Just a Fish in a Bowl

Friday, Friday, had a teacher workday on Friday! (sung to the everybody's favorite Rebecca Black song)

Another week has come and gone and all I can do is breathe a sigh of relief. I'm ready to leave it behind and move forward. But not without a blog first.

On Wednesday Dr. VP came and observed. I can assure you I've never felt more nervous in the classroom than then. He entered with a smile and I introduced him to my students. After a chorus of third graders greeted him he took a seat behind T2's desk and began typing away. As my lessons went on I entered teacher mode and my body started to relax. It was like he wasn't even there. Once the clock struck eleven my students shuffled their way downstairs to music and it was just my professor and I. My nerves started to kick in once more.

I took a seat next to him and he told me what he had noticed while I was teaching. I was actually pleasantly surprised. Apparently I'm "right where [I] should be in order to step into [my own] classroom." The knot in my stomach loosened and I could feel my stress level coming down to the single digits. Granted there were a couple things he mentioned to me that I need to work on, I wasn't surprised though. I'm a student and even teachers who have been at it for years aren't perfect. We shook hands and he was on his way to critique the next student teacher.

The rest of the day slipped by and before I knew it Friday (today) came knocking at my door. Being a teacher work day it was a time to get ahead. After a brief morning meeting, my Africa unit and I had some quality bonding time. I made a bulletin board, booklets for my students, and traced the whole continent (with help from T1) onto a bed sheet (it's an activity for one of my lessons). Five hour later I closed the door to not only my classroom, but one of the more challenging weeks of student teaching so far.

Being a teacher isn't for the faint of heart. It's hard, exhausting...and completely worth it.


Lessons Learned This Week:
-Patience is a virtue.
-Students have trouble breaking routine.
-Students will always be there to tell you if you write something incorrectly...character building.
-Prepare, prepare, prepare...did I mention prepare?

Goals for Next Week:
-Start teaching my unit.
-Improve my math teaching skills.

Blah

Well dear readers I can't promise anything less than average for this post. Please try not to be overwhelmed with the amount of "blah" that might be laced throughout this entry, you have been warned.

I also realize that this post is not being written on a Monday, but Tuesday is still technically the beginning of the week right? ;)

After a week off of school I've kind of been in a tired funk lately. The fact that I hadn't been around small children for about 7+ days may have something to do with it. I'm sitting in a chair in my family room and would stay in it all night if I could. I forgot how much teaching takes out of a person! It's a good tired though.

Yesterday was a good day, pretty laid back. I taught spelling and handwriting as usual as well as did the daily opener. Today was even better though. I taught math...and it was fun! Is math even allowed to be fun? That has to be illegal or something...Tomorrow I'll be doing the opener, math, spelling, handwriting, and Bible. Pretty soon I'll be teaching so much I wont be able to keep up with myself!

Dr. VP (my student teaching supervisor from Dordt) is coming tomorrow to observe me teach. I'm excited because I get to show off my teaching skills, but I'm kind of nervous because he'll be watching me. It'll be OK though. The principal of my current school is going to come observe me in the next couple of weeks as well, so I'll have to get used to the fish-bowl life of a teacher.

There's not much else to report, it's 8:44 and I'm ready for bed.

I did lose 6 pounds randomly, so that's cool I guess.

It's also SUPER windy outside. Lights if you even think about going out...*shakes fist*

Good Night!

Lessons Learned Today:
-Student teaching is humbling. Just when you think you think you've got a grasp on everything, you realized there's so much more to learn.
-Students (at least the younger ones) get super excited when they see you outside of the classroom.

Goals for the Rest of the Week:
-Teach Bible lessons for the rest of the week.
-Get through Wednesday.

Cabin Fever

Well readers it has been quite the week, we went from snowbound and cozy to blackedout and iced over.

I was Skyping with D on Wednesday night when all of the sudden my computer snapped off and my house went dark. After feeling my way around the rooms, and running into one of the walls, I found my way to the storage closet for a flashlight. By morning the power was back on…or so we thought.

