Subbing Day #2

Day 2 of subbing= complete and success. But oh what a day. Nothing like yesterday though; much better than yesterday. It did not start off that way though :)  I came in with a list of things to get done before the kiddos came in. Of course the computer would not log on and I could not find the comprehension tests. I tried to log onto the computer for several minutes and finally gave up. I looked everywhere I knew to look for the tests and couldn't find them either. I finally went to ask another teacher if she had a copy so I could run some more and she came to help me look for them. She couldn't find them either. She then attempted to log onto the computer as well and it would not work. By this time, the kids are starting to come in and I haven't gotten a single thing on my list done. I thought this day was off to a wonderful start....

I sent my teacher a quick text and she told somewhere else the tests might be. So I got the kids started on their morning work and set about looking for them. I still had no luck so I sent one of the kids to get the other student teacher who is just across the hall. Thanks to Ms. Shoulders, the tests were found! (The kids were very confused when I got so excited haha.)   Oh, also, after the computer had been shut down, it logged right on the first time. Go figure.

During intervention, which is 30 minutes of extra help for struggling readers, a child got mad and threw his clothespin at me. That made me kind of mad so I sent him back to his seat and he had to move to red. I win. The rest of the morning went fairly smoothly except that I thought my bladder was going to burst and the sub next door was really loud. I made a really fun chart that I'll put a picture of. We wrote a sample letter and then the kids did much better with writing their own letters. We also began editing them. And we re-read a story and took a comprehension test on it. It looked like they did really well but I haven't officially checked them yet. 

During Math, we reviewed adding 3 single digit numbers. I have to stop here and say that I do not know how to teach math. I know how to do it, but I do not know how to teach it. Thankfully my mentor teacher is helping me tremendously but that is something I do not feel prepared to do. Anyways, I still have to do it so I do my best. Monday when I introduced it, we used all kinds of manipulatives. It was a bust. They did not get it. Tuesday I tried again with a simpler version. I still wasn't sure they got it. So after specials on Tuesday, I pulled up ixl.com. I love this site! You can pick your grade and topic and it gives you problems! The kids loved it too. We used it in my 5th grade placement and it was a hit. I didn't know what else to do with this so I turned here. Apparently I should have started here. I put a problem on the board, showed them how it makes sense to me to work it out, and all of a sudden something clicked. I don't know what or why but they all got it! I was so relieved!! So today I did a quick review to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Then I had them work in pairs to create a number sentence with 3 addends that had to equal a certain number. Then they drew a picture to illustrate it. My higher ones then wrote a word problem to go with it. We one together first, of course, but I was shocked at how well they did with this! I'm going to put them into a book to use later but I'll scan some in so you can see how well they did! These are first graders developing and writing their own word problems! Wonderful!!

As far as everything else goes, portfolio is due Monday so I'm going to work on that now. Full time teaching technically starts Tuesday but I'm already doing it. Guess I just get extra practice :)  Still need a summer job and living situation to work out. Oh, and before I forget, a child asked me today if God is real. Please pray that I'll be able to show him through my actions that the love of God is just as real as God is!!

The Writer's Tool Box for writing a letter: Heading, Greeting, Body, Closing, Signature

The parts of a letter as related to the parts of the body. I am super excited about this one!!

A fun day in 1st grade

Today was quite the eventful day. I arrived at school and was immediately asked by 4 people in the office if I knew my mentor teacher wasn't coming to school today. I answered, quite confused, that she told me the night before that she would at least try to come for half a day and I hadn't heard anything this morning. So I went down to the classroom and my teacher was in there. She said she really wasn't feeling good still (she left early Monday) but didn't want to leave me hanging this morning. I told her we would be fine since I'm basically teaching full time anyways already. An important thing to note- she came in this morning because I had an observation scheduled.  So she left about 7:45 and I was on my own for the day! I quickly called my supervisor to let her know in case she wanted to reschedule the observation and the day began....

I began putting things together for the day. We made a toolbox yesterday that I will post pictures of tomorrow hopefully. It's the "tools" we need to write a letter. That's our writing focus this week. I was going to finish it this morning but couldn't find the Velcro. So that's a project to be finished tomorrow! The kids started coming in and the first they said was that one of the students had thrown up in the hallway. I was beyond caught off guard by that one. My first question was if there was a teacher with her. They said there was someone with her and I breathed a sigh of relief. I don't do body malfunctions... On that note, a child asked me to pull his tooth and the toilet backed up today. I laughed when asked to pull a tooth and said that I don't do teeth. Uggh! All of that stuff grosses me out! Thankfully we have wonderful people at school who can fix the clogged up bathroom so that I don't have too.

Academic -wise, we got everything done that I was planning on doing, for the most part. Two of my kiddos finished their sight words today! They are supposed to know 200 by the end of 1st grade and 2 finished today! I was so proud of them! I rang the bell and made a big announcement to the rest of the class. There was quite a little moment of excitement :)  We attempted to begin writing a letter but there was a lot of confusion so we will be revisiting this tomorrow. I found a wonderful chart that I'm very excited to make for them tomorrow morning! Pictures will be posted tomorrow of that too! By the end of the week, they will have all written letters to 3rd graders who are taking TCAP in a few weeks. They're the most excited about being "mailmen" and delivering the letters haha. Go figure.

