Meetings

One thing that always seems to be 'failed to mention' is that there is an extraordinary amount of meetings that goes on behind the scenes at school. There are regular meeting for training such as with the online program for recoding data, ELL training, and so forth. But there are also meetings for behavior of the students, meeting to make sure that students are making progress, and meeting on where the students are at right now.  Oh and don't forget about the fire drills and tornado drills. Today was a day of meetings for me.  It started off with one in the morning (before school started), a fire drill in mid-morning (and yes you do have to walk quickly when leaving the building), a surprise meeting with my supervisor in mid afternoon (plan for the unexpected!), and a training meeting after school today. Needless to say it was crazy and hectic at times, but everybody made it safely to the end of the day.  My mentor teacher did tell me today that she thought that my teacher voice was developing quite nicely since the beginning of the school year. :) My supervisor (when he met with me) also said that he has already heard many positive things about me. So I am going to take it all in stride mix the good with the bad and hopefully things will come out on top.

One bad thing that happened to me happened to me while my cooperating teacher was meeting with my supervisor. I would like to go into more detail, but to protect the confidentiality of the students, I will just say:  Classroom management is a must. If students see a frightened teacher, then they too will become frightened. I am glad that in the end everything was worked out. I am also glad that I had this experience today that I did, so I can better handle it in the future.

At the end of the day, I think it was a good day. There might have been some minor knots in the course of the day, but the students did a good job overall. We can't let little incidents ruin our days.

Until next post, remember to raise your hand when wanting to ask a question. Teachers are not animals and therefore do not respond to shouts of Teacher! Teacher!

Miss Higgins

start of the 3rd week

Wow, after the first week things really kicked up a bit in the classroom.  As the second week came to a close I realized one thing: its time to be mean. For those who know me, I am not really a mean person am I? But I understand the meaning of don't smile until December now. The second week of schools seemed to be the testing week of the teachers. The students wanted to see just how far they could stretch the rules/ break them without getting in trouble or seeing how much trouble they could get in. Yikes! I even made a girl cry this week because I had to take a punch from her punch card because she was misbehaving in the bathroom. (and no, sinks are not there so you can splash your friends with water). I even had to deal with my first hands-on incident with two first graders. If you are wondering what the punch card is, I'll explain it to you. Each student has a card with ten apples (objects are based on the month). Five are for the morning and five for the afternoon. There is also 1 apple on the side for homework (when they start having homework to do).  Each classroom has expectations with the students as to their behaviors in the classroom, in line, and in the hallway. Each time an expectation is not met, then the student gets a punch out of their punch card. We monitor the behaviors of the students with these cards.  We write what the 'punch' was for and the student has to take the card home and get it signed. This allows the parents to know what behavior their child is exhibiting at school.  We typically give a couple warnings before we issue a punch, but this past week, our 'punchers' have gotten their workout. The students want to find out exactly how loud they can be, how long they can not pay attention/ follow directions, or if they can be mean to their classmates with teachers knowing.  I am hoping this next week will be good. 

On a bright side, I am now in charge of morning routines/ morning sheet, story times, calendar math, handwriting, and transition times like bathroom break and specials. I get to take over spelling next week. I am helping with it this week though. This past week we cover the -at word family. This week we are doing -ate, and the week after is -et. Also, on a brighter note, the students have given me many more hugs. This past Wednesday I received 4! :)  There hasn't been one time so far where I have wished that I was in a different profession. Kids are just spectacular! I was at the library on Saturday working when a little girl came in with her mom. The girl proclaimed "Mommy, I know her!" as she points a finger in my direction. The mom asked how so and the girl responded that she saw me in the hallway when I take my class for bathroom breaks because her classroom is in the same pod as mine. :) It made my day hearing that because sometimes I felt that I was only known in my classroom, I guess not though.

My favorite incident for this blog happens to come from a drawing that a little boy drew in my class. On the back a paper that he turned in were numerous hearts with peace signs in the middle of them. Upon seeing this drawing, I smiled.  It was just the day before that I wore my favorite earrings to school: hearts with peace signs in the middle. :) I am glad this student is observant. I hope he keeps paying attention to details! I showed this to my mentor teacher and pointed out the earrings (that I was once again wearing). She laughed and said it looks like you got a fan! Oh little kids can surprise me in so many ways. 

