What a week full of learning experiences this has been for me. It has been one of the busiest but also one of the best weeks I have had in my college career.

I had the opportunity to co-teach with some of my classmates for math methods and that was a totally new experience for me. We are all placed in Kindergarten so we took the opportunity to teach a math standard for Kindergarten while also tying in a literacy component. I loved working with my group and hearing their ideas and I found team teaching to be a really good experience. We taught it online during a zoom meeting so that added an extra component we had to consider but I thought everyone did a really great job. I have found myself becoming so invested in all of you guys and there is not a day that goes by that I am not communicating with at least a few of you in some way whether it be texts, calls, e-mails or just reading what you have posted. I have been amazed by how much of my learning this semester has come from my peers. We all have a different way of doing things and a different approach to every learning experience and that is the beauty of it because that is exactly how it is in the education field. There is so much to be learned from each other and I take in every perspective that comes from working with you all. I am so thankful for you all.

This week, I also sat down with my CE to chose the students who I will be doing a literacy case study on. She is going to allow me to sit in on her assessments for literacy so that will be really beneficial for me to see. Once I know exactly where my students fall, I will plan lessons that will meet their specific needs and implement these lessons in my case study. It is not often you have time to work one-on-one with students and really target what they need so I am hoping to really make a difference for these students and see some growth in their TRC assessments.

Dr. Clarker and Dr. Wesson also came for a visit this week! I taught a math lesson and this was my first time teaching these students by myself and I was so nervous. I started the lesson and then when Dr. Clarker and Wesson came in, I just pretended they were not there which I wanted to speak to them or acknowledge them but I was scared it would throw me out of my element so I just continued with the lesson like nothing was happening. I did a math lesson on 5 groups and making ten which required me to use a good amount of manipulatives.  The kids did so good though, I was really proud of them and the connections they made. I couldn't ask for a better clinical classroom or a better CE. I feel as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be and that is a great feeling. Although I was nervous, I feel like it was a really good experience. Being observed is just a part of teaching and this was my first time being observed. I am so pleased with the experience, the students did great and everyone was so supportive. I am so grateful for the feedback and for our professors who care enough to come to us and see us do what we love and work to make us better! So, don't be nervous! I promise you will be glad to have had the experience and they are there to help! As soon as the lesson was over, the wheels in my mind starting turning and I started to think of what worked and what didn't. I started coming up with ways that I could make the lesson better and the connections more clear. This is a part of developing in the NCTCS standard- Teachers Reflect on their Practice. The only way I can improve my practice, is to start with reflection, I am so grateful for this opportunity to teach for my professors so I can do just that- reflect with their guidance.

My LE 5 has also been a major focus this week! I keep deciding how I want to handle something such as broken pencils and then I think about (obsess over it essentially) and think, is there a more effective way to do this? That is the point though, to think now about how we will handle these things so that we are not put into a classroom without a plan of action for most things. So, I am taking this experience very seriously because it is going to shape my classroom which is so precious to me! I am glad I get to think about this now because it is going to save me from being so overwhelmed later. I am excited to read your blogs and learn from some of your thoughts and ideas! Have a great week!

The countdown is officially on. 95 days until we student teach, NINETY-FIVE. That means that I am only 95 days from beginning the very last part of this journey towards my lifetime goal of becoming an educator. It is so close I can taste it and I get more excited as the days pass. I have gotten past being nervous about student teaching because I finally feel like I  am almost ready for it. That is a great feeling!

