Phase Out Time

Today marks the first official day of “phasing out” for student teaching. This basically means that instead of teaching all day, I will only be teaching science.  I figured that since I only would teach two classes, I would have PLENTY of time to work on items for school. Nope! I ended up working on a million other things. It happens. I will continue “phasing out” until next Tuesday or Wednesday and then will be observing until the end of student teaching the following week.

My workload has lightened up quite a bit and now I have more time to get things done around my dorm and work on sewing projects.  As the semester comes to a close, I am starting my to-do list of everything that needs to be done either before the semester ends or before Christmas:

1.     Finish portfolio for student teaching. This is due next Monday and is my top priority for the next few days!

2.     Finish the unit plan for science. I developed a unit for science and would like to have it completely finished before I leave.

3.     Sew cooperating teacher her present.  My cooperating teacher has been absolutely wonderful this semester. Very supportive and encouraging. I am working on a little something for her to show my appreciation. I would love to have it complete before I finish, but we will see how it goes.

4.     Finish the last two programs for College Lodge (Mr. College Lodge and the Lodge T-Shirts).

5.       Figure out what to get/do for my students. I want to do a little something special for my students before I leave, but I am still not sure. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated!

6.       Pack and move home. For good. Ahh! That is crazy to think that I won’t be returning to C of C in January.

7.       Finalize everything for my job starting in January. Yes! That’s right! I have a job lined up starting in January. I have not mentioned it very much because I wanted to keep it on the down low. Until I sign everything, which should be in the next week, I am not going to announce the school or position.

These are the main items I can think of off the top of my head. I am sure there are little things that I am forgetting.  I am still feeling really confident and comfortable about the rest of the semester and the start of the New Year.  I am trying to enjoy what time I have left and make the most of every opportunity.  Three more weeks of the semester. Let’s make it great!

Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Until next time,

K

This Chapter is About to Close

December 16^th marks my last day of my college life. It feels like it just started and now it is about to end. The next month is going to fly by without stopping to give me a chance to breathe.  This Tuesday is the last day of full time teaching for me, and then I begin to “phase out” next week.  It feels like I just started full time teaching. Actually, I started full time teaching seven weeks ago.  It’s all a blur of excitement, joy, tears, struggles, and many accomplishments.  I can’t believe it’s almost over.  It’s a bittersweet feeling.  I know this time would come, but I didn’t realize it would be here so soon.

My semester will be pretty much complete after December 5^th, which is the day my portfolio for student teaching is due.  Once I turn all of this in, I will be done with the schoolwork portion of this semester.  After this, I will be spending a lot of time observing and making the most out of the last few days I have with my sixth grade students.

At this point in time, I am experiencing a lot of emotions. I am a little sad to be graduating and to be moving on, but I KNOW I am ready for it. It’s time. This semester has been more than wonderful, and I am thankful for every minute. But I know, it is time to move on. I can’t hold on my college life. This semester has been completely different than all my other semesters with student teaching.  I am looking forward to graduating and starting something new.  Actually, I can’t wait!! I am ready for a fresh start and new experiences.

I feel like I should be nervous and really stressed about graduating, but I am not at all. I know God has my life in His Hands and will guide me in the direction He sees fit.  If He wants me to be somewhere or some situation, then He will make that happen. God is so good and provides so much. I can’t wait for what life throws at me and to see how God is going to mold me in the future.

I hope you have a wonderful week. God bless!

Until next time,

K

A Special Kind of Love

There is a special kind of love when you teach. At least for me there is.

I love my students so much when:

1. The lightbulb goes off when they understand a topic
2. They give you hugs in the hallway
3. They want to tell you about what is going on in their life
4. They write you sweet cards
5. They participate in class
6. They try to act so tough and mature, but underneath that image is a sweet and innocent child still.
7. I don't want to get up in the mornings, but I picture their faces and immediately get up
8. I get to hang out and talk with them at lunch.
9. They say they have missed me
10. They genuinely try at their assignments and end up being so successful
11. They still respect me at the end of the day because they know I respect them
12. I can get so frustrated, but yet still love each and every one of them at the end of the day
13. They do kind things for others and don't realize that I noticed it
14. They aren't afraid to be vulnerable and open up to me
15. They come into school with a positive and optimistic attitude

I have grown to love my students so much! They have a special place in my heart. They always will be the students that I taught first. This group of students will have that title.

Yes, there are days where I get so frustrated and easily worn down. There are moments when I need to walk away for a moment because I am annoyed. It happens. It is not the end of the world. I realized that it is okay to step away for a few moments to gather yourself back together and continue guiding and leading the students. I try to make sure to constantly show love to my students. They might not always see it, but it's there. It's tough love. If they don't see it, I make sure to tell them I love them on a regularly basis. Some of them may have not ever heard those words being directed towards them. They all need to hear it.

