It is my LAST blog before student teaching, you guys! I cannot believe it! We are down to less than a month left in the semester and it has absolutely flown by for me, I have never experienced such a mixture of emotions in one semester and I have never had a semester full of more personal growth. Not just growth in knowledge but growth as a professional. I feel more prepared to walk into a classroom and take over than I ever have and that is a great feeling. There is always room to grow and constant opportunity for learning but I finally feel like everything I have learned and experienced throughout my college career are coming together and clicking in a way that it never has before. I feel ready to apply it and take charge of a classroom. I know that will be my greatest learning experience to date and I am so thrilled to finally be at that point as I know you all are as well. I will be missing your blog posts and I am hoping we can all keep our blog posts going as student teachers- is that a requirement? If not, it should be! Some of my most important learning experiences that have stood out to me have taken place through collaborating with you guys. I know we have all grown in the NCTCS- Teachers demonstrate leadership because we have all engaged in collaborating with you guys every week to grow as a professional. This is a skill that we can all take with us and that will be so valuable to us as new teachers. I have a new understanding and appreciation of what you can truly learn from your peers and your colleagues. I have grown as a person and as a professional working with you all and feel like I have gained a new family! Now, it is time to take everything we have learned from each other and our professors and apply it- it's where the rubber literally meets the road! As the days between now and student teaching grow smaller and smaller I am spending even more time making sure I know every little detail and part of what makes my clinical classroom run smoothly everyday. Knowing exactly how my CE would handle different situations has been on of the biggest goals because I know that very soon, I'll be handling these situations. I want to walk in prepared the first week of January to take over and most importantly, go above and beyond what my CE, supervisor, and school administration expect from me. While student teaching may seem like a big hurdle, the next task is even greater! I want to be a first year teacher that is prepared for anything and everything. 

This week and in the weeks to come, I am spending time getting even more prepared for my student teaching experience! Here are some of the best tips I have found, many of them reiterate what Clarker have been telling us all along! 

I found these to be really practical and honest and they are from the point of view of a teacher who has obviously been right where are now and has had student teacher in their classroom- These are the 7 habits of "amazing" student teachers- 

1. They take opportunities to be helpful instead of waiting to be told what to do. Don’t get me wrong: There’s nothing impolite or unhelpful about asking, “What would you like me to do now?” but there is something incredible about realizing my student teacher has anticipated and met a need without me even addressing it. Sometimes when I zone out or get bogged down with one of my 2,045,778 emails, I’ll look up and my student teacher will be doing something I didn’t ask her to do but is totally wonderful, like straightening the bookshelves or supply closet, cleaning off desks, or organizing the mountain of papers threatening to take over my back table.

2. They say goodbye to their comfort zones. Student teaching is scary, y’all. It’s like meeting your future spouse and their 120 children for the first time … on the day of your wedding. We all have limits on what we are and aren’t comfortable with (and it’s important that both the student teacher and mentor teacher share and understand these), but good student teachers know that there is no better time to fail or make a fool of yourself than now, in a controlled environment with support from the mentor teacher.
3. They share ideas. Student teaching is not (or at least should not) be a one-way street where the supervising teacher simply tells the student teacher what to do the whole semester. Personally, I’m so grateful for my student teachers’ fresh lesson-plan ideas and new ways of doing things, and I know my students are too.