This week, I became even more comfortable in my clinical classroom and got to participate in assisting my CE with a math lesson which is good because next week I will be doing a math mini-lesson when Clarker comes to visit! My CE told me the lesson that would normally fall on that day and she told me to tweak it anyway I wanted and then she gave me some feedback on what she would do to the lesson to better meet the needs of our students. I am taking her advice and making some of my own changes too. Like I said in the meeting, I will be along with the assistant next week for open house and my CE is leaving me all of the notes. This is a huge responsibility that I do not take lightly because I will be interacting with lots of parents so it is important that I am prepared and professional. I want them to get a good impression of me and this is one of my opportunities to make that impression! No pressure, right? I am nervous but grateful for the opportunity. This will be a very good learning experience for me. Also, my CE and I have started to observe the students that we know are struggling. We talk about it often and what we can do for them. I love her dedication to what's best for each student and her willingness to work with me as a team. She told me that the tough conversations with parents about the possibility of retention happens in January when she has a very clear idea of where the students are at that point compared to where she needs them to be. She said that is the worst part of the job because who really wants to have that conversation? She informed me that she feels personally responsible when a student does not make the growth that they need to in order to move to first grade. She wants me to be present with her when and if she has to meet with parents to have those tough conversations. She told me that will be good for me to see and be a part of because it is a very tough and real part of the profession!

Also, this week I have spent a lot of time thinking about my own classroom management. As I work on my plan, I think about everything that I have seen in every classroom I have had an opportunity to be in. I think about what I have personally seen work and what I have read about. It is crazy to think about how all of these learning opportunities have impacted me in such a way and allowed me to really think about what is best for my own personal classroom. I am taking the very best of everything I have learned and observed and making it into my own classroom management plan. It is has been really fun to work on, it doesn't even really feel like work because it is something I am so excited to be doing. Thinking about all of these small things that are going to make such a huge difference especially in my first few years of teaching has been a good experience. It's going to help me exponentially to already have a game plan. Planning out my classroom management really relates to the professional teaching standard- Teachers Establish a Respectful Environment for a Diverse Population of Students. The way I manage my classroom is what will help to shape the entire classroom environment!

This has been the absolute best week so far at my clinical placement. It feels like home. Going into this, I never thought I would be able to say that so soon but I feel so comfortable and just like a part of the team and it the feeling I had hoped and prayed I would have going into this. I was able to spend 3 consecutive days with not only my clinical educator but all of the staff at the school this week working the fall fundraiser which just so happens to be a fair that the school puts on for the week. It is big deal in my county and generates a huge profit for the school which goes towards each teacher's classroom fund. I took the time that I was working with the staff (serving food for, I swear, EVERYONE in the county) to develop some more personal relationships. I had lots of conversations with staff I had never met before and even got to serve and speak with some parents that I hadn't met! I went straight after work and it went until about 11 each night so I am super exhausted but super pleased with what I gained from the experience. The principal even pulled me to the side and personally thanked me for my help and told me how impressed he was with me. My CE says that is a really good thing! She and I got to have lots of conversation this week about what is coming up with semester! She is just so flexible and is so willing to work with me with whatever I need- it is a true blessing. I made sure to focus in on what I was missing for LE 4 when I was in the classroom this week and she answered the questions I had on specifics and provided me with some more resources on the school's overall behavior management plan because I felt I was lacking in that area of the assignment. 

   

 She and I also talked a lot about mathematics instruction and what she feels the students need the most so that I can really plan for LE 2. In math methods, I am learning so much new terminology and ways of teaching mathematics that I have never been exposed to. My CE gave me specific reasoning behind her methodologies for teaching mathematics and how she addresses the needs of each student. She gave me specific feedback on how I can adjust my lessons to make sure I am meeting the needs of each student! This made me think of the NCPTS- Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students. This is a standard I am working hard to be more developed in and I will really be able to have a lot of practice with this in my literacy and math progression because there is a diverse range of needs in my classroom that will need to be met. I am focusing in on being more proficient at determining the needs of each student and then meeting the needs of each student every time I teach! My CE says this is something that I will get better at as I spend more time actually teaching in the classroom. 

I hope everyone has had a successful and productive week and I look forward to seeing your updates! 

    

Another week down, another week wiser! Can I just say- OH MY GOSH, this is the busiest week of my life! I have my hands in so many different pots, it is just unreal but I just keep telling myself- "you've got this!"