This has always been my mission statement: To love others unconditionally.  I want to continue this mission into my classroom and into the future. It is this kind of passion and care that keeps the fire burning for teaching.

Until next time,
K

Going with the flow.

One of my life mottos: Go with the flow.

In student teaching, I have to just go with the flow. I have to be flexible. One thing at a time. I am human. I am not superwoman.

Most days I am wishing there were an extra two hours so I was able to get more accomplished. I finally don't feel completely far behind from what I need to do during student teaching. Things are slowly fitting into place. Mind you, I still have plenty of things I need to do on a regularly basis like grade papers, formulate tests/quizzes/rubrics/powerpoints and other odds and ends, I am at least trying to stay on top of planning for the coming weeks. I am doing this for my kids. Yes, they are MY kids. I have grown to become soo protective of them. Like a mother hen and her chicks. Sure, during the day, some of them drive me a little crazy with their random outbursts and side-conversations, but at the end of the day, I would still keep all of them.

Last Thursday, I participated in the Running Club with my students. Had such a fabulous time. I ended up walking with six of my students for about thirty minutes. I really enjoyed seeing them outside the classroom. On Friday, one of the students that participated in the Running Club with me raised her hand and said, "Ms. Griffin, I had fun yesterday with you in Running Club." That made me feel good :)

Life outside of student teaching is going well. Three weeks ago, my mother came to visit and we had a WONDERFUL time together relaxing and shopping. Last weekend, I went to visit Benjamin and we had a great time going to a football game and spending time together. This weekend, I worked the desk a bunch, worked on halloween decorations, worked on lesson plans, and slept. It has been very low key weekends, which is exactly what my body needs after long weeks at school.

Looking forward to another four-day week! I hope you have a great week as well.

Much love,
K

FULL TIME

It's official!

As of last Wednesday, I am teaching FULL TIME. This means when the students come in at the beginning of the day until students leave at the end of the day, I will be the lead teacher. One Literature class. Two mathematics classes. Two science classes. Wow!

I am starting to find my pace for everything. It is the preparation that is the most tedious part of it all. I know when I have been teaching for a couple of years, I will be spending less time on this. I want to make it as fun as possible for the students. One of my students always asks me, "Ms. Griffin, are we going to do something fun today in science?" My response to him: "We always do something fun in science!"

I can't decide what subject area I like more: Math or science. My cooperating teacher says I am stronger in math, but I am really enjoying science, because there is more to do with it. There are more ways to make it engaging. I am glad I was blessed with the opportunity to teach both subject areas to get a taste of both.

The students have been great for the most part. The typical chattiness happens here and there, but overall, I love my students. I wish I was able to spend more one on one time with each of them to get to know them more.  I think once I get the hang of everything and become more comfortable, I will be able to do that.

Now for the real, deep honesty: I am constantly feeling tired and worn down.  I don't feel like I ever get caught up to where I need to be. If I do get caught up then I end up not getting enough sleep or something else ends up getting cut out of my life. "Me" time is pretty much NONEXISTENT.  I feel like I am constantly on the verge of having a melt down. I feel like alot of the times what I do is sub-par and not good enough. I have never felt this drained: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

In the midst of all this. I am learning so much and being challenged so much. I am learning so much about my own teaching styles. Who I am as a person, a friend, a teacher, and more.  This is a very tough experience for me, but I would never give it back. I am thankful for every second of it. For every tear of frustration. For every excited face of a student. For every late night staying up to plan for a 50 minute lesson. For every conversation with a student. For every feeling of accomplishment. I wouldn't give it back for a second.

Praise God for how He is challenging me and making me ever so more dependable on Him. Are you allowing Him to lead your life right now? Are you allow the challenges you are being faced with to be an opportunity to lean more on Him? Think about it.

Until next time,
K

Student Teaching Adventure Continues...

I have been in my middle school for three whole weeks now. Wow! It’s crazy. Time is zooming by, but each day is jammed packed with excitement and challenges.

Rewarding/Wonderful times:

·         Receiving a sweet card/drawing from one of my students

·         Having my students say “Good morning, Ms. Griffin”

·         Hanging out with my students at lunch

·         When my students are actively engaged in the lesson

·         When the students saw the example of an activity for science and they were excited about it

·         Reading my students writing journals because it gives me a chance to get to know them

·         Driving to and from school because the drive is absolutely beautiful

·         Re-explaining information and seeing the students have an “A-Ha” moment

Challenging times:

·         Chatting students and getting them to follow the expectations

·         Writing and developing lesson plans

·         Lacking in sleep…every night

·         Being flexible with scheduling

·         Not being around in College Lodge especially for my residents

·         Not exercising at much because any free time I have, I want to sleep

This past week, I taught for three full days. My cooperating teacher had family issues to handle, so I took over the class.  It was overwhelming at times, but a learning experience at the same time. While the students drive me crazy sometimes, I really love them. Each of them are so unique and already have a special place in my heart.

