Week 17: Over Already =/

Monday:

I can't believe this is our last week of student-teaching already! There were definitely parts where it felt like it was moving slowly, but these last five weeks really sped up. This week I won't be in the classroom that much either, which will be kind of weird. I'm so used to the routine of our day, but I'm really excited to visit more classrooms!

Today I went and visited a kindergarten classroom. There morning meeting was very similar to ours. I asked Andrea if everyone did it this way in the whole school, and she told me that they try their best to have similar routines in each grade. This way when they enter a new grade they’re not learning a completely new set of daily routines.

It was a lot of fun visiting the kindergarteners. I observed in that grade for a semester, I forgot how much I loved them! They are at such a fun age and so quick to welcome you. I was only there for about an hour, and when I left they all got up and gave me a hug. =) I’m excited for this week, maybe I can get more of an idea of the grades I would want to teach and the grades I wouldn’t.

Tuesday:

            It’s kind of weird not seeing my students the entire day and visiting other classrooms. I didn’t leave for the whole day, but I was gone for a long enough time that when I returned my students all gave me a hug and asked where I had been. Since yesterday I went to a kindergarten room, we decided today I should go visit a first grade room.

            One of the teachers that help in student council is a first grade teacher, so I went and observed in there for a good amount of time. I watched their entire reading chunk and it gave me a lot of ideas on how I want to teach reading. All of the students read with such great expression! They did their reading in a circle, and each student took a turn reading the page. After they were finished, the entire class would then echo-read.

Each and every one of them read very well, and I asked Holly how she did that. She told me that this year she really wanted to focus on reading with expression and focusing on comprehension. In my future classroom, I want to take this mindset with me. It’s kind of interesting how different years your students may come out with a stronger skill-set in a new area.  I’m very grateful to be going to new classrooms, but I’m getting nervous for leaving! It’ll be a rough Friday.

Wednesday:

            Today I decided to visit the other second grade classrooms to see how they did the same activities. As I have mentioned before, we all plan together; so we have the same plans for every day. I was able to see a math lesson in one of the classrooms, and I watched Daily Five in the other classroom.

            It was interesting watching the higher-level math class since I was so used to mine! One other thing I noticed was how our students act differently with different teachers. Some of my students are in the higher math, and the ones that are usually not chatty were awfully chatty! I couldn’t help but say something to them each time, but I just couldn’t believe how differently they were acting in the other classrooms.

            Honestly, they all teach similarly but they treat the students differently. Andrea has a very friendly “Ms. Honey” kind of relationship with her students. Another teacher has more of the friend relationship with them, and the other treats them more like her own children. She is the only mother out of them so it makes sense. =) It’s just interesting to see that they all teach the exact same things, but teach them so differently depending on how their relationships are with their students.

Thursday:

            This week is really flying by, I cannot believe that tomorrow is my last day of student-teaching! I still see them a lot every day, but I almost didn’t want to go into other classrooms today since I only have two more days with them. I am really excited to graduate soon and hopefully getting a teaching job of my own, but I’m going to miss them a lot.

I went and watched a fifth grade math lesson today for about an hour. One thing I couldn’t believe was that they seriously had an hour and a half of math where they didn’t have any students pulled at all. In second grade, we’re lucky to have a half-hour where no kids are pulled for something else. It’s interesting that not all of the grades have the same amount of time to teach to their entire class. They should try and even that out at the school a little bit better.

It was fun going into the fifth grade classroom, but now I know I DO NOT want to teach fifth grade. It’s a very odd time, and I feel like it is similar to junior high. The kids respected the teacher, but I didn’t like how friendly they were with each other. I want to have a good relationship with my students, but I want it to be appropriate.

Friday:

            Okay, so this is my very last blog post and I’m pretty much just going to talk about how amazing my class, the staff, and Andrea are. =) I am not an emotional person, but I did tear up a little bit today. During our morning meeting, they refused to say, “today is the greatest day I’ve ever known”. Instead they changed it on me to “today is the worst day I’ve ever known.” This I thought was kind of funny, but I kept trying to explain to them that since I’m leaving that means they are even closer to summer break! They weren’t buying into that at all.

            So in the morning, Andrea told me not to bring a lunch. She had me go into the office for something, and our lunch group was in there along with a bunch of food! They had a sign that said “Stefanie’s farewell fiesta”. They made tacos, rice, guacamole, and a cake! It was so nice of them, and it was delicious! We even ate in the principal’s office because she was out that day; it’s okay, she approved. =)

            Later on in the day I was called to go down to the office; Andrea’s mom in the receptionist, so she was just giving me food to take home. When I came back, the lights were off and the door was locked. I unlocked it and they all jumped out and yelled “surprise!” They had a big banner saying goodbye and a treasure chest filled with “teacher stuff”. Then Andrea handed me a book with letters from them. After that we went to go take a picture in the back of the room and after we took it we all started walking towards our desks. Then one students started crying and gave me a big hug, then they all came back and basically tackled me. I did tear up a little bit, because I’m going to miss them a lot. I already have planned to come help out for field day. This staff, the class, and Andrea have just been amazing. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them!

            

Week 16: Only One Left!

Monday:

    Today was a pretty normal day, and I feel like it went by really fast! This morning the student that was switched to another room came into our class by mistake. He acted like he was really excited and completely fine with switching. However, since I am teaching less I kind of peeked in while walking down the hallway. He looked pretty sad, but hopefully it will get better as the weeks go on. At least it's only one month of school.

    One thing about this situation that I wonder about is the parent. I don't think I would be okay with someone switching my child out of their normal classroom one month out of the year. They would have to give me a very good reason as to why it is my child that needs to leave. I hope that his parents asked these questions rather than just going along with it.

    Other than that situation, it was a pretty lighthearted day. You can tell they are getting ready for summer break. A lot of them were wearing nice clothes, and almost all of them were pretty chatty throughout the day. We added a summer countdown to our morning routine, we count down the days each day. The school also begins the ABC countdown tomorrow. I think it's supposed to be even nicer tomorrow, so we will se how that goes! =)

Tuesday:

    Today was the start of our ABC countdown! In honor of 27 days of school left, we celebrated by making paper airplanes, eating apples, and having an art appreciation day. The kids all wrote their art teacher a card, but my favorite was the airplanes. We went outside for about 20 minutes to practice flying them! I couldn't believe how nice it was outside; Andrea and I didn't want to go back in. =) While we were outside, the other teachers and I realized how the student that switched classes was kind of by himself. He wasn't playing with his friends from our class, but he didn't play with his new classmates either. It was pretty sad to watch because he just seemed like he had no idea what to do. He came over and gave me a big hug and said he missed our class; I wish the principal would have thought through the decision a little bit more.

