I would first like to apologize for the absence of blog since Sept. As each week passes by, more and more of the curriculum becomes mine to take over. My used to be blog time soon became taken over with lesson plans, bulletin board making, and coping. I think it is safe to say that the night janitor and I are becoming quick friends. I haven't spent so many nights in a row staying late ( ranging from leaving at 5 to 6:30 begin the latest). This time was filled with coping for the week, creating smart board lessons, and just getting caught up in the classroom with grading and the such. I also created another bulletin board and its called " 'Fall'ing in love with B-2 " There are two trees each with branches laden with yellow, orange, and red leaves. Soon I will post students' work on their favorite things about fall with a leaf stapled to it on the bulletin board.
As an update, today was my first full day of take over. I am trying not to panic as the students are in my control from morning to dismissal! We started units on bats and squirrels this week and our spelling words consist of the -ot family. And yes there is a k in the word for knot, its just silenced, and no it is not pronounced kuh-not. :) I think that was my favorite pronunciation of it today. Next week, we are learning about spiders, and the week after is pumpkins!!! It is so hard to believe that I have simply a matter of weeks left before I am done. One month from now I will have 1 week left. On this Friday I get my results from the APT! I am hope I passed. There is just so much that is happening. Oh and I found out today that cap and gowns go on sale Oct. 17 for graduation so guess who will be buying hers in the beginning of November? That's right, it will be me! I'm graduating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I am too excited for that day to come. :)
The story I have for is something that happened today. I was in the midst of finishing of writing (Weekend News) and getting ready to start the Bat unit when the district curriculum superintendent walked in and sat down. Panic on the inside, yes! Calm face on the outside? Absolutely. I realized that there was nothing I could do about it so I might as well do the best of my abilities. I couldn't very well ask him to leave now could I? He ended up observing for a good 15 minutes. He let my mentor teacher know that she needed to call him so they could talk about me. I don't know if its a good sign or a bad sign, but I am going to take it for what it is and maybe he will provide me with some great constructive criticism. For right now, I am just trying to stay positive about the situation. For instance, I am glad that he surprise visited me so I didn't have time to panic or get nervous about his arrival like I would have done otherwise if I had known he was coming.
Well until next time, ( I mean to write more frequently) cherish those million dollar rewards. You know you are doing a good job when the students are excited to come back tomorrow and they have to give you one last hug before they go home for the night. It's totally worth all the prep time. Love life to its fullest even though some days may seem like they are too 'full' of things to do.
Miss Higgins
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Can this be real?
It feels like a lifetime ago since I last blogged. Things have definitely picked up for me. Each week I am taking more and more over. This week: math. I feel like I am pretty prepared for this subject. It was one of my favorites all through school. The week after that is guided reading and thematic work. Beginning the first full week in October I begin my full take over. I will be doing everything from morning sheets and bathroom breaks to thematic units and recess duty. Last week my mentor teacher threw a curve ball at me she says, 'Miss Higgins, did you realize that next Friday is your halfway mark for your student teaching?' My response, 'No, no I didn't.' I have just begun realizing that I am actually student teaching and now its almost half way over! When did that happen? Can this be real? Am I just dreaming? Why does time have to go so fast? I think it might take a lifetime to figure that question out.
