7 Weeks In!

I know I said I would put pictures up soon, but believe it or not, things have been pretty hectic (shouldn't be too hard to believe, I mean it's student teaching)! So I'll try to promise again, but no guarantees that I will get to it any time soon. Things have been going really well this week. I felt as though I was in a little bit of a slump last week, and lacked my usual confidence in the classroom. Now, however, I am good as new! I guess I just hit a mid semester bump in the road.

I recently had an observation done by my supervisor and she and my mentor teacher agreed that they have seen some good improvements made since I first started. It's always reassuring to hear those who have been in education for a while say things like this. My mentor teacher and supervisor have been great in terms of giving feedback and positive critiques to help me become a better teacher. I was placed with a GREAT mentor teacher for my experience. She is great as a professional, and is becoming a good friend as well.

Let's see. . . what else is new? Well, recently we had a father come in for a conference and he expressed a big concern about his son's reading and English. The family is from a different country and although we can understand him in class, there are still difficulties to overcome. After hearing his father's plea for help, I knew we had to do something more. We started working with him more one-on-one and we have already seen some improvements. This student works so hard and I hope he continues to work hard to overcome these language barriers. This is my first experience with someone who is a true English Language Learner and it is definitely a challenge, but also very worth it.

This week, I also got a new student in class. I was worried about how the students would approach her although this does happen frequently here. As soon as our new student walked in all of them were so excited they all said "hi!" and asked her questions. One boy even tried to introduce her to everybody and every routine we had. It was too cute! She seemed shy at first, but I think she will fit right in. It didn't take too long for her to join in with the rest of the class to dance and get their "giggles and wiggles" out!

So far, I'd have to say the hardest thing about student teaching is getting all the work done in a decent time. Working with the students in the class is fairly easy because it just feels so natural. Although not all the lesson plans are difficult to write, it still takes a lot of time. It seems as though as soon as I finish one week's worth of lessons, I am on to the next week with little to no down time. All of this is just in time to teach it the following week. I am getting better at it though, and as hard as it is, it will be absolutely worth it when I get to have my own classroom someday.

I can't believe that in just a few months I will be graduating and looking for a job as a teacher! I think I'll be ready when the time comes for all that. It is so exciting!!

I can't wait for the weekend ahead. My best friend is coming to visit once again, and although most of our time will be spent doing lesson plans, I'm sure will find some fun around here! We always do. = )

Couldn't be happier! Talk to you soon.