First week of teaching: check.
Wow we got a lot accomplished today! We practiced Read-to-Self, learned how to Read-to-Someone, looked at Interesting Words (and wrote them on our Word Wall), and a whole bunch of other stuff.
At noon recess my 6th grade girls decided to look for the frog again. They want to keep him/her as a class pet if we get a tank. My only question is, "What are we going to feed it?" They thought I should catch moths or flies to feed to it. Right. In my spare time.
After catching it and letting it go, they spotted some shelf mushrooms on a tree. They are currently sitting on the printer in my classroom, drying out. Eventually I'm going to borrow a stereoscope from the science teacher at Nicollet so we can look at it up close (she said she could even drop it off at school and pick it up again!).
I'm really glad those girls are showing an interest in science. One of them brought me a dead bee she found somewhere in the classroom. Yep. I saved that too. It's in a cup in my cupboard. Soon I'm going to need a big cabinet to keep all this cool science stuff.
The 7th and 8th graders have been better at recess, but I think my time with them in the afternoon is going to be more of a struggle. It could've been because of the long upcoming weekend. It could've been the move from the rest of the hot school into my air conditioned room. Or it could've been because of the all school assembly in a half an hour. Whatever it was, the 7th and 8th graders were really pushing my buttons today.
The same two boys from yesterday sat by each other again today. I asked them at the beginning of class to make a wise seating choice, but they argued, "We need to prove to you that we can sit by each other without messing around." I said, "This is your absolute last chance. Any messing around and you are not sitting by each other for the rest of the year." Guess what? Halfway through the lesson, one of them yells out, "Miss Heintz! He took my paper."
Less than five seconds later they were sitting in the front row, far away from each other. The whole class period was loud and crazy. The 7th and 8th graders were blurting out answers and yelling when they didn't know what was going on. I think we're going to have to get a seating chart. And have a discussion about how to treat others' desks. Hopefully next week things will be a little more settled.
A ventriloquist visited our school for the last 45 minutes of the day. She talked about being on God's Team (our theme for the year), and not being a bully. It was very interesting to watch. She had one of the biggest 8th graders be her "puppet." She tapped him on the shoulder when she wanted him to open his mouth. Of course she gave him a high, squeaky voice. He could barely stand up straight from laughing so hard. The little ones were dying of laughter. We followed the presentation up with freezies donated by one of the school board families.
In a few minutes I have to go pick up the keys to my new apartment. I get to spend the long weekend moving. One of my students is going bear hunting! I bet he'll have some amazing stories to tell on Tuesday!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A Whole Bag of Apples
Well. I survived day two as the brand new teacher. I wasn't quite as prepared lesson-wise for this day, but we made it just the same. And our whiteboards are pretty much completely filled.
This morning one of my 6th graders marched into the classroom and handed me a plastic bag full of apples. Wow! Yesterday during lunch we were talking about our favorite fruit and I had mentioned I could eat an apple everyday. She had said her family had an apple tree and she would bring me some tomorrow. I completely forgot about it until she showed up with her present!
One of the 1st and 2nd graders was having a birthday, and he brought treats. I guess teacher's get super special privileges, because I came in from recess and saw that little boy had put one of his birthday cupcakes on my desk! I waited until after school to eat it, and it was very tasty. There was some sort of chocolate in the middle, and since it was hot out today, the chocolate was melty... yum!
Speaking of melting, recess was pretty hot and sweaty today. We played Elbow Tag (kind of like Blob Tag, but linked at the elbows instead of holding hands). I even joined in. I think that's the most running I've done all summer. Whew! During lunch recess, the 6th grade girls caught the frog that's been hopping around. I'd really like to keep him as a pet, but number one: we don't have a place to put him, and number two: we don't have anything to feed him. He ended up jumping on one of the girl's shoes and she just stood there screaming, "Ahhh! Get it off!"