The 5th week of school was pretty normal for a change. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. One story that I do have actually is something that happened to me. I was on my way back from the copy room and had just walked into the classroom. My mentor teacher looks up and says 'Wow, look at you! It looks like your confidence is growing.' :) It brought a smile to my face. Apparently just the way I was walking showed that I was confident in what I was doing. I didn't realized it showed. :) I am feeling more confident as I go about classroom and the school building. I am on good terms with a lot of the teachers, my ideas are being heard, teaching is going well. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
Important things that have happened lately include the taking of the APT test (Assessment of Professional Teaching) and my first seminar on campus. The APT test occurred Sept. 10. We were given 5 hours to complete 120 questions and 2 constructed response questions. I think I did good on it, but I will find out on Oct 7 (as that is when the official scores are posted) for sure. So fingers crossed and lets hope for the best! I am at least glad that I was able to de-stress with a best friend because we rode down together and back. It was nice having somebody to talk to. As for my first seminar, we had meetings on classroom management, how to interview, how to incorporate theater into the classroom, and most importantly what we have to do for our new and should I mention *not finalized* assessment. Overall, the seminar wasn't that bad, a little boring in parts, entertaining in others but it was a good experience with lots of valuable information. The instructions for our assessment is 30 pages long. It seems daunting right now, but I think once I get to working on it, it won't be so bad. A happy thing also occurred this weekend because I got to see my boyfriend and numerous other friends while at campus. It was a delight to actually get to see them again after being away for so long. It brought back memories from the past couple of years. Sometimes it actually felt strange being on campus again like things have been changing around you, but you didn't realize it. There are so many improvement projects going on that parts of campus seemed new to me because I didn't know what was being built or done. I guess that is a part of growing. Things change and there is nothing I can really do about it.
As for this week, I am starting several new things in the classroom. First of all I created name sticks so I can use them to call on students so everybody will have a chance to answer and not just ones that raise their hands all the time. The second thing that is new this week is a daily target chart. I will be putting up two behavior targets like 'I will stand quietly in line' and ' I will wait for my name to be called before I answer.' My mentor and I feel like the students are having a hard time figuring out when they can talk and when they shouldn't like getting ready for specials, during stories, and so forth. I will also be putting up one learning target such as ' Name the 4 parts of a tree' also. The third new thing is a new seating arrangement! :) I get to rearrange the desks tomorrow morning. I am also working on two bulletin boards for the near future. One will be up in about a week and then the other one towards the middle of October. Our themes are apples/trees and pumpkins for the latter one. I have several ideas now, but any suggestions would be wonderful! :)
As I am working on bulletin board ideas, one that came up during my research was 'Fall'ing in love with school. It made think about why I love school and I am sure my reasons are different than what the students would say. So until next time, think about why you love your job may it be teaching, a cubicle position, working in the great outdoors or working in a library. Is it because of the people you work with? The fabulous location? What you do for a living? So many people don't have the luxury to find a job that they love, but its more of a 'I have to work to provide for my family.' Maybe another thing we take for granted? Could be, but I don't know. So what are your reasons? I know mine!
Miss Higgins, the Inspirer
I love school because I can inspire students to be anything they want to be when they grow older.
The 5th week of school was pretty normal for a change. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. One story that I do have actually is something that happened to me. I was on my way back from the copy room and had just walked into the classroom. My mentor teacher looks up and says 'Wow, look at you! It looks like your confidence is growing.' :) It brought a smile to my face. Apparently just the way I was walking showed that I was confident in what I was doing. I didn't realized it showed. :) I am feeling more confident as I go about classroom and the school building. I am on good terms with a lot of the teachers, my ideas are being heard, teaching is going well. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
Important things that have happened lately include the taking of the APT test (Assessment of Professional Teaching) and my first seminar on campus. The APT test occurred Sept. 10. We were given 5 hours to complete 120 questions and 2 constructed response questions. I think I did good on it, but I will find out on Oct 7 (as that is when the official scores are posted) for sure. So fingers crossed and lets hope for the best! I am at least glad that I was able to de-stress with a best friend because we rode down together and back. It was nice having somebody to talk to. As for my first seminar, we had meetings on classroom management, how to interview, how to incorporate theater into the classroom, and most importantly what we have to do for our new and should I mention *not finalized* assessment. Overall, the seminar wasn't that bad, a little boring in parts, entertaining in others but it was a good experience with lots of valuable information. The instructions for our assessment is 30 pages long. It seems daunting right now, but I think once I get to working on it, it won't be so bad. A happy thing also occurred this weekend because I got to see my boyfriend and numerous other friends while at campus. It was a delight to actually get to see them again after being away for so long. It brought back memories from the past couple of years. Sometimes it actually felt strange being on campus again like things have been changing around you, but you didn't realize it. There are so many improvement projects going on that parts of campus seemed new to me because I didn't know what was being built or done. I guess that is a part of growing. Things change and there is nothing I can really do about it.