Until next time, reread your stories so you can read them better!
Miss Higgins

start of the 2nd week

Week 2 begins on a somewhat good note.  My teacher and I worked out a plan of action for me to start taking over the classroom. I originally was going to do calendar math Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.  However today, my teacher decided that I was ready to take on more responsibilities. So my new duties include lunch choices in the morning (I have already been doing this), morning work, a start of the day story, calendar math and handwriting. By the end of these activities, it will be time for a bathroom break. After bathroom, my mentor teacher will take over. But I am glad for the responsibilities that I have.  My mentor is allowing me to practice teaching, but in small doses so I don't get overwhelmed all at once. After Labor Day, I should be teaching all day give or take a couple of days getting used to the new classroom routines. After Labor Day, we have our first completely full day of school where the students will be dismissed at 3:30 and not 2:20 like they are now.   We do have open house tomorrow night, so I am nervous about meeting parents.

Now, on a disappointing note, I was supposed to have my supervisor's meeting today with my region supervisor from college. Well my r.s. had apparently double booked his calendar and didn't come to my region today. But on the bright side, I did meet the district superintendent for curriculum and instruction and we wants to go into each of our (there are 3 students from my college in this area) classrooms and observe us.  He would also like to come in and do a formative evaluation towards the end of student teaching to see how we have improved.  I am excited about this because it is one of the first times an actual school official (that is an administrator and not teacher) has gotten involved with the field experiences that I am experiencing. I will be able to receive feedback from a different pair of lens. 

The hugs keep coming on a lighter note. One student even came up to me today and said that he liked me as a teacher. It means so much to me to hear such comments from my students.  I want the students to like school.  They are at such a young (and precious) age that if they begin to dislike school now, then they might dislike for the rest of their educational career. Its all about the experiences that we have that lead us to make the decisions in our future.  I want their futures to be as bright as possible!

Until next post, have fun coloring a picture.  We take our skills for granted sometimes and my first graders have allowed me to realize that.

Miss Higgins

Smiles and Hugs

Today is day 3 of the school year. I feel like the students have already made great improvements on how they conduct themselves around the classroom. They make me so proud! The students are finally getting the 'wiggles' out of opening and closing their desks.  It was such a new thing for them that were excited to open the lid and close it again! Oh the joys of getting pleasure out of the simple things in life.  I think my students made me the proudest today when I set up a challenge for them.  My mentor teacher had gone back to the classroom to get it setup for the next activity.  The teacher aide and I were then left in charge of getting the students lined back up and back down to the classroom. I challenged my students to see if they could walk back down to the classroom with their hands at their sides, voices off, and walking quietly back to their seats.  The students accepted it.  We then proceeded to walk down the hallway (in the straightest line might I add!) and entered the classroom. I stood out in the hallway by the door and watched them enter giving thumbs up and smiling if they were demonstrating the right behavior. Needless to say everybody was! My mentor teacher was so impressed. She made the comment that she didn't even hear us coming down the hallway. :) The students busted out big smiles of their own when they realized how pleased of them I was. Now if they can keep that up for the rest of the school year. I also received my second hug today! It came from a little boy this time.  I am definitely going to cherish these things.  On a sad note, I made my first student cry today.  She had gotten out of line to go talk to a friend while waiting for the bathroom, so I told her that she had to go to the end. Tough lesson learned for her and me (I don't want to make kids cry), but I don't think she will be getting out of line again.

As for what they were learning, the students practiced writing b's and h's today. They also had practice counting blocks and writing the numbers 4 and 5. I also got to do my very first read aloud today! I read 'Brown Bear Brown What do you see?' to the class. The class then made me proud again by being able to give me the animals in the book by being provided the color. For example, what animal was red in the book? (the bird).  My mentor teacher also told me that next Tuesday I get to teach my first lesson.  It will be in calendar math. It is something small and easy, but it will get my feet wet in teaching this class. :) She will then do it again on Wednesday and then on Thursday I take over calendar math for the rest of the semester! :)

Looking at everything now, I can't believe we have only been in school for 3 days. I can't imagine myself in the '3 days' blog I posted previously anxiously awaiting the beginning of the school year. Well I have now jumped into the beginning of my semester and I'm not crashing down.  My wings are beginning to unfurl as I catch myself and push upward letting, my confidence grow and soar as well.

On an ending note, I want to leave you with a story that transpired today. As I was entering the school building this morning, a third grade teacher joined me and proceeded to talk to me about how lucky I was.  I asked her why and she replied that my mentor teacher had had several student teachers previously.  Apparently these student teachers were not ready for the task of student teaching and they made my mentor teacher think about having student teachers come in her classroom.  The third grade teacher then told me that my mentor teacher said the only was she would take on a student teacher again is if his/her credentials look good and them seem to be an exceptional teacher. I am now a student teacher for my mentor teacher, so in a way I guess she thinks I am a great student to take under her wing. I feel honored to have such a caring and compassionate teacher as she.  She not only has to teach her class, but she has to teach me in a way. A big thanks goes out to her!

I am sorry this entry is a little lengthy, I just had a lot to say I guess. I am posting pictures of my classroom too.

