Today one of the 4th grade teachers got sick 2 hours before the end of the day, and she asked me to sub for her. It was a lot of fun! I worked on metric measurement conversions in math, and they were all shocked when they told me they actually got it. Too funny! I was glad I made sense ;-)
Then we did a Parts of a Flower lab! Miss B had brought in flowers for the 4th grade classes to use, so I handed them out and we got to work discovering all the parts. It was really crazy in there... and we discovered that one of the students was allergic to pollen!!! OH NO!!! Luckily, it wasn't too bad. It took me like 5 minutes to figure out what to do with him once he got back from washing his hands, since I didn't want to just send him in the hallway... so I found an online flower dissection activity! It was pretty cool, since he could still find all the parts and stuff, and some of the other kids were even jealous. Score for me!!!
Overall, it was a pretty good day, YAY!!! :-)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
We're Marchin' On, We're Marchin' On...
The days are blending together. A lot has happened, as usual, but I can't remember most of it, so here's the brief update.
I'm up and down with how I feel during work. The people are great, but I'm still getting bored occasionally, and I never feel like I'm doing quite enough. Miss B says I'm fine, though, and she appreciates everything I'm doing. Unfortunately, every time the principal walks by, I feel like it looks like I'm not doing anything! Let me recap this:
1) He walks by as I'm looking at my phone for a sec in the hallway. What he doesn't know: I'd just worked through my break to help out another teacher and was going to the next classroom for my next assignment.
2) He walks by during my SRA group as I'm once again checking my phone. What he doesn't know: Since there's no clock where I do my group, I have to keep an eye on the time so that I don't run more than 10 minutes into my lunch time (which is a frequent occurrence due to the starting time of my group and the length of the scripted lessons).
3) He walks in the room during the Halloween party (AKA fall celebration) while I'm standing on the side talking to one of the other 4th grade teachers. What he doesn't know: In the first 10 minutes of the celebration I'd organized our room's event since the parent volunteer didn't show up, and explained it to each new group of kids since the late parent volunteer didn't want to actually do anything except help the kids glue.
So yeah... I feel like I always want to be like "I'm working, I swear!!!" Oh well.
I'm SO glad I have an SRA Corrective Reading group, it makes the morning fly by! I've added things to my SRA group to hopefully give the kids even more extra help: while I'm writing on the board, and while I'm Progress Monitoring on Fridays, I create packets for the kids that are full of mostly fun worksheets to reinforce the concepts we're working on in SRA; I also have word games for them to play instead of doing the packets, if they want to spend 5 bonus points. The games are fun! I have sight word "I have, Who has?" and sight word BINGO, plus word searches and Scrabble Slam! It's all good for them to work with, since their main problem is reading a word with just a vowel or an ending wrong - they have most of the reading thing down. :-)
The math contest went pretty well, I even got to present the certificates at the 4th/5th grade awards ceremony! Problem: no mic. The back couldn't hear me, lol. Oh well, it was a good experience!
I've gotten to substitute for an hour a few times, which is always fun!! I love being able to do that, since it means I'm not just on the sidelines helping out! Twice in a diff. 4th grade class while the teacher was learning how to teach Extended Response, once in the 4th grade class I'm usually in while Miss B had an appt., and 3 or 4 times in different 1st grade classes! Love that!
Miss B is having a girl!!! While she was gone (finding out if she was going to have a girl or boy) and I was subbing, I had the kids sign two cards: one that said "It's a boy!" and another that said "It's a girl!" When she came back the next day I had the "It's a girl!" one on her desk :-) Super fun!
I think that's about it for my brief (haha) update! The kids still say crazy things, but I can't keep track of it all...
Here's just one: [Miss B was teaching about the Boston Tea Party] "The colonists were upset about all the taxes, so they took the tea off a boat and threw it overboard!"
[Student] Well God Bless America!
;-)
Adios!