I keep going back to LE 1, 2, and 3 which are due for formative assessment this week changing things and worrying about them! LE 1 is my main focus right now and I have already changed my mind on the literary focus 3 times! I am getting my CE's opinion again tomorrow so that I can nail it down and be ready to teach at least part of it by mid-October but I feel like my CE will actually let me teach the whole thing! She always says she is willing to do whatever I need which makes me feel so good about our relationship and trust. I am becoming more and more familiar with the Kindergarten NCSCOS which was totally new for me. When we started, I had never even looked at a Kindergarten standard, now I feel like I could recite some of them in my sleep. I am excited to plan my first Kindergarten science lesson too this week! So, I will keep you all updated on that! Also, this week I am going to my first Kindergarten grade level meeting which I am excited about. I am also working at the school fundraiser which lasts all week. It is a fair that they hold on the old school grounds and it is a MAJOR deal in our county. So, my CE called me and asked me if I would work with her and of course I accepted! I am actually really excited because it'll give me some extra time with lots of the staff, parents, and students! I can really learn more of the dynamic by working with them every afternoon for a couple of hours next week!

This week and next week make me think of the NCPTS- Teachers demonstrate leadership in their school because I am and will be spending so much time with my fellow staff discussing ways to make the grade level and school better altogether working at the fundraiser, going to school improvement team meetings, and grade level meetings. I am excited to see how I can grow my relationships with the staff over the next couple of weeks, grow as a professional, and grow as a member of the team at the school. I will keep you updated on what all I see and learn and I cannot wait to hear from all of you!

It is hard to believe that we are already well into week three which means we are about a week away from being 25% of the way done with this semester! How crazy is that?? There is so much to learn and do but I am just taking it a week at a time and taking in absolutely everything I can from my professors, my CE, all of the educators around me, my students, and you guys! I feel like a human sponge! My CE always asks, do you want to go with me to do this or come do you want to watch how I do this? I always tell her I will take whatever she will give me! What is so great about her is that she takes the time to stop and tell me why she does things the way she does without me having to even ask. I know she is super busy and does not have to do that but she is just that great of a leader! I have told her repeatedly how grateful I am for her and she tells me she is glad to have me so I really could not ask for a better CE! 

This week I got to witness the way that she teaches math and some literacy activities as well. She has some students that come from the EC classroom for inclusion so I paid close attention to the way that she differentiated her lessons to meet the needs of the EC students and that was good for me to see because I will be doing the same thing for all of my lessons for LE 1 & 2 and really for any lesson that I will be teaching when I student teach. I don't have any experience with inclusion so this is something totally new and exciting for me! 

This week I have also had to opportunity to further develop in the NCPTS standard "Teachers Reflect on their Practice" as I have been teaching lessons for this class as well as my other classes and reflecting on those lessons. As I watched my video for this class, I found myself thinking "Oh, I should have done that!" or "This would have worked better!" These reflections can be aggravating but they make me feel confident that I am growing through reflection. I may not get the lesson perfect the first time, but I am getting the opportunity to watch myself and learn from my mistakes before I actually teach a lesson to my Kindergartners! I am not sure that we will ever feel like we have executed a lesson just perfectly as educators but I am positive we will always be reflecting and growing through reflection, I think any effective teacher can strive to be better than they were the day before and that is my goal! 

Have a great week and I am looking forward to hearing from you all! 

I feel as if this semester has already kicked into high gear and it is only week 2! I admittedly feed off the craziness of being extremely busy though! I had all the free time in the world over the summer and I hated it! That's probably another reason why the teaching profession feels like the prefect fit for me. It really does not allow for free time and there is ALWAYS something to be done!

This week I planned my SS lesson off of the standard assigned to me by Clarker. It was my first time ever planning a Kindergarten lesson so I kept finding myself planning things and then going back and thinking- that's too hard, you have to break it down more. It was a process, but it was a learning process. I have to tell you that I got the standard and saw the word "friendship" and thought that it would be pretty easy. I automatically began thinking about activities that I could use to teach friendship but then I heard an all too familiar phrase in my head. "Are you focusing on the big ideas?" That phrase is forever emblazoned in my brain probably for the rest of my existence thanks to Dr. Parker. This was one of my biggest takeaways from EDU 250 so I unpacked the standard and found an even bigger idea to shift my focus too in the lesson. I am still not totally confident in planning for Kindergarten instruction but I am becoming more and more familiar with the Kindergarten standard in the NCSCOS.