Keep smiling and enjoy the little things in life!
Miss Higgins

This is my bulletin board that I designed.

Word wall and my desk

Reading Corner

Calendar Math station

My other bulletin board I designed out in the hallway.

Each student will have a t-shirt hanging from the string.

My mentor teacher did this one

My stamper and ink pads are ready for papers!

Stickers I piked up to go with the apple and fall theme  coming up in Sept.

August 17

It was an interesting day today.  It was the first full day of school (with a 55 minute early dismissal) for the students so they had to learn some new procedures. Today we worked on what we do when we get ready for lunch and how we handle our lunch cards in the morning.  We also got some practice working with the smartboard and graphing.  Overall the students did well. :)

On a happy note, I received my first hug today!!!! :)

Keep your pencils sharp,
Miss Higgins

August 16

Today was the first half day of school for the students.  My first technical day was yesterday. My mentor teacher and I did some last minute labeling this morning before we went out to get our students. We started the day off with a simon says game so the students could become familiar with the classroom. We also wrote 'I Can...' statements for what the students can do while lining up, walking in the hallway, and using the restroom. We also read several stories today including First Day Jitters and Franklin goes to School. The students were excited to to hear the stories. We then moved to gathering school supplies which turned out to be kinda funny. Students were pulling handfuls of gluesticks and pencils and erasers from their backpacks and coming up to us asking us where we wanted it when we had covered that particular item a couple minutes ago.

Tomorrow is the first full day of school, but the students get out 55 minute early (its that way for the rest of August). I hope that goes okay for us! The students get lunch tomorrow so lets hope they remember to pick their own lunch cards in the morning! I just got done designing absentee charts for the class. I also had my first experience dealing with BD (behavior) meetings.  My mentor teacher said I should be able to start doing read alouds soon in the classroom and then take over calendar math! :)

Save learning until next posting!
Miss Higgins

2 Days

Today was my last day at work until they need me again. I will miss the hours and the money, but I know at the end of this semester I will be able to work without pausing for school. It was fun at work too. Today I hung decorations and colored getting ready for our back to school display. After work, I went to a potluck to meet the new director at the library. She seems like a really nice lady and I look forward to getting to know her better.  I also hope I made a good first impression so she will think nicely of me when she looks over my resume for a certain position :) I also picked up a new book for the other blog I participate in. Its a graphic novel for adults about communism in Poland and how it ended. I am interested to see how it reads.When I find out something more about the TPA I will tell you all about it.
 Until then, keep reading!
A nervous student teacher

3 Days

So officially in 3 days time, I will begin student teaching. However just TODAY(!) I receive an email informing me that the CPEP and the Education department at my university have changed the requirements for student teachers.  Instead of having the Western Teacher Work Sample, we are now required complete the Teacher Progress Assessment which is a new kind of certification tool that states are now requiring. The lovely thing about this is that the specific guidelines for the TPA are NOT AVAILABLE at this time, so until we get them we are not supposed to conduct our.... modified work sample. However on the bright side, since this new TPA has so much more writing involved, we do not have to complete the second reflection paper required. I just don't know what to think right now.  I hope the guidelines come in soon....

Keep counting,
Your concerned student teacher

Time

Time is such a fleeting idea. We think we have all the time in the world and then suddenly its gone. What was two months of freedoms and leisure is now 4 days. 4 days until I begin my last semester at my college.  This semester I am student teaching and I am absolutely looking forward to it, but I am also scared out of my wits. Do I really know everything that I need to teach? There aren't any more classes to take on classroom management? Can this really be happening right now?  The questions just keep coming.   I am still trying to get my head around the idea that this is my last semester before I graduate with a Bachelors. My last semester of  calling myself a student.  It is almost time, 4 months, for me to graduate and change my career heading from 'Student' to 'Teacher' or 'Librarian' depending on the route that I choose to take.  What happened to those days when I didn't have to worry about finding a job or paying bills. What happened to laying out in the sun reading a good book, making sleepover dates with your best girl friends? Now, its I hope I have everything ready for school.  I'm running out of time and it will be starting school. 

Now, to ease your nerves a bit, I am prepared for the start of student teaching. I maybe freaking out right now, but I know with time all things will take their course.  I have a really good mentor teacher for my last semester so I am extremely excited to see what it entails for me.  Just yesterday I filled out nameplate cards for all the students in my student teaching classroom.  I have actually been looking forward to Monday, the start of my last semester. My friends are starting their packing for college to complete their last semesters on campus or the start of their last year (like is the case for my boyfriend). They say I am lucky because I don't have to worry about what stuff to take with since I am spending my last semester at home with my family. I tell them yes I am lucky because I get to do what I love and I love teaching.