Last week

This was our last full week in the schools. We still have one more day left on Monday. I can't believe how fast this month has gone. It seems like I just got in the schools and now it's over. This week was really fun. I got to take a lot of pictures of the kids and they loved it. Maybe I will try and out some up soon.

My lessons all went pretty well this week, well all except the one that we had during the fire drill. I did realize that it is important not to joke with first graders during a fire drill. We finally made it outside, got a head count, and then were heading back into the school when one of our kids turns to me and says, "It wasn't a real fire, nothing is even on fire". I turned and said, in what I thought was a sarcastic voice (first graders can't tell the difference) and said, "yeah, it is real. Can't you see everything is on fire?". The little kid behind her turns to me with freaked out eyes and says, "EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE??!!! OH NO!!!!". Then it spread down the line... that was my own bad!!

We also had another adventure when I was getting observed during one of my lessons. I call the kids back to the table and all of the sudden one of the other students in the class starts throwing up on lots of things, fortunately no people, but it was still gross. Fortunately I had a good lesson planned. I had a powerpoint prepared and they seem to love those. They are always so interested in what is on the computer. Fortunately the lesson went really well, despite the nasty throw up smell. OH how I am going to miss 1st grade!!

week 3 in school

Wow, I can't believe it's already been three weeks since I have been in the school. Everyday I have another confirmation that I am doing the right thing with my life. I love going to school and being with the kids. I do wish I could get a little more sleep, but since when is that different than anything else in life? This week I used a powerpoint presentation in one of my lessons and the kids absolutely loved it. Our teacher had never used one before, so it was a new experience for them. It really kept their attention and I will for sure be using it again!!

In our math class right now, we are creating our own math tasks. I just love math. Sometimes I don't like going to class because I am way too tired, but I still love the concepts. With this task that we are creating, I feel like I have stretched my brain. I love learning new things in math and creating new ideas!! Fortunately I get to teach math for a living!! I haven't taught a math lesson in the classroom yet, but I get to next week and I am really excited. Hopefully it goes great!

This weekend my little brother is coming to visit and I am so excited. Family is just the best thing ever!! I can't wait to get a hug from my brother, mainly because he is the best hug giver ever!! He won't be here for very long, but I still can't wait to see him. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I also got to talk to my older brother today, which was wonderful. We just chit-chatted about random things that we both love. It always makes me super happy to talk to my family!! What a blessing!! Right now, I feel good about life. I feel very close to my Heavenly Father. It's truly amazing what he can help us do in our lives. I feel, everyday, that he wants me to do better. What a blessing it is that we can pray to him and ask him for advice, strength, and comfort.

week two of the schools

First graders make me laugh. They are so honest, but only want to be honest in the most heartfelt ways. Today was a day full of some good laughs (especially because the kids were not trying to be funny). We had to have a discussion about our new president and how he can be the president of the USA if he's black. We also got to read some interesting stories like SkippyJonJones. They were great stories. I feel like the kids are starting to be more comfortable with me and I love it. There is one girl (ESL student) who will hardly ever open her mouth, but the more I try and help her, the more she opens up. She brought me a heart that she made all by herself. It's amazing how much a small piece of paper can make you smile.

I taught my first actual lesson this week and it went pretty well, to my surprise. The kids were a little routy, but it's first grade, what did I expect?? It was actually pretty enjoyable for me. I feel pretty comfortable in front of the class. I feel mostly comfortable, but still a little nervous. I assume it will take some getting used to. I think it would help if there weren't people observing me and taking notes on every move I made... oh well.

During my lesson this week, I got to use some of the great technology our school offers. I think they call it an Elmo Camera, or something like that. I talked about it a little bit in my last post but here's refresher. It's like an overhead, but way less complicated and way smaller. I put my book under this camera and followed along throught the story with the kids. All the pictures were in color, which was pretty awesome. I think it is more interesting for the kids to see the pictures in color, rather than just an overhead. I can also use this camera to zoom in, zoom out, or freeze a picture. I hope to have something like this in my own classroom, which coud be happening sooner than I thought.

This week we got to go to the computer lab, which was really nice. We don't have any computers in our classroom, so it was a great aopportunity for the kids. We actually started using them for math testing. They have a program in which the kids go through 30 problems and on each problem, they can read the problem or press a button to hear the recorded question. It's really helpful for ELL and ESL students.