    On a lighter note, you can definitely tell that the weather helps students realize that summer is coming. They were pretty chatty today, but I couldn't blame them; the weather is starting to make me check out a little bit too! The end of the year is coming, and I'm happy I get to see what that is kind of like. However, I'm still nervous about that first day of school. We talked about it a little bit at night class, but that is one of those things I won't be completely confident about until I have done it. All of the tips I get from the teachers here are basically going through rules and procedures. I think the idea of being super strict those first few weeks is a good idea! We all have a lot to think about before we graduate, kind of crazy!

Wednesday:

      We are continuing the fun countdown, and today was letter B! We were able to go outside and blow bubbles for a good amount of time. It was a lot of fun and you could tell that the students were really enjoying it! It's really nice to be able to get outside throughout the day to kind of space things out a bit. The students are completely disinterested in anything academic at this point. So being able to go outside for a little bit really helps them get some energy out and refocus on what we need to do. 

     Today we also had another problem with the same little girl we have been dealing with. It's really hard to keep up with her, she gets mad about one thing at one point during the day; then is smiling about the same situation at another point during the day. It's exhausting to try and understand what is going on. She recently has been getting caught in her own lies a lot. 

     One thing that happened today was her asking other girls to smell her markers, but then she would get upset when they would use them! Finally Andrea explained to her in a very simple way how confusing she can be to the other students. She gave an example by saying, "If I asked Miss Geer to give me a high-five then got mad at her for hitting me when she did it, would that make sense?" She responded by saying no, but you could tell it wasn't really sinking in. I suggested to start documenting the different things that happen with her, so if the mom calls again she can explain what really happened. Hopefully this will help and it seemed like the principal really liked the idea! Since I'm not really teaching anymore, it's nice to feel like I'm contributing! =)

Thursday:

     This morning, just like every Thursday morning, was student council. I'm very grateful that I was able to experience some kind of after/before school activity. Next week we don't have it, so this week will be my last student council meeting with them! It was kind of sad saying bye, but it was funny listening to all of them tell me I had to teach their grade next year and I can't leave Howe. =) Even though I only saw them once a week, there were a few kids that I really connected with and I am going to miss!

     Although it was my last student-council meeting, it was more smiles than sadness. We were finishing up this Nike fundraiser where everyone brought in old shoes that they could either reuse or donate. Nike does has this really cool program where they take old shoes that are really beaten up, and instead of throwing them in the trash, use them for a lot of different things. Some of the shoes will be used for turf fields and others for the bottom rubber portion of playgrounds. It's a really cool program and I'm glad I was able to learn about it!

     Altogether, student council was a really great experience. It was a fun way to get to know one of the first grade and third grade teachers. It just showed me even more how the staff at Howe is amazing! They really did an amazing job at making me feel welcome with them, and are more than willing to help me out in any way possible. I hope when I do find a school to work at, that they have a staff similar to the one here. Most of the teachers work hard with basically no direct curriculum, and still try their best when there really isn't anyone keeping them accountable. There a good group of people. =)

Friday:

     It's crazy to think that next week I will just be observing! I can't believe time has flown by this quickly, it's kind of terrifying and it hit me pretty hard today. I feel very blessed to be able to work with Andrea. Since she is younger, she can relate to a lot of the feelings that I am having because it wasn't that long ago that she was in the exact same boat that I am in. It's kind of cool too because she is transitioning to a totally new spot in life and so am I, and I'm sure that match up wasn't an accident at all. =)

      Hearing about all of the people getting job offers already makes me so anxious about next fall. I don't know if I have a job, I don't know where I am living; but Andrea helped me a lot today with relaxing and trusting that everything will work out how it is supposed to. I know that teaching is the right career choice for me, I'm very relieved that I'm not having second thoughts about that. However, I still have so many unanswered questions, but I'm confident that God knows where I am going to be and what I will be doing. If it's not in his plan, then I guess I need to accept that; hopefully it's in his plan to give me a job kind of far away! =) Regardless, I'm very thankful for Andrea and all the experiences I have had so far, they will shape me into the teacher I was always meant to be. =)

Week 15: Two More Weeks?

Monday:

    Today was definitely a little weird. It's nice having Andrea back in the room, but I'm not really sure what to do now while she is teaching! I have all of the little things as my responsibility still along with reading and science. No longer do I teach math or writing. It's two big slots during the day that I feel like I should be doing something, but instead I feel like I'm just sitting there doing nothing! However, it is nice not having to plan for math and writing because those took up the most time.

    Other than that, the students still see me as their teacher. We had another issue today with a young girl in the class who writes letters to other students. During the day we have a time where they can work on their writing and write letters to one another. There weren't any problems, that we knew of, when I first got here; but lately we have been having a lot of problems with notes and letters.

    This young girl wrote a mean letter to another student saying that they weren't friends anymore. It's disappointing how nasty they can be to one another. I pulled them out in the hallway and talked for a little bit, but it didn't seem like it had any affect on the student who wrote the letter. Whereas the one who received it was crying. It's frustrating dealing with situations like that.

Tuesday:

    Not many exciting or disturbing things happened today, it was finally a pretty normal day! =) We had science where we started working with small ramps and marbles. It's amazing how into science they get when they are given the opportunity to experiment and work with their hands. They ask me every single day, "Miss Geer, do we have science today? What time? What are we doing?" They seriously can't wait for it, and it definitely shows me that they need more hands-on learning like this.

    Speaking of hands-on learning, we actually had a long discussion about that today. Andrea really wishes that she had time for more stuff like this, but they really don't. I hope in my future classroom I figure out a way to implement this at least once a week. Students need to be up moving around and problem-solving on their own. It's amazing to see what they can come up with when they are given the opportunity to learn on their own. It has really shown me how important it is that I have this, but also how smart these kids are!

Wednesday:

    Today was a day full of issues, but most of them were at least solved! I had a student who apparently squirted his water bottle at the wall while we were in line at the bathroom. I didn't see it myself because I was dealing with some of the girl drama happening in the room. Afterwards I heard a few boys in the back of the line giggling so I asked what was going on and another student told me that two boys were squirting the sign.