Behavior wise, I had one student on red by 9:00 and 3 by lunch. When 2 of them were still causing problems, I decided to get creative. The reward system we use is incentive based. If the kids stay on green for the day, they get a penny (plastic math manipulative pennies, not real ones). Since moving a card and getting sent to another class were not working, I decided that I would start taking pennies away. One boy had already lost his for today because he was on red. So I decided to make him give me a penny he had earned a previous day. Now, this is something that my teacher and I have joked about before but have not actually done. You should have seen the look on all of their faces when they realized I was serious. I made him go get his money bag out of his locker and give me a penny. If you're going to behave, I'll pay you. If you're not going to behave, then you pay me! I believe I will adopt this policy for my own classroom because it sure sent the message! They do not like having to give money back!! I was a little bit proud of myself for coming up with this :)

Needless to say, it was quite an eventful day. But it was a wonderful day! Time flies when you're on your own, that's for sure. I'll be attempting it again tomorrow since my teacher has strep and cannot return until Thursday. Please pray I don't get it too!!

Also, keep the job hunt in your prayers too please. I had an interview yesterday at the school I'm at now. I have one with Metro on Tuesday and another one in May with the ELL office (not sure what that one is about yet...). Summer plans (work and moving) also need some prayer. Things are about to begin rolling fast and April will be a big, big month!

My therapy for the week...

I am taking a quick break (hopefully) from lesson plans to post. This week was the start of half-time teaching which means I teach half of the day basically. I'm doing intervention in the morning with low readers, phonics, and math. Math, however, takes all afternoon. Next week I'm picking up Writing as well. I'm excited about that though because I actually know how to teach that. This math stuff is not something I feel like I know how to teach. I know how to do it, but knowing how to teach it is completely different. 


I am enjoying this time teaching though even if it is somewhat of a challenge. The kids are so sweet and wonderful. Most of them are superb and I have very few big issues. A few are challenges for me though. It's always tough to come into someone else's classroom and be seen as an authority figure but we're working on it. My mentor teacher is wonderful and I'm so glad I have someone so talented to learn from. 


This has been a rough week. I'm ready for this week and this month to be over. At the same time, I realize that the start of April is also the start of the biggest month of my life so far. April will see the end of student teaching, my exit presentation from student teaching (which means I have to finish my portfolio in 2 weeks...), and the end of college for me. This is something I have been working towards for 4 years, including summers, and in about 4 weeks, it will be over. This excites me and terrifies me at the same time. I'm glad to see the days of being a student go, at least until grad school. But, for the past 16 or so years of my life, I've been a student. It's what I know how to do and I'm pretty good at it. 

This is where the rough part comes in. The end of being a student means the start of the unknowns. There are so many unknowns... I am not a person who deals well with unknowns. I need a plan, a schedule, a to-do list... Empty time makes me crazy unless I have planned for that time to be empty. Crazy, yes I know. I'm that person. Not knowing if, when, or where I'll have a job, where I'll be living, what I'll do until I start getting paid for a teaching job I hope I'll start in August, if /when there will be wedding planning taking place, and all of stress of the unknown has almost sent me into shut-down mode this week. As I'm sure Kevin would tell you, I've not been the most pleasant person this week. But I couldn't put it into words until now. I know I shouldn't stress about unknowns. God has a plan and everything will work out according to it. This is a lesson I don't learn easily because He keeps re-testing me over it.  It's just hard to be staring down an empty road...


On top of all that mess, I got overwhelmed by stuff with teaching this week too. Not so much doing the lessons and the planning-which is enough to overwhelm any sane person because it's a ridiculous amount and very time consuming- but more along the lines of the constant evaluation. That got better today though. True story of how I overcame this- I was doing a very involved time lesson today for math. I was on the floor with the kids and we were doing times and when events take place. No joke, half of the kids were crazy. I had one girl about on the edge of a breakdown, 4 boys who couldn't be still and were climbing, laying, or sprawled on anything and anybody, 1 boy who has anger problems that got mad (enough said) multiple times, and so on and so on... Needless to say, it was a zoo. I did the best I could with them and honestly, I felt like I did pretty well. We did what we were trying to do and a few cards got moved and a few bodies got sent back to their seats. Did I mention this was an evaluation day by my supervisor?? Yeah. It's like the kids always know you're getting graded haha. When I had a chance to talk with my supervisor and my mentor teacher, they were almost laughing. It was an attitude of "Ya know, it happens. It's reality and there's nothing you can do about it." They asked if I felt like I was banging my head against a wall. I said yes :)   


The point of this is that I realized  that it doesn't matter who's watching me or what they're looking for. I'm just going to do what I can and realize that there probably is a better way to do it. That's why there's always next time. Do what I can today. If I can do it better tomorrow, I will. Now if only I could apply that to the other stuff. 


Ironically enough, putting this into words has helped me think it through. I'm not better with everything yet but one thing at a time. Right now my time and energy goes into finishing the last 4 weeks of school strong. The other stuff is still ever present in my mind, don't misunderstand. But I have 4 more weeks with these precious kiddos and I want to make the most of it. Today's lesson- writing therapy is good for me.