 4. They are direct but kind. One of my favorite things about my student teachers has been that they respect me enough to let me know about their needs and suggestions directly and in a kind way. Just before break, my student teacher said some version of, “I would really like to know more about your planning process—can you show me more of that next semester?” I loved that she let me know this directly instead of going the rest of the year wishing things were different, or worse, going into next year not knowing how to plan a unit because her mentor teacher would go into a silent, scary Planning Trance at her computer.
5. They embrace the grunt work. I think I’ve made it clear that I’m not a supporter of the king-servant ideology regarding the student teaching experience. But that being said, I think it would be a disservice to the student teacher to let them think that teaching is purely lesson plans and classroom management. My student teachers have been absolutely amazing about helping me make copies, grade, move furniture and do other odd jobs when asked—and with smiles on their faces! (I have no idea who they learned that from. I walk down the hall on Monday mornings singing loudly in a minor key.)
6. They welcome feedback—positive and critical. Everyone loves positive feedback—that’s easy. But what’s trickier is accepting and welcoming critical feedback. Good student teachers interpret critical feedback as opportunities for growth, not reasons to slash the tires of their mentor teacher.
7. They are flexible. I remember being frustrated as a student teacher when my mentor teacher would tell me I had a certain amount of time to teach a lesson or unit and then suddenly change the amount of time at the last minute. Now, with a few years under my belt, I know that’s just the nature of the beast. It’s rare for any teacher to always have more than a few days’ notice about field trips, schedule changes, assemblies and other things that affect lesson/unit planning. Both of my student teachers have been so flexible with last-minute changes, which is not only a relief to me, but is good practice for the unpredictable world of teaching in which they are making their first steps

Resource: http://www.weareteachers.com/7-habits-of-amazing-student-teachers/

Out of all of these, the one that stands out to me the most is be FLEXIBLE. Administrators are looking for flexibility, it is so important in the teaching profession. I think we all need to remember this as we begin student teaching because there is going to be a lot thrown at us! Flexibility and adaptability will be key!

Have a great week and share any personal tips you have with me in the comments! 

-Skylar 

This week, I have spent a lot of time focusing on my lesson planning. I always have all of these ideas in my mind and I know what I want to do and what I want my students to learn but I often have a hard time transferring those thoughts onto the lesson plan. I do get them there eventually but it takes way more time than it should. I am looking specifically at the areas of the lesson plans that are holding me up the longest and focusing on becoming more skilled in writing that part of the lesson. With student teaching approaching fast, I know that this is something I have to be intentional about now because I am going to be writing SO many lessons a week. I don't have time to not feel confident in one area and to be stuck when I am writing my plans. 

One area in particular that always seems to hold me up is the hook. I always want to have a really creative, fun, and thought-provoking hook and I seem to often get stuck here and wind up never really feeling satisfied with my hook. For Kindergartners, and really all students, hooks are important. You have that one chance to grab their attention and engage them so a hook is one of the single most important parts of your lesson. I was intentional this week about watching how my CE hooks her students. She often does it with a song or a rhyme that centers around what she is teaching. While I think this is great and I will probably use songs and rhymes myself, I wanted to look into other ways to hook the students. I am finding that visuals work or any sort of short game that gets them engaged and motivated to learn more. You really want to get them curious to learn more and I am finding you have to get creative to achieve that. A good hook can pave the way for an effective lesson. So, I have decided to stop overthinking my hooks. It just has to get their attention and I can work to keep their attention throughout the lesson. 

I have also shifted my way of thinking about writing lesson plans as a whole. I have always written them with other people in mind and with whoever would be reading the lesson plan at the forefront of my mind. Now, I am writing my plans with myself in mind. They are for me to be able to read, interpret, and effectively use as a guide for my lesson. Thinking about how I can actually use the plan to guide me rather than stressing about who is going to read the lesson and what they will think has helped me tremendously this week. I am still obviously following the format and putting careful thought into each part but it is so that I can guide myself rather than the person reading the lesson to grade me!

I am also working hard to meet the needs of my students and brain breaks is one of the needs I noticed while teaching my literacy lessons this week. As Kindergartners, they just cannot stay focused on one lesson for 45 minutes and longer without some sort of small break. So, I have looked into brain breaks this week because that is what is going to be what is best for my students when the lesson is going to run over 30 minutes. The brain break will break it up and allow them time to focus their brain or something else for a short amount of time! Even my CE suggested brain breaks when we were talking about what I could work on in my lessons!

I found some useful research on the topic with some good ideas:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-breaks-focused-attention-practices-lori-desautels

Let me know what kind of brain breaks you are doing or any ideas you guys have! 