I'm up and down with how I feel during work. The people are great, but I'm still getting bored occasionally, and I never feel like I'm doing quite enough. Miss B says I'm fine, though, and she appreciates everything I'm doing. Unfortunately, every time the principal walks by, I feel like it looks like I'm not doing anything! Let me recap this:
1) He walks by as I'm looking at my phone for a sec in the hallway. What he doesn't know: I'd just worked through my break to help out another teacher and was going to the next classroom for my next assignment.
2) He walks by during my SRA group as I'm once again checking my phone. What he doesn't know: Since there's no clock where I do my group, I have to keep an eye on the time so that I don't run more than 10 minutes into my lunch time (which is a frequent occurrence due to the starting time of my group and the length of the scripted lessons).
3) He walks in the room during the Halloween party (AKA fall celebration) while I'm standing on the side talking to one of the other 4th grade teachers. What he doesn't know: In the first 10 minutes of the celebration I'd organized our room's event since the parent volunteer didn't show up, and explained it to each new group of kids since the late parent volunteer didn't want to actually do anything except help the kids glue.
So yeah... I feel like I always want to be like "I'm working, I swear!!!" Oh well.
I'm SO glad I have an SRA Corrective Reading group, it makes the morning fly by! I've added things to my SRA group to hopefully give the kids even more extra help: while I'm writing on the board, and while I'm Progress Monitoring on Fridays, I create packets for the kids that are full of mostly fun worksheets to reinforce the concepts we're working on in SRA; I also have word games for them to play instead of doing the packets, if they want to spend 5 bonus points. The games are fun! I have sight word "I have, Who has?" and sight word BINGO, plus word searches and Scrabble Slam! It's all good for them to work with, since their main problem is reading a word with just a vowel or an ending wrong - they have most of the reading thing down. :-)
The math contest went pretty well, I even got to present the certificates at the 4th/5th grade awards ceremony! Problem: no mic. The back couldn't hear me, lol. Oh well, it was a good experience!
I've gotten to substitute for an hour a few times, which is always fun!! I love being able to do that, since it means I'm not just on the sidelines helping out! Twice in a diff. 4th grade class while the teacher was learning how to teach Extended Response, once in the 4th grade class I'm usually in while Miss B had an appt., and 3 or 4 times in different 1st grade classes! Love that!
Miss B is having a girl!!! While she was gone (finding out if she was going to have a girl or boy) and I was subbing, I had the kids sign two cards: one that said "It's a boy!" and another that said "It's a girl!" When she came back the next day I had the "It's a girl!" one on her desk :-) Super fun!
I think that's about it for my brief (haha) update! The kids still say crazy things, but I can't keep track of it all...
Here's just one: [Miss B was teaching about the Boston Tea Party] "The colonists were upset about all the taxes, so they took the tea off a boat and threw it overboard!"
[Student] Well God Bless America!
;-)
Adios!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Is this real life???
I swear, these kids say the CRAZIEST things! With everything that happens, I've lost track of all the times I've said "I NEVER thought that could happen in real life!"
Unfortunately, there have been a few unhappy crazy stories like that, but more often than not the stories are funny/awkward!
--Student: "Miss W, I just really want this rain to stop. It's annoying, and it really messed up your hair!"
--Same Student: "Miss W, I'm going to Chicago this weekend!"
Miss W: "I remember you telling me that yesterday, I can't wait to hear all about it!"
Student: "I want you to come too, Miss W! You can come with me, my dad, [another student], and his mom!"
Other Student: "And my mom's boyfriend and his daughter!"
Student: "Please, Miss W?"
Miss W: "Uhhhh, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to pass... but have fun!"
--Same Student: [Reaching arms around his back & up to his shoulder blades.] "This hurts."
Miss W: "So don't do it."
Student: "No, it hurts good! Here, feel it Miss W!"
Miss W: "No thanks, [Student], go back to your seat and do your work!"
(I am SO glad Miss B was there to witness that one, too, that was way too awkward to handle alone!!!)
--Different Student: "Some people from my church are coming to my house tonight."
Miss W: "Oh, that's cool, why?"
Student: "To bless my house."
