GRADUATION

What a crazy week it has been.  Last Thursday my parents drove to Arizona for my cohort’s celebration party and recognition at the Paradise Valley School District School Board Meeting.  Then Friday we headed to California for a few days before turning around and coming back to Arizona for GRADUATION!!! 

Thursday's Party
I will forever remember these last 18 months and am blessed to have had the BEST mentor teachers in the program! 

Monday, I OFFICIALLY accepted an offer and announced it to my friends and family members using the theme “Ropin’ the Dream.”

We got into town Tuesday evening and meet my grandparents at my apartment where we talked about what the plan was for GRADUATION DAY.  The first thing on the list for Wednesday was to pick my brother and grandma up from the airport, both of whom were flying for the first time and Phoenix Sky Harbor is no small airport.  After getting them we had an early lunch then got ready for the BIG evening ahead.  

After arriving at Arizona State University, I checked in and waited for the rest of my cohort for our group pictures.  Then it was show time and we walked into the Wells Fargo Arena (our Basketball arena) where graduation would take place.  A few different individuals spoke then it was time! I was personally a nervous wreck thinking about falling and honestly an emotional basket case thinking of the trials I overcame during the last couple of years.  

GRADUATION MEMORIES

Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and supported me through my SEVEN years of college.  It is hard to believe now that I even entered college as a Law Major, but I know it has only prepared me for my future degrees.... yes, I am already thinking of my masters and doctorate.  Without those who have surrounded me with love and prayer I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this as a GRADUATE with a JOB!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

And I’ll leave you with this Throw Back Thursday.... Four years ago come memorial weekend, my parents and I visited ASU for an information session and took a few pictures around campus.  Today, we took some pictures in the locations to close out my chapter at ASU.  Couldn’t be more proud to be ASU Alumni, a Sun Devil forever, and a graduate of the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education! 

Here is to the next adventure.....

Colorado

April 29, 2013

** Few things repeat just because I am THAT excited about them!!! 

I am down to single digits now until graduation and starting to feel a little overwhelmed with life decisions.  After a week of Colorado skype interviews I flew out to meet with principals AND teach a lesson! Here is how it all fell into place...

Thursday I wrapped up my interviews and about a hour after my last interview, I got a phone call OFFERING me a position AND asking if I can come teach a lesson.  I asked for time to process the offer AND started looking at flights so I could get out there and teach.  By Thursday night the flight was booked and the lesson time was set up.  Saturday morning I took off way to early and as I landed in Denver I learned I needed to prepare a lesson on mammals. After a quick lunch at my cousin’s food truck, we went home so I could map out my thinking, then headed to the library.  Well, Grandma and I were out and about we drove past the schools in town that I had interviews at on Thursday.  One of the schools was even down the street from Enstroms (the BEST fudge EVER)!!  Teaching with in walking distance could be deathly or rather fattening!  Since we had an early morning we also called it an early night after the Supercross race ( I am addicted to sports).  

The school that had an offer on the table...

Sunday we had a nice brunch in downtown at a cute little cafe and then headed up to Rifle to see the schools up in that area that I got the offer from and the one I would be teaching the lesson at.  After our quick drive byes of both schools we adventured over to say hi to my aunt Becky and uncle Chris only to be greeted by almost the entire clan.  Since my cousin Jenny and her family were over we didn’t drive into Glenwood Springs to see them and decided to just hang out with everyone most of the afternoon.  It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend with perfect weather!  After a few hours with the clan we headed to my final stop of the evening at my aunt Cristy and uncle Carl’s place.  My grandparents hung out there with me and waited until my aunt and uncle got home from moving my cousin to the new town she would call home to start her next adventure.  It was another early night but of course I was anxious and unable to fall asleep until the clock showed 11pm.  

This is where I taught my lesson

My lesson was scheduled for 10:30 in the town west of my aunt and uncle but it was a nice 20 minute drive rather than a hour east from my grandparents.  The lesson went great, but as any good teacher I was able to pick out different parts that I could have done better.  I was evaluated by 4 individuals during my lesson and they all said I did a great job with the kids and quickly picked up on the two boys that would be a handful.  After my lesson, I was given a tour and told that they will let me know in a week.  As 2 o’clock appeared on the clock I was walking into meet with another principal.  This is a different opportunity working with students who have behavior problems and are at a school away from their peers.  I did a placement at a school like this and throughly enjoyed it, so I was beyond excited for this opportunity.  After speaking with part of the team who interviewed me Thursday, I was given a tour, and told that they have recommend me to HR for hire! Like usual though, nothing can be official until HR makes the call!! 