    I honestly had no idea to believe, so I learned something new today; guilt works VERY well on most young students. I just waited until one of them was honest with me because they both denied doing anything. Then I reminded them I could ask everyone behind them in line who they saw do it. After they realized they would be caught, one of them finally confessed. I still had to have him move his clip down for lying.

    Then I heard some more of the girl drama going on within the class. Apparently what it came down to was a girl had hurt feelings. However, this girl with hurt feelings was having her mom constantly talking to the principal and Andrea because she told her mother she was being bullied. FINALLY we got it straightened out and this student was making up lies because her old best friend doesn't hang out with her anymore. Who knew there was so much girl drama in second grade! Definitely learned a lot about dealing with those kind of situations this week. =)

Thursday:

            Today was pretty easy since we only had about half of our class here! It was take your child to work day today, so seven of our students were out for the day. On these days you are almost scared to work too far ahead because so many students would miss it. Andrea was going to work further with adverbs, but figured she would save it for Friday since so many students were out.

            It was kind of crazy how quickly and easily we were able to get everything done! Since there weren’t as many students to work with and worry about, it made the day go very quickly and very easily. At the end of the day, we had a reading lesson that didn’t take long at all; so we ended up getting some extra time for recess! It was a beautiful day, so we weren’t complaining! =)

            An update with the new second grade girl drama show; the young girl that started all of the unnecessary drama seemed so happy today! The two girls that “took” her best friend away were both gone and she was able to spend time with her. Everyone was getting along great, which made for a relaxing kind of day! =)

Friday:

            I wasn’t in school today since I was going to a rehearsal dinner in Indiana. However, I missed a lot and Andrea called me during the rehearsal dinner! I figured since she was calling it must be somewhat important, because she usually just texts if it’s not a big deal.

            So, this week we talked about all the girl drama in second grade that was STRICTLY going on between the girls. The young girl’s mother came in to talk to the principal because she said her daughter was still being “bullied”. (Basically it was when she would ask someone to be quiet and they wouldn’t listen. I said that it was good she wanted everyone to follow the rules, but just because they weren’t listening doesn’t mean they are trying to hurt her feelings.)

            After the mother talked to our principal, our principal decided to move a random student out of our class and into another second grade classroom! This poor boy had nothing to do with the problem, unfortunately our principal doesn’t really know that; and didn’t ask Andrea about it. So now we will have only 19 students, a girl who will still be upset for random things even though the “problem was solved”, and a student who is with an unfamiliar class for the last month of school. This was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE! I cannot understand the mindset or the thought process of this decision, and I’m really disappointed to see that as a solution. I guess this placement really will prepare me for a lot of random things in my future teaching career. 

Week 14: Winding Down...

Monday:

            I always love the start of a new week. Even though there's a lot of work ahead of me, it's nice coming off of a few days off. Today the kids were surprisingly good too! It was a lot of fun in science because we worked on designing spinning tops. My supervisor actually came in and observed for this lesson. The students absolutely love all of the science experiments, and she seemed to enjoy the lesson too!

            It's kind of strange because that is the last time I will be observed for student-teaching. It just kind of shows that the end is definitely coming near! My supervisor even gave me a present for making it through; I have a theory that everyone remembers how stressful their student-teaching experiences were. =)

           At the end of the day, a very interesting conversation took place between a few students during recess. One of my students came up to me and just said, "Miss Geer, do you know what I don't understand? Where did the world come from? I mean, why is it here?" I was honestly taken so off guard and just was silent for a second. It's amazing how often these kids brings up questions or conversations like this. I kept asking him what he meant, while trying to go towards a little girl in the classroom who's answer to everything is, "God made it." She overheard the conversation and said, "Duh Aidan, God made us and the world so we could live here."

           It's so funny hearing conversations like these, but then I just want to know how much I can say without getting into trouble. Andrea was out of the room so I forgot to ask her, but I really wish I could just share with him what I believe. I'm just not sure what lines that could be crossing. So, it was an interesting and fun day to say the least. =)

Tuesday:

            Today Andrea let me know ahead of time that she was going to be leaving me alone for the entire morning with the classroom. I was so excited and it really turned out to be a lot of fun. When I'm by myself for a few hours at a time, it really starts to feel like my class; even though I know it's not and I will be giving them back soon! I really enjoyed it, and they finally stopped asking where she was. Even though it's the last week of full-time, I will take that victory! =)

            For reading in the afternoon, I decided to do a reading circle. I kind of get sick of doing the same routine every day and I really like to switch things up. It's clear that they do too, because they get so excited when I just sit on the floor with them in a circle. They kept saying how much more they like this than when everyone is at their desk or sitting in rows on the carpet. I think that's one thing I will try and do in my future classroom; switch things up to keep it interesting for everyone!

            Outside of school related things, I absolutely love the staff that I work closely with. It's kind of cool because all of us are going through a lot of big changes in our lives right now. One of them is engaged, one is pregnant with twins, and one just had her grandmother move in with her. I'm engaged, about to graduate, and just had one of my best friends move in with me and my parents until she can kind of get back on her feet. It's just amazing that God placed them in my life to help me kind of get over myself. I'm not the only one stressed out, and life can just be stressful sometimes and that's okay. =)

Wednesday:

            For the entire afternoon I was alone with the students today; and honestly the majority of the morning as well. I'm really starting to feel like I'm getting into a groove of my own and it's a lot of fun! However, the students were EXTRA chatty today and it was getting very frustrating. I used the chatterbox, I continuously reminded them of the classroom expectations and they still were chatty. Andrea said some days are just like that. It's frustrating, but it's important to remember it's only one day!

            I also used the video camera today a little bit more, and I think that caused them to act a little bit more crazy. A few of them kept saying, "I wanna be on YouTube!" It was kind of funny at first, but then I decided to hide it so that they wouldn't even noticed they were being videotaped. Yes it was sneaky, but I don't feel bad about it. =) They were being too crazy!

Thursday:

     Today Andrea basically gave me the entire class all day! She wasn't really stopping in at all anymore, the past couple of weeks it's been an in and out kind of thing; but this week it felt like I was completely on my own! I really am starting to get used to it and like it a lot! It's reassuring knowing I can do this without anyone in the room with me, even though I was a little nervous at first. 

