Holiday Break

In my first grade placement today the students were beginning to show signs of pre-break jitters. I think it is hilarious that the students begin to show excitement so early, knowing they still have a week before break. It made me wonder today who is more excited about the break, the teachers or the students...
In my case it is both. I am a student and a teacher right now, and I am looking forward to my break more than anything. I have never been so relieved to accomplish a term before. I have pushed myself to the limits this term at graduate school, and I am so proud of myself.
Over my break I will be completing my first work sample, which will be on first grade solids, liquids, and gases. I am excited to tackle this project and begin my student teaching. My other work sample is going to also be a science unit, and will be simple machines for the third grade. I am really excited for these two work samples, and to see where I can take them.
So as far as excited for break, I think my fellow classmates would agree that we are probably more excited than the students and teachers combined at our schools.

New Comfort

After last weeks half day of teaching in the third/fourth grade, I think I established a new level of comfort in teaching. Tuesday I was in my first grade classroom, and taught for a greater part of the day. I sat and thought to myself at one point during the day that I am not as nervous when it comes to teaching anymore.
When I first started out in my placements and was asked to teach my first lesson I was terrified, and I did not know what to do how how to go about it. This was frustrating for me because I want to be a teacher, and I felt like I did not know how to teach!! When it did come time to teach my first lesson, it was a writing lesson, I had to constantly ask my mentor teach how to go about teaching the lesson and what to do. I felt like I knew nothing and was completely reliant on my teacher. On top of that because I kept asking her how to do it, I felt like I was copying her exact form and ideas-which bothered me. Now I feel as though I have reached a new point in my student teaching career. Yesterday I went up in front of the class and did not have any problems or nerves. I was ready to go. I think I have gotten to that comfort level where I am okay with doing it all on my own, and I am not afraid to make a mistake. Tuesday I went up in front of the class and did not have any apprehensions, instead I was at ease and enjoyed teaching. I have found that there is no need to worry or make sure that everything is correct. Everyone does things differently, and I have began to find some of my ways to go about teaching and my own methods. :) More on this to come later, when I actually teach the whole day!

First Reading Experince

Thursday was my first day teaching in the 3rd/4th grade class. I was fairly nervous, and did not know what was ahead of me. The teacher went over the lessons and plans during lunch, and that was that. I taught the last half of the day, and most of it was reading. This was the part that I was most nervous about. The reading program at my school is completely scripted and everything is laid out word for word. When the teacher was explaining what I needed to do for reading, it was more of her showing me what to read out of a script. It was like I was reading a part from a play. I think I was more nervous about teaching the scripted reading program than I was about teaching the other subject. I was also going to teach, more supervise, a writing assignment where the students paraphrased a paragraph and drew a picture about it.

When it came time to teach reading, my nerves skyrocketed. I was so nervous about keeping up with the script, that I forgot that I was teaching, luckily it was only with a group of 10 students. It was very weird teaching out of a scripted manual. I did not like it at all. I felt fake, and it was not fun for the kids. We did get through it, and it wasn't too bad, but I felt like I didn't really do anything. The kids were cooperative, and were a big help- which was a relief. After reading came time for paraphrasing with the whole class. This part was a lot of fun!!!! I loved it! They were great and did excellent with the activity. They did great with the paraphrasing, and really got into the activity. I found that I really liked teaching the third/fourth grade.

It is so interesting to see how different it is to teach first grade compared to the third/fourth grade. The language is different, the dialogue, and the whole atmosphere. I always thought that I really wanted to teach the first grade, and I still do, but I definitely would not mind teaching the other grades. It will be interesting to see what grade I get hired to teach....

My First Play

So I experienced my first school play. The first and second graders put on a Rooster Play last week. I arrived at school and was immediately made into assistant director. It was quite entertaining watching my first graders sing and dance around. I have never put on a play, let alone assisted in putting a play on. Right away I was put backstage, and was in charge of signaling kids when to enter and exit the stage. I had no idea of what I was doing, and I think I was probably more entertaining than the kids! Between me trying to understand when to tell them to go and controlling the noise backstage, I was a mess! It took me to the end of the second dress rehearsal before I understood what to do. The students were amazing, and I was so proud of them. They memorized their lines, sang their songs beautifully, and danced their dances perfectly.