Today was my first day teaching 7th and 8th grade science. It went pretty well. They were very distracted by the layout of my classroom (since it was drastically changed from last year), so I gave them a minute to scope out the room. I think we're going to lengthen our science/social time a bit because a half an hour is not long enough to get much done.
Tonight there's an open house at the high school in Nicollet. I'm heading over there to talk to the science teacher about resources. Apparently she's been cleaning out her resource cabinet and wondered if I wanted anything. We'll see what she has available!
This morning one of my 6th graders marched into the classroom and handed me a plastic bag full of apples. Wow! Yesterday during lunch we were talking about our favorite fruit and I had mentioned I could eat an apple everyday. She had said her family had an apple tree and she would bring me some tomorrow. I completely forgot about it until she showed up with her present!
One of the 1st and 2nd graders was having a birthday, and he brought treats. I guess teacher's get super special privileges, because I came in from recess and saw that little boy had put one of his birthday cupcakes on my desk! I waited until after school to eat it, and it was very tasty. There was some sort of chocolate in the middle, and since it was hot out today, the chocolate was melty... yum!
Speaking of melting, recess was pretty hot and sweaty today. We played Elbow Tag (kind of like Blob Tag, but linked at the elbows instead of holding hands). I even joined in. I think that's the most running I've done all summer. Whew! During lunch recess, the 6th grade girls caught the frog that's been hopping around. I'd really like to keep him as a pet, but number one: we don't have a place to put him, and number two: we don't have anything to feed him. He ended up jumping on one of the girl's shoes and she just stood there screaming, "Ahhh! Get it off!"
Today was my first day teaching 7th and 8th grade science. It went pretty well. They were very distracted by the layout of my classroom (since it was drastically changed from last year), so I gave them a minute to scope out the room. I think we're going to lengthen our science/social time a bit because a half an hour is not long enough to get much done.
Tonight there's an open house at the high school in Nicollet. I'm heading over there to talk to the science teacher about resources. Apparently she's been cleaning out her resource cabinet and wondered if I wanted anything. We'll see what she has available!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Back in the Saddle
Wow! It's been pretty crazy since the last time I posted...
I graduated, got a teaching job, worked at the library all summer, helped my brothers and sister at the county fair, leased an apartment, moved in with an aunt until my lease starts, got my classroom ready for school, and finally... finished the first day of school as a licensed teacher!
For those who don't know, I got a job at a small Lutheran school in between Mankato and New Ulm, MN. The school is actually in the country, just a short walk across the road and down the street from the church. I'm officially the 5th and 6th grade teacher, but this year I don't have any 5th graders. My class consists of six very interesting students.
I'll also teach 7th and 8th grade science and geography, and 1st and 2nd grade art (I'm pretty sure the 1st and 2nd graders are a bit more excited about that arrangement than the 7th and 8th graders...) While I'm teaching those students, the principal will be teaching my kids math and PE, and the 1st and 2nd grade teacher will be teaching my kids music, handbells to be specific.
Today I got out of the house earlier than I expected, which was a good thing since I had a bunch of stuff to do at school. I didn't feel nervous at all, except when some of the 8th grade girls came into my room and started talking to one of mine while I was trying to explain open house information to a parent who didn't make it. I think the girls got the hint that maybe they shouldn't be in my room, so they left shortly after that.
The rest of the day went fine. We had a surprise visit from the 1st and 2nd graders; they dropped off a present for me since it was my first day ever. I got the book, "Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School." After they left, I read the book aloud to my 6th graders and we talked about the word literal (adding it to our Interesting Word Wall). We even tied in homophones and homonyms! Talk about a teachable moment!