     They finally stopped asking where Mrs. Gass was too! I know it has taken them a lot longer than I would have liked, but at least we got there! (And usually it's right before lunch or special when they realize she wasn't in there). This experience is really encouraging for me, and I am so thankful for this group of kids! My biggest problems in the classroom are chatty kids, but it's not usually while I'm actually teaching; mostly just when they should be reading or working on their own. 

     Since they are quite the chatty group, I kind of made a bargain with them today which I know can be dangerous but it worked out! I know they all get along really well and just enjoy talking to each other, I decided to be a tiny bit lenient. We were working on a writing project for earth day and they were working so well and so quietly that I said they could talk while they work as long as they whisper. If I heard anything other than a whisper or a soft voice I was going to have them go back to working silently. Also, if I walked around and they did not have enough work finished, then we would go back to working silently. They did a very good job for the most part, a little too loud at times; but they were still working! I wouldn't mind a class like that, where I allow them to talk while they're working. I love having the option to talk while working in class or while doing homework!

Friday:

     I cannot believe my last day of full-time teaching is complete! I have so many mixed emotions right now, and I'm really curious to see how Monday goes. Andrea and I were talking and I will just be doing science and reading next week; along with all the little things still such as morning meeting, spelling, etc. It's just going to be weird having to go back to sitting around a lot. 

     It's hard to imagine that I spent about 300 hours in different classrooms just observing! How boring that would be now! In a way it's kind of funny to think about where we all started and the point we're at now. When I first started aiding, I was so nervous to do anything! I didn't want to teach one single lesson because I was scared I would mess it up. Now I'm at the point where I can't imagine sitting around not talking to the students. 

     These reflections are kind of useful, because they're encouraging. Like Jenna Rae said in class last week, it's good to find the small nuggets of success in the grand scheme of things. You kind of have to hold on to those to get through all the other points. It's been a very stressful semester, and I know there won't be less stress during my first year. At least now I know I can do it, I will make it through, no matter how many times I think to myself I can't do it; but I couldn't have done it alone. =)

Classroom Confidential - Chapter 7:

    Community-based learning is one of the things I have really found a passion for this semester! That Lot project is similar to the situation at my school. The students aren't known for being smart, they have very low scores; and the crime in their community has gone up tremendously in the past 10 years. It's pretty much a completely different town than it was back then. So many of my students are interested in real-world topics that actually matter! One student that comes to mind always wants to do things to help the community. I would absolutely LOVE to do projects like this in my future classroom. One thing about my school now is that they don't allow field trips because of the funding. Schmidt mentions the fact that we can just go out into our neighborhoods, what a way to get a "field trip"!

             Goodness, this is just one of the most ironic chapters we have read. Along with the community-based learning, i would have really liked to integrate more technology into the classroom. For example, they all are so excited whenever I bring in my video camera or regular camera. This chapter mentions the fact that we can use those to document what we see on our field trips. I would love to incorporate teaching technology AND do a community-based learning project. I will definitely be holding on to this book for future reference! =D

Week 13

Monday:

We started our new science unit on balance and motion today! I think the students are really going to enjoy it. There are a lot of experiments, and a lot of hands-on work. Most of science they had to figure out ways on their own to balance a crayfish on their finger. It was fun to watch, and I can tell they're all really excited about the unit; which makes it more fun and exciting for me too!

Today was pretty rough in the morning. I haven't had it yet where I really didn't want to go into school. It's not that I dreaded teaching, I just really wanted a day to relax and have to myself; plus the weather outside made it so that I wanted to stay in bed all day! Even though I knew it would be easy to call in I went, and I'm very happy I did.

There weren't any spectacular lessons today, but I just really love this class. I feel like outside of student-teaching there are so many changes going on. Graduation is coming, I just got enagaged and may be getting married in the fall... All of it is a lot to take in, but I can count on my students every day in my placement. =) It feels like the only place not getting me stressed out; well at least at this point in time. =)

Tuesday:

Another month has come and gone, which means another SIP day had to come. Today we had early dismissal once again to meet which other second grade teachers in the district to talk about Common Core. It was actually a very beneficial meeting. I got a lot of good information out of it, along with a simplified version of what the Common Core will require second grade teachers to teach!

I really like that Howe and Oak Crest work together to figure this out. However, there are two other schools in the district. I'm a little confused as to why they don't participate in these days too. I think it would be very beneficial to everyone if they were all able to meet. Communication between grades and schools in a district can really ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Once again we had another fun science experiement where they had to balance a pencil on a popsicle stick using wires and clothespins. It was exciting watching them figure it out on their own! It took some time, but they got there. =) I used to hate science, but so far this has been one of my favorite lessons to teach and work with the students on.

Wednesday:

Another substitute was in towards the of the day because Andrea had somewhere else to be. This substitute was much more relaxed than the last one I worked with. She understood that I had been their full-time teacher, so she really just kind of sat back. It was a relief because last time I felt like I had to kind of work to keep the students realizing that I was still their teacher; this time it was much easier.

The kids once again still tried getting away with different things that they knew were against the rules. I just don't understand that! It's as if they forget I have been there for a long enough period of time where I clearly know their expectations and their rules. It's kind of entertaining to see what they try and do, but at the same time I wish they were responsible enough to make the right choice on their own!

I really love these students and can't believe my time is coming to an end with them. Each one of them I feel like I have really gotten to know and learned to love. Some of them a bit more of a struggle than others to deal with every day, but that made getting to know them so much more fun! =) 

Thursday:

Today was a lot of fun, especially in science class! It's really cool because I have a lot of freedom to kind of do whatever I want with the topics we have to teach. We are still working on balance, but we didn't have set activities for today or Friday. So, basically I had the freedom to search around online and look in different books to see how I wanted to teach more about balance. 

I decided to do a balance with our body type of day. I made a little "spin-the-wheel" with different activities of balance on each one. So we would spin the wheel and figure out which activity we would have to do next. After each activity we talked about how it applied to what we have already been learning about balance. I was really impressed with their ability to connect our bodies to the different activities that we have already done! One of the students talked about how our body used itself as a counterweight. It made it so much more fun for me too!