Now, here I sit at the Denver airport... waiting for my flight to Phoenix to finish my last 3 days of student teaching!!!!!!! Graduation in 9 days.... then it is back to finish out the school year with my first graders and my AMAZING first grade team.  Couldn’t be more blessed. 

Interviews, Offers, Oh MY!

ALL of my interview notes... Better to be prepared! 

Today was the day I had been excited for ALL week!  My morning started with a 7am (my time) interview which went wonderfully and I am in phase two of their interview process now.  This job is for an ED self contained alternative placement teaching position.  I really enjoyed learning the information from the interviewers.  After interning in an ED program last year, I wanted to student teach with the teacher; however, ASU wouldn't approve it because of the unique program.

Then I had a 11:30am interview for a general education position- my first and ONLY general education interview.  Again it was a great interview, I got to chat with the principal and one of the kindergarten teachers.  At the conclusion of my interview they told me that for round two they would have the candidates come in and teach a lesson to a class.  I was pretty nervous yet excited when they said that and decided to not over think it and move onto thinking about my third and FINAL interview for the day.

After my second interview I had about a hour before my last interview of the day, this one was for another special education position.  I SERIOUSLY felt so stupid second question into the interview when they asked what I knew about their school.... ummm..... I know NOTHING!!! Note to self: When HR calls ask what position AND school they want to set up an interview for.  But the ladies were great and at the end of my interview they told me it sounded like I had observed their school because all of my talking points lined up with all their curriculum.  What a relief!

Not long after these interviews I received a phone call OFFERING me the position I interviewed for on Monday! I asked for time to reflect and decide AND as I was talking to the principal, I received a phone call from the principal I interviewed with at 11:30 asking me to come in and teach a lesson!

All of that to say....... Saturday I am hoping on a plane to go teach a lesson to the Kindergardeners at the school that maybe MY future first graders!!!

Excited, anxious, overwhelmed, nervous.....

Always BELIEVE something WONDERFUL is about to HAPPEN

Unknown

Interviews, Interviews, and more Interviews

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the lord with all your heart

My life is all about interviews right now and counting down the days until GRADUATION! 

Tuesday of last week as my students were doing the state test and I was just hanging out I decided to apply for a few more jobs that had popped open in Colorado.  On those applications, I also decided to add another reference- a friend who is also a superintendent.  Within a couple of hours I had a phone call from them wanting to interview me.  And by the end of the day I had three interviews lined up all for schools in Colorado.

Thursday, April 18th, I had a WONDERFUL interview in Phoenix for a resource position.  I spent 40 minutes sharing my love for children and teaching with a panel of interviewers.  The ladies and I laughed the entire time and I felt stress free.  Friday, I also got a call to interview for a position in Phoenix but turned it down because I already had an interview via Skype for a position in Colorado and the Principal was admit with the time and day- oh well.

As the excitement grew for the opportunities that awaited me, I got a phone call from a position in Phoenix saying they were recommending me for the job.  I was full of mixed emotions after this phone call.  Excited for the first unofficial offer but still wanting to give the interviews a shot for the positions in Colorado.

This morning I received another email from a principal in Grand Junction asking me if I would interview for a special education position she has open- of course I told her YES! So I now have THREE interviews on Thursday ALL for positions in Colorado!!

Today was my first Skype interview for a special education position in Rifle and it went great.  It was strange to do it all over Skype but I feel that I showed them that I have a heart and soul for the education field.  Should know about that position by the end of the week to beginning of next week.

Thursday my interviews go like this:
Special Education Self Contained Classroom
General Elementary Education Classroom
Special Education Self Contained Classroom

Excited and energized to see what comes from all of this!

The BEST is yet to be

Wow, has it been a while since I wrote!! Last time I wrote I was just beginning student teaching and now I am DAYS away from GRADUATING!  First let me catch you up on where I have been and then for the BEST part where I am going.

