Friday, April 27, 2012

Freaky Friday

Today was interesting. I started my morning off a little bumpy, but thanks to my helpful friends at Solorio, everything turned out golden!

Letty and I went to Panera as usual, then we went to Target. We got a little bit out of control in the store and ended up buying three bags of candy. But man oh man they were all so delicious! Thanks Letty!



I know my followers have patiently been waiting the verdict on whether or not we will be going to Arizona to teach next year. After much contemplation and discussion, Matt and I have decided that we will not be moving to Arizona. As much as I liked the area, I did not feel that the school was a good fit for me. So, back to the job search we go. Something better will come up eventually, we just need to remember to try to be patient. Thank you to everyone who has been keeping us in your thoughts.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Week 9 Day 4

I survived Thursday! Today a little girl wet herself, a boy hit another kid, and someone got whacked in the face playing basketball. I think the kids are ready for summer.

A little boy likes to follow me around during snack time and teach me his dance moves. He is a chubby kid, but the way he dances is a real workout. Phew. I was exhausted.

I am applying for jobs locally but having a really hard time. My degree needs to be posted, and since I still have to wait a few weeks, I am having a really hard time finding jobs. Just hurry up and give me my degree already, La Verne!

Quote of the day:

I feel like kindergarten is often Sunday School at Solorio...here's why...
Student: I trust in the fact that God is alive!!!!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Cookie Monster

I have a few weaknesses in life: cookies, sushi, my grammy's banana pudding and her peach cobbler, and my stepmom's texas sheet cake. All of those foods can turn anyone's day into a slice of heaven. Kristine's cookies are like biting into happiness. And it just so happens that today she gave me some cookies. Oh em gee... I wanted to die with joy.

This morning I observed the upper grade special education class. When I walked in I felt like I was in a zen garden. Everything was so peaceful, the teacher was relaxed and calm towards students. I loved watching how well she was able to work with students. It made me almost wish I went into special ed... ALMOST. I still don't think I'd have the patience for it.

Other than that, my day was slightly out of control. The kinders get to observe caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies. Today we received the caterpillars and the kids went nuts!!! I let them look at the little guys and then write a journal about what the caterpillars looked like. I think that allowing them to look at them at the beginning of the day was a bad idea. For the rest of the day they were super riled up. Even one of my best students stole a pencil right out of a girl's hand. Next time I know not to show the kids something so exciting right at the start of our day. Other than the kids being super hyper, everything went just fine.

Quote of the day:
Student: Ms. Hobbs he said the "w" word
Me: (Trying to think really hard about what the "w" word might be)
Student: You know.... what the he-- with a "ck" at the end

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Donuts!

I may have promoted childhood obesity today by bringing in donuts for my kids, but just for today I am ok with that. I'll be sure to have kids run around the playground for a few extra minutes tomorrow ;)

Yesterday I had a bad day, so today I made it a point to have a better day, and what is better than having donuts for the kids and my fun teacher friends? It was one of the parent volunteer's birthday today also, and she brought in chocolate covered strawberries for the kids. They were so good! The fact that I had a donut AND a chocolate covered strawberry made today a million times better than yesterday.


I subbed for my kinders today and this morning before going to centers I visited my 3rd grade class. Observing them made me realize just how much they have grown since October when I was their student teacher. They are all giants compared to when I had them and they are more mature than they were. I know the fact that they are different now than they were in October is an obvious observation, but it is still weird to witness. I don't want them to grow up and go to 4th grade. Stay little babies!!!

On the news this morning President Obama gave an award to the best teacher in America. She is from LA. As Obama was introducing her and describing her qualities, she sounded like the teachers I have worked with during both rounds of student teaching. Both Kristine and Letty are creative in how they teach information, have great parent-teacher communication, have effective classroom procedures, and are easily able to find ways to connect to their students. If they were nominated for the awards I think there would be a tie for the greatest teacher in the United States. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with the both of them and I love the fact that I can call them both my friends. I look forward to seeing them everyday at school. Both Kristine and Letty have been rocks for me and I couldn't have asked for better master teachers to have. I am gracious to have had the opportunity to work with them and I hope I can teach like them when I have my own classroom.

Yesterday a little girl told me that she forgot my rock. I thought she meant that she went into the dirt in her backyard and pulled a rock out. However, this morning when she came to the classroom she handed me a beautifully decorated white rock with a flower on it. She told me that she made the rock just for me. I think that this rock will make its way in my classroom throughout all of my years teaching. I love it so much.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday Funday

I only have two more weeks left of student teaching!!!

