EXHIBIT WEEK HAS ARRIVED!!!!

EXHIBIT WEEK HAS ARRIVED!!!! Time to build the museum displays that parents and students will be viewing Thursday at Exhibit Night. At my placement school, they design museum quality exhibits each quarter to put on display their learning from the 9 weeks. It is AMAZING to see what students accomplish and how proud they are that their work is not just on the fridge but actually part of a museum exhibit! This week also means crunch time for my portfolio....YIKES!

SOOOOOOOOOOOO....... It's the end of the week and Fall Break has officially arrived!!  The week was wonderful! We only had students Monday-Thursday and Friday was a teacher in-service day. The students finished their quarter strong with several tests and museum prep--They were troopers! Museum Exhibit Night was terrific! All the student docents and debaters did a fantastic job! The joy on the parents' faces made all the hard work worth it!! Friday was my first Teacher In-Service and it went well! The best part of the day was a lunch out on the town! :)

Well FALL BREAK is here and I'm about to do some catching up on my portfolio, visiting with family, and RELAXING!

You have to roll with the punches!

SOOOO This past week was CRAZY (in a good way)!!!  Monday was the typical Monday and Tuesday was the typical Tuesday. Tuesday night however I shared with my bible study girls that I was not feeling super confident and we prayed that I would find my worth in Christ...sooooo Wednesday that was put to the test as my cooperating teacher got sick and had to leave and I was left alone with fifth graders. Talk about having to find worth in Christ and trusting that I was truly capable of being a teacher. I was forced to quickly get my mind ready and go on with the day. It was amazing how God put me in a situation to prove that I was capable (with Him) to do anything! The best of the day was when the fifth grade went outside for recess, because the most precious little boy came up and asked how my day as a REAL teacher was going, he was so sincere and it was the sweetest thing!! (I cannot even really express how sweet it was) The day ended up being really good and for the first time I really felt like a "REAL" Teacher and I am now even more EXCITED (if it is possible) for my future classroom! The rest of the week finished off well! NEXT week is EXHIBIT....so wish me luck I am going to be SUPER BUSY!!! Talk to you then! :)

It's Only Week Three....

I cannot believe that it is only week three?!?  I feel like I have been with this group of fifth graders since the beginning of the year. I am learning so much from them and I know it will help me better reach my future students. I was observed for the first time this week--Kind of NERVE-RACKING--and during my post-observation discussion I learned so many WONDERFUL tips! (For all you teacher people I would love to share those tips with you in a future post but I do not have enough time right now to detail those.)  I just cannot believe how much I am learning and I am so excited to be growing in my education of education!!! Talk to you next week!!

IT'S SPIRIT WEEK!!!

This week was my school's homecoming--so bring on the wacky outfits and fun spirit week activities!

Monday was CRAZY SOCK DAY and let me tell you the socks were insane! I wore some funky Christmas socks and one of my students wore bacon mustache socks, while another attached crazy items to their "normal" knee high socks.

Tuesday was INTELLECTUAL DAY. Students were allowed to dress "Nerdy" or Business-like. Many of my students chose to go for the business look and boy did they look cute! It was a great day, because many of them also played the part of businessman or woman, so they were on their best best best behavior! The students who went the nerdy route looked great as well--there were many Steve Urkel's in the building. I simply created a light bulb headband, because I wanted to have lots of bright ideas!

Wednesday was TWIN DAY! My cooperating teacher and I dressed alike. It was so much fun and the students reaction was even funnier! One student did not even realize that his teacher and I were twins until the end of the class period...let me tell you that we were pretty much identical from head to toe minus a few different genes. :)  All day I felt like I was seeing double.  There are two particular students that look a lot a like without dressing as twins and boy did they confuse me all day! (plus it did not help that I am still trying to learn names...haha)

Thursday was LIGHTNING SPIRIT DAY!!! I had to look like a teacher today since we were going in public on a learning expedition, so I stuck with my normal Normal Park shirt.Some of the students however went all out! One kid even died his hair BLUE for the occasion! At the end of the day we got to go to a pep rally! It was SOOOOO LOUD and CRAZY but SOOOOOOOO much FUN!!! The kids really enjoyed it and it was so much fun seeing all of my students that are in the marching band play their music!

Friday was HAT DAY! I did not realize how many crazy hats are truly in this world until students started pouring into the school! They had "spiked" hats, floppy hats, super tall hats, and just down right insane hats! Who would have ever known?!

Spirit Week and Week Two of my Student Teaching experience was WONDERFUL!!!

First Week...on the Other Side!

The first week on the other side was a little bit of everything! I am at a wonderful school, with a wonderful group of fifth graders, in wonderful teacher's classroom! In this short week I have already learned so much!

The typical day starts with Writer's Workshop. It is a time where the students are presented a grammar mini-lesson and a writing prompt. For the next two weeks the students will be working on a Civil War Diary. They are taking on a Civil War character (i.e. Soldier, Abolitionist, Slave, etc...) of their choice and making a diary to reflect what that character would realistically write about. It was super cool to watch the students begin their rough drafts; they had so many wonderful ideas!

Next, the students go to Block One and Block Two. The teacher I am with teaches Math! The students begin their block with Model Drawing (i.e. Singapore Math), a Facts Assessment, and Homework review. This week the students learned about Fractions. They learned how to simplify, compare, and go between forms. The students take notes in what is called an IMN or Interactive Math Notebook--This is an amazing tool when teaching good note-taking skills. The lessons are so interactive, it is AMAZING!

The students then go to recess, lunch, and related arts. During related arts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday all of the fifth grade teachers get together and PLAN!! These teachers set an amazing example on how to plan well with your fellow colleges.

At the end of the day the students go to module, which alternates between Social Studies and Science each quarter. Currently they are discussing the Civil War in a module titled "A Nation Divided." Module is a unique part of the day, because the students are actively engaged in the topic. On Thursdays the entire fifth grade goes on a learning expedition to study their module topic outside of the classroom. This week we traveled to Point Park and hiked down the mountain to Craven's House. This gave the students an inside look at the "Battle Above the Clouds."

I am so thankful for my experience so far and am looking forward to the rest of my first placement!!
See Y'all Soon!! -and- I promise all of my entries wont be sooooo informative :)

THE JOURNEY IS BEGINNING!!

I am so happy that you have decided to join me on this journey!!! I look forward to sharing my experience with you!! See You Soon!!!