I spent 2 months with my first graders as the student teacher and enjoyed every minute of it.  I quickly took over the classroom and made the daily routine my own.  For my student teaching course, I had to develop and implement a Unit Plan, so I did “Cinderella Around the World.”  The students and I enjoyed reading different versions and comparing the books to the Walt Disney Cinderella. Having a few friends who work for Disney, I thought it would be neat for each student to take home an “autograph sheet” of Cinderella at the end of the lesson; however, my amazing friend Tara went above and beyond just a simple autograph sheet!  Disney artist Stacia Martin drew and personalized a Cinderella drawing just for my students and I.  My lucky students each got an 8x10 of the drawing and the original will be hanging in my future classroom!  I am blessed beyond belief to be able to have this one of a kind piece of art!

To Miss Schmidt's Class~ Wherever your journey takes you
Remember to be home by midnight! Love Cinderella

Also, well I was in first grade I had two performance assessments  (evaluations) by my supervising professor.  I taught the students about balance, balance points, and counter weights and then they discovered how to balance a REAL pencil on its balance point using counter weights.  It was a great lesson overall and I scored above and beyond what ASU requires me to score.  A few weeks later, I had to do another performance assessment and this time the students were going to use Oreos to create the moon phases.  Little did I know that the day before I would have a curve ball thrown at me!  My supervising professor’s supervisor was sending a camera crew from ASU to tape my lesson in order to evaluate her.  My kiddos did a wonderful time just going with the flow or maybe it was because they wanted the Oreos, but they did great and I again got high scores.  The news from this last performance assessment did stop there though, I learned at my post meeting that this video will be used throughout the summer at trainings for the supervising professors, cooperating teachers, and shown to future iTeachAZ teacher candidates.

Fast-forward a few weeks and I was off to my special education student teaching at a different school and saying see you in 40 days to my first graders.  I found myself in a K-6^th grade resource classroom where we push in half the day and pull out the other half.  By the second day in my new placement I had my caseload and my cooperating teacher had hers.  My time in this placement is winding down but I have witnessed growth among some of my students already in the short amount of time that I have been here with them.  For example, my little first grader who couldn’t count to 20 a couple weeks ago counted to 120 yesterday with only a handful of mistakes.  I couldn’t have been more proud of him!  This week my students are testing and I am bubbling in the answers the student with the broken arm tells me to bubble- oh what a joy!

And now for the WHERE I AM GOING………

I have been filling out a million applications and praying that the perfect job is offered to me.  Well, I have had three interviews to date- one that I knew wasn’t for me before I even walked into the interview and the other two interviews went extremely well.  My cooperating teacher also received an email from a district asking if she would recommend me for a third grade general education position, so excited to see where I end up! 

For the two interviews that went well, here are the details:

Special Education preschool

-       Arizona

-       School District I am currently in

-       Already know half the team

Moderate Elementary

-       Colorado

-       School District by my grandparents

-       Second chance at going to Mesa

-       New adventure

The Colorado district is the first district I applied to and I have been praying that I get an interview.  Four years ago I chose to go to school in Arizona for a boy rather than attend school in Colorado.  I feel like if I am offered a position in Colorado that it will be my second chance and I need to take it.  I am now waiting on emails and phone calls from principals to schedule interviews with them but after yesterday’s interview with one of the heads of Special Education in the district, I am confident that Colorado may just be my new home after a summer in MALIBU!!

A summer in Malibu, YES that is exactly where I am spending my summer, every year my mom sends me an email about a summer camp counselor position at Bloomfields (a summer camp for the visually impaired).  This year everything worked out and I get to put two of my passions together and teach kids with special needs about horses. 

TODAY, Tuesday 4/16, I just got a phone call for another interview in Arizona on Thursday at 4:30.  I truly am BLESSED! 

Seven Days of Student Teaching

Last week, it was great to see my students after the break.  Our first day back went a little different because we wanted to allow the students to get some of their talking out, so we went around the room and talked about what we did over the break.  Many of the students also shared what Santa brought them. (Can I tell you how much I love first grade and that they still believe! It makes the holiday that much more fun!)  Seems like Santa brought a lot of my students bikes for Christmas.  Mrs. G and I also shared with the students what we did over the break.  Once everyone had an opportunity to talk, we started off by reviewing our classroom management and classroom routines.  Surprisingly the students didn’t forget as much as we thought they would have over the break.  