I know that I am the type of person that would love to teach upper grades, but I can honestly say that I am going to miss my kids in a couple of weeks. I think this experience has helped me grow a lot and I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with them. Something they say or do makes me smile everyday, and smiling is certainly the best medicine if you ask me.

Quote of the Day:

Student: "I'm strong enough to eat chili, Miss. Hobbs."

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Arizona

Well, I know my loyal blog viewers have been patiently waiting for an update on the Arizona interview, so here you have it!

Matt and I got to the airport at 5:30 and our plane left at 6:20. By 7:40 we were getting off the plane into Phoenix. This might sound a little silly, because I am such a girly daydreamer, but I always wondered when Matt and I would fly on a plane together, and now that we have, it can be crossed off our bucket list. =)

Anyway, after we got the rental car and took off, we drove through Mesa and found my school in Gilbert. I HATE driving cars that aren't my little Acura Integra, so luckily Matt took over on the driving. After we found my school we went on a search for his in a cute little city called Queen Creek. We got a little bit lost but finally found it. It took about 30 minutes from my school to his, which isn't too bad.

We looked at apartments that we absolutely LOVED and were in our price range, so if we are offered the job and accept it, hopefully we will be able to move there. Then we ate at a local restaurant and sat in the car patiently waiting for our interviews.

Matt dropped me off at my school at 12:15 so that he had enough time to go to his site. I waited until 1:00 when two principals and an administrator called me into the interview room. They asked me some general questions and then they asked me to step out of the room for a minute (awkward!). After they called me back into the room they handed me a paper and said that I would be teaching a lesson to 2nd graders. They sent me into the principal's office and gave me a couple minutes to prepare. I had no idea what standards I was focusing on, where to start, or how to present in a way that was effective for the evaluators, but I went with it.

The lesson I was teaching was a reading lesson about a rich man and a poor man. At La Verne we were always taught to introduce the lesson in an interesting way, so when I got to the classroom, I began by having a discussion with students about whether or not they'd rather be rich or poor. Obviously, all of the students said they would be rich. Then we discussed some vocabulary words and finally, students read the story aloud. After reading, we discussed whether or not students would still rather be rich. Then I said thank you and left. It was very strange, I have never heard of teachers that are interviewing actually going into the classroom to teach a lesson to 30 kids.

After my interview I observed a third grade classroom while I waited for Matt. It was so interesting to see 3rd graders other than my own. I felt like I was watching robots. All of the children at the school sat perfectly still and were silent until they were asked to speak. At one point, I remember sitting in the room just thinking about how much I yearned to be back at Solorio listening to my 3rd graders and kinders talking about something silly while still proving to me that they are learning the information.

After the interview Matt and I parked under a tree and attempted to take a nap. We failed. Finally, at around 6:00 we gave up on sleeping in the car and drove back to the airport. It was 106 degrees at 6:20. SO HOT! We waited in the airport until 9:30 when our flight took us home.

WHAT A DAY!

Thanks for all of your love and support.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hump Day

I am so glad today is Wednesday!!!

My kinders are at the stage when they must tattle on everything their neighbor is doing... "Miss. Hobbs, he is running." ..."Miss. Hobbs, she is sitting next to so and so" ..."Miss. Hobbs he keeps looking at me while I color." I want to yell, "SUCK IT UP KID!" but I don't because that is mean, and I am not mean to kinders... I would say it to my third graders though... HAHA.

I subbed today while Letty was at a meeting. They are so talkative when she isn't around, but I enjoy my one-on-one time with them. I have had really bad allergies this week and today I started to lose my voice while I was trying to get them to be quiet. I'm sure I sounded like a squeaky crazy lady, but we made it through the day successfully.

A little kid in my class has been giving me a hard time lately. When he got in trouble for not following directions today, he started to growl at me! It totally freaked me out... I had to do a double take just to make sure I actually heard him growl. His brother was in my 3rd grade class and when I told the older brother that my kinder had to pull his clip down today, the older brother said, "Why are you being mean to Miss. Hobbs? She is the best teacher... be nice to her." AWWWWW... my little heart melted. I just love my third graders.

Two boys picked a flower for me today. They are definitely trying to give Matt a run for his money ;)