Miss W: "...What are they doing?"
Student: "They're coming to bless my house, that way they can get rid of the ghosts!"
Miss B: "There are ghosts in your house??? How do you know?"
Student: "My mom has an app on her phone that tells you when there's a ghost and what its name is. We have two, their names are [?] and [?]!"
I swear, the things that come out of their mouths...
Anyway, work was pretty rough for awhile, because I was still trying to get used to the new procedures and whatnot, but this week things have progressively gotten better!
I know what group of kids I'll be working with for a reading intervention, and I have more specific kids to work with in small groups during math.
Usually the computers teacher takes charge during lunch and recess duty, but he's doing MAP testing with the kids, so a sub has been taking his place. Since I haven't been taking charge as much, I've stepped up a little more, so that the librarian isn't left to do all the talking. It's given me more confidence, which is great! Especially for a day like today, when I was with 2 subs on lunch duty today, so I had to be the take-charge one. It was a good feeling to realize that I have enough of a grasp on everything to keep things running smoothly! ;-)
Finally, and most excitingly (for me), I volunteered to coordinate the math competition for 4th grade! I guess they do it every year, but this year none of the 4th grade teachers volunteered, so I was happy to step up! Unfortunately, I didn't get my password for the website until yesterday, and the contest is 2 weeks from today! I'm still supposed to plan study sessions and get permission slips from the kids and register them on the website and everything, so it was late notice... but it gives me something to do. I printed out the practice packets, and these questions are hard! I tried them all myself, then looked at the answer keys, and I got 2 wrong! One of them I knew I didn't know, so I'd been enlisting the help of some other staff, and we could not figure it out... rough. Totally fun, though :-D
That's about it from the first-year TA, though! Hopefully doing this contest will be a step in helping me get my own classroom next year!!! :-)
Unfortunately, there have been a few unhappy crazy stories like that, but more often than not the stories are funny/awkward!
--Student: "Miss W, I just really want this rain to stop. It's annoying, and it really messed up your hair!"
--Same Student: "Miss W, I'm going to Chicago this weekend!"
Miss W: "I remember you telling me that yesterday, I can't wait to hear all about it!"
Student: "I want you to come too, Miss W! You can come with me, my dad, [another student], and his mom!"
Other Student: "And my mom's boyfriend and his daughter!"
Student: "Please, Miss W?"
Miss W: "Uhhhh, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to pass... but have fun!"
--Same Student: [Reaching arms around his back & up to his shoulder blades.] "This hurts."
Miss W: "So don't do it."
Student: "No, it hurts good! Here, feel it Miss W!"
Miss W: "No thanks, [Student], go back to your seat and do your work!"
(I am SO glad Miss B was there to witness that one, too, that was way too awkward to handle alone!!!)
--Different Student: "Some people from my church are coming to my house tonight."
Miss W: "Oh, that's cool, why?"
Student: "To bless my house."
Miss W: "...What are they doing?"
Student: "They're coming to bless my house, that way they can get rid of the ghosts!"
Miss B: "There are ghosts in your house??? How do you know?"
Student: "My mom has an app on her phone that tells you when there's a ghost and what its name is. We have two, their names are [?] and [?]!"
I swear, the things that come out of their mouths...
Anyway, work was pretty rough for awhile, because I was still trying to get used to the new procedures and whatnot, but this week things have progressively gotten better!
I know what group of kids I'll be working with for a reading intervention, and I have more specific kids to work with in small groups during math.