We took Monday rather slowly by just doing a fun project that talked about their goals for the year.  It was a nice way to get them back into our routine.  On Tuesday, I took over the morning portion of the day and loved every minute of it!  I made a couple simple mistakes that the students didn’t catch but of course I caught it in the wee hours of the morning when I was asleep.  Wednesday was an extra special day for me because it was my birthday!  Loved hearing the kids sing happy birthday to me like they were "under water,"  wish I would have gotten a video of it.  

My momma made me this to wish me a Happy quarter of a century! Thanks Mom!

Wednesday and Thursday, we had the same routine I taught all morning until calendar and then Mrs. G taught math and we team taught science.  Before we knew it Friday rolled in and it was a day of assessments on what we have learned during the week.  I taught most of the day again and by the end of the day I was TIRED.  This week was my first full week in the classroom with these kiddos and it was everything and more that I thought it would be.  I was also reminded this week that I am right where I am supposed to be.  

Monday through Thursday in outfits! 

After a late Friday night in the classroom, I had a relaxing, crafting, and planning weekend.  I worked on bulletin boards and studied up on some up coming lessons.  

Friday through Tuesday

Monday rolled up way sooner than I wanted it to but I was ready to go!  We started our weekly spelling test of sight words.  We’re using L to J for this, which is all 120 words that the students should know at the end of first grade are in a bucket and five are randomly picked every week.  At the end of the test the five that were picked go back into the bucket, so students never know what words they will be tested on.  Our goal is that all students will get all five right for a class total of 105,  we got 42 for the first week.  We have a long way to go, but we have faith that we will meet our goal.  I taught on and off through out the day, I think I had a case of the Monday nerves.

Today marks my SEVENTH day of STUDENT TEACHING!!!!  I taught every subject, every lesson, every hour, every minute, every second of the day!! It felt so good, I can’t even explain it.  Today fueled the fire that has been burning since I was a little girl. 

 113 days until GRADUATION!!!!!

A look back

What a year 2012 has been!

To start off 2012, I moved back to Arizona to finish my degree after being in California because of my health.  I started the 18 month teaching program offered by ASU for my dual degree in Special Education and General Education.  Because of the fast pace, I took 22 units and interned two days a week.  My first internship was in a functioning non academic first through fifth grade autism classroom and my second internship was in a first/second grade emotionally disabled classroom.  I enjoyed both of these internships very much.  In March, I relapsed with my RPS but because I knew the signs I was able to start treatment before it got as bad as it did the first time around.  We started my weekly shots, doctor visits, and parent switch off; so I wouldn’t have to miss any class.  I did miss a few weeks of my internship; however, I made them up after my classes ended and I was feeling 90% better.  

I decided to go back to California for the summer and nanny for a family I met when their daughter was a few months old.  I had a great time taking the kids to the park, reading, and working with the daughter on her numbers and alphabet to help prepare her for Kindergarten.  When I was in California I was also able to spend time with all my nursery babies and their families along with my girlfriends and family.  Summer ended to quickly and I was back to Arizona to start my SENIOR year!! Hard to believe I have been at ASU for four years!  When I got back to Arizona I was joined by a girlfriend from church who moved to AZ because of her job and my youngest cousin started his freshman year at ASU! 

Concert with my California turned Arizona who left me to go back to California girlfriend

The fall semester started and ended just as quickly as the spring semester.  For this semester, the program had us taking 19 units and interning four days a week until our classes started and then we dropped down to our two days a week.  This semester I was blessed to intern in a first grade general education classroom, where I work a long side of my master teacher and two other wonderful ladies.  I couldn’t have asked for a better team of teachers that offer me so much help and support.  The semester seemed to fly on by with all the hours I was clocking in my internship class and my ASU classes. 

Fun as a Sun Devil 

As great as this year was, I didn’t imagining saying good bye the way I did.  One week prior to Christmas, two weeks prior to the New year.... I said good bye to my gallbladder as it had me in some serious pain!  Thankfully, once surgery was over I was back to myself and it was off to California for Christmas break.  I was excited to go to Colorado for Christmas and have a white Christmas; however, I was reminded why Arizona was a better choice for me when the weather never got over FREEZING!! 

I am now preparing to return to Arizona for my FINAL semester!!!!!! I will be student teaching starting January 7th in my first grade placement from the fall semester for eight weeks and then in March I will start a new special education placement, which I am nervous about!  Looking forward to spending 5 days a week with the kiddos that have stolen my heart; however, I am not looking forward to telling them good bye in two months.  

