Crimes

Testing kindergarteners this early in the year should be a crime. You're probably wondering how kindergarten work can be such a challenge to test, but believe me when I say IT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE EVER! I felt like I was talking to a wall half of the time. God bless all kindergarten teachers in the world. Seriously. They deserve a gift.

The Land of the Babes

I love the school I did my student teaching at. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I feel like staff members go there because they want to be there. Every time I step foot on campus I feel welcome. It is such a nice feeling.

My friend Katie is doing a long term sub but she had a meeting this morning so I covered for her class for a little while. They are a squirmy bunch but they are fun nonetheless. I am glad I was able to help out. On my way back to kindergarten I said hi to my friend Kristine. She told her class that she is the queen and I was her princess. All of the kids laughed and giggled at that statement. Later in the day I went back in the class. As soon as I walked in they all said, "Hi, Princess" or "Oh look, it is the princess!" So funny!

At this stage in kindergarten, I can't help but laugh at all of the chaos. It is so funny to watch kids try to sit still or focus on what is being taught. I feel like I am the most impatient teacher in all the land so I feel bad when I have to tell kids to hurry up. Letty always assures me that I am not a psycho impatient person though, which is always refreshing. I feel like too many funny things happened today and as I write this entry, I can't think of anything to write down!

I think what I like best but also get kind of frightened by at the same time is how brutally honest kindergarteners are. They always tell me when I look nice or if they like my shirt. What is going to happen in 30 years when I am a hideously fat teacher who wears moo-moos to work? Will they say, "Ms. H, your rolls are in the way of my learning..."? I hope not. Last week when I subbed for third grade Letty said students love me because I am the human barbie doll to kids due to the fact that I am always perky and excited... I hope I can stay that way throughout my journey as a teacher. (Letty, you are so sweet!) ;)

Quotes of the day:

1.)
(After I came back to third grade...)
Me: Let's take a quick quiz... Who remembers my name?
Student: Well, Mrs. Burke always calls you Ms. Hobbies...

2.)
Student: If you are the princess, who is your frog?
Me: My bf, duh!!!
Student: Ew, that's disgusting!

3.) (During share time)
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Kindergartener: A six year old.

Meet N Greet

I met the students I will be long term subbing for in March!!! So excited! For the most part the kids are pretty amazing. There is one little boy that I know will be a real challenge for me, but other than that, I am really excited for what is to come. At the end of the day the class asked if I was going to come back to their classroom... I wanted to say, "YUP! Ill be your teacher for two months and I almost pee my pants with excitement every time I think about it", but instead I told them that maybe one day I will be able to come back and stay a little longer ;).

This morning while getting dressed I was worried about sweating to death, but then it rained all day! It was kind of nice to be able to walk around without feeling disgusting from the heat, but at the same time being on inclement weather isn't fun for teachers OR students. The only good part about inclement weather was that I was able to get to know students a little better. I was secretly trying to memorize names today but with 30 kids and only one me, I was only able to memorize a select few.

I felt kind of bad for my kids today because I felt like a chicken with her head cut off. There was so much work to get done and I know I could have had a more successful day if I had been more organized throughout the day. I think I feel so bad because normally I am overly organized and today I just felt so off my game (boo). Tomorrow is a new day, though and Im sure I will keep things more organized in the future.

I had duty after school today and I ended up taking over crosswalk duty. As I was walking kids across the crosswalk, a man (probably my age) backed up from a parking spot into a big white truck. I saw the man in the big white truck begin to fume with anger and I thought I was going to have to call for some assistance, but the two calmly pulled over, got out of the car and exchanged information. I'm sure if the two were not at a school, the kid my age would have been screamed at by the older gentleman. Ahhh, scary.

4th Grade

Matt's aunt called me this morning and told me that her sister needed a sub ASAP! I was really excited because I didn't think I was going to get called today.

Although today was a half day and I didn't get to spend all day with students, I can honestly say that this class was one of the most well behaved classes I have EVER worked with. Students were respectful and quiet. They asked questions by raising their hand or walking over to me. I am really glad that I was able to work with them today.

Tomorrow I am subbing for the class that I will be long terming for at the end of the year! I am so excited to meet them!!

Life Sized Barbie

Today was much better than yesterday (thanks for the prayer, Letty)! I really enjoyed myself. The students had an assembly which was fun, they had centers and got to do a bunch of different activities, and we were able to watch The Magic School Bus (what kind of person doesn't like The Magic School Bus?!)

During the assembly a little boy with special needs sat next to me. He kept standing up and wanted to leave the assembly. When I finally calmed him down, he put his hand in mine and put his head on my shoulder. I loved that moment of my day... I felt like I mattered to that little boy. Sometimes I think we focus on what is wrong with special needs students too much instead of focusing on what is amazing about them. The little boy has special needs, but he also has some wonderful qualities about him. Today taught me to focus on the good qualities in every child.

Quote of the day:

Boy: Wow, you look beautiful today, Ms. H!
Girl: Yeah, you look just like my barbie but you're life sized!

Munchkin Land

Today was intense. Here are the reasons why: the kids wouldn't be quiet, I am unfamiliar with the school and their school procedures, the lesson plans did not explain procedures so I was lost all day, my class was overly talkative (even if I tried to explain how talkative they were, it wouldn't even begin to portray the truth), a kid cried right before taking the class picture, a girl cried when her mom left this morning (and apparently she does it every morning), the DVD player doesn't work, a kid got a bloody nose, it was too hot to go out for PE, and the students didn't follow directions. GOOD TIMES!!

The sad part is that in the notes for me, the teacher wrote "good luck"... if the teacher writes that then you know it's gotta be an experience.

Back for round two tomorrow.

So many grades

I was supposed to sub for my friend today, but she ended up not having jury duty. I was worried that I wasnt going to be called into work, but luckily they kept me on campus! In the morning I helped my friend with little projects and tested one of her students. In the middle of morning work, the fire alarm went off. I think my friend and I jumped out of our shoes because it scared us so much! Anyway, don't worry, it was a false alarm.

After the drill I wandered over to first grade to help them with prep materials. Even though first grade has a lot of prep work (not as much as kinder, but still a lot) I am really looking forward to my long term sub job in the winter. Don't get me wrong, I am nervous, but I think it is going to be a lot of fun!

Since I was called into sub and I wasn't actually subbing, a teacher unexpectedly had to leave early in fourth grade. Since it was fourth grade, that meant that I got to spend time with a few of my 3rd grade students from last year! Of the 30 students only four were in my class which was a bummer, but it was still fun to see them nonetheless. During social studies we were talking about how it gets colder the higher you hike on a mountain. I told the story about my uncle climbing Mt. Everest and how his toes froze and he got frost bite... they couldn't believe it! It was pretty funny to see their facial reactions.

I took the fourth graders to take pictures today and in doing so, I also saw the kindergarteners from last year! It was like a student teaching reunion! I missed all of my kids and am glad I saw them today

The lady I am doing my second long term job for requested me for next week! I am excited to meet my third graders!!!