8 weeks down 10 to go!

As I wrote the countdown in my title just now, it came to me why I've been feeling like butterflies, frogs, volcanoes and cry babies have been hanging out in my body lately!  I'm at that point on the mountain where I've been climbing and climbing, and I'm getting pretty warn out, but I'm so close to that down hill turning point.  

There's no point in pretending that it's all grand, the honey moon period is over!  Well wait, I shouldn't say that…I'm still in love with teaching, still love my class and 2nd grade team, and my CT is awesome.  Thank goodness for all of that.  What isn't as romantic is juggling full time teaching (and not getting paid), a TWS, a Capstone project, after school babysitting, and a personal life.  Let's just say the stress and the constant pit in my stomach from being overwhelmed has set in.  I have no problem crying it out though, and moving on.  I'm good at working myself up and feeling like life is crazy and scattered, but I always manage to get things done that need to get done, and I will continue to push through the second half of fall semester!

What's been put aside while I've been juggling the other stuff:  Exercise, a healthy diet, water, deep cleaning, hanging with friends… hah, all the things that probably keep me sane!!  The result: a few extra pounds on the scale, those awesome back muscles I was building are slowing going away, breakouts constantly (due to stress, diet, lack of water…), and probably contributing to my emotional state!  Hey, at least I'm aware of it…right?! haha

My goals for this week:  

-Try to work in at least a little bit of exercise, I need to start somewhere and a little is better than nothing! 

-WATER WATER WATER…man I need water!  

-I will devote time after work on my projects, even if it's only 30 minutes.  A little every day adds up and I need to push myself through it in order to get these projects done.  

-A healthier diet…I'm so good at eating healthy, but I'm also really good at eating what's convenient when I'm busy--or eating all the treats in the lounge at school.  I will do my best to make healthier choices, then I know my body will start to crave the good stuff again, and my skin will clear up a bit! 

-Taking a deep breath, and taking one step at a time-Because really, that's all I can do!

I needed to whine and pout and make personal goals public.  It's a coping mechanism I suppose.  Also, knowing I'm not the only person going through this program helps.  I know my classmates are feeling a lot of the same feelings.  WE will get through it and be proud that we did!  AND graduation day will be that much more rewarding knowing the amount of time, work, commitment, and money we put into our future!

Now I can move on and get the job done!!  

Besides the excessive stress, everything is great (bahaha!).  I began teaching my TWS unit which is a 7 week unit on habitats.  I'm learning how low on the totem pole science and social studies are.  It makes sense, because the other subjects are foundations for so much.  But it's also pretty sad because these subjects are the ones we usually get to do extremely hands on and interactive lessons with. 

By the time I get started teaching after math and factor in about 5 minutes to clean up at the end of the day, I end up with about 20 minutes to teach science!  I'm learning a lot about the stresses of teachers and how they struggle to fit in content throughout the day, and why science and social studies planning is definitely not a priority…and sometimes skipped all together!  On the flip side I've learned how important it is to embed multiple subjects into lessons.  Our school uses a reading program that embeds a lot of the science and social studies into it, thank goodness for that!  Our kids seem excited about the content though, this age LOVES learning about animal habitats!

I had my first "formal" observation by my university advisor.  That went well.  She had great things to say about my teaching style.  It's nice to get that kind of feedback and to be reassured that you're good at what you love!  I know Nick will be surprised to hear that she loves my voice and presence in the classroom.  I know that sounds like a weird compliment, but I tend to speak quietly and have to make a real effort to project my voice.  She said my demeanor is one that the kids will soon love and trust if they don't already, what a compliment!  

I know I have so much more to learn and that much of my learning will not happen until I get into my own classroom.  I cannot wait to have that responsibility and that is a stress I will welcome!  

That's all for now, have a wonderful week everyone! Hopefully by my 10 week check in, some bricks will have lifted off my shoulders…there's a good chance since week 10 is fall break! WAHOOO!!!!

Pick a keep calm, any keep calm.  But really, I just need to KEEP CALM! :-p

4 weeks down 14 to go!

Wow, the past month has zipped by, especially the last two weeks.  Every day in the classroom I feel more and more sure about my decision to become a teacher.  I wake up in the morning excited to see our 22 smiling faces, and look forward to learning from our 2nd grade team.  I love that even though our daily routine doesn't change, each day brings something new and different!

I began leading morning work about two weeks ago.  Every morning when the kids come in, they have their routine "check in" procedures (making lunch choices, handing in HW folders, etc.), and then they sit down for morning work.  This is either a poem to read, questions to answer about the poem or DOL's (daily oral language, this is reading and writing practice).  From a teaching standpoint, this is easy.  I just monitor the students, to be sure they are on task and trying their best.  Then, we all go over the work as a class.  Easy, right?!  WELL, this is where being a teacher REALLY comes to play.  Finding these routine moments to insert extra learning.  I feel like I'm constantly on a game show, trying to come up with good questions to ask the students, and how to relate it to past lessons or connections to the real world.  This part takes some practice, you have to be on your toes and ready to expand the student's learning.  It's fun, sometimes challenging, and I feel like I'm part of an improv show!

