Easter Excitement

Monday

The golden pin

Today was, for the most part, a typical Monday at Lawn Manor. The kids were a little rowdy but they were still bummed about not winning the golden bowling pin in gym class. Still, we worked our math by skip counting by fives and tens. My coop uses a program on the computer for math. The kids are generally quiet as they watch and then they return to their seats to fill out their accompanying worksheets. Kind of boring, but they learn from it.

Guided reading groups went well today. We had two new books and a phonics warm-up that the kids seemed to enjoy. It's still frustrating, sometimes, to watch the really struggling readers suffer through each word while their classmates are reading pretty fluently. But, my teacher and I agreed that it's benefiting them even to be listening and following along. My coop also showed me the section in the computer lab where the guided reading books are kept and organized by levels (A through L). She invited me to look through and switch the books out as I see fit. I thought this was cool :)

The school mascot! And the majority
of the play revolved around bees

We also got the opportunity to watch the second grade play during our normal music slot. The kids loved it and I enjoyed watching the kids act and sing too. The catch was: I was essentially responsible for watching two classes during the performance and calling out kids who were chatting or misbehaving. The only small problem was that I didn't know the names of the kids from the other kindergarten class. Luckily, the kids were great most of the time and I only had to call out a few kids. That was a fun change in the routine, though.

On the way back from the show, my coop let me lead the kids back without her. Not a huge deal -- but she made it sound that way. There was a class behind us so I had to keep the kids moving, even if I would've waited otherwise due to the noise. But, overall the kids responded to me pretty well. My teacher was sitting near her room but the last stretch of the walk is a little turn to the left. So, she couldn't see us coming and she mentioned that she couldn't hear us approaching either. Success! She seemed impressed!

Quotes from today:

"My mom always wants me to brush my teeth but I don't want to" E.

Me: "Did you have a sticker on your forehead? There's a little mark there..."
Student: "No. I ate too many strawberries" M.

"If my hair was straight, I would look like Justin Bieber" A.

Student: "I don't take bath-es or showers"
Me: "Oh. How do you get clean?"
Student: "In the rain" G.

"One time, I got 4 shots on the chubby part of my legs" J.

"Remember that St. Patrick's Day hat we made? My brother ate it" M.

Tuesday

The little character
in Lexia

Computers today. The kids were working on Lexia (a computer program that focuses on phonics) again. They don't really enjoy that program. They're quiet for the first ten minutes and then they just get antsy. I've been bringing the kids to their specials though, which has been fun. They're pretty good. I sometimes stop and make sure they're quiet before we keep walking. It's just so hard to watch the front and the back of the line. But, I figure that I should probably start a little more strict at the beginning so the kids know that they have to listen to me. Otherwise, I'll have a tough time when I'm full-time teaching because they'll think I'm not actually in charge. I need to start out strong and then loosen up a bit when I know they respect and listen to me.

We also had gym in the afternoon. I guess the gym teacher started his little competition again so the kids earned two stickers today. They were pretty excited. We'll see if they can keep up the behavior as time goes on.


My coop teacher let me look through her Easter folder and make copies of some of her hand-outs and resources there. I did that for quite a few of them. Even if I don't end up teaching kindergarten, I still want to have the resources and opportunities. Plus, some of them can be used for different grade levels and academic ability levels.

In the afternoon, my coop went down to another classroom to ask the teacher there a question. She left me in the class with the kids. It went really well. For the very most part, they were quiet. There were a couple who talked and I had to call out names a few times, but they were generally good. Although, three students 'dropped' their pencil boxes filled with crayons. When this happens, about three other students race over to help -- I think it's all about competition and getting out of their work. So, I had to put an end to that. Other than that, it went well.

I think I'll be in good shape for when I student teach in a few weeks.

Wednesday
The schedule today was a bit crazy. Because the second graders are putting on a little play, their dress rehearsal overlapped with our music class time slot. So, instead of having it in the afternoon, we had ours this morning. This threw off our day just a bit. Then, after music, we went down to the library to check out the scholastic book fair. Only a couple of the kids brought money but everyone got the chance to look.

As a first grade student walked in to deliver Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (a movie for Friday), my teacher got really excited and asked him to show the kids how to make a LEGO man. Apparently there is only one LEGO man in my coop's entire box and the kids all fight over him everyday. To avoid this, she wanted this particular student (who was in her class last year) to show the kids how they could make their own people. It was funny to watch all of the kids swarm around this little guy.