As for this week, I am starting several new things in the classroom. First of all I created name sticks so I can use them to call on students so everybody will have a chance to answer and not just ones that raise their hands all the time. The second thing that is new this week is a daily target chart. I will be putting up two behavior targets like 'I will stand quietly in line' and ' I will wait for my name to be called before I answer.' My mentor and I feel like the students are having a hard time figuring out when they can talk and when they shouldn't like getting ready for specials, during stories, and so forth. I will also be putting up one learning target such as ' Name the 4 parts of a tree' also. The third new thing is a new seating arrangement! :) I get to rearrange the desks tomorrow morning. I am also working on two bulletin boards for the near future. One will be up in about a week and then the other one towards the middle of October. Our themes are apples/trees and pumpkins for the latter one. I have several ideas now, but any suggestions would be wonderful! :)
As I am working on bulletin board ideas, one that came up during my research was 'Fall'ing in love with school. It made think about why I love school and I am sure my reasons are different than what the students would say. So until next time, think about why you love your job may it be teaching, a cubicle position, working in the great outdoors or working in a library. Is it because of the people you work with? The fabulous location? What you do for a living? So many people don't have the luxury to find a job that they love, but its more of a 'I have to work to provide for my family.' Maybe another thing we take for granted? Could be, but I don't know. So what are your reasons? I know mine!
Miss Higgins, the Inspirer
I love school because I can inspire students to be anything they want to be when they grow older.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Patience
Breathe in one, two, three. Hold. Breathe out one, two, three. A lesson I have learned this week is to stay calm and be patient. Even though we are starting our fourth week this week, we are still at the beginning of the school year. Routines are still being set in place and figured out. Yes, we are doing things out of order (due to the extended day), but you will be okay. Just breathe.
Upon entering the first grade, it would be a miracle if every student was at the exact same level. But we know that could only happen in a perfect society. A part of my patience lesson this week comes in the form of shoe-tiers. Yes, it may seem strange, but I think we take for granted our abilities to tie our own shoes. Precious minutes are spent in class re-tying shoes and I think to myself sooner or later they will reach that stage where they will be able to do it fast, but for right now they need to slow it down to make sure its done properly. There are so many things that the students are just learning to do (like tying shoes if they don't know already) that will be valuable lessons for the future though it may seem hard to find them so now.
Patience this week has also come in the form of sitting down and waiting. A new trick I have discovered is to wait the students out. They now have a morning recess for 15 minutes, but if they don't get their work done then we have to stay inside to complete it. If the students are being in one of their talkative states (and me not willing to yell above them), I simply walk over and pull up a chair in the front of the room and sit down, cross my arms, and wait. Pretty soon the students realize that their attention needs to be on me and we move on in a quieter level. The students realize that if they meet their targets for classroom behavior, then they will get to do the things that they want like go to recess. I simply tell them its their choice on whether or not they want to go outside to play. They typically do, so they quiet down and listen to instructions. :)
Now one a completely random note, a lot of things have been happening this week. First of all, we did not have school on Monday due to it being Labor Day. Yesterday was our first full day of school and confused the students terribly. Today we welcomed another new student into our classroom so she makes 21, and lastly tomorrow is picture day. I am also videotaping my calendar math lesson tomorrow so I can complete my first improvement paper for my ELED class. So I breathe in and out and I count to three (or a higher number if need be) because even though there are so many things to get done, I know that they will just in their own time. Just like with students, be patient in the tasks that you have created for yourself like designing lessons. There is no need to rush through them and then not have them planned out to the fullest. Instead work on little bits of it here and there and eventually it will all get done. Patience: when the world seems overwhelming, step back, breathe, and know that everything will be alright.