The play was about a book based on a rooster that wanted to travel the world. The rooster invited other animals to come along with her to see the world. There were students who were narrators, animals, choir, and student who played instruments. They practiced for weeks and weeks- and boy did it pay off!!!

The kids made their own costumes and masks in class, and they also turned out soooo cute! They made rabbits, cats, and cow masks. If you ever make a masks with a child, make sure you test them out before putting on the production. The masks were tied around the kids heads with string, and they kept falling down their face- which made for good comedy!

I learned to really admire the music teacher at our school. She put on the entire play by herself, and taught all of these kids their songs, lines, and how to play the musical instruments. She worked really well with the students, and I was amazed by her managing skills. There were over 60 first and second graders that she managed to keep under control.

Plays are a lot of fun...thats all I have to say about that!

My "First" Lesson

I have already taught some writing and art lessons in my first grade class, but last week was my first lesson that I constructed and planned myself. Boy was I in for a surprise! I had no idea of what I was going to teach, but all I knew was that it had to be an expressive art lesson. This entire lesson was an assignment for three of my classes. After much searching and contemplation I finally decided what to do for my lesson. I found a wonderful book called "Elmer the Elephant" by David McKee, about an elephant who felt different because he was patchwork colored, versus gray like the other elephants. The book shows difference and uniqueness through humor, and is a perfect introduction to difference for first graders. For my lesson I read the book to the first grade students and had them each make their own Elmer Elephant, using different colored tissue paper, paper cutouts, jewels, and ribbons. The students were given an oval tracer to trace the body, but I had them draw on their own legs and head. This is where my troubles came in. A lot of the students drew their heads and feet too small, so when it came time to cut it out they cut the legs and head off! So needless to say there was a lot of gluing of heads and legs onto the bodies before they did the patchwork. After a long time, more than anticipated, the students were ready to glue on their colored paper. It was really neat to see how different the student made their Elmer's. Some did a rainbow pattern, and some just put random tissue all over the elephant and they all turned out beautiful!!! The addition of the jewels and cutouts really made the elephants pop and stand out! The good thing about this assignment was that it allowed the student to express themselves through their elephants, and it was a great introduction to difference and uniqueness. After the elephants were completed we did a walking gallery and all of the students got to to see the other elephants. Overall I think my first lesson went well, but I learned that classroom management CANNOT be taught through a book or in a class. The students behaved well, but I had a combination of the other first grade class and my first grade class, so it was a bit chaotic. I am proud of myself for teaching 30+ students an art lesson that I came up with, and that they got really into the project and enjoyed it.

I guess teaching is not so bad after all... It was worth the sleepless nights and the nerves, because in the end I got to witness the students become engaged in a lesson that I planned. This was a great starter for me, and it eased my apprehensions a little...

New to Blogging

I am quite excited about starting a new blog. I have always enjoyed writing, and expressing my thoughts through writing. This blog will be about my life as a graduate student (at Pacific University), as a student teacher, and as a young adult trying to find my place in the world. I am going to share my thoughts, opinions, feelings, and stories with you. Bare with me through this new technology process, as I try to figure out this strange world. I am currently taking a technology class, and I have found it to press buttons I didn't know I had before.

Let me share a little about myself for those of you who are not familiar with my life. I am a 25 year old graduate student, studying to be a first grade teacher. I love the younger children and feel that at this age the students are eager to learn, and want to know how the world works. I am currently a student teacher at Reedville Elementary, in a first and third/fourth class. I am learning a lot from my wonderful mentor teachers, as well as the vivacious students I get the pleasure of working with. My personal life is just as exciting, if not more, as my student/teacher life. I live with my amazing boyfriend of 4 years in a condo in Hillsboro. He is aspiring to be a fireman, and is working hard to get into a fire department. I grew up in the Beaverton area my whole life, and plan on living here forever. I am a big family person, and I enjoy spending time with my family as much as possible. My hobbies would include reading, cooking & entertaining, spending time with friends, going to concerts, playing in the sun, trying new foods & restaurants, watching a good movie, shopping, traveling, and just recently snowboarding. This is about it for now, but I am sure you will learn a lot more about me through the blogs.

I am going to enjoy sharing the stories that I am living in the world around me. I hope that my blogs will make you laugh, cry, and think about your own experiences. Happy Blogging!