Whew....I mean it when I say it has been a FULL week. However, I say that with the most positive tone in my voice (you will just have to imagine that). Although, this week has been long and full, it has been full of some of the most important and impactful moments that I have this semester. I would be lying if I said there are not times that I am not consumed with self-doubt as a student and very soon-to-be teacher. I think about what I am doing constantly and tell myself I could be doing better. I wonder if my lessons are good enough, what do other think about me as a teacher, and sometimes I wonder if I have what it takes to be a teacher. Sometimes I let this self-doubt consume me so much I cannot sleep and I end up panicking and jumping to the worst conclusions possible in my mind (that is just a talent I have, thinking of the most catastrophic outcome possible and then successfully convincing myself that is how the situation is going to end up). This week the worry, fear, and doubt have been exceptionally prominent as I worked in-depth on what I consider to be two of the most important assignments I have ever done- my literacy progression and my leadership/collaboration project. There were times (many times) this week where I thought I am going to fail. I had myself convinced at times that there was no way possible this week was going to turn out okay. I am telling you all this because I want you to know that I used it as a growing experience. There is a gap between where I am now and where I want to be as a teacher. That gap is my space to grow. I have decided to no longer let that gap scare me but to instead let that gap inspire me. It is okay to not be exactly where I think I need to be all the time but instead of thinking I won't get there, I have decided to start thinking of how I am going to get there. How will I fill that gap? I am taking it one week at a time. It is a process and that is okay. Every mistake, every ounce of constructive criticism and every thought I have about doing better is a chance to grow. I think every teacher has those moments of self-doubt and any good teacher uses those moments to grow as an educator. I have found that if you aren't a little uncomfortable, you usually aren't growing. So, I am taking my week of being uncomfortable and using it to guide me to where I want to be.

One of my main concerns this week was LE 6 because a parent involvement night is so huge to me. I think about it and instantly get nervous because I know that every little detail has to be thought-out and perfected. Parents trust you with their children everyday so I think it is important that they know that we have the best interest of the student at mind. I centered my parent night on foundational reading skills because they are literally the building blocks to successful readers. Each Kindergarten classroom is set up to be a station for each skill where the parent can go with their student to get information on the skill, do an interactive activity to practice the skill and get resources to take home to practice the skill. Getting parents more involved is always important, they are one of your most useful resource. My school is always working toward getting parents more involved so I wanted my parent night to go further than just that one night. I want to encourage parents to take an active role in their child's education because that can make all the difference. So this week, I focused on the why. I wanted to get creative about explaining to parents why these foundational skills are important and how they can directly impact their child's education by working on these skills. Technology is also a huge component in every classroom in my county. Each of my students has a personal Ipad that we use and so I wanted to key parents in on the technology we use to build reading skills especially the technology that they can access at home to use to help their child. So, I researched and collaborated with the lead teacher to create a document that guides parents through the steps of using the technology we use to build reading skills. I think this is going to be a very helpful resource for my parents and a great addition to my parent night. I also have taken into consideration those that may not have access to technology at home and have planned to provide them with printed resources! As I finalize everything, I just hope that my vision is clear and that I can clearly depict what I have learned from the experience!

I also have been teaching my literacy progression this week-finally, after changing my direction a couple of times! I finally feel like I am focusing on a skill that is really going to help my students and falls under the instructional framework which I am required to follow. It has gone so much better than I expected- the worst possible scenario that I made up in my head actually did not happen. The lessons have gone smoothly, I have become even more well acquainted with the NCSCOS and the instructional framework which is always a bonus. More importantly, I think the skill is truly going to be very beneficial for my students. I am seeing some work and understanding from students that I did not even anticipate and I have felt really positive about that. Also, my CE gave me some specific feedback about engagement and differentiation which I needed and asked for. She even said "I think they got a lot of this lesson, I am impressed!" Her opinion means the world to me so I was so happy about that!

So, it turns out that changing my mindset on where I am and where I need to me has been really helpful. Everything I was fearing this week turned into some really positive experiences. I am promising you the things that scare us the most are the things we need to pay attention to the most because this is where there is room for the most growth! I hope everyone is having the opportunity to experience some growth- in the comments, tell me where you think you have grown the most over the past few weeks and the experiences that have fostered this growth! I would love to hear! Have a great week!