Until next post, think of the little things that took you the longest time to do whether it may be tying your shoes or learning how to tie a tie. Now thing about something that you are struggling with now (like improving keyboarding skills) and know that with patience and time even that will become easy.
Miss Higgins
Upon entering the first grade, it would be a miracle if every student was at the exact same level. But we know that could only happen in a perfect society. A part of my patience lesson this week comes in the form of shoe-tiers. Yes, it may seem strange, but I think we take for granted our abilities to tie our own shoes. Precious minutes are spent in class re-tying shoes and I think to myself sooner or later they will reach that stage where they will be able to do it fast, but for right now they need to slow it down to make sure its done properly. There are so many things that the students are just learning to do (like tying shoes if they don't know already) that will be valuable lessons for the future though it may seem hard to find them so now.
Patience this week has also come in the form of sitting down and waiting. A new trick I have discovered is to wait the students out. They now have a morning recess for 15 minutes, but if they don't get their work done then we have to stay inside to complete it. If the students are being in one of their talkative states (and me not willing to yell above them), I simply walk over and pull up a chair in the front of the room and sit down, cross my arms, and wait. Pretty soon the students realize that their attention needs to be on me and we move on in a quieter level. The students realize that if they meet their targets for classroom behavior, then they will get to do the things that they want like go to recess. I simply tell them its their choice on whether or not they want to go outside to play. They typically do, so they quiet down and listen to instructions. :)
Now one a completely random note, a lot of things have been happening this week. First of all, we did not have school on Monday due to it being Labor Day. Yesterday was our first full day of school and confused the students terribly. Today we welcomed another new student into our classroom so she makes 21, and lastly tomorrow is picture day. I am also videotaping my calendar math lesson tomorrow so I can complete my first improvement paper for my ELED class. So I breathe in and out and I count to three (or a higher number if need be) because even though there are so many things to get done, I know that they will just in their own time. Just like with students, be patient in the tasks that you have created for yourself like designing lessons. There is no need to rush through them and then not have them planned out to the fullest. Instead work on little bits of it here and there and eventually it will all get done. Patience: when the world seems overwhelming, step back, breathe, and know that everything will be alright.
Until next post, think of the little things that took you the longest time to do whether it may be tying your shoes or learning how to tie a tie. Now thing about something that you are struggling with now (like improving keyboarding skills) and know that with patience and time even that will become easy.
Miss Higgins
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Hugs make the world go round
Day 13 of school. Day 13.... boy how time is flying! I can't believe it. Tomorrow will be the end of my 3rd week. I will officially be 1/4 of the way done with student teaching. Is that possible? 9 weeks left and then its done? Finished? Completed? It is definitely hard to imagine. I know I may talk about or mention it all the time, but I am still in shock. Am I really in the midst of student teaching right now? Am I really teaching half the day right now? Someone please pinch me! But I guess this is it. I am doing it and I will be graduating in December. Its hard to fathom that my Bachelors degree is so close, but it still seems far away. The light is growing brighter and brighter every day though.
Ok, enough of my moans and groans and sentimental feelings. School today was extremely hot! I walked in the classroom this morning and it was 88 degrees. At the end of the day the thermometer read 93 degrees and that is with 7 fans running all day! The kids were all in heat moods like I like to call them. They are just purely uncomfortable with all the heat and humidity which makes for short fuses throughout the day. All in all it was not a bad day. We received a new student into our classroom and everybody seems to like her! :) The other teachers in the building are actually getting to know me now so I'm becoming not only so and so student teachers but Miss Higgins. They recognize and acknowledge me now which is kinda a big deal in my opinion. I'm beginning to feel like a somebody who is a member of the teaching team. I have even gotten asked my opinion at a problem solving committee because of my library background. :) This week our main worry has been on RtI time ( Response to Intervention) and who is going to be in what group and who will lead that group. My mentor told me today that I will have my own group right off of the bat starting next week (when we start having RtI time) and I will be responsible. My mentor teacher says she is sure that I can do it. She will plan the first 3 weeks worth of lessons and then from there on it will be up to me (which is very exciting and nerve wracking because the students have to learn these skills; their education depends on it!). But I do know that the people around won't let me fail. I feel like I have a such a great support team that failing seems impossible. I have been so blessed to say the least to have had the mentors that I have had.