St. Patty's Day Fun

Monday was supposed to be a Spring Break day but we went to school because it was turned into a make-up day for snow. So we decided to have a little fun :) I made this sample leprechaun last week and all of the kids got to make them yesterday. I just want to go on record and say that I did not have a template to trace for this :) We got the idea from another teacher-blogger who was kind enough to share her ideas but I made this one on my own :) My favorite part is the curly beard made of orange construction paper.  The kids did really well making these! It took a while and we all had glue and glitter all over us by the end, but it was worth it!
We also made sentence strip hats that said "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" in green marker, glued a paper shamrock to it, and wore green and white leis. I have some pictures of this that I'll post farther down :)

Some of the ones the kids made. The shamrocks are the wishes they wrote about.

 The best part of our "celebration" was the scavenger hunt! We took 2 of the 9 1st grade classes (yes, there are 9 1st grade classes!) on a scavenger hunt through the building. We pre-made clues that would lead the classes to 7 different places throughout the building. The kids had to read the clue left by the leprechaun and figure out where he went next. We visited the computer lab, office, and several other teachers throughout the building. The kids walked in line by their partner and it was not as chaotic as you might think it would've been. The kids were great! And they got to wear sparkly green glasses when it was their turn to read the clue. (This was done in groups of 4 or 5 so everybody got a chance to do it.)

Reading the last clue!

The grand finale of the event was the final clue. It led them outside where one of the faculty members had dressed up like a leprechaun and was carrying a "pot of gold." We read a book earlier where the kids learned that if you catch a leprechaun, then you get his pot of gold. So of course, that's what they went after. They knew pretty quickly who it was but some of them still played along with us. Others started yelling about who it was. But that's ok :) It was still a fun adventure! The pot of gold was a Halloween plastic "cauldron" that had Hershey's Gold Nuggets in it and it was super cute! The outside stuff all happened in the rain by the way. It was drizzling a good bit but started to get heavier. We headed inside and realized we were locked out. Oops! It made the story even better though- standing outside in the rain with 40 kids who just "caught a leprechaun" but can't have any of his "gold" until we get inside and the door is locked. It was pretty funny :)  Someone eventually let us in and we didn't get too soaked! Then it was picture time for the teachers. We couldn't let the opportunity escape. After all, how many times will you get someone to dress up like a leprechaun, crawl out of a window in the office to avoid being mobbed in the hallway, and go hide behind a portable in the rain with a pot of "gold" and a walking stick???
It was an awesome experience and such a fun day! Being a part of this just shows me how much the people here love their jobs and the kids. It reminds you that we really do do this for the kids and you shouldn't forget it! Stuff like this requires a lot of pre-planning and prep, but that's what being a teacher is, right? I can't wait to do stuff like this with my class next year :) Who knows, maybe we can even go on a hunt for the Easter bunny....

Waiting anxiously for more clues....

Here comes the Leprechaun!

Going for the gold

Both classes with the leprechaun

Welcome to the New Site!!

Welcome to the new blog! I was tired of the old one being so boring so I decided to create a new inspiring one! I couldn't figure out how to change the old way to be how I wanted it, so I just made a new one :) Hopefully you will enjoy the changes as much as I am.  I am going to try to repost all of the old posts on here so that it's a smooth transition!

Spring Break is near!

3/12/11

Week 2 in 1st grade has come to a close. I fully intended to do much better about updating, but I have not succeeded this week. I have been exhausted! Quite a few times this week, I fell asleep very early. Let me explain how early On Wednesday, I got home about 4:30 or 4:45 which is hours earlier than I normally get home. I thought I would take a quick nap and then do lesson plans the rest of the night. Well, I woke up at about 8:00. Oops. I even set my alarm for 6 so that I would have some time to work before I was useless. Needless to say, I didn’t get any lesson plans done that night. Friday night I got home around 5:30, also way earlier than I normally get home, and decided to watch tv. I don’t know if I even made it 10 minutes before I fell asleep. I woke up around 7 and would have been quite content to stay in bed til this morning.  Kevin had a show to go to so he came by for about 15 minutes and then I went back to sleep around 9:45. It’s terrible! I don’t know why I’ve been so tired this week. I haven’t really even started teaching yet. I guess 6 year olds just take a lot out of you.
So I woke up this morning and went to school to do Saturday Scholars, which is the TCAP tutoring program for 3rd and 4th graders. I had a group of 4th graders today who were very interested in where I lived and if I had a dog. I don’t know why but that’s what they asked me several times. I didn’t think I would like going to school on Saturday to tutor but it’s actually pretty fun. And hopefully it’s a good way to get in the door for a job b/c this is definitely where I want to work!
Funny stories from this week: There are many to choose from since 6 year olds make sure that there is never a dull moment at school. The top 2 stories from this week still make me laugh when I think about it.
1)( Background info- Our school has a very high Latino population and most of the kids speak Spanish.) The wonderful ladies who work in the cafeteria were telling some Latino boys to “Eschucha, eschucha!”. (This means “Listen, listen” in Spanish.) One of the African American boys in my class was scooting them and pushing these Latino boys over saying, “eschucha, eschucha!” He thought it meant scooch over! The little Hispanic boys and I were dying laughing at what he was doing. At least he’s trying!
2)  There is a little boy in my class who has lots of trouble focusing and sitting still. So the other day while they were sitting on the rug for a read-aloud, he was playing with his shoe strings. I wasn’t paying much attention. Soon, I heard my teacher say, “Are your shoes tied together? Oh my, that’s quite a predicament.” I died laughing as this was unfolding. The look on his was face priceless. He was scared and confused at the same time and just sitting there staring at his hands at shoes, almost to say, “How did this happen?”  I could not help but laugh. It was just too funny!
Those are the 2 best stories from this week by far. Yesterday was supposed to be the 1st day of Spring Break for the kids but it was a snow day make-up instead. We will also be using Monday as a make-up day. This means that Thursday and Friday the kids were wild! On Monday, a lot of teachers and kids will be gone since it was supposed to be Spring Break. I’m sure that means it will be an even crazier day but then we get a 4 day break. My break will be spent with Oma and Opa in Atlanta doing lesson plans and hopefully recording audio stories Oma doesn’t know I want to do the stories yet but I’m sure she’ll be up for it   They’re also going to make me some yummy food which I’m really looking forward to. I’ve been trying to use up what I have so that nothing will go bad while I’m gone. This means that right now I have bread but nothing to put on it, 1 banana, cereal but no milk, etc… I’m going to have to pick up a few things so I can make it til Wednesday, but I’m house sitting for a family tonight until I leave so I’ll get some stuff there . All that to say, I’m really looking forward to some homemade Oma and Opa dinners
One final thing- I’m trying to change this blog to be much cuter and add some pictures and stuff of what we’re doing at school. I may end up deleting this one and making a brand new one, but I’ll send the address if I do. I appreciate you following me through this journey and keeping me and my kiddos in your prayers. We all need it!