Let the journey continue and 2013 be the best journey yet! 

The last 4 months

As 2013 rolls in, I am finally remembering to update my blog!! 

September:

Intern hours in my first grade classroom,19 credit hours,  baby sex reveal party, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan concert, friends getting engaged, bridal showers, helping a friend prepare for Miss Rodeo California, and so much more!

October: 

More intern hours in my first grade classroom, still taking 19 credit hours, baby shower, friends wedding, seeing old friends, Fall festival with my first graders, family Disneyland trip with 21 of us, friends having babies, and best of all lots of time with those who matter most! 

Brittany's baby shower beautifully decorated by Rosie and Kim of Save the Date Events

The Fall festival with my first graders was a great first experience for a class party.  All the teachers at my school dressed as book characters, I dressed as Judy Blume from the Lunch Room.  It was a fun day! Us teachers switched classes and read our books or a chapter of our book to the classes we switched with.  At the end of the day, we had three different activities for the students to do and then we turned on the Magic School Bus “Amazing Bats, since we just finished learning about bats and allowed the kids to have donut holes and apple juice.  It was the perfect fall festival for our class. :)

Oh what a weekend I had between Disneyland and a family friends wedding.  Eighteen of my family members from Colorado took a trip to California and scheduled a day at Disneyland, so my parents and I decided to join them for some fun at the happiest place on Earth.  This girl will always love Disneyland no matter where she lives! I enjoyed riding some of the little kid rides with my second seconds that range from first grade down to a year old, what fun we had! After a day at Disneyland, my parents, grandparents, and I jetted off for dinner at our favorite hang out in New Port Beach- Crab Cooker!! It was the perfect California day!  

Saturday evening we watched a family friend say “I do.”  Our families have been friends since our parents for younger.  It was truly a beautiful day of shades of blue and fun to see many of our favorite people that we haven’t seen in a long time!

November:

Football games (all season; however, went to two of them this month), more friends having babies, more time at my internship, doing homework and classwork, ASU beats UoA,  Thanksgiving in California with the family, good MRI results from the doc, girls weekend in Arizona with Sara and Jess, LOTs of FINAL projects for classes, lives taken too soon, and days to be thankful for. 

ASU beats Wash State! 

December:

More time in my classroom with my first graders, more time in class learning how to be a teacher, more FINAL projects, finals, National Finals Rodeo, Miss Rodeo America pageant, hospital stay, Christmas in Colorado, and ASU in a bowl game!

My semester in first grade has came to an end and I have fallen in love with my kiddos and the teachers I teach beside.  I have be blessed beyond belief by these individuals who are willing to teach me all they know about the field of education. I cannot wait to return to the classroom in January, I’ll stay with this group for two more months officially student teaching!! And then in March, I will student teach in my special education placement, I am so excited to almost be done with my bachelors degree and have my own classroom.

As finals came to an end, I started feeling sick and had a lot of pain.  After an observation, I decided to go home and rest for awhile before a Christmas party; however, I never made it to the party because I drove myself to urgent care and told mom she needed to make the drive to Arizona because something was wrong.  Saturday, December 15th, I was admitted to the hospital and had my gall bladder removed Monday, December 17th.  What a crazy weekend that was! I was released from the hospital Tuesday and mom and I drove back to California Wednesday.  Everyone but Brant packed up and drove to Colorado Friday for a white Christmas with my mom’s family.  We had a fabulous Christmas with all of the family out here and are excited to head back to California tomorrow where it is above freezing! 

Hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS and here is to a blessed and healthy 2013!

First 10 days

With butterflies fluttering, the school bell rang, and I met nineteen students that I would have the joy of teaching.  The students were so excited to be “big kids” and play on the “big kid” playground! During the first three days of school, the students did a number of get to know you activities and we read a number of books that involved the first day of school.  By the second day of school, we had twenty one students in our classroom.  I have already started to discover what students will pull at my heart emotionally and physically, but I can’t say enough how much I love these kiddos already.  I left not long after the kiddos did on Friday and got to spend the weekend with my parents.  

