Long Time, No See

Because life has been busy and hectic, stressful even, I have not had much of a chance to update lately! I have been working on my senior honors project for what seems like every hour that I am home of every day. I cannot wait until that thing is finished and out of my life. I also took my reading endorsement praxis exam...I am really not sure how I did. I'll find out in about 3 weeks! eep!

Life in Kindergarten is going very well. My cooperating teacher and advisor evaluated me for my midterm, and they both thought I was doing very well...hooray! I am enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and schedule of Kindergarten...but I still think I enjoyed 2nd grade more. I'm really not sure as to exaclty why, but I will wait until I am completely finished to evaluate that, I suppose.

Speaking of finished, graduation is 3 weeks away!!

Anyway, in Kindergarten, I planned and have been implementing a unit on Pilgrims/Native Americans/Thanksgiving. The kids seem to really be enjoying it and I know they are retaining the concepts I have been teaching because they are able to tell me all about them every day. I also did a math unit on solids, and they all did so well! I did a whole week's worth of hands-on activites to help them understand cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders...and they still remember it all for the most part!! The volunteer grandma in our room assessed them today...mostly all were able to identify each solid in the environment and in print...I was so proud!!:)

There is one little boy in particular who I have seen make HUGE learning gains. When I began, he could barely even write his name or identify letters. Now, he is able to write both his first and last name from memory with no assistance, he does so well with my handwriting lessons, can identify letters and letter sounds, and today he finished two activities we did...he was the first in the whole class to finish. Not to mention all of his work was completely correct!!! I really cannot believe it...but his gains have really made me feel as if I am doing something so worthwhile...and seeing his little smile when he does something right just makes my heart melt!

Ah, alright I am done with the giddy ranting. Time to get back to that senior project. I just have to keep reminding myself- I *can* do this.

Test (and other) Anxiety

This week I am gearing up to take my final Praxis test, the one that will allow me to obtain a reading endorsement. At first, I thought that this one would be a piece of cake compared to my content and PLT tests, but now I am discovering that it might be much more difficult than I had anticipated. The test is completely multiple choice, so I either have the answer or I don't. No writing to explain my thought process. Looking at the test-at-a-glance on the Praxis website, I have also realized that I am a little rusty with my knowledge of teaching reading since I have not studied it in awhile. So hopefully this week I'll be able to brush up on my skills to pass the test on Saturday morning.

In Kindergarten, I am doing a Native American/Pilgrims/Thanksgiving unit over the next few weeks. I am loving being creative, but with so many resources, it is pretty overwhelming to choose things to use in my lessons. I just want to use it all, but of course I am limited on time...and that makes it difficult. I am enjoying Kindergarten, but I am not sure how I feel about this part. I guess over the next few weeks I'll figure it out for sure. My supervisor keeps telling me that she thinks Kindergarten is such a great fit for me...but I'm still not sure.

With the end of the semester only 4 weeks away, I am really starting to feel the pressure of getting everything finished up. I am not looking forward to the many late nights ahead...but honestly I did not make it this far in my college career by getting things done early...so why start now I suppose. Hopefully I can manage to get it all done...

Oh! And today I realized that I really enjoy assessments. Strange? Probably. But we'll save that for another post at a later date. :)

p.s.- I see that I am getting lots of visitors, but no comments!! don't be afraid to leave me a comment (please please please)!

A Sad Reality

So, I ended up missing Wednesday evening's conferences because Tuesday night I came down with the flu...surprise!
On Thursday, I was feeling a little better, so I forced myself to go to school. I barely made it through the day, but finally the reason for my attendance came...the second round of conferences. Sadly, the parents of students who desperately needed conferences did not show up. Almost every single student who is terribly struggling and could really use more help at home had no one come...and there was not even a single call for cancellation. Just no-shows.

How sad. I mean, I understand that parents have to work and take care of their families, and have a hard time making room in their schedule but they CHOSE these times. They were not just randomly assigned. Parents were given total freedom in choosing any time they would like...and they all signed up. It is just incredibly frustrating to see these kids being left to struggle...while the parents of the students who are doing well show up. My cooperating teacher and I, along with 4 other pull-out teachers, are doing everything we can to help the strugglers...but there is only so much time we have with them.

I just wish there was some way to get these parents more involved. Unfortunately, I am coming to realize that this is something I am going to face for the rest of my career.

Praying For Change...

Well, as we go into what will be, regardless of who wins, a history-making election tomorrow, I have to throw in my two cents.

As a future educator, and based on my personal beliefs, my hope lies in Barack Obama. I believe that he will really do some good things for the field I am in and I look forward to seeing what he will bring about if elected.

Plus, I just can't imagine what a country run by Sarah Palin would come to.

OBAMA/BIDEN '08

...just make sure you vote!!!!

Job Searching & Parent-Teacher Conferences! Yikes!

This past week in Kindergarten has been a fairly stressful one. And surprisingly it's not actually student teaching that has been stressing me out. It's this getting a job junk. I have spent countless hours online trying to figure out how in the world to even get started on my job search. My college is actually very good about helping with this, seeing as they hold many events just for education students who are graduating, and I actually have a ton of resources at my fingertips...but there is still one thing nagging at me...finding a location.

In all of the handbooks and websites I have read, each of them tells me to focus on one or two geographic areas where I would be happy teaching. Sounds simple enough. The problem with that, though, is that I DON'T CARE. I literally would be so happy to get hired anywhere (especially in the state of Ohio) that I would graciously accept any offer. I don't have a preference at all. I just want a job. I have spent time in many different types of schools, from urban to rural, and I really just want to teach anywhere. So, it is incredibly hard to narrow this decision down when my focus is on getting a job, not where that job is located.

If anyone out there has any advice on this...I could really use some.

In other news, my supervisor came in to observe me this past week and she told me that she thinks Kindergarten may be a better fit for me...which is strange because I loved 2nd grade. However, I am going to consider her words because having someone look in from the outside may help me realize something I am not seeing.

Another big event is happening this week: Parent-Teacher Conferences.
In some aspects I am really looking forward to this new experience, and learning how to carry out these conferences successfully. This is most definitely something I did not learn in any class and will be thankful to have been through before my first year when I am thrown to the wolves. However, it seems that most teachers dread this week...so I am not really looking forward to finding out just why that is.