Friday:

Andrea had meetings almost all day today, and it was DEAR day; a lot happened today! First of all, it was D.E.A.R. Day (drop everything and read). So for a half hour out of the day we literally dropped everything and just read. They had the option to read to a partner or a stuffed animal! Since it was D.E.A.R Day, they were also able to wear pajamas; which made them a little more squirrelly than usual. =)

Around 10:30, Andrea had to leave for meetings. There was a substitute in there until lunch at 11:10. However, after that I was pretty much left on my own! It was a lot of fun because most of the afternoon was fun D.E.A.R. Day activities. I really felt like a teacher because I was practically by myself the entire time; there were only a few visits from different aides and other teachers in the building to make sure everything was going well. 

I can't believe next week is my last week of full time teaching and then I start phasing out already! It's been a long semester filled with so many things I couldn't have learned any other way than experiencing it for myself. I'm excited to be done, but with it getting closer it's starting to become even more real. Only one month away! =)

Week 12: Welcome Back!

Tuesday:

    It was exciting to finally come back from Spring Break! Even though it was nice having the down time, I was really looking forward to returning to school. I missed my class a lot! The first day back went surprisingly really well. I figured i would feel out of it a little along with the students; but we were all able to jump right back in!

    In math we continued with time, and I was so surprised at how well the students remembered everything from being gone for over a week! Although we did have some time for distractions, I felt like we got a lot accomplished. We also had a Flat Stanley project over break which they all shared. When the students got very into the project, they turned out so cute! I absolutely love the idea of this project and will definitely be using it in my future classroom. (Even if I teach older students! =) Even I enjoyed doing the project and so did Andrea.

    Along with all of the excitement of coming back from break, I had something a little extra happen that may have been cause for the good mood. I am now engaged, and have a lot of different things on my mind at school! Especially today, I had to tell the same story so many times! It was nice to see how the staff here really does recognize that I'm here with them and try and include me in a lot of things. I really appreciate that about this school. =)

 

Wednesday:

    Today we started coGAT testing for the class. It is unbelievably boring, and I feel so bad for them because I know how frustrating it is! They don't have the questions in their packets, it's pictures instead. They have to listen to a question and choose the correct picture. This test is to see who will be in the gifted program next year. However, walking around I noticed that a few of the very bright students in the class were getting quite a few wrong.

    This is one thing I absolutely hate about testing. First of all, some of the students that really struggle with reading aren't affected by this test and will do exceptionally well. Second of all, if they are not reading the problems themselves then I feel like that is testing their lsitening skills more than anything! I just don't really agree or like the way this test is formatted and the purpose of it. I don't feel like it's meeting the needs it says it will be.

    Other than the tests, it was a rather normal day. They are finally finished with their autobiographies and they turned out pretty well. A few of them are a little sloppy, but they still look cute altogether! I love the fact that they can buy these. It's pretty neat when you're in elementary school and you have something published that you actually created. You can tell a lot of them are very excited about this. =) So am I!

Thursday:

     Today was a pretty frustrating day. The students were very chatty and being disrespectful to one another. During one of my lessons, they kept calling out! I had to stop a few times to just to have them read Rule 1: "Listen when your teacher is talking" and Rule 4: "Raise your hand to speak or stand". They were just being very frustrating, it made it difficult to get everything done. I explained that to them a few times, and since they still kept calling out I brought the chatter box back. A few of them had to pull slips out and put them in the box because they just would not stop talking. 

     Later on during the day, one of the students brought me a note and asked me to help read it. It was the most disappointing thing I have ever read. Basically the note said "I think you are too bossy and mean and annoying. I would rather die than play with you. We are not friends." I seriously couldn't believe what I was reading, and the person signed it unonimus (anonymous). However, I have actually learned their handwriting pretty well so I knew who wrote it. 

     I took the letter then called the student over who I was pretty sure wrote it. I asked if it was from her, and at first she denied it. Quickly after, without me even saying anything else, she said that this other student kept telling her that she didn't have time to play with her outside because she had too many people to play with. I brought her out in the hallway and explained that I understand her feelings were hurt, but the letter was completely out of line. We continued to talk a little bit, and I had her apologize to the other student and explain herself. She started crying, so I think she got the message that the letter was inappropriate. I just can't believe that it happened, it was a bad enough day with all the chatting; then to end on that note! Hopefully tomorrow will be better. =)

Friday:

      Today was a pretty simple and relaxing day. We finally wrapped up the time unit in mathematics, and I am so proud and impressed with my class! I have the lower group in math, and they proved that they can keep up with the other classes! In the final assessments, they did just as well or better than the students in the higher classes.      I think I might have to tell them on Monday just to boost their confidence a little. =)

      Other than that, the students were all pretty great. There wasn't much chatting going on today, and there weren't any problems in the classroom. I wish every day could be like this! We were able to go to the big community park across the street because they did such a great job. I'm really loving this placement, and can't believe I only have about 4 weeks left!

Week 11: Conferences

Monday:

            One more week until Spring Break! This semester is seriously flying by, but I absolutely love this placement. It’s just sad to think in a few weeks I won’t be with them anymore. They all mean so much to me, but I am very excited to move on and move forward in my teaching career. A few of the teachers are trying to stay on top of the openings being listed online. They said they promise to tell me when they are listed on the district website!

            Today was my first time doing full time teaching. To be completely honest, it wasn’t that much different than how it has been. I just have to do all of the grading now, which is kind of a bummer! =) But other than that, I really don’t feel nervous about it. Andrea has made it very easy between each transition. Honestly, it’s hard to think that I went to schools for the past three years and just sat in there. If I were to go back in time, I would be bored out of my mind! Now that I have had the experience of being responsible for everything in the classroom I can’t imagine going back to that.

            Other than the first day of being full-time, it was a pretty easy day. You can tell that the students know they only have one week left as well. They were extra chatty today, but they continued doing their work so I didn’t really mind as much. And since we didn’t have class today, I got to make almost all of my copies for the week because I stayed after school! It was a nice day to catch up on everything. =)

Tuesday:

            Finally that stinking test on word problems is over! We started a word problem test on Friday. There are about 12 actual word problems on the test, and it took my class a very long time to finish. Most of them have trouble with reading the problems in the first place. So I decided to read the test to them because I wanted to test their math skills, not necessarily reading skills.

            This is a difficult concept to talk about, because I could see why people are against reading problems to them. If I weren’t there, would they still be able to do it? Honestly, the scores would have probably been a lot lower! However, I’m still okay with my decision because they showed me that they do have the thinking skills to figure it out once they know what it says.