Monday marked the first full week with students and to say by Friday, I wasn’t tired would have been a lie.  We have been having random storms that start just as I am going to bed and I haven’t had a good nights sleep all week.  The students were calmer Friday then any other day, we have decided it is because the district tacked on an extra thirty minutes to each day and their little bodies are taking a while to get use to it.  During the week, we worked on phonics, writing our numbers, taking a math pre test to see where the students are, comparing and contrasting Kindergarten and First Grade, and some geography.  It was a busy, fun, and exhausting week.... Yet, I can’t wait to repeat it all over again with my own course work thrown on top of it!!!

Over the weekend, I studied up teacher edition books, went to main campus and sat in traffic (freshman move in) to buy ONE book because that was all they had of the ones I still needed to buy, and got my folders ready to go for Thursday.  During this weekend, my youngest cousin on my Dad’s side moved into his dorm at ASU!!  What are the odds that the two youngest end up at the same college- one as a senior and one as a freshman.

Some of my boards in the classroom... it is about time to do some new projects :)

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.    Harriet Tubman

Life in the slow lane.....

Since being back from my quick Colorado trip, I have started my summer life- babysitting, working at church, preparing for the AEPA, WALKING, hanging with friends, and just enjoying life.  

On Sunday, I returned home from my trip and went straight to the beach with my parents for a yummy lunch at our favorite place, Crab Cooker!  The Arizona loaner car is enjoying this cool weather as much as I am enjoying driving it.  

Tuesday, I meet with the momma of the two kiddos I would be spending two days a week with until the end of July.  It was wonderful to catch up with her, I haven't seen her for about four years. Everything was great and I was ready to start Wednesday.  

I was greeted by Lisa and her little girl when I got to the house on Wednesday, her little girl (5 years old) is not the little 5 month old I would rock in the church nursery.  This little one and I had a bond from the start at her early age and I was thankful to see that the bond was still there.  The little guy woke up not to long after and took some time to warm up to me. We had a great day coloring, reading,  watching a Strawberry Shortcake video, A lizard show, and some schooling.  Now, I need to start planning some crafts for us to do at least once a week and maybe a park trip on the other day.  It is going to be a fun time with these two! 

After spending my morning with the two fun kiddos, I was off to church to spend it with my little love; however, I was WRONG!  I got to spend it with a bunch of wild kiddos whose parents were at various activities at church. Our numbers were crazy- it felt like a wild Sunday morning but it wasn't.  I enjoyed being back with my fellow Wednesday workers and loving on all the kiddos that I left.  But the best part about the evening was just having some much needed girl time with Rebecca; however, I'll be more excited when she is done with school for the summer! I need my Rebecca time!!!!!

It wouldn't be Thursday without spending the morning with the beautiful babies that belong to some of my favorite moms at our church.  It was a crazy morning but nothing our crew could't handle.  I was able to hold some of my little ones and get hugs from some of the mommas I hadn't seen.  Just a perfect morning and to kick the morning off, I walked two miles with three kiddos, their momma, and Rebecca.  Now that was something I could get use to! Have I said how much I love walking with TWO legs and NO crutches!  Then it was lunch with a girl friend and back to watching three of my favorites; the cutest twins and their little brother.  I just love these three and their parents!

Today, Friday, started with a 6 mile walk with one kiddo, my little love, out of the bunch and the momma.  It was a walk that include lots of fellowship and words of advice- perfect and just what I needed.  The best part of TODAY is that I got my grade and teacher for my internship for the Fall!!!! I am excited to announce that I will be spending August to December with a bunch of first graders!!!!!!!!  If everything goes as planned, I will stay with them until February, for my STUDENT TEACHING, which would be perfect!  I am beyond excited for this next adventure and can finally see the light at the end of this very long tunnel to my Bachelors of Arts in Special Education and Elementary Education; with the possibility of a Bachelors of Arts in Early Childhood.  The possibilities in a year can be endless. But for now its time to get ready to go watch some cute kiddos, so their parents can have a date night with friends.

Only 363 days until GRADUATION! 

Semester ONE.....OVER

A group picture of Mrs F with the boys

Yesterday, I spent my last day with eight of the cutest, funniest, wildest, and most caring first and second grade boys.  They taught me I can give a pretty good stern “don’t do it” look, I have a pretty good life no matter my health, and how to start new every day. Because of my health, I ended the intern on crutches and these boys couldn’t have been more caring and supportive of me.  They never complained about how slow I was when things first started or that my crutch hit their chair.  The only time they did complain is when I would tell them I couldn’t play Air hockey, Go Fish, or Old Maid with them- because the school focus’ on behavior and peer social skills, I had to limit the time I played with them during free time.  I really enjoyed my time in this class and I know I said that last time, but I learned SO much more this time around! 

