Some Exciting News!

Hey everybody!

It's been a crazy and exciting week for me! A good friend told me about an open long term substitute position at his school, so I emailed the principal and set up a meeting time with her. At first I did not think I would be able to make the position work because it would be starting mid-April. Although, after a talk with my adviser, I found out that it could be done! So I emailed the principal back, and she got it approved. Now instead of having my second student teaching placement take place in first grade in a school thirty minutes away, I will be doing my second placement as a long term substitute in third grade at a school less than ten minutes away from my house. I could not be happier!

I will get three weeks with the classroom teacher before she leaves for the rest of the year. I am beyond excited for this experience, and I hope that it leads me to a job at the same school next year!

As for this student teaching placement, I have learned so much from these fifth graders. They are a great group of students, and I hope that I have taught them just as much as they have taught me. Sadly, I only have two more weeks with them :(

Have a great Sunday!!!

Student Teaching Week 1

My first week in the classroom consisted of two days of observation, followed by two snow days, which will likely turn into five or more days due to this crazy snow storm going on outside! I decided I would do a weekly reflection on this blog just for me to refer back to when I am writing my reflections for school. So I'm just gonna ramble a little bit about my observations from my first week :)

-The Drive to School- It takes me about thirty minutes to get there, and I don't hate it. They start school at 8:00, so it gives me time to wake up in the mornings as well as decompress in the afternoons. Plus, I also get some really good jam sessions, which I am all about.

-The School- The school is adorable. It's in a small town and everyone is so nice. I love the family environment that I feel when I am there.

-My Cooperating Teacher- I cannot say enough great things about my cooperating teacher. She is amazing. She has a great classroom management style, and her students absolutely love her. She is fun and I know I am going to learn a lot of great things from her.

-The Students- I have twenty amazing students in this classroom.They are all so different from one another and I am loving learning more and more about them each day.

So that's a wrap! Stay tuned for more student teaching adventures :)

Looking Back at My First Semester in a Classroom

Today I walked into my practicum classroom for the last time. It was a bittersweet day. My third graders taught me so much more than I could ever teach them. My classroom management has gotten so much better over the course of the semester. I went from having little control of the classroom to having almost complete control.

This practicum experience also showed me what I do not want to do as a teacher. My cooperating teacher used a lot of worksheets and the children were often disengaged in this type of activity. I always tried to make sure that when I taught I did something exciting and there was not a worksheet in sight.

I'm still working on getting my teacher voice, it's slowly getting firmer and louder ;)

I learned that I love to teach in small groups because it is beneficial to both the students and to me. I can differentiate the material to make sense for each group, and I can also get to know the students on a more personal level. My teacher did small groups for reading and math, which I definitely want to incorporate into my own classroom.

I am sad this experience is over, but I am looking forward to getting to work with two new grades in a new school next semester :)