            Another interesting thing that happened today was with my little penguin on the desk we call “Petey”. Every morning in the message we read together, there is always a picture of a penguin. He is kind of like our classroom mascot, I had no idea it would get so out of hand! There is a little girl in my class who has this newfound obsession with the little penguin on my desk. She did a partner project with him today! It was really cute and funny, but I had no idea this would happen.

Wednesday:

            Today we had a tornado drill! It seems like the school is really getting on top of the emergency procedures. Andrea told me they haven’t done a tornado drill in a few years either! I’m glad that they are going through and making it a priority. Things like that are very important for children to feel safe. A few of them were being silly during it, but at least they knew what to do. =)

            I had a few issues with classroom management today. However, thanks to our discussions we have in class I actually had a few ideas on how to keep them engaged. Whenever they started getting a little too chatty or out of control, I used a new attention grabber today. I would say very softly, “if you can hear me ______”. I had them do some silly things, but it made it easy to get everyone’s attention! Classmates would see everyone doing something and they would start paying attention again.

Thursday:

            Today was the first night of conferences! Wow this was a long day. Andrea and I only had five conferences today. We had one parent not show up; it was the parents of our new student. I wish they had called ahead, just because it would be nice to know if we had to stay in the room or if we could roam around a little. It’s hard to stay inside the classroom for almost 12 straight hours!

            Parent conferences are really interesting to me; parent communication in general is very interesting. I wonder how involved they really want to be and how closely the two should be tied together. Some of the teachers talk about how they don’t like it when the parents ask for advice on how to have their child do homework. They don’t believe it is their place to tell a child to do something at home because they are not the mothers. I completely understand why that would be frustrating; but at the same time I wonder how much communication there should be between the two. That is something interesting to think about for my future classroom.

            In honor of the conferences, everyone made a breakfast dish and we had a faculty breakfast. I absolutely love this staff. They’re such a close-knit group of people and they are so easy to feel comfortable around. Things like this are nice too because then I get to know them in a little bit of a different way. Andrea would be included in that! I basically felt like I was just spending time with a friend for a good portion of the time. However, we did plan the next few weeks with the other second grade teachers. So it’s nice that all of that is figured out already!

Friday:

            During the day, we pretty much didn’t have time for anything except math and writing! They got out an hour early, we had an assembly, and we had a special activity with a third grade classroom. (The third graders did state projects and we were able to go around and ask them about their states.) However, I did a mini lesson on acrostic poetry! It was a lot of fun, and they all created their own poem about spring. For “n”, a lot of them put “no school”; I must say they were very creative with this! I underestimated their creativity.

            While some of us teachers were waiting around, we found out that Howe will be audited the week we get back. There is something going on with their special education program. I’m not sure if they want students pulled out more often, or if they need to be more integrated in the regular classroom. Honestly, I don’t know where I stand on this issue. It’s not that I don’t want to put in the work to specialize lessons for students because I will do that. But when the student is gaining much from being in the regular classroom, I feel like there should be a change. For example, we have a student in our class with an IEP and he has a lot of issues in the classroom and can’t do any assignments on his own. I’m not sure if it’s an attention thing or a developmental problem; but in situations like that I think he would benefit more from being pulled more often than being integrated more.

In the end though, Spring Break is here! We even got out of conferences an hour early because no one had any more scheduled for the night. I’m very happy I was able to experience conferences though. It was a good experience, and now I see why we do this for an entire semester. This has given me a good idea of what to expect when I’m on my own. =)

Week 10

Monday:

    "Hallelujah, subtraction with regrouping is finally over with!" This was my thought in the morning, before we started working on word problems. My thought afterwards; "I wish subtraction with regrouping came back..." Word problems are difficult with this group of students for two reasons. First of all, they have difficulty reading. So, simply reading the word problems is hard enough for them. Second of all, I practically give them the answer; and they still look up at me with blank stares!

    Don't get me wrong, they started picking it up a little bit at the end. And to be fair it was the first day! However, I was still a little disappointed because I figured word problems would be much easier! We found a four-step plan online that makes figuring out the problem much easier! Hopefully as the days continue, they will improve with how to solve the problem. One thing that will be a difficulty that I can't really get rid of is the fact that they can't necesarily read the problems. That is one aspect of teaching that keeps resurfacing in this placement. All subjects connect; and if you really struggle in one (especially reading), the rest of the subjects may give you difficulty.

    Although this isn't with my placement, our class tonight has me thinking a lot about my future and how I want to integrate technology into my classroom. One problem with this is that there is literally no technology at my placement. It's amazing what you can do with an abundance of resources! Hopefully I can figure out a way to be a little bit more creative when it comes to integrating technology at my placement, because it really is an important aspect of school today.

Tuesday:

    Today seemed so long even though we had early dismissal! We had another SIPP day today; which is basically a teacher inservice day. However, we were able to work with another school in the district. We went up to Oak Crest Elementary to talk about the Common Core. The principals wanted a pamphlet about the Common Core to explain to the parents. Unfortunately a lot of the teachers don't know enough about the Common Core to even implement it into their own classroom. A lot of them were pointing out the fact that they need to first unpack it themselves before trying to explain it for parents. Honestly, it got a little awkward at times because the teachers were so upset; but they have a right to be. So we ended up spending the afternoon just talking about what the Common Core is. Hopefully they will have a pamphlet for the parents by next year!

    Other than the SIPP day, we had even more going on! It was a little girl's last day here. I'm not sure if she got adopted or if she is going back with her mother, but she is gone. I was sad to say goodbye to her, but I'm really hoping that she ends up in a better situation than she has been. Along with her leaving, the afternoon was interesting for its own reason.

    Andrea had a doctor's appointment, so we set it up that the principal would come check in every now and then to make sure things are going well. All that was left at the end of the day was a read aloud and packing up. However, since it was someone's last day, everyone wanted to make her a card! So packing up took about 20 minutes since everyone was making her a card and giving her their phone number. It was really cute, and I definitely wasn't angry by any means. I'm happy they were able to do that for her, and I really hope someone does stay in contact with her. (Mostly because I want to know how she's doing. =)

Wednesday:

    I feel like I'm just going through the motions sometimes while I'm here. Honestly, I need to start switching things up to keep them interested, and me excited to go to school. We do the same type of thing in Social Studies every day, a similar routine in math; I mean, I feel like the entire day is routine! I understand younger grades need that consistency, however I need to find a way to make little changes here and there. Because to be honest, it's driving me crazy! I like change, I like new things; so why not make my teaching reflect that?