We finished our bunny projects in the morning before lunch. Because tomorrow's schedule is a little messed up too, the kindergarten teachers decided to do Panera today instead of our usual Thursday tradition. And whenever we order Panera, we always eat in the tech room. After lunch, we did our second Easter bunny project before finally squeezing in our centers and guided reading. The kids love the centers and were asking about them all day.

One thing I'm definitely learning is how important routine is for kindergarten students. These kids eat it up. They expect their whole day to be exactly the same as the previous one.

So, needless to say, it was a question-filled day as kids wanted to know:
-- when we were doing centers
-- if we had gym
-- why we had music in the morning
-- when we were doing guided reading
-- why they couldn't drink their milk at 10:30
-- when we were going to the book fair
-- why we were going to the book fair
And the list went on. Today was a great day to practice patience.

So, when I finally got to pull kids for guided reading, they were a bit confused but mostly they just wanted to get back to their center activities. I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking, but I've been told that it's fine to switch my two groups up a bit. So, today I decided to only pull three for each group instead of four. This would allow me to focus more attention on the students there instead of trying to keep all four on the right page in the same place.

These groups have definitely been challenging so far. Every time someone walks into the room or we turn the page in our story, someone gets distracted. Some students need to constantly be reminded to point to the words they're reading. Others rely solely on the pictures in the book and don't even look at the words. It's a constant battle. But, I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in a kindergarten class. It's fantastic that these kids are reading already at all!

Thursday
The kids were nuts today. We think it has something to do with Easter or spring break or something. They came in the room loud today.

This morning, the kids had another chance to check out the book fair in the library. If they brought money, they could walk down to the library to buy something; if not, they had to stay in the classroom. Of course, this was a pretty big deal.

About half an hour after this, we walked down to listen to Officer Friendly. He's a police officer from Alsip who comes to talk to the kids about what policemen do, what an emergency is, and how to respond to one. The kids really liked it and were generally good throughout the little talk. They liked seeing the handcuffs, the badge, and the flashlight. You'd have thought it was their birthday or something. We also received a little survey for the kids to fill out -- apparently they're being accredited or something. My teacher thought this was funny and annoying.

Easter eggs hidden throughout the room

When we came back from this, my coop had hid over 100 Easter eggs all around the room. After a lot of explanation and rules, the kids were set loose to find the eggs. Honestly, I think I would've done this differently. In simple terms, it was chaos. Kids were running around the room, holding multiple eggs in their little hands, bumping into people, and essentially screaming. While they enjoyed it, there must have been an easier way to handle this. It was crazy.

After that, because the book fair is still set up in the library, we had this special in the classroom. The kids basically just watched a movie and colored bunnies. I cut out little fish.

After lunch, we painted big Easter eggs. Again, there was a deliberate process set up for this, but basically the kids were everywhere, running, getting paint everywhere. The noise volume crept slowly upward. I was 'in charge' of the little cups of water for refreshing paint brushes. They each had their own and I was honestly a little impressed that there were only four spills throughout the activity. The eggs turned out cute though. And, of course, the kids had fun.

The bunny bags we made this week (now filled with eggs!)

Finally, it was time to go home. They all sat on the rug waiting for directions about how to pack up since we were sending every little Easter project we've made so far home with them. This was no easy task. As they were waiting to move, one little boy got a bloody nose. I've never had a bloody nose and this incident reminded me that I have no idea how to respond to one. Luckily, I'm not full teaching yet so my coop handled it.

Today was honestly exhausting. It was fun in that it went beyond our normal routine -- something I'm finding that I like. But, I felt myself slowly losing patience as the day went on. This doesn't happen to me much. I'm generally pretty good about illustrating patience to little kids. But, it wore thin today. Basically, it was just crazy. What an insane day.

Friday
Overall, not too bad today. It could've been a lot worse with the break coming up and whatnot. It was actually a pretty normal day for the most part.

Guided reading went okay today. I pulled three for each group again instead of four. The kids really don't understand this and always ask why the fourth student isn't coming with them. I try to explain that we're just switching it up but they always ask again anyway. But, surprisingly I thought it went pretty well. I did a lot of individual reading with them -- so instead of all reading together