Another great milestone was my first full day of teaching!  My CT was gone and so it was me and a substitute.  The sub works at our school, and for my CT on a regular basis so she's pretty familiar with the routine.  She was so kind in letting me take over, and just stepping in where it would be beneficial to have two teachers!  She was great to work with, and complimented my teaching, which meant A LOT!  Since then, I only take over here and there throughout the day.  The students are learning routine a bit still, therefor so am I.  The things that don't change much each day, are the things that I typically lead since I'm familiar with them. In about 2 weeks I will hopefully be doing 75%-100% of the teaching on a daily basis.

My class helped me celebrate my 27th birthday on September 4th!  It was the most exciting birthday song I've ever had!  I passed out cookies, the kids sang to me, and I got 27 "high-fives" from them.  They sure know how to make someone feel special!  In the mornings the kids with birthdays get to announce it on the intercom.  My CT sent 3 kids up to announce my bday.  They each said "Hi my name is ___" then they said "and today is Ms. Fat-nellys, I mean Fanelli's birthday!" hahaha, it was pretty amazing!

A gift from PTO, a candle and Panera gift card!

We went on our first field trip this past Friday.  I never thought a field trip would be more exhausting then a full week of teaching.  Holy cow, manning 3 boys with selective hearing was a lot.  They taught me more about patience and reasoning, and they made me appreciate our school routine that much more.  With that said, it was a FUN day at the Highlands Ranch Mansion.  We learned about our towns history, and got to participate in some cool activities like a hay ride, a petting zoo, and crafts!

Check out the size of this bunny at the petting zoo!

Adding their art to this map

As I've said on Facebook, the teaching is the part that gets me up and going in the morning.  I'm thrilled  that I'm so motivated for an 8 hour day on my feet, watching these munchkins expand their knowledge every day.  What doesn't thrill me as much, is our TWS and Capstone project that have added some stress to the weekly schedule.  TWS stands for teacher work sample, and it's basically a formal unit plan we have to create and teach.  We did a MTWS (mini teacher work sample, right grad friends?! I've forgotten already lol!!) in one of our classes, so the format is familiar.  The difference is the size of this particular project.  I'm doing my TWS focusing on habitats.  This should be interesting because its a science lesson, and we all know how much of a priority science and social studies take in the classroom these days (not!).  My CT said we will make it a point to fit it in when I'm scheduled to teach, though.  Wish me luck!

I've also finally settled on my Capstone project.  Our capstone is a big final project that incorporates pieces of everything we've learned while in our grad program.  We have the option of several different project types, and just before graduation, we present our project to our peers and professors.  I am doing a literature review of Backward Design. Backward Design is a specific way of lesson planning that is HUGE within the district that I'm teaching in.  I figured I should educate myself on the topic, from from to back, so I can go confidently into an interview with this district and show them how much I know!  I have A TON of reading and writing ahead of me, but I am sure I will finish with a very informative piece of work!

Here's to another month of school, and another month closer to accomplishing a huge goal in my life!

Ted, he's cute.

What's Co-Teaching?!

Thursday last week I had a meeting on campus with my "cooperating teacher" (the teacher I will be working with in the fall, from here on out referred to as my "CT") about co-teaching.

Though the meeting was filled with beneficial information about all of the co-teaching models that I was not familiar with, the best part was spending a few hours talking with my CT about what to expect in her classroom.

First of all, I am THRILLED to be paired with her.  She came to me highly recommended from a family friend, and after our first few hours together, I know we will get along great!  We have so much in common. We both love being active, spending time outdoors, cooking, and so on. She seems like a passionate teacher, with high expectations for her students.  My favorite part, she's super easy going and has a go with the flow personality.  One of her comments to our table mates during our meeting was that she is going to help me learn to not stress out.  "Everything will get done. it always does" is what she said.  I love that she immediately took me under her wing.

SO, that big "fear" is now gone…I don't need to worry about her as a mentor.  I trust that she will be an amazing example for me, and I will go into my first year as a teacher with more confidence because of her.

What's Co-teaching?
This part is for my non-teacher friends and family, who want to know more about what I'm up to!

Co-teaching has many models as I learned.  The key in all models is that both teachers (the CT and student teacher) are working together in the classroom to ensure a successful learning environment, as well as classroom management.

Here are the different co-teaching models:

One teach/One observe: While one person is doing the main instruction, the other is doing intentional observations in the classroom.  This may be to gain information on student behavior, comprehension, or even to observe the main teacher and their instruction.

One teach/One assist:  While one person is doing the main instruction, the other is assisting students with their work, behavior, or other jobs around the classroom.

Station teaching:  The teachers divide instruction and content between each other.  The students rotate from teacher to teacher to get more focused instruction in smaller groups.

Parallel teaching: The class is divided in half, each teacher takes a group and instructs on the same content.  This is beneficial because it makes for a smaller student to teacher ratio!

Supplemental teaching: One teacher works with students at grade level, while the other teacher works with students who need material re-taught or more time on a topic.

Alternative (differentiated) teaching: This style provides two different approaches to teaching the same material.  Learning outcomes are the same, process of getting there is different.

Team teaching:  This is when both teachers are teaching the whole group as a team.  There should be a flow of instruction with not one teacher leading the lesson.



My CT and I talked about the models she thinks will be used most in her class.  She feels that all of the models are beneficial and will likely be explored in her classroom, though centers/stations are not her favorite approach.

I'm relieved that we have options, and that the whole 16 weeks don't need to be under the "team teaching" model.  That takes a lot of preparation time and doesn't necessarily benefit the students more than any of the other models.

Next week I'll be in the classroom for a couple days of preparation and then the first day of school will be on August 11th!

Let the fun begin!