    Although it is very routine, I feel like we had a little bit of a break through in math today! The students are getting much better at the word problems. They understand the steps and how to go about solving it. As I said on Monday, a lot of them have trouble reading. Since we included different steps, I think it makes it a lot easier to understand the problem and solve it! All of them did a fantastic job today, and I'm honestly kind of proud of them. They know that they are lower in math, and they all have no problem saying it. I need to try and instill more confidence in them; perhaps it would empower them more and give them motivation to try harder!

    I'm really falling in love with these kids, and it's kind of sad to think I only have about 8 weeks left with them, if that! I still don't know if I want to apply at this school or not. Even if I didn't get the job, I could sign up to be on their substitute list. However, I'm starting to think I have officially made a decision to not stay around here. I'm not sure where I will end up; but as i said before, I get sick of routine and I love change. I think a new country or new state to teach in would help refresh me a little bit. =)

Thursday:

            Today I finally realized something. One of the main reasons I feel like my lessons are kind of flopping lately is because I haven’t been putting in as much time as I did before with planning them! It’s unfortunate, but having that guide as you go along with the lesson really makes it that much better. Even though I don’t use it very often while teaching; actually planning out exactly what you want to say makes you so much more prepared than if you just know the topic.

            The past two weeks I have just been figuring out the topic and the main points that I want to discuss. So today I decided that for each actual lesson I teach, I’m going to still write out the sequence of learning activities. Although it won’t be as detailed as the actual lesson plans, it will definitely help with feeling more prepared! I need to make sure I don’t start getting too comfortable, because it affects a lot more people than just me now. When I wouldn’t put forth a lot of effort in school for homework, it only affected me. However, if I don’t put in enough effort in teaching; that could affect my entire class in understanding an important concept!

            I’m really hoping that I stick with this, because it’s very important to me that I become the best teacher possible. And if that means I have to continue writing out things I was so excited to get rid of; well then I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and do it! =)

Friday:

            So two main things I want to talk about and think about today. Next Monday is my first day full-time teaching; YIKES! I’m so nervous, but so excited! I’ve pretty much been full-time except reading, but still! Its a lot more pressure I feel like. The other point is about parents. Although this wasn’t directly in my classroom, it still definitely ties into school.

            I do after-school care at a neighboring district Tuesday-Friday now. I’ve noticed that a lot of the parents are kind of disappointing with their children. Some of them, when they come in they are asking a million questions about how their day was; and that’s great! But there are other parents that come in, angry at them because they’re frustrated they had to pick them up because it was an inconvenience to them. Or I’ve had the students who openly tell me that they do whatever they want at home, basically because they’re ignored. (Granted kids can blow things out of proportion, but I have seen the interactions; and its very accurate.)

            I just came to the realization today that these are going to be some of my students’ situations. They may have a neglecting family at home, where no one really cares. It’s ridiculously sad what some of these kids have to deal with. I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to focus on teaching them when I know how some of them are really just hurting deep down. Just a kind of random thought for the day… But other than that it was a good week! =)

             

Week 9

Wednesday:

            Woo hoo! No school on Tuesday! Even though I really liked the snow day, it was definitely hard coming back from a surprise four-day weekend! All day I felt completely out of it, and I’m sure it showed in my energy and in my teaching. I love snow days, don’t get me wrong! =) However, today seemed like such a long day and I’m very thankful that tomorrow is already Thursday. A lot of the things we had planned for the week seem like they will be pushed to next week because of the extra long weekend.

            Along with it being an oddly short week, we have a completely different schedule this week because of the ISAT testing. Fourth grade asked if we could switch specials with them; and since the teachers are very flexible and willing to help, we switched times. However that means for the rest of the week, all of the times we would normally do specific subjects has been changed.

            This was definitely a weird day back, and almost more exhausting than the days before! I’m hoping tomorrow will go a little bit more smoothly. I felt like I was running around all day, not knowing what exactly was going on! At least tomorrow I will know what to expect more than I did today.

Thursday:

            Today went MUCH better than yesterday; in more ways than just adjusting to the weird week and mixed up schedule. We have been working with subtraction with regrouping, and tomorrow all of the students will take a test on how well they understand and know the concept. It’s one of the common core assessments; and I have been worried that our low group would not be prepared. Today they, all of the sudden, were completely getting it! I have no idea how, or when this happened; but I’m so happy that all of that work has at least shown some progress!

            We also started a new unit in social studies, and every first day of a new unit I go over the vocabulary that we will need to know. So I was going through it like usual, and then all of the sudden the students started laughing at one of the vocabulary words. First of all, this class is the only second grade class that always laughs at but, duty, balls, etc. Andrea and I even asked the other teachers if they have this problem; nope, just us! So the vocabulary word today was “tutor”. I didn’t even think beforehand that they would find that funny, but they never cease to surprise me. It caught me so off guard that I kind of let out a little smile, because honestly it is a little funny that they are that entertained!

            Other than the tutor incident, the day went really well! I’m starting to get more comfortable as the “head teacher”. I have been doing everything except reading for the past two weeks. I feel like we may have rushed ahead a little too quickly, but I suppose that the more practice I have, the better off I will be!

Friday:

            Today seemed like a wasted day to me in some ways. We didn’t do our “Howe 2 Read” program because the aides were gone again. In math, we had the common assessment. We still did social studies, which went fine. And in writing, they are working on their autobiographies; so there isn’t much teaching to be done about that. We had an extra long recess, and then Friday free time. I’m not sure why I feel like it was so wasted, I guess it just seemed like we didn’t do anything in the afternoon.

            Today during social studies, I had one of my students correct me when I said something right. This student is the kind of know-it-all you would expect to have in every class. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this girl and she is very bright! However, she calls out all of the time and is always certain that she is right in whatever she is saying. I’m not sure what to do about her. Andrea said that she always struggled with the same thing with her, which makes me feel a little bit better; but still a little frustrated!

            I have her, and then another little boy that is certain he is always right. However, he rarely shares information that is actually correct! I don’t want to correct him after sharing because I almost feel rude; but is it kind of my job to correct and teach him? I’m not really sure what to do with these two students, especially because I will be completely on my own in about two weeks. 

Week 8

Monday:

            I always love starting a new week! The class is always so excited, which brings a refreshing energy back to me as well. In math, we continued with double-digit subtraction with regrouping. There is one student in my class who I have referred to before that really surprised me today. He needs a lot of extra help and could be included in the special education program at another school; they are actually considering putting him in there next year.