Just to say…

3/5/11
I have just finished up the first week of 1st grade and I must say, I love it! I knew I would because I was here last semester but I forgot just how much I love it Everyday I have gotten a “letter” or a picture from at least 2 kids. The content varies but the spelling is adorable! I’ll have to scan a few and figure out how to put them up here. I’m sure Kellie can help me get it working if I can ever get a hold of her on the phone :p    Anyways, I forgot how much good it does your heart when you realize that these little people are so happy to see you and are excited that you’re there. They still ask me every day if I’m going to be there when it’s time to go home. I just smile and say yes I will be. Then they smile and turn away giggling like I’ve just told some kind of national secret. It’s adorable.
** The best quote from today: “She has glue in her eye! She has glue in her eye!”    I can honestly say, I’ve never heard these words in this order before. And, it’s important to note that this was glue from a glue stick, not the liquidy glue. It was also while we were on the playground. No idea how it happened, but I don’t think it was actually on her eyeball; looked like it was just on the skin around her eye. Unfortunately, the teachers who were sitting there when this event was brought to our attention all started laughing because we couldn’t figure out how it happened. Once the little girl realized she was didn’t have a life threatening injury, she seemed to relax a little. It was a comical scene though. Picture this: about 6 classes of 1st and 2nd graders (about 20 or so in each class) on the playground, wind blowing a million miles an hour, a little girl playing her violin for the teachers and a crowd gathered around her, and then the PE class runs onto the playground. All on Friday afternoon at about 2:45. CHAOS! We decided after the glue incident and several severe meltdowns that the risk of recess had not been worth the reward this time. It was not the break it was intended to be by any means.   Lesson learned: If it has been a Friday full of melt downs and the wind is blowing a million miles an hour, don’t go outside with a bunch of kids!
Needless to say, when you spend your day with kids, there will never be a dull moment. And you never know what occupation you’ll get to embark upon. This week we have been inventors, bankers, historians, scientists, jewelry repair people, handymen, computer tech fixers (that’s the official term   ) , counselors, argument solvers, friendship restorers, and a host of other things. I think teachers and moms have a lot in common when it comes to being masters of wearing many different hats. I’m sure they would agree.
Saturday I will be going back to school to help with a tutoring program aimed at improving TCAP scores. This is for 3rd and 4th graders I think. Who said you can’t have school on Saturday??
The deeper I get into student teaching, the more excited I get about graduation and getting my own room. I have so many ideas that I can’t wait to flesh out and start putting everything together. They’re all bouncing around in my head and that’s probably contributing to the daily headache I get haha.
We’ll I’m going to sleep so I can wake up and go to school and then see what the rest of the weekend has in store!!  Goodnight!

Learning, learning… So many ideas!

3/1/11
Back to 1st grade! I went back to 1st grade today, well sort of. I was supposed to but when I got there I found out that all of the 1st and 2nd grade teachers had a professional development thing today and my teacher told me to come with me since it wouldn’t be productive for me to stay in class with the sub. Turns out she was right and the P.D. was way better! I learned so much and came away with soooooo many ideas that I can’t wait to start using!!!
The day was spent learning about Debbie Diller and her wisdom of implementing small group Literacy Stations and how that should look in the classroom. I think that was the main topic but we talked about so many helpful things. This was really valuable experience for me to be exposed to and I feel almost like I’m a step ahead of what I should know as a 1st year teacher haha. I learned so many things that will help me with Guided Reading, Literacy Stations (not Centers), management tips and tricks, and just buying/obtaining supplies and resources. My head was ready to explode by about 2:00 because there was so much information bouncing around inside it but I could not ask for a better experience! I learned so much! If you haven’t checked out Debbie Diller or her books and you teach, you should! She has great ideas!
So I didn’t get to see the kids today but I saw one in the hallway and he was very excited so I would bet that he told everybody else that I was back. (I did a practicum experience with class last semester so now I get to come back and finish out this semester with them.) It made me happy that he was excited and that he remembered me
By far, the weirdest thing of the day was leaving school and the sun still being out! I haven’t left school before 4:15 in about 6 weeks! I even got to leave early today because the training let out about 2:50. So I was leaving school about 3 p.m. and was beside myself. I had no idea what to do! The sun was out, it was hot, and the sculpt class I do at the Y doesn’t start til 5:30! It was a strange feeling to be done at 2:50 since I haven’t even been able to leave school until 4:15 or 4:30! So I went to pick up some shoes that I had dropped off to be repaired and then went onto the Y anyways. When I start having to do lesson plans again, it will be nice to be done a little earlier. I’ll probably be leaving around 4 instead of the kids leaving at 4!
Well, that’s all for tonight. Tomorrow will be a great day!