Usually the computers teacher takes charge during lunch and recess duty, but he's doing MAP testing with the kids, so a sub has been taking his place. Since I haven't been taking charge as much, I've stepped up a little more, so that the librarian isn't left to do all the talking. It's given me more confidence, which is great! Especially for a day like today, when I was with 2 subs on lunch duty today, so I had to be the take-charge one. It was a good feeling to realize that I have enough of a grasp on everything to keep things running smoothly! ;-)
Finally, and most excitingly (for me), I volunteered to coordinate the math competition for 4th grade! I guess they do it every year, but this year none of the 4th grade teachers volunteered, so I was happy to step up! Unfortunately, I didn't get my password for the website until yesterday, and the contest is 2 weeks from today! I'm still supposed to plan study sessions and get permission slips from the kids and register them on the website and everything, so it was late notice... but it gives me something to do. I printed out the practice packets, and these questions are hard! I tried them all myself, then looked at the answer keys, and I got 2 wrong! One of them I knew I didn't know, so I'd been enlisting the help of some other staff, and we could not figure it out... rough. Totally fun, though :-D
That's about it from the first-year TA, though! Hopefully doing this contest will be a step in helping me get my own classroom next year!!! :-)
Friday, September 9, 2011
I've already lost track of time...
Time flies when you're having fun!! No wonder I already feel like it should be Winter Break... I still love the staff, but I'm ready to do more than walk around and answer the kids' questions. Recess is a nice break, though I'm not excited for the winter...
As of today I have something more definite to do for at least 20 minutes -- I get to take groups of the lower kids in math to work with them on their basic math facts. I can work with them using whatever method I want, and I am SO beyond excited for this! Today I experimented with 2 different methods, and I decided that I'll continue using the second method until they know most of their facts, then go back to the first method. Luckily the kids like both activities I did, so hopefully they'll stay engaged!
Otherwise I just grade papers and the like. I don't mind anything I do, I just want to do MORE so that the day goes by faster!!!
I went to Back to School Night, as well, so I got to meet a few parents. The 4th grade team went out to dinner beforehand, and my mentor invited me along so I got to see how well they all get along. It's so fun to see their relationship -- very encouraging!
So, nothing too interesting yet. I'll end my entries with a few funny moments (one of which is PG-13, just fyi!!):
-Yesterday the 4th grade teacher I work with handed me some borders and a stapler and asked me to hang the borders around the word wall (which has been up since before I saw the room). I quietly try to staple it up a couple of times, to no avail. Finally, I decided to just pound the stapler in, thinking that might work. It make a really loud noise but still doesn't work! The teacher looks at me and bursts out laughing, then tells me, "I am SO sorry, I completely forgot that's a chalkboard!" No wonder the staples wouldn't go in! ;-)
-There's no tackling allowed at recess. I saw some and went to stop it, and the boy who was doing the tackling told me "But he said if I give him my chocolate milk I can tackle him!!!"
-The 4th graders are learning Scrabble, and they're not all that great at it yet. I was helping one boy student, who had the letters "O" and "T," and there was a "P" open on the board. I was trying to get him to see that he could make the word "pot," so I said "There's an open letter that you can use to make a word, towards the bottom of the board..." eventually I had to tell him it was the "P." So I said, "What word can you make that starts with 'p'?" He goes, "porn?" LOL.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
As of today I have something more definite to do for at least 20 minutes -- I get to take groups of the lower kids in math to work with them on their basic math facts. I can work with them using whatever method I want, and I am SO beyond excited for this! Today I experimented with 2 different methods, and I decided that I'll continue using the second method until they know most of their facts, then go back to the first method. Luckily the kids like both activities I did, so hopefully they'll stay engaged!
Otherwise I just grade papers and the like. I don't mind anything I do, I just want to do MORE so that the day goes by faster!!!
I went to Back to School Night, as well, so I got to meet a few parents. The 4th grade team went out to dinner beforehand, and my mentor invited me along so I got to see how well they all get along. It's so fun to see their relationship -- very encouraging!
So, nothing too interesting yet. I'll end my entries with a few funny moments (one of which is PG-13, just fyi!!):
-Yesterday the 4th grade teacher I work with handed me some borders and a stapler and asked me to hang the borders around the word wall (which has been up since before I saw the room). I quietly try to staple it up a couple of times, to no avail. Finally, I decided to just pound the stapler in, thinking that might work. It make a really loud noise but still doesn't work! The teacher looks at me and bursts out laughing, then tells me, "I am SO sorry, I completely forgot that's a chalkboard!" No wonder the staples wouldn't go in! ;-)
-There's no tackling allowed at recess. I saw some and went to stop it, and the boy who was doing the tackling told me "But he said if I give him my chocolate milk I can tackle him!!!"