Thursday my mom and I sat down in our family room with breakfast. I had another snow day and her work was closed. We were both ready to watch one of my favorite 80’s sitcoms, Golden Girls, then the lights began to flicker again. Holding our breath, we watched the light bulb wink at us. Within minutes the house once again went dark and silent. We looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Here we go again we thought. Suddenly the TV came back on and the lights lay at a dim. Unfortunately it didn’t last long, soon enough we were in the dark once again. Light fixtures have such a sick sense of humor.

I worked on lesson plans for a bit as my mom worked on cleaning up the Christmas decorations. Once my fingers reached the point of needing gloves, typing soon lost its luster.  After checking Facebook on my phone a few or so times I couldn’t take being inside much longer. My sister sent me a text and suggested I shovel the driveway, so I ventured outside to give it a try. She soon sent me another message and said a guy had died due to having an icy branch break off and fall on him. I have three, tall cedars that live in the front yard of my house, needless to say I made my way back inside. Not that my shoveling did a whole lot anyways; within hours the part I had scooped off was covered with icy snow once more.

We kept a battery powered radio close by. The reporter said there were over 300,000 people without power and the hopes of any of them receiving light again anytime soon was slim. My mom and I sat wrapped up in blankets as fuses blew and falling trees brought down power lines in neighboring cities around us. The governor declared a state of emergency. She was ready to send the National Guard to help aid anyone who needed it. Our radio announcer told us that there were shelters being set up in various cities and towns. Warming shelters he called it, too bad many of us couldn’t even get out on the roads to drive there. As the sun began to set and night closed in, our house felt like an icebox. I couldn’t help but be thankful though. With the warmth of a crackling fire and calming sight of flickering candles, my home felt so cozy. I’m blessed enough to have a place to stay and food to eat.

Thankfully our power is back on (despite a few nerve wracking flickers) and the first thing I’m looking forward to is a hot shower. Maybe a warm meal too ;).

Snow Day(s)

Currently I'm sitting on an oversize chair in my family room. The type of chair that when you sit in it it kind of gives you a hug as your butt reaches the cushion. It is also 8:16 in the morning. On a normal day I would be in my classroom getting ready to teach in the 9 minutes of morning free time I had left. Kids would start filing in and the room would start buzzing. Today is different, today is a snow day!

In all honesty this is my second snow day this week. You see I live on a rather steep hill. I had a fine time driving down to start my journey to school yesterday morning. Yet I turned around once I heard on the radio that there was black ice on over passes and we were suppose to get a dumping. Once that hill gets snow, what goes down can't come up! I emailed/called my cooperating teachers and they were more than understanding, even happy that I wasn't coming in due to the weather.  

Snowmageddon ("hide your kids, hide your wife, because [it's snowing a heck of a lot out there!]") is what the news-anchors are calling it (cue dramatic music, eye-rolls, "oh my goshes", "what the hecks", and snickers...ok moving on). I'll admit, it is relatively over-dramatized and they always have an...um...overly-descriptive name for any sort of heavy snow fall, or winter storm we get around here. I'm watching the news right now and I see one of King 5's titles for today is WINTER EXTREME!!! Dun, dun, DUUUUUNNNN. Now those of you in the Midwest are probably reading this thinking, Uhhh it's just snow, we get it all the time here just suck it up and drive!" But stop, look at your terrain, now think of mine, now look back at yours, now think of mine. Yours is relatively flat. Western Washington is hilly, mountainous, and did I mention hilly? As in ice, snow, drive car down, slide, possible crash. Or, put chains on or use car with 4 wheel drive, ice, snow, try to drive car up, stuck, crap, now what do I do? You might still be thinking, Well I could still do it. Ok, come on over and try, I'm getting a bit of cabin fever anyways and could use a drive into town.

It was weird walking around in it this morning though. In IA I generally have to prepare myself for what's behind the front door of any building I leave. Stepping outside, the wind greets me with an icy slap in the face, cold air stings my lungs, and in general it just hurts to go outside. As I opened my back door this morning I braced myself for the same thing, but it was anything but necessary. I stood on the top step of my back patio and instead of an angry smack it was more like a gentle touch. The wind wasn't even whistling, it was quiet and calming! Breathing in, the air was more refreshing than painful. It makes me almost like winter again (those of you who know me best, try not to faint from shock).