Things to Come this week…

2/26/11

Well, this week starts the last part of student teaching. On Monday, we will all be attending Seminar, which means 1) we get to wear jeans on a weekday! 2) we have to fight parking at Lipscomb again 3) we have to sit and listen to people talk to us all day about who knows what.
Then Tuesday, the fun part starts! I get to back to the 1st grade class I worked with last semester. I love this kids and cannot wait to see them again! The teacher there is also wonderful and I can’t wait to work with her. This class is an ELL class in the morning and blended in the afternoon. The best I can remember, we spend about 3 hours in the morning with all ELL students doing Reading, Language Arts, and some science/social studies themes mixed in. I was only there for 1 afternoon so I’m sure how those work yet.
I’m looking forward to getting back into an ELL classroom and learning some techniques and other helpful things. This teacher gave me a lot of help studying for the ELL praxis test and I know she’s good at what she does!
This should be a great week and I can’t wait to get started on this second half. Student teaching is halfway done and graduation is another step closer! And we all know good things happen after graduation!

Exciting news!

2/26/11
Some of you probably saw, or talked to me, about the job interview I had on Friday. Yes, you read that right and yes it is only February. I was shocked too
Of course, Friday was the day the buses were running late and I had to leave while some of the kids were still there and I felt like I was rushing out of there. I really didn’t want to but I had to because this principal had already told me she had to leave by 5:30. Yes that seems late, but middle schools here get out at 4. The buses were late so it was 4:15 and we still had kids in the room. Google maps had said that it would take about 20-25 minutes to get to the school where I was interviewing. But, I was also going in the same direction as Friday afternoon rush hour traffic in Nashville. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nashville Friday Rush Hour Traffic, consider yourselves blessed, but also know that this is a bad combination. I knew I would be pushing it and if this principal had to leave by 5:30, we wouldn’t have much time. So I had to leave and fight my way down the interstate and get on several other interstates to get there but I made it by about 4:50. Yes, that’s a long time. I went inside and the principal was the only one in the office because schools clear out very quickly on Fridays haha. But we sat and talked for a while and she asked me about my student teaching experiences and a bunch of other stuff. Then she told me about the position she had available and showed me around the school. (It’s 4th grade ELL that’s available) I won’t put too many details on here just in case, but if you want to know specifics, just call, email, text,  facebook me, or ask me when you see me! 
At the end, she told me that if I was interested, she would like to submit my name for the position. That’s not a decision that can be made quite yet, but we are staying in touch and she will let me know when she’s ready to submit names to HR at the Central Office. (In lamens terms, she offered me the job!)
I have not made a final decision yet. I want to see what else comes available since it’s still so early. She told me that she’s starting this early because “the good ones are gone quickly.” She also said that my ELL endorsement will be like gold to principals and I will be snatched up fast! I was relieved to hear that On that note, later that night, when my phone was finally working again (long story), I had a message from another Elementary school wanting me to get in touch with them! I couldn’t believe it. I’ll be calling them Monday but hopefully that will lead to something good too!
God is good and He provides! I am babysitting right now (she’s in bed haha) because He is making sure that I have what I need and He is faithful to provide! I am so thankful for the help that I am being blessed with right now and I couldn’t go through this experience without all of the help that is being provided. So, I thank you (you all know who you are ) for the help, support, encouragement, patience, and love that you are giving me. I couldn’t do this without you and I hope to continue to make you proud!
P.S. I found a wonderful store today and got a bunch of super great deals on more mature/grown up/professional clothes! I have to get a few pants hemmed so I will either find a seamstress here or get Oma to teach me how to hem my pants when I go see her over spring break
P.S.S. Spring break has now been shortened due to make up days for all the daggum snow we had! We now have to go the Friday before and Monday of Spring Break. So we have Tuesday-Friday plus the weekend off. Oh well. It’s better than nothing!!