            Anyways, today I couldn’t believe how well he was doing in math! I wanted to review on the board before having them begin their assignment. So I walked through a few of the problems with them, and he was answering almost every single one of my questions; correctly! Andrea was in as much shock as I was. It’s crazy how different each day can be with him. Some days you can basically give him the answer and he won’t know it, other days, like today, he is completely on the ball! It was definitely a refreshing way to start the week at school.

            Another thing I also wanted to reflect on was actually what happened at Trinity. Having the principal panel come to class was very helpful! But it has gotten me thinking on different places I want to teach and where I need to start applying. It’s crazy to think that we all graduate in a few months and will be on our own very soon; it’s exciting but scary. I’m just really hoping that a clear path will be made as to where I should go.

Tuesday:

            My eyes were definitely opened today. I was able to get a glimpse of so many different home lives that these children have. We read a nonfiction story about brothers and sisters for reading today. I didn’t think there would be so many connections and comments on what I would consider a boring story. All of the students had something to comment on or share about their own lives, and I’m very happy that they felt comfortable sharing this stuff with everyone.

            One student is in foster care and really connected with a child in the story that was adopted. A few other students only have one parent, or don’t live with a parent at all; and they had someone to connect with in the story. Some of the students have dealt with a lot in their own lives. For some reason, today, they felt like opening up.

            It’s crazy how a simple book like this can really make them become so involved in what they are reading! One student almost started crying because, as I shared last week, her and her sister are not getting along very well. I have a feeling that the older sister is blaming her for all of the court situations going on with their parents. She said she was sad that she didn’t feel like her sister was her best friend. (The sisters in the story considered themselves best friends.) We read this story one more time tomorrow, and I’m very excited to see how it goes!

            After school, it was fun seeing how much of a community this school really has. All of us were completely snowed in, and it took us WAY too long to get out of school and get our cars out of the snow. But it was a lot of fun working with them and shoveling other people out. We were all kind of goofing around, and everyone had such a different energy in them than I have ever seen. It was really nice to see that side of the school. =)

Wednesday:

            Today just seemed like the longest day ever! I’m not sure why, I feel like my teaching is becoming repetitive and boring. Once again, if I think it’s boring then I can’t imagine how the students are feeling! Yesterday we also had a very big snowstorm, and I’m wondering if it was just because I wanted a snow day. =) So many schools around us had one, and I was so disappointed waking up hearing that I had to go into work. Don’t get me wrong, once I got there I was happy to be there; but a break is always nice! I think I just get worn out too easily; I need to figure out a way around that! It never used to happen, so it’s kind of annoying. =)

            Going back to what I said before, I feel like I am becoming repetitive, predictable, and boring. Those are the exact opposite adjectives I would ever want to use to describe myself, but it’s how I feel right now. I need to find a way to make these lessons directed towards the students to keep them interested. That’s one thing that I find very difficult!

            I have finally settled in to teaching almost everything, and I’m completely fine with that. But now that I have that part down, I feel like I owe it to myself and my students to make these lessons more fit for all of us. I know my students pretty well, I know their interests, I know what kind of lessons they like; and I can do better at making these days a little less boring. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Thursday:

            Today was the exact opposite of boring! It felt so busy that I was absolutely exhausted when I got home! I even took a nap, and I never take naps! The students for some reason were just absolutely crazy. They were very chatty all day; even Andrea was starting to say that she was exhausted at the end of the day. We had to constantly remind them to quiet down; and I almost felt like a nag at some points. They knew they were getting way too loud, but they just didn’t seem to care at all.

            It was kind of a strange day with the chatting, and then a few odd experiences with aids that were supposed to help in the classroom. We have this reading program called “Howe To Read”. This happens every day from 1:30-2:00. Once again, Andrea and I have the lowest level grouped kids in our classroom. We decided to make the most of this time and use help throughout the school. So during this time, I have a group of students, Andrea has a group, and then the art teacher along with an aid each have a group as well.

            It’s very nice to have different groups so that we can target the different students better. However, when these people don’t show up; we kind of get screwed over. The aid wasn’t in yesterday, and she wasn’t in once again today! So that would mean that 6 kids would go unattended during this time. Instead of doing guided reading, we ended up watching a reading rainbow video. I have definitely learned today that it’s hard to rely on people; but if a school can make have everyone aiming for a common goal, I feel like the school could have so many more possibilities.

Friday:

            Today was a fun day! Instead of teaching lessons today, Andrea and the other second grade teachers decided to go crazy for Dr. Seuss’ birthday! It was practically reading his books all day, and all of the kids loved it! However, I feel like I didn’t do anything; so I guess it’s kind of a lose-win type of situation.

            During the day we even had the principal read a Dr. Seuss book over the intercom. All of the children went and sat on the carpet as Andrea turned the pages so they could listen to the story while looking at the pictures. It was kind of a cool moment, it really felt like the school was a very tight-knit community. Along with the reading, there were a few activities with Dr. Seuss; one of them involved drawing a “butter-ma-plane”.

            These students have a hard enough time being creative. This project required them to draw what they believed a butter-ma-plane to look like. A few of the students did a nice job with it, but there is one student that hardly speaks any English. She was so confused as to what a “butter-ma-plane” was, and her face was priceless when we tried explaining it to her. So Andrea had another student who spoke Spanish go explain the project to her. Finally she understood that she could make up anything she wanted. It was very cool to see this kind of interaction and help between the students. =) And I was very happy that the little girl didn’t look as stressed anymore!

Classroom Confidential:

            We do A LOT of writing and journaling in our classroom, so this was actually a very practical and helpful chapter! I thought the writer’s hats idea is a very cute and fun way to get them more excited about writing. They would probably love it even more because we have to constantly tell them that there are no hats allowed in school. The empty your head strategy would also be a really good one for them to start learning how to write creatively.  My students have a hard time coming up with strange stories on their own. Perhaps if they were given one topic and had to write down every word that came along with that topic it would help them write a good story.

            Skinny to steroids is a perfectly fitting activity with this classroom. We just learned about adjectives, and we are trying to get them to write more creatively and descriptively. By taking a simple sentence and adding adjectives to it, I could definitely see them benefiting from this activity. There are a lot of good ideas in this chapter, some not being as fitting to my second graders as others; but all in all, there are definitely some ideas I may try stealing for a future lesson. =)