Well that's all I have for now, hopefully I can start teaching again tomorrow. For now I'll enjoy another relaxing day :).

Beginning to Mold Minds One Cursive Letter at a Time

Friday has finally come and he's brought his friend three day weekend. Yes, let me say that again, three day weekend.

This week as a whole has been relatively active and enjoyable. After walking out to my car a couple of times in the morning to see an unwelcome sheet of ice over all of my windows (granted it was a very thin sheet, more like frost, less like IA...but still ice nonetheless), I must say I think I'm starting to figure out where I fit into the teaching world. What's that you say? It's only week two? Ah, but dear readers this week has taught me quite a bit.

T1 and T2 are starting to let me out of my student teaching cage. No longer do I sit on the sidelines as a mere observer. I'm becoming an active player in the game of 3rd grade education. So far my areas of expertise have been of Spelling and Handwriting. Not super difficult subjects (in fact making a lesson plan for these would be a laughable idea), but it's a start. I will say though that my cursive really isn't what it used to be. I even had to sit down and practice my letters for my next lesson. Next week I get to add the math teacher hat to my collection. To say I'm nervous would be an overstatement, to say I'm prepared would be lie. It's not hard math, they're just starting to learn multiplication. I just want to make sure I don't confuse the kids. Something will work out though :).

As for what I mentioned earlier about "finding my place in the teaching world" let me explain. Honestly earlier this week I was wondering if I was even meant to be a teacher. In the back of my mind I was slightly concerned that this four year degree would get sucked down the toilet and travel on its way into the sewers. But today was different. This morning I did the opener, it's basically the introduction of the day. Often it includes singing, trivia, devotions, etc... As I opened the day I realized how much I enjoyed leading class. No nerves or anything, I actually conducted class and conducted it without any problems. T1 talked with me at the end of the day. She told me I had done an excellent job and that I had great classroom management skills. Now T1 has been teaching for quite sometime, this was quite the compliment for me.

Ok God you've helped me find my niche, now how will I use it?

Another thing that has been on my mind lately is our grading system. In grade 3 the students aren't quite at the point where A,B,C,D, and F are of any importance, except maybe that they're all letters in the alphabet. When students in my class get anything wrong on a paper they are expected to correct it so that they can learn from their mistakes. I've found that, especially at the high school level, teachers give a grade and more often than not that's it. In most classes nothing (at least in my personal experience, things may have changed) is expected to be redone, unless a student asks if he or she can. Is this true for all high school educators? No, just bear with me. You may be thinking, well in elementary kids need to learn the basics so they can build on them. This is true. But what if we had students redo problems or worksheets they got wrong on the none-basic level? Think of how much more they would learn. What if every high school math and science teacher had each of his or her students correct their papers until it was worthy of an 100%? Wouldn't that help improve our standardized test scores instead of "teaching to the test?" (I have other ideas about standardized tests...but that's a whole different rant) Wouldn't students learn more that way instead of merely getting by? There are thousands maybe even millions of kids who graduate in America who can't read, write, or do any sort of math. Problem? Majorly. In my Ed. classes I'm taught that high expectations are important in the classroom, I can't help but think that in some schools those expectations have fallen.

Ok I'm going to get off of my soapbox now.

Enjoy your weekends!

Lessons Learned This Week:
-God has a plan that is far better than mine (or anyone else's) ever will be.
-A left-handed whiteboard needs to be invented.
-Don't judge your students, they will surprise you.

Goals for Next Week:
-Get more lessons for my unit done.
-Become super awesome at teaching 3rd grade math.

Monday Already?

I must admit my dear readers when I woke up this morning going to school was the last thing I wanted to do. The covers on my bed were so warm and my pillow was so soft, yet the unwelcome tune of my alarm broke my peace. Even teachers have trouble getting up after a relaxing weekend. Before I knew it I was off on my 45 minute commute once again. I must say, seeing the sun start to rise above Lake Washington does ease the sting of a Monday morning.

