First two weeks = complete

I can't believe that my first two weeks of student teaching are over! I am blown away at how quickly they've gone by. The days just fly by. It is wonderful to interact with the kids every day and see their big brains turn in circles. I've had such an amazing time and am learning so much.

It is such a joy to finally see the behind-the-scenes things that happen at a school. I'm going to staff meetings, having door and recess duty, talking to the principal, going to PLC meetings, and getting an inside look at district tests. As much as I love teaching, seeing and participating in these things has really helped me find a greater appreciation for all those that are a part of a school community.

My class is wonderful. I've got 14 fourth graders and 11 third graders. They are surprisingly well-behaved, except for the chitter-chatter, but that's to be expected in kids... wait. Who am I trying to kid? That's to be expected with everyone. We've only had one incident that resulted in a young boy being sent to the office. :( I'm hoping that the remainder of the school year will be as good as the past week has been.

I know many of you have been wondering what I've been doing during the day at school. As of right now, I'm observing my cooperating teacher and doing random little things to help, such as making copies, running errands, listening to my third graders read to get a look at their fluency, and circling the classroom to answer questions. I'll spend the next week observing and doing small things with lessons and starting the week after that, I'll take over teaching Math. Though, starting the Monday, I'll be teaching three guided reading groups. I will be in charge of the fourth grade groups. When I teach full time, I take over all six groups. For now, my cooperating teacher will be guiding me in what to teach, but will leave the actual teaching up to me. It doesn't give me a lot of freedom, but now really isn't the time to be wishing for freedom. I'm just happy to be where I am.

My cooperating teacher is very quiet, but he's full of information about the school, kids, and the curriculum. He has been extremely helpful in getting me settled in and answering all my questions. I'm so thankful to have a cooperating teacher that doesn't mind questions.

Yesterday afternoon, we had the kids make posters about things they are most excited about learning. We asked them to pick a subject they were excited about and make a poster about it. The kids seemed to enjoy the activity, but not all of them took it to heart. There were three students that copied each other's posters, so that makes me really sad. Others, including a young boy that is rarely seen following directions, really took the activity to heart and created great posters. I was so proud of their posters. I took the posters and put them on our bulletin board in our pod. They will be on display for Curriculum Night, in which most of the parents from our team come in to learn more about what the kids will learn this year.

In other news, I am very thankful to have Cornellians moving back to campus. Danny and the other PAs moved in on Thursday, two-thirds of my suitemates will move in on Monday and most everyone else will be back by the end of next week! As much as I love being in the schools and interacting with other teachers and staff during the day, it is/will be wonderful to hang out with people my own age.

To make me feel even more like an adult, I have picked up on the teachers' sleeping schedule. This college girl is having a lot of problems staying awake past ten o'clock at night. I should probably work on that.