A moment to reflect

2/26/11
Well yesterday was the last day of my first placement. All week I had been a little sad because I knew that my time here was coming to an end. I’m not real good with handling change, so anytime things change, it kind of throws me through a loop til I get used to the new stuff.
At the beginning of January, I was a completely different teacher. I have learned so much in the past 6 weeks about myself as a teacher and I think I have grown and learned more in the past 6 weeks than I have in 4 years of college classes. The classroom is where you really learn if this is what you love. I have confirmed, this is what I love! I love being in the classroom and everything that comes along with it, which is so much more than just curriculum and instruction. Teachers are so many things all at once. You should probably spend a lot more time learning how to handle things than we actually do since there is so much going on. But sometimes experience is the best teacher and you just learn as you go. If something doesn’t work, then say ok and try something different next time. This is one of the biggest things I walk away from this placement having learned. If something doesn’t work, that’s ok. Things won’t go the way you want them to so you plan for flexibility. You plan to have to change things. This seems strange to read but it’s reality.
Another thing I am walking away with is the confidence that I can do this. I may not always know what I’m doing, but who does? Aren’t we all just doing the best we can and hoping that it’s right? We may not all have 25 kids and their test scores depending on our daily decisions, but in some area or another, aren’t we all just doing the best we can and hoping it’s right?? I think we are, whether we have the courage to admit it or not. Courage, there’s an interesting word. My wonderful mentor teacher shared a quote with me Friday. It said, “Courage doesn’t always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” This is something that I will be printing and putting on my desk so I can be reminded everyday that I can try again tomorrow.
To wrap up my time with 5th grade, my wonderful mentor teachers went all out. They had the kids write me thank-you letters and most of them wrote about 1/2 of a page or more and decorated with pictures that they drew. I couldn’t wait to read through them! They were so sweet and wonderful! My teachers (I say teachers because my “official” mentor teacher has a teammate who was just as much of a mentor to me and I count them both as wonderful to me!) also got a cake and little gifts for the kids to give me. It was all a surprise too. I went to take something to the office and when I came back, they all yelled “Surprise!” really loud and it definitely surprised me to hear 45 kids yell But they had gotten a few little things to put in a bag along with little notes for each one. For instance, one was pencils and the note said something like “pencils for your students who will sometime be forgetful.” I don’t have the notes with me right now b/c I’m babysitting but they are really cute! The gifts were all things a teacher would need and I’ve already started using the colored pens
I hated having to leave because I really did enjoy my time and I also learned that I love working with older kids! I thought I was only a K-2 person, but I have learned I have a soft spot for the older ones too haha. It’s such a special age, and while they definitely push buttons and boundaries, they need someone to realize they’re still little kids who need love, encouragement, and someone to keep them in line. I really enjoyed my time there and I can’t wait to go back and visit and sub and see them all again!

Welcome to public education :)

2/20/11
Well, I didn’t get back to it quite as quickly as I wanted to. Life happens though! So I subbed on Wednesday for the first time ever and it was fantastic! My mentor teacher wasn’t feeling well so I was able to convince her to let me sub since I could. It was during full time teaching anyways so it wasn’t any different.
The kids quickly realized she wasn’t there and I had to reign things in before they got out of control. I told them that she wasn’t here today because she wasn’t feeling well but it didn’t mean things were different because I had been teaching all day anyways. (Background: Up to this point, I had been struggling with most students being disruptive and talking while I was talking constantly.) I also explained that their disrespectful behavior needed to stop today. I was done with them talking while I was talking, not paying attention, and being disruptive. I told them that that behavior was rude and I would not tolerate it any longer. I also mentioned that there were a handful of students in class who were respectful, polite, always do what they’re supposed to, and that those kids make coming to school everyday very enjoyable. I ended by telling them I don’t like punishing any of them and I want them all to be in class and for us to be able to have fun and learn at the same time.
That was the end of my “speech” for the day and I had no idea what it would lead to. I have to say, the rest of the day, they were absolutely wonderful!! The morning went smoothly and no one was in trouble. They all did what they were supposed to do and this was a first. I’ve never had them behave this well for me. I was thrilled.
Then the chaos began. I took them to Related Arts, came back, and had a few minutes to get myself together for the rest of the afternoon. They came back from Related Arts and had 20 minutes before going to lunch. In the course of those 20 minutes, I got my “introduction to public school.” The kids came back in and I was trying to get them back to work for the short time we had. I was working with a guided reading group in the back of the room and one of the boys refused to come over. I finally got him to come over and as he turns around, there are tears streaming down his face. Now, you have to remember how 5th graders react when a boy cries. Not well. I asked him to go into the hall and got every one back to work. I stepped into the hallway and tried to figure out what was wrong. Long story short, something had happened in his related arts class and he was upset about the note the teacher had written home to his parents. Finding this out took about 5 or 6 minutes because he was crying so hard that he started having trouble breathing. I had to get him to calm down and then play 20 questions because he wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. Once I had pried that out of him, I told him to take a minute and get himself together while I went back to my guided reading group (who was supposed to be reading during this time).
As soon I was walk back in, I almost trip over a little girl who is standing there waiting for me. She looks upset too and kind of pale. I ask her what’s wrong and she says that she doesn’t feel good. I look around for the trashcan b/c I think it’s her stomach. But I ask her what doesn’t feel good and she says her heart hurts. I was like, your heart hurts? And asked her if she could breathe. She said her heart and her chest hurt and it hurt to breathe. In my head, I went, “Oh crap!” I told her to come with me and ran across the hall to get that teacher. I asked her to come here and I must have looked panicked because her eyes got big and she basically ran out of the room. This little girl was having trouble breathing, getting pale, and all I could think was there’s no nurse here. What are we gonna do? She went into the other teacher’s room to call her mom and I went back to my class. Thankfully I walked in and they were all quiet and doing their work! I was thrilled!
As soon as I sat down with my guided reading group, the phone rang. One of the boys asked if I wanted him to answer it and I said yes, This is what I heard next: “No, she’s not here today. Ms. Shilling is though. Umm… ok.” I thought, great, now I’m gonna have to over there instead of them just telling him what they need. He said, with a big grin on his face, (b/c all of the kids had busted out laughing when I sat down and the phone rang), “Ms. Shilling, they want to talk to you.” “Of course they do,” I said. I asked who it was and he didn’t know. So I climb out from behind the guided reading table and went across the room to get the phone. It was one of the ladies from the office calling to tell me she had one of my girls there with her b/c she needed a change of clothes. “Of course she did. Thanks for letting me know,” I said.
With that, I had about 3 or 4 minutes to wrap up with my guided reading group before we went to lunch. I did it somehow though! Then sent them to line up for lunch. The little girl who was having trouble breathing came back in as everyone was going to line up and I asked her how she was. She said her mom didn’t answer and it was getting harder to breathe. The other teacher came in and said we should call the emergency contact on her card. I didn’t know where that was so I took the kids to lunch while she looked for that. As I’m coming back down the hall, I hear her talking loudly on the phone about how this little girl can’t breathe and needs to be picked up. There was some dispute about who could or couldn’t pick her up and if they needed ID or not… Long story short- we got her to the office and the assistant principal was in charge from there. We had 10 minutes of lunch left
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and at 3:45 I looked at the clock again. The silent bell had rung to begin dismissal and as I looked at the 25 kids in my room sitting silently with their stuff ready to go home, I thought, ” We made it. We survived today and we made it.” At the same time I was also thinking, “I can do this. I really can do this. And I like this!” It was a breakthrough day for all of us and I finally realized that I really can do this (teaching) and I enjoy it. I didn’t realize when I cam to school that being the teacher for the day would mean I would be uniform enforcer, counselor, paramedic, instructor, advocate, and the millions of other things that teachers become everyday. But I enjoyed the challenge and enjoyed my kids and had a wonderful day
My teachers that I work with smiled and said “Welcome to public education.” Let the journey continue.