But the students also receive credit for inspiring me too. The backgrounds of some of the students just makes my heart break. . They may not be thinking about their futures right now, but I see them graduating and continuing their education, climbing out of the situations that they are in now. But the thought that struck me today was that it starts now. If students don't really like school in the elementary levels then they probably have a greater chance of dropping out in high school because they think they can't do it. Now, I haven't done research of any sort on it, but I just feel that its the truth. Few students succeed if they don't have the self-confidence and encouragement from the people in their lives, and teachers are in their lives. Which brings me to the title of this post 'hugs make the world go round.' Hugs are encouragement both for student and teacher alike. I hug given freely to a teacher is a silent thank you in my opinion for being there in their lives and caring about them enough to want to teach them. A hug freely given to a student in return for his/her hug is a silent form of encouragement. It says 'I will be here for you. I want you to succeed.' Students need teachers and teachers need students to remind them why they are teaching. Each day that I can put a smile on a students face or give a hug, I am truly reminded why I do what I do.
Until next post, cherish the people in your lives. You never how you impact a person.
Miss Higgins
Ok, enough of my moans and groans and sentimental feelings. School today was extremely hot! I walked in the classroom this morning and it was 88 degrees. At the end of the day the thermometer read 93 degrees and that is with 7 fans running all day! The kids were all in heat moods like I like to call them. They are just purely uncomfortable with all the heat and humidity which makes for short fuses throughout the day. All in all it was not a bad day. We received a new student into our classroom and everybody seems to like her! :) The other teachers in the building are actually getting to know me now so I'm becoming not only so and so student teachers but Miss Higgins. They recognize and acknowledge me now which is kinda a big deal in my opinion. I'm beginning to feel like a somebody who is a member of the teaching team. I have even gotten asked my opinion at a problem solving committee because of my library background. :) This week our main worry has been on RtI time ( Response to Intervention) and who is going to be in what group and who will lead that group. My mentor told me today that I will have my own group right off of the bat starting next week (when we start having RtI time) and I will be responsible. My mentor teacher says she is sure that I can do it. She will plan the first 3 weeks worth of lessons and then from there on it will be up to me (which is very exciting and nerve wracking because the students have to learn these skills; their education depends on it!). But I do know that the people around won't let me fail. I feel like I have a such a great support team that failing seems impossible. I have been so blessed to say the least to have had the mentors that I have had.
But the students also receive credit for inspiring me too. The backgrounds of some of the students just makes my heart break. . They may not be thinking about their futures right now, but I see them graduating and continuing their education, climbing out of the situations that they are in now. But the thought that struck me today was that it starts now. If students don't really like school in the elementary levels then they probably have a greater chance of dropping out in high school because they think they can't do it. Now, I haven't done research of any sort on it, but I just feel that its the truth. Few students succeed if they don't have the self-confidence and encouragement from the people in their lives, and teachers are in their lives. Which brings me to the title of this post 'hugs make the world go round.' Hugs are encouragement both for student and teacher alike. I hug given freely to a teacher is a silent thank you in my opinion for being there in their lives and caring about them enough to want to teach them. A hug freely given to a student in return for his/her hug is a silent form of encouragement. It says 'I will be here for you. I want you to succeed.' Students need teachers and teachers need students to remind them why they are teaching. Each day that I can put a smile on a students face or give a hug, I am truly reminded why I do what I do.
Until next post, cherish the people in your lives. You never how you impact a person.
Miss Higgins
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
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
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
Sunday, August 28, 2011
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
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
Monday, August 22, 2011
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
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
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