I really enjoyed seeing in the morning and throughout the day was the Pre-teaching that I saw my teacher doing.  Lucky for me, my teacher is trained in PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) so she has been showing me this training in action.  PBIS advocates pre teaching, which is where the teacher goes over the situation that is coming up, whether that be a lesson or a huge field trip.  She goes over the expectations she has of the class and gives several examples, a non example, and has the students repeat information back to her.  This way, when the students got on the bus, they knew exactly what was expected of them throughout the bus ride.  For the teacher it takes some thinking through, what exactly could happen during this field trip...and then you try to prepare the students for the various situations and let them know your expectations beforehand.  Throughout the field trip it was awesome to watch our students in comparison to some of the other classes.  I was proud to be a part of this classroom with such well-behaved kids!

At the Y we had four different sessions.  First was yoga followed by a mini boot camp for the kids.  Next we had lunch and after lunch was when the real action began!  The students then had a choice of either soccer or ice skating.  Most students chose ice skating, even though many had never skated before!  Image lacing 70 pairs of 2nd graders ice skates...CHAOS!  I got my little group of five all set in no time and we headed out on the ice!  (I was wearing my shoes so I could help the ones that were unsure.)  It was crazy on the ice because there were some students who have been ice skating and playing hockey for a few years already zooming around and then there were the new students who had never skated before clinging for their lives on the railing!  The kids had fun, and I only had one of the girls in my group who bumped her head on the ice.  After that we headed to the pool.  The swimming pool definitely made me the most nervous of all of the activities.  There weren't a ton of people actually in the pool with the kids, so even though there were lifeguards I was still worried about the kids.

Check out that sweater!  Why am I wearing the whole goofy outfit and glasses?  Because it's 100th day of course!  All of the students and my CT dressed up as 100 year old people for the 100th day of school!  I should have really tried to get a picture of the whole outfit :p  I'm wearing a looong black skirt and gingerbread socks!  We had a fun-filled day with activities surrounding 100.  The kids were totally cute and we made everyone smile as we walked through the school today! Oh and there was a nacho bar in the teacher's lounge this morning!  Nothing says good morning like Nachos!  It was awesome!

Cheers :)

Amy