My CE helped me think through my first Kindergarten lesson and assured me she was there to assist me in any way possible and that made me feel so good. She is so reassuring and seems really confident about my ideas so that makes me feel good. I really could not ask for a better fit for me, she is the CE I prayed for. I met my Kindergartners when they all came in at the same time yesterday. I was nervous and they were nervous but it was not long before I felt at home with jumping in and helping my CE while also being able to watch all of the ways in which she reinforces her classroom procedures. All I can say about the beginning days of Kindergarten is WOW. Some of those students have never been in a classroom and it was a true eye-opener for me to see how far they have to go. I am excited to be on that journey with them though. We are going to grow by leaps and bounds together.

The NCPTS standard that I really feel like I worked on developing this week was; teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults. Never have I ever had students that come in crying. Kindergarten in the first couple of days is full of tears though which I learned this week. Some have never left their moms. I watched my CE to see how she handled it and then I got down on their level and comforted them just as she did. My heart hurt to see them sad but I honestly think it will be much better even by next week. It was good for me to get to see this part of the teaching profession though. Sometimes, we are their nurturers and this helps to form the student teacher bond especially in Kindergarten. I was thankful I was there to experience that.

Good luck this week with the planning and teaching of your SS lesson! I am looking forward to another week of learning and interaction with you all!

Wow, it seems like it has been awhile since I have blogged but I am excited to get back to it! The semester has began with a bang and there is SO MUCH to be done but that just means that there is so much to learn! I am excited to complete my last semester of course work and then finally be able to student teach. It is what I have waited, hoped for, and prayed for so long and it seems unreal that it is finally here! I feel excited, nervous, overwhelmed, and elated all at the same time. I think all of those emotions only come into play at once when you are about accomplish something great though, right? Mostly, I just feel really blessed to have the opportunity to do something that I love so much and feel called to do. I don't know that everyone gets that opportunity and we are all really lucky to be here, in my opinion!

This week I spent some time at my school that I will be student teaching in as well as getting back to work at the school that I am employed in. I am excited for the students to start next week and am anxious to meet them all! I have already been introduced to so many new people at the school where I will be student teaching and they have been so sweet and helpful! I am already finding that this school is very different from the school where I am employed. Both are great schools, but just different atmospheres and different types of people. I am taking it all in and using it as a learning opportunity. I am finding that each school seems to have it's own "vibe" and each classroom does too. As educators, it is important to be flexible and open to adjusting to the changes. We never know where we will be placed and I am learning you just have to learn to go with the flow. The good thing about it is most educators are very open to helping you, you just have to ask! Kindergarten is so new to me and I am already learning every time I speak or meet with my lead teacher. She asked me if I was interested in being on the committees she is on with her and I was so glad she offered. I will be attending the meetings with her and this will be a great learning experience for me. She also asked me to help her with her assignment at the fair they have for a week at their school to raise money! I am glad she is already seeing me as someone who can help her and wants to be involved in the school. This will allow me to make some solid connections at this school!  I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the students next week especially my Kindergartners! For many of them, this will be their first experience in school and so it matters the impression I make on them and their parents. This will shape many of their future learning experiences and I do not take this responsibility lightly. It reminds me of a quote I stumbled across over this summer-









I found it be very true! We are shaping minds and hearts and it matters everyday! It makes it harder but it makes it more rewarding!

This week, I will also be working with the NCSCOS for Kindergarten for the first time as I write my SS lesson based on the standard assigned to me.  This is really my first time planning a lesson for Kindergarten so I am interested to see where this takes me and how I can grow from it. I will keep you all updated on how it goes!

I am looking forward to hearing about all of your experiences this week! I hope everyone has a productive and blessed week!