This past week was an eye opener in that classroom.  Since I was there the same days every week during my placement I only saw what happen on Mondays and Tuesdays, this week I spent every day with them and saw how they can spiral down hill behavior wise through the week.  It broke my heart to see one of my boys lose control of his body and end up in the intervention room.  I am still trying to decide on where I want to do my student teaching, I have first dibs on both of my teachers from this semester because I was the first person to have Mr. H and the only person to have Mrs. F.  My mentor teacher wants me to student teach with Mrs. F and to be able to truly get all the benefits of student teaching, I know that would be my best bet unless I just went with a whole different teacher- but seeing that I don't do well with strangers, I will most likely pick one of the two that I had this semester.  

Not feeling very creative in the terms of a creative thank you gift until Thursday and of course when I went to Target to buy supplies they no longer had what I wanted.  So I opted to wake up early and go to Fry's grocery store and get the two teachers in my class flowers to go with their thank you notes.  I also got the boys each a ring pop- I wish I would have thought to write each of them a little thank you. I am not usually one for store bought but up until Wednesday I was still feeling stressed out because of being behind in two of my classes.  Finally, I did what was best for me and my grades by informing one of the teachers that I was going to need an extension.  Since I wrote that email most of the stress has been lifted off my shoulders and I couldn't be more thankful for that.  I'll be focusing on that after I have a little get away next weekend, which is a surprise so I can't wait to post about it!  

Love that each of the boys
 signed it

My card from the class & teachers

 To not throw the boys off, we didn't tell them it was my last day until the last 10 minutes of class, this was properly a smart thing since two of the boys started balling and the rest of them just wanted to hug me.  I am so glad that they were able to notice how much I care for them even though, we were only together for a small amount of time.  I was going to try and go back next week for their spring concert; however, after seeing how the boys reacted, I have decided it is with their best interest in mind that I don't go back. 

~Just Believe~

Life and School Got in The Way

If I could describe the last two months in a single word it would be WOW!! Last time I wrote, it was the day before my last day in my first placement class and I was stressing about my next placement.  Time has flown by and next week is my last week in my second placement a 1st/2nd grade Emotionally and Behavior Disabled classroom.  It was FABULOUS to say the least and that would be why I was unable to write.  My teacher allowed me to teach lesson after lesson during my time in her class.  After my first day of observing, I was caught off guard when she asked if I wanted to teach on day 2!! I said yes of course and from there it just kept going and going.  I learned a new behavior model called the Boys Town Model and at first I didn't care for it because everything focuses on behavior and the students (all boys) don't get much academic time because the teacher has to stop and deal with the behavior.  After a couple weeks, I witnessed why it was so important for the teacher to focus on the behavior right then and there.  I was warned by many that I would fall for these boys and I sure did- maybe to quickly.

During my eight weeks, I had a formal observation during one of my lessons and thanks to all my Facebook teacher friends I had an AMAZING lesson idea and thanks to my mom for helping me expand the idea into a WONDERFUL lesson that got raving reviews!!! Today, I had my post conference and my head teacher had nothing to say besides OUTSTANDING job...this made me smile ear to ear and then I shared with her the couple things I knew needed fixed and she just kept saying no it was perfect.  So, THANK YOU to those who shared their ideas with me.  My little guy and I had a great time and he was ON TASK the ENTIRE TIME and that rarely happens with this little guy.  Sadly, my lesson was planned to be done with my reading group of two little guys but one got sent to intervention during PE and didn't make it back in time.


I was given the topic of Adjectives and told to have fun with it, so after the idea of having the students describe an orange.  My mom and I took it a step farther and planned out my lesson.  I began by reading one of my favorite childhood books:

The idea of the book was to show how the author, Audrey Wood, uses adjectives to describe the strawberry.  I then allowed the little guy to taste, smell, touch, and see a real strawberry!  He was amazing at  giving me adjectives to describe the strawberry.  Once, I knew he got the concept and could tell me that "an adjectives job is to describe a noun" I knew we could move on.  So then, I pulled out a whole orange and a slice of orange for him to describe it to me.  I started him off by saying "Oranges are round" and then he was able to come up with 10 adjectives ALL BY HIMSELF- I was going to be happy if he could come up with 4, so this BLEW me away! After he wrote all his adjectives out, I asked him to give me a couple sentences using his adjective and his noun.  He did a FANTASTIC job again and wrote out 4 sentences.   I CANNOT wait to use this lesson with my students, NO MATTER the age.