-The 4th graders are learning Scrabble, and they're not all that great at it yet. I was helping one boy student, who had the letters "O" and "T," and there was a "P" open on the board. I was trying to get him to see that he could make the word "pot," so I said "There's an open letter that you can use to make a word, towards the bottom of the board..." eventually I had to tell him it was the "P." So I said, "What word can you make that starts with 'p'?" He goes, "porn?" LOL.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Week One: Check!
I'm SO happy with this school so far! Everyone is so kind, and staff members I don't even know will ask me how everything's going and if I need anything. The atmosphere is wonderful :-)
The second institute day was SUPER fun, with 2 presentations by Danny Brassell. He was fantastic, I definitely recommend seeing him!!! Then the TAs spent more time learning routines and whatnot.
The first day of school was just a whirlwind. My schedule got changed an hour into the day, which is fine with me, I just felt bad because I didn't know if the other teacher was still expecting me. I didn't do as well with the behavior plan as I should have -- we're supposed to give out a lot of stars, but I barely gave out any because I felt like either no one deserved one or everyone deserved one, and we weren't supposed to hand them out to entire classes!!! For a couple of hours I ended up just sitting and observing in the classroom I'll be in for most of the day...
:-) I think my favorite part of Day 1 was going into the 1st grade classroom at the end of the day. The teacher told me she needed help with one difficult student, so I set out to make friends with him. Unfortunately, he didn't want to do anything but color his bus that he hadn't finished, while all the kids were supposed to be on the carpet... I tried pushing him, but he almost threw a temper tantrum, so I decided to just leave him be, and sat next to him. Eventually he started talking to me, and decided that I was his best friend. Super cute!!! He wanted me to pick him up to dance with him, since the other kids were dancing, but I convinced him that I wasn't strong enough, so we held hands and danced. ;-) After the dancing, I tried to get him on the carpet again, at which point he decided that he hated me... so much for best friends! ;-)
Day 2 was another whirlwind of figuring out schedules and procedures. I'm so unsure of myself because they way they do things is different than what I'm used to from student teaching and summer camp! Again, I spent probably 2 hours not really DOING anything, but I got home and was still ready to crash!
:-) I ended up in a different 1st grade classroom, and met another special friend... he LOVED his scissors. He was playing around with them, and ended up almost stabbing himself and the kids around him multiple times, but he would not let go! When it was time to pack up, he put his (sharp) scissors point-down in his backpack. I was SO worried that he was going to end up stabbing someone on the bus, that when his teacher went to go put some papers in his backpack, I mouthed that he had scissors in the pocket, and asked if she could grab them. She (very sneakily) got them out and put them on her desk. I hope he didn't have a fit when he got home, but better safe than sorry!!!
Day 3 (HAPPY FRIDAY!) was MUCH more fun! I got to give a few assessments to determine student levels for a reading program, and helped grade papers for 4th grade. Then in 1st grade the teacher asked me to help her out while she finished up her assessments -- so I got to do some letter awareness activities with them (or something, I can't remember what it's called...)! Yay for being back to teach 1st graders! Too bad they weren't as well-behaved as my student teaching class... oh well, we'll all learn!
:-) I was grading the 4th graders' spelling pre-tests... LOVED some of the spellings they came up with: "impotent" for "important," "binge" for "begin," and ...oh rats, I can't remember the best one!!! I'll post it later if I can think of it! ;-)
Well, Week 1 is complete! I'm excited to see what the rest of the year will hold!!! :-)
The second institute day was SUPER fun, with 2 presentations by Danny Brassell. He was fantastic, I definitely recommend seeing him!!! Then the TAs spent more time learning routines and whatnot.