Today, we had testing, so the schedule was all crazy. The time that we had for teaching, we ended up letting the students have free period/watching educational videos. This week, I will be working through The Westing Game during literature time.  In science, I will be making clouds out of cotton rounds (I can’t say “balls” in class, but the students will lose it). We will also be reviewing material on the atmosphere, water cycle, and clouds. I plan on teaching them study strategies, playing a review game, and hopefully give a test at the end of the week.

A goal that I have for myself is to work on classroom management especially with the chatting and talkativeness. It can get pretty tough at the end of the day and that is when my patience is low.

God has really been challenging me the past few weeks. I need to make an effort to make time for Him every day. My days need to be God-centered in order for me to have a spirit-filled life. I noticed my spirit not being the same, when I don’t make time for Him. I am thankful that I have a relationship with such a faithful and loving God that hasn’t given up on me.

Have a great week everyone. I hope you are able to make time for God and allow Him to fill up your life.

Until next time,

K

You know you are student teaching when...

You know you are student teaching when....

1. You have to make 55 copies of a 15-page paper and forgot to push the SORT button on the copier.
2. You only want to sleep when you have free time.
3. You accidentally wear the school uniforms' colors and blend in with the students.
4. You freaked out the first time you taught a lesson and was "in charge" of the class.
5. You feel like you should be walking in the line with the students because for the last 18 years or so you have been called a "student"
6. You only want to sleep when you have free time.
7. Some of the students still have a tendency to call you Ms. and then your first name (Ex: Ms. Kacey)
8. You wonder how you will ever be able to write lesson plans for 3 or four different classes, when it takes you at least an hour or so to write them for one class.
9. You spend more time getting ready in the morning than while you were in classes because now you can't just roll out of bed and put whatever on.
10. You panic at least once a week wondering if this is the career you are supposed to be doing because it feels so overwhelming right now.
11. You sometimes get mistaken for being a student (I think this has more to do with me looking so young. Oops!)
12. You only want to sleep when you have free time.

I know there has been more things that have occurred this past week during student teaching. Last week was my first full week of school. I was still doing alot of observing, but still interacting with the students. It has been great so far! I am realizing that sleep deprivation is in the fine print of the job description. O well! I will catch up on that during the weekends.

This week is shorter due to Labor Day and an unexpected trip home. However, I started teaching the literature class and a science class this week. I am planning the literature class lessons. We are working through The Westing Game. Yesterday we made a character analysis chart and discussed the main events going on in the story. It's an excellent book, and I am hoping to get through at much as possible before the next unit starts. In science, we are learning about the water cycle. I am teaching this class at the end of the day, so I have a lot of chatty students, but most of them seem really engaged with whats going on.

I hope you have a great day! God bless!

Until next time,
K

Student Teaching: Day 1

Today was my first official day of STUDENT TEACHING.
It really felt like the first day of middle school or high school for me. Back then the first day of school was always a challenge for me. Well, more like the night before was a challenge, because I would be so excited and anxious, I could not sleep at all. This happened last night. I kept tossing and turning and was afraid I would over sleep on my first day. Thankfully I did not over sleep and even had enough time this morning to go to the cafeteria for a delicious breakfast. (Sidenote: People hate on our cafeteria, but the breakfast is always great and is the most consistently good meal they have besides the salad bar).

I was not nervous at all today. I visited the school last Tuesday (first day of school for the students), so I felt comfortable with the school and my cooperating teacher. At this stage, I am still in mainly observation mood. I try to help my teacher out as much as possible without getting in her way. I am learning her system for how she does thing so the transition from her teaching to my teaching runs smoothly for the students. I want to be involved with the students as much as possible so they feel comfortable interacting with me. I am feeling a little hesitant because I don't know how much is OKAY for me at this point. I don't want to interfere with what the teacher is doing. I am still trying to step out of my comfort level and be a little bolder.

The students seem wonderful. Each one of them with their own set of challenges. At this point, I think most of them still see me as just an observer of the classroom and don't realize I will be eventually teaching them. I would like for them to start seeing me as a teacher in the next week or so and get a better understanding of why I am there.

Today was a LONG day, but it was a good one. It was REAL. All of the education classes and even general education classes have lead up to this point. It is all finally coming together to be one amazing and challenging and rewarding semester.

Goals for myself for the next few days for student teaching:
1. Learn all 46(ish) students names.
2. Learn behavior policies and procedures
3. Help the students get organized and stay organized
4. Make effort to get to know the students in some way or another.

Until next time,
K