This past Monday my placement teacher wanted to observe me since we are usually doing lessons at the same time working with different groups, so I planned my first whole class lesson using Sheep in The Jeep  by Nancy Shaw.  We studied the book to find words that rhyme with sheep and jeep; lucky for me I have a super smart group of second graders that excelled! After we read the story, one of the students showed me how to make a circle map and then each student had a couple chances to come up and write a word that rhymed with sheep.  They were all so excited to come up and write on the board and were even asking to see the book to find more words.  Once, I felt they had the concept down we reviewed the words we had on our circle map and then I dismissed them to their seat to do an activity sheet.  We started the sheet as a group using the doc cam and then each student had the opportunity to come up to the doc cam and circle a word once our friends found all the rhyming words.  As the students were circling the rhyming words, I was able to walk around and help my struggling student, who also did a great job.  I am loving the planning process and especially the implementing part of lesson plans.  I can't wait to plan some future plans over the summer in my spare time.

Sheep in The Jeep Circle map

I did have a pretty big downer during the semester between all of this good going on.  While sitting in class one day, I felt my leg tighten up and immediately knew I was relapsing.  RPS is triggered by both a trauma and stress and sadly twenty-two units, a placement class, and frustration leads to a lot of stress in someone who is already highly stressed.  Thankfully, it was just a simple call to get right back on schedule of my medication and shots.   I took a week off of my placement class and classes to rest my body and get it back on schedule.  Then on my good days, I would go to all my classes by the aid of a parent spending the week with me or a girl from the cohort driving me.  My body did a few different things this time around; after shot #1, I had an AMAZING outcome and was back to walking within a couple days.  Then just a few days later my foot was cold and not moving....AGAIN! So, it was back to hitting it hard, so hard that this weeks scheduled shot was cancelled because after the last two weeks my back has been giving me terrible pain at the injection site.  It has sure been another roller coaster!

I feel as if I am drowning in school work and medical stuff right now, but my teachers keep assuring me that I am just fine and not to stress out any more than I already am.  I am caught up in most of my classes and will be getting a couple extensions, unless I can get the stuff done next week; which would be ideal.  I also have three more days to make up in my placement class because of doctor appointments and knowing for my safety I was to fragile to be in the class with my boys.  I am sure enjoying the days with them and I love all the different questions about my crutch, kids sure do say the funniest things :)

Tomorrow is our last class for the semester!!! 

That marks one more year until GRADUATION and a JOB!!! 

The Power of a Note

Tonight was spent writing my thank you notes and making treats for the ladies and gentleman that have impacted the past 8 weeks of my education journey.

Tomorrow, is my last day with the group of students, paras, teacher, OT, and speech therapist that I was placed with for my first part of this journey in the classroom.  There have been days that I was upset because I felt I wasn't learning much from this class but over time I have fallen in love and don't want to leave these great kids.  Words aren't enough to express my gratitude to the teacher who opened his classroom to me and to the program.  I understand having someone observe and take over your class is hard but he was more than willing to let me step up whenever I was ready too.  I enjoyed the students who I meet and gained trusting relationships with.  I'm going to miss angry bird throwing during structured play time, building "car washes" out of legos, making sure glue isn't eaten, being asked a million times for cookies when the poor guy knows he can't have them, being asked for hugs, getting thumbs up, being asked to watch "the pig", or even playing baby dolls.  The speech and OT have been kind enough to allow me to be apart of the students learning within their classroom and during the time they have each week with them.  I can say, my experience has been positive and one of a kind because of everyone welcoming me and treating me as part of the team.

            
                As a thank you to the kiddos, I got them a new book that I think they will enjoy.





The best part of this experience is leaving on such a high note- today on my note from the teacher it read " Next time consider that students may benefit from.... giving me a day off! Actually, since you can't do that- just keep up the good work and positive attitude. We're going to miss you!"  Made me want to cry!!

This week I find out my next 8 week placement.  My main mentor teacher is trying to get me a VI teacher but if not I requested a mild to moderate primary grades class.