Lunch was pretty interesting. I found out this morning that after going through the line, we come back to our classroom and eat at our desks. Previous teachers typically put in a movie for the kids to watch while they sat at their desk and ate. I personally believe desks are for learning, not eating. To solve this problem, we sat at the tables set up for the 7th and 8th graders when they come to our room for science/geography. I'm in charge of lunch recess duty, and today was a little rough. By the time we got outside after lunch, there was only about 5 minutes left. The 7th and 8th grade boys were playing baseball and didn't want to come in. I had to ask them at least four times, if not more, and then when they dragged themselves in from the ball field, I could hear them saying, "grumble, grumble, grumble...Mr. R (the teacher I replaced) actually let us stay outside... grumble, grumble." Or at least, that's the part of the conversation I heard. Well, it's only the first day of school; we'll see what tomorrow brings.
The afternoon was full of recess, God's Playbook (an anti-bullying campaign our school is starting), followed by teamwork games outside and popsicles. And that was the end of our day! The highlight of the day for the students was probably eating popsicles and spotting a stray baby kitty in the bushes outside. I immediately thought of my youngest brother and his love for cats. It was soft and fuzzy and kind of a tabby color. One of my students brought it home with her (her mom said it was okay). I had so many kids come up to me and ask if it could be our new school mascot! Unfortunately, a few of our teachers have allergies and don't care for cats, so it was better she got sent home with a family. I've been told her name is "Katniss."
I graduated, got a teaching job, worked at the library all summer, helped my brothers and sister at the county fair, leased an apartment, moved in with an aunt until my lease starts, got my classroom ready for school, and finally... finished the first day of school as a licensed teacher!
For those who don't know, I got a job at a small Lutheran school in between Mankato and New Ulm, MN. The school is actually in the country, just a short walk across the road and down the street from the church. I'm officially the 5th and 6th grade teacher, but this year I don't have any 5th graders. My class consists of six very interesting students.
I'll also teach 7th and 8th grade science and geography, and 1st and 2nd grade art (I'm pretty sure the 1st and 2nd graders are a bit more excited about that arrangement than the 7th and 8th graders...) While I'm teaching those students, the principal will be teaching my kids math and PE, and the 1st and 2nd grade teacher will be teaching my kids music, handbells to be specific.
Today I got out of the house earlier than I expected, which was a good thing since I had a bunch of stuff to do at school. I didn't feel nervous at all, except when some of the 8th grade girls came into my room and started talking to one of mine while I was trying to explain open house information to a parent who didn't make it. I think the girls got the hint that maybe they shouldn't be in my room, so they left shortly after that.
The rest of the day went fine. We had a surprise visit from the 1st and 2nd graders; they dropped off a present for me since it was my first day ever. I got the book, "Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School." After they left, I read the book aloud to my 6th graders and we talked about the word literal (adding it to our Interesting Word Wall). We even tied in homophones and homonyms! Talk about a teachable moment!
Lunch was pretty interesting. I found out this morning that after going through the line, we come back to our classroom and eat at our desks. Previous teachers typically put in a movie for the kids to watch while they sat at their desk and ate. I personally believe desks are for learning, not eating. To solve this problem, we sat at the tables set up for the 7th and 8th graders when they come to our room for science/geography. I'm in charge of lunch recess duty, and today was a little rough. By the time we got outside after lunch, there was only about 5 minutes left. The 7th and 8th grade boys were playing baseball and didn't want to come in. I had to ask them at least four times, if not more, and then when they dragged themselves in from the ball field, I could hear them saying, "grumble, grumble, grumble...Mr. R (the teacher I replaced) actually let us stay outside... grumble, grumble." Or at least, that's the part of the conversation I heard. Well, it's only the first day of school; we'll see what tomorrow brings.
The afternoon was full of recess, God's Playbook (an anti-bullying campaign our school is starting), followed by teamwork games outside and popsicles. And that was the end of our day! The highlight of the day for the students was probably eating popsicles and spotting a stray baby kitty in the bushes outside. I immediately thought of my youngest brother and his love for cats. It was soft and fuzzy and kind of a tabby color. One of my students brought it home with her (her mom said it was okay). I had so many kids come up to me and ask if it could be our new school mascot! Unfortunately, a few of our teachers have allergies and don't care for cats, so it was better she got sent home with a family. I've been told her name is "Katniss."
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