Short Update for now :)

2/16/11
Last week we had 2 more snow days. This gave me a lot of time to work on my unit and I was actually able to enjoy the weekend! That was a nice change So I decided that I need about 2 days every week to work and get things done, then I can enjoy 2 weekend days. We either need 9 day weeks, or 3 day work weeks. Either is fine with me!
This week has been the first full week of full time teaching. Last week only ended up being about a day and half thanks to the snow. I love it It’s different but I love it. I am learning a lot about tough love though. I really have grown to adore these kids and it’s hard for me to punish them. They make me do it though :/ I told them today that I don’t want to yell at them and I don’t like when I have to raise my voice to them, so please don’t make me do it! This actually made a world of difference in the class. I think they needed me to tell them that I don’t enjoy punishing them or sending them out of class. I wouldn’t have thought that would make a big difference but it did and I’m thankful it did. They can be pretty unruly when they choose to be. But I know that if I don’t redirect and correct their behavior then it will continue. I can’t allow behaviors that creates bad habits to continue. They may not have serious consequences now, but they may later. It’s because I care about them that I have to punish them sometimes. This concept helps me better understand the Scripture about not sparing the rod and why God punishes his Children when they disobey Him.
I subbed today and will write more about that hopefully tomorrow because it was quite an experience and a the best learning experience I’ve ever had by far. I also got a lot of good stories out of it Ask Mom and Taylor; they’ve heard a few haha. The most important thing I learned though is that I can do this. I can take a class, teach all day, and survive I finally found my teacher voice and started getting respect from a bunch of 11 year olds today. That’s a pretty good feeling. So I go into my final observation tomorrow feeling confident and capable! I think that’s a pretty good way to go into it
I’ll make sure to write about my subbing experience and welcome into public education tomorrow. Please make sure to read it! It’s quite interesting As for now, it’s 9 pm and I still have lots of things  to do for tomorrow. I also have to be at school at 7:45 for a faculty meeting (which wouldn’t be too bad if it didn’t take 30 minutes to get school) :/ So off I go to check more tasks off the list!
Til tomorrow  

And the snow returns..