The first day of school was just a whirlwind. My schedule got changed an hour into the day, which is fine with me, I just felt bad because I didn't know if the other teacher was still expecting me. I didn't do as well with the behavior plan as I should have -- we're supposed to give out a lot of stars, but I barely gave out any because I felt like either no one deserved one or everyone deserved one, and we weren't supposed to hand them out to entire classes!!! For a couple of hours I ended up just sitting and observing in the classroom I'll be in for most of the day...
:-) I think my favorite part of Day 1 was going into the 1st grade classroom at the end of the day. The teacher told me she needed help with one difficult student, so I set out to make friends with him. Unfortunately, he didn't want to do anything but color his bus that he hadn't finished, while all the kids were supposed to be on the carpet... I tried pushing him, but he almost threw a temper tantrum, so I decided to just leave him be, and sat next to him. Eventually he started talking to me, and decided that I was his best friend. Super cute!!! He wanted me to pick him up to dance with him, since the other kids were dancing, but I convinced him that I wasn't strong enough, so we held hands and danced. ;-) After the dancing, I tried to get him on the carpet again, at which point he decided that he hated me... so much for best friends! ;-)
Day 2 was another whirlwind of figuring out schedules and procedures. I'm so unsure of myself because they way they do things is different than what I'm used to from student teaching and summer camp! Again, I spent probably 2 hours not really DOING anything, but I got home and was still ready to crash!
:-) I ended up in a different 1st grade classroom, and met another special friend... he LOVED his scissors. He was playing around with them, and ended up almost stabbing himself and the kids around him multiple times, but he would not let go! When it was time to pack up, he put his (sharp) scissors point-down in his backpack. I was SO worried that he was going to end up stabbing someone on the bus, that when his teacher went to go put some papers in his backpack, I mouthed that he had scissors in the pocket, and asked if she could grab them. She (very sneakily) got them out and put them on her desk. I hope he didn't have a fit when he got home, but better safe than sorry!!!
Day 3 (HAPPY FRIDAY!) was MUCH more fun! I got to give a few assessments to determine student levels for a reading program, and helped grade papers for 4th grade. Then in 1st grade the teacher asked me to help her out while she finished up her assessments -- so I got to do some letter awareness activities with them (or something, I can't remember what it's called...)! Yay for being back to teach 1st graders! Too bad they weren't as well-behaved as my student teaching class... oh well, we'll all learn!
:-) I was grading the 4th graders' spelling pre-tests... LOVED some of the spellings they came up with: "impotent" for "important," "binge" for "begin," and ...oh rats, I can't remember the best one!!! I'll post it later if I can think of it! ;-)
Well, Week 1 is complete! I'm excited to see what the rest of the year will hold!!! :-)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Day 1
Besides the New Staff Orientation, today was my first day at Lotus. I had a great time! Most of the teachers and other staff are incredibly friendly, especially the teacher I will be working with the most (if my schedule doesn't end up changing again!).
The morning was a slow start, with presentations about insurance and other benefits. Then I got to go with the 4th grade team to see their rooms before lunch. After lunch the TAs had a meeting to discuss some of our procedures, such as getting the students on and off buses, and recess/lunch supervision. Tomorrow we'll learn more of that stuff while the teachers have their "Meet and Greet" with students and families. After that meeting, I went back to 4th grade to help with what I could. :-)
In writing, it's pretty dull, but I'm SO excited that the teacher I'll (hopefully) be working with is so fantastic!! I can't wait to learn the interventions/activities I'll actually get to do with the kids!!! :-)
The morning was a slow start, with presentations about insurance and other benefits. Then I got to go with the 4th grade team to see their rooms before lunch. After lunch the TAs had a meeting to discuss some of our procedures, such as getting the students on and off buses, and recess/lunch supervision. Tomorrow we'll learn more of that stuff while the teachers have their "Meet and Greet" with students and families. After that meeting, I went back to 4th grade to help with what I could. :-)
In writing, it's pretty dull, but I'm SO excited that the teacher I'll (hopefully) be working with is so fantastic!! I can't wait to learn the interventions/activities I'll actually get to do with the kids!!! :-)
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