Apology for the Negligence

Let me begin by saying (to my few but loyal followers): I apologize for my negligence of this blog. To say that I have been busy would be a true statement. However, I really feel that is no excuse for leaving you all in the cold. So, without further ado: I'M BACK! And I promise to give this a good effort at least for the last two weeks of this student teaching placement.

So much has gone on that I do not even know where to begin...

I began full-time teaching a few weeks ago and continued for about three or four weeks. It was a lot of responsibility to plan and teach everything, but it gave me a very good idea of what it feels like to really be a teacher. And...I loved it! :)

I feel like a real teacher. A good teacher. And this is such a great feeling to have. I love my students and I get such joy from watching them learn and grow. They truly are sponges and seem to absorb all of the information that I throw at them. It is amazing to me how much new information they learn in one day and then can recall without difficulty days or weeks later. 


Today I subbed in my class because my teacher was sick. I am still planning and teaching full time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I only had my plans to teach for today, which made it easier.


On another note, I have decided to list a few of the things that I have learned so far this semester:

• It is really unnessecary to write lesson plans that are longer than a page, however, it does help to write out the steps of your lessons so that you don't get lost
• Sometimes children just need someone to love them
• When a kid says their stomach hurts...take it seriously. And get a trash can.
• I love to teach, even if at the end of the day I am exhausted and stressed
• Reinventing the wheel is unrealistic-- use your resources!
• Ask LOTS of questions!
• It is very difficult to teach to students' needs and to differentiate instruction when you have a class of 20+ students, and this is one of the main challenges of teaching
• Making different spelling groups is one way to do this
• Guided reading groups are also effective
• It is important to implement reading intervention programs with struggling readers, long before they fall too far behind
• Making folders for each day of the week and filling them with the next week's copies the week before is a very effective method of organization
• It is VERY important to laugh and smile when working with children

 More to come in a later entry...