2/9/11
Well, we made it through one whole week with no snow days! However, that did not last for long. The snow has returned! We had a little bit Monday night but not enough to cancel school. Wednesday though, school was dismissed 2 hours early and by about 3:15 or so, the snow was pouring! It fell hard and fast and the roads got bad quickly. It was very pretty though if you were inside with a heater like I was The weather people say it feels like 10 degrees outside though. Brrrr! Thursday is snow day number 11 this year; 2 in December, 8 in January and 1 in Feb. This is the first one of February but I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a couple more before it gets warm!
I have been very bad about staying in touch with my familia and keeping them up to date. This is has not been on purpose I promise! So here are some more updates as they pop into my head
1) Full time teaching has started and I love it! I love teaching all day. I don’t love having to do insanely detailed plans but I won’t have to do that forever as my mentor teacher encouragingly reminds me   The kids and I are still working out some kinks along the road but it’s a learning process and I think I’m learning more every day than they are haha. But I’m starting to figure them out. 5th graders can be tricky!
2) The job fair was Tuesday. I applied with 2 districts this past weekend and then talked to them at the fair yesterday. My ELL endorsement got a lot more attention than my K-6 certification but that’s good b/c that’s why I did ELL. Well, that and because I love my ELL babies I talked to a lady from Metro who said there was about a 98% chance she could find me an ELL job! Turns out, this lady is in charge of all hiring for K-4 schools in Metro. I think that’s pretty good!
3) I PASSED THE ELL PRAXIS!!!! Officially titled,”Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages”, I had to pass this test in order to be able to apply for the ELL Endorsement for my teaching license. Normally this wouldn’t have made me so nervous, but I only had one ELL class haha. The other 4 tests were pretty much covered throughout my time in a teacher’s ed program, but Lipscomb’s degree is designed to be a Master’s Program. So, I only took some Spanish and an Intro to Teaching Foreign Languages class. Thankfully, one of my mentor teachers had a book left from her program that she let me use to study for the test! In TN 143 is passing on this test and I made significantly better than that! Such an answer to prayers!!
4) Some prayer requests that I would like to put in your thoughts: A teacher at my school was diagnosed with cancer recently. She has two young children and is under going treatment. This is a hard time for anyone, as we know from experience. Also, the lady whose basement I live in found out last week that her mom has stage 4 of some kind of cancer. She left town and is with her mom now and will be doing lots of traveling in the next few weeks. This just served to remind me that no matter what I’m stressed about, people we encounter every day are hurting and we may not even know it.
5) I’ve been coming down with some kind of yucky sinus crud since last Friday. It would really be great if it went away. I’m tired of coughing and sneezing and sitting over the vaporizer! Plus I miss the gym :/ I feel so much better when I can work out!!
6) Met with my portfolio supervisor yesterday and am working on that as well. She said I use this blog in my communications section to show that I could create one to keep parents up to date about what’s going on in class. Or that I could use it somehow for class. However, this only works if I’m communicating with others about life and what’s going on at school… So, if you could comment every once in a while, that’d be great!!! I’d love to be able to use this in my portfolio! After all, I’m not that tech savy, but I try
I think that’s all for now. I came home from school today and cranked out 4 lesson plans for next week. I have many more to go and a unit to complete. I’m planning for the snow day tomorrow to be an uber productive day. That will be made  much easier I don’t feel like my head is going to explode from sinus pressure! And if I can get back to the gym! I’m sure I’ll find more to write about tomorrow!
~Good night ~

Finally found a minute!

2/7/11
I have been wanting to update this for a while but there just hasn’t been any time! This weekend was insane b/c I was trying to get all the lesson plans done for this week. This wouldn’t be such a huge ordeal if I didn’t have to do ridiculously detailed plans and a separate plan for each thing I’m teaching. Thankfully I’m working with a team of teachers and I do the same thing in the afternoon as I do in the morning. It still takes forever though.
On that, today was the 1st day of full time teaching! This means that I did all the teaching and was in charge just like I would be in my own class. Of course, this would also be the day that I’m congested, can’t breathe, and coughing like crazy. Somehow we made it through . I credit it to the gallons of water and handfuls of cough drops that I ingested today Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day! I love teaching all day! The time flew by and several times I thought, “Oh no, we’re not going to have enough time!” I always used to wonder why my teachers complained about 7 hours not being long enough. Now I understand
I implemented some of my own procedures and classroom management strategies today as well. It took a little getting used to for the kids but  they caught on eventually. My teacher told me to go with what works for me, which I think is wonderful advice. She has been wonderful throughout this whole placement. It’s nice to work with someone who is so supportive and encouraging!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the Teacher Recruitment Fair. From what I hear, there will be tons and tons of school districts there. I also hear there will be lots and lots of people like me looking for a job. I hope this will be a productive experience… On that note, I applied to Metro Nashville Public Schools and Williamson County Public Schools this weekend. It was so weird to send applications that were not for babysitting jobs I’m actually trying to get a grown-up job now! This still makes me a laugh a little because it seems so ridiculous. Am I really old enough to be applying for a job as a teacher? The job thing has been on my mind a lot lately. Although, not for long periods of time because there are always so many other things that never seem to leave my to-do list. Ultimately, I’m looking for a job as an ESL or ELL teacher in Elementary School. Recently I have considered Middle School as well. (ESL is English as a Second Language for those who don’t know the abbreviations. In education, everything is abbreviated; apparently we forget that we can use whole words sometimes ) I’m told that this is a shortage area and that I should have no problem getting a job. I am still a little doubtful though. I know lots of teachers who struggled or are still looking for jobs.
I just hope that I end up where God wants me to be. He knows which school He wants me at and which kids He wants me to influence and grow attached to . A lot depends on this job, whatever and wherever it may be. I’m hoping to have a job lined up before graduation in May so that I can start looking for apartments/places to move. I don’t really want to move until I know where I’m going to be spending most of my day everyday. If I end up moving farther away than where I am now, I’ll probably end up seeing Kevin even less than I do now. By the way, if you think long distance takes its toll, try the combination we have going on right now. It’s tough on a relationship, even one that’s almost 6 years strong!
Well, this is all I have time for right now. There is so much more to write about but I have to get resumes printed, dishes washed, lesson plans updated, and I should work on my unit but that won’t happen tonight. Thanks for reading and sharing in this journey with me. Hopefully I’ll find a few minutes tomorrow to share some more