In class my students didn't do much differently than they usually do, I will say though that behavior wise things seemed a bit off. Before I go any further let me say that in general I have a very, almost eerily, well behaved class. For some reason though things were different. There is one student who has been dealing with quite a bit of separation anxiety lately. She'll get weepy boughts, be completely fine for a while, then start to get teary again. T1, T2, and I have been trying to figure out the situation since it started last week. I suggested we have her write/draw out her feelings. When the student began to cry again T2 gave her some paper and talked/prayed with her. This worked well until about 5 mins before school was over. As of right now the three of us are a bit stumped for what to do, if anyone reading this has suggestions please let me know!

Next there was a student who was definitely testing my patience. He has a strong personality, which can be good, but there are times when he doesn't know how to control it. In the morning during singing time he wanted to do some work but I told him he needed to wait. He responded with a "no" and turned away from me. Similar occurrences continued, and so did plenty of short talks about respect. The funny thing was that he would do things like that but then do what I wanted him to do. That is, until lunch time rolled around. I was doing a read aloud and he was playing with his lunchbox. Multiple times I told him to put his lunchbox on the ground, he even did the whole try to be funny by putting it on the ground and then pick pick it up and start playing with it. The other students got as annoyed as I did, a couple of them even yelled at him from across the room to "just listen to the teacher"  and "put it on the ground." Ahh sweet victory! There is no greater feeling than having the rest of the class as your ally. The student was soon quiet, put his lunch box down, and willfully listened to me for the rest of the day.

Other than those two issues, today went rather smoothly. I taught a spelling lesson and lead a reading group for Social Studies. Tomorrow I will be teaching both Handwriting and Spelling. They're both pretty simple and don't require a lesson plan but I need to start somewhere right? I will also start volunteering with an after school tutoring program called KidReach once a week. T1 has been involved in it for a while and I asked her if I could join as well. It should be fun, I'll let you all know how it goes.

As of right now there isn't much else to report. I'm slowly working my way through my unit plan, it's more like a giant list of ideas right now than anything.

I do hear a bowl of ice cream calling my name though, it would be awfully rude of me to ignore it.

Good Night!

Lessons Learned Today:
-The "teacher stare" works.
-It's important to be patient with students, no matter what the situation.

Goals for This Week:
-Start putting some lessons for my unit together.

A Whirlwind of a Week

If I were to create a break down of teaching it would be the following:

65% Adrenaline
30% Patience
5% Sugar

Week one, although filled with much observing, made me realize that teaching is no easy feat. Granted I had been clued into this revelation many moons ago, I am still amazed by how much teachers accomplish in one day. Throughout the past four days most of what I did was sit back and observe. Originally I figured this week would be relatively simple, after all how much effort does it take to plant your bum in a chair while watching and listening to someone else teach? As a college student I do it every day for class! Little did I know what was in store. I graded multiple assignments for both T1 and T2 as well as did a couple read alouds for the students. To you, my dear readers, this may seem like no big deal, but let me continue. Take the small, simple jobs my teachers give me, mix it with constant information about how the class and the school works, pour on the need the know not only my students names but the names of teachers outside of my classroom, add a side of sleep deprevation, topped off with the constant knowledge that the need to complete a Unit Plan is near by and you'll have the current state of my brain (or what's left of it).

Thankfully both of my teachers have done all they can to assist me. A day (out of all four them) hasn't gone by that they haven't encouraged me to ask questions. Gradually they've started letting me teach chunks of lessons, it has really helped me become more comfortable in front of the classroom. On Wednesday both of my teachers invited me to spend time with them outside of school. T2 and I had coffee and a local coffee shop/bookstore and T1 invited me over to her house to have dinner with her and her family. It was nice to get to know them on a more personal level outside of the classroom. Overall I couldn't ask for a better pair of mentors.

My next order of business? Slip into some sweats ;).

Lessons Learned from this Week:
-Sleep is crucial.
-Comfortable shoes are a must!
-Not all lessons will require a lesson plan (i.e. Handwriting).
-When teaching a lesson it's okay to make mistakes, students are willing to help!
-For teachers, sometimes lunch is optional.

Goals for Next Week:
-Get a start on my Africa Unit
-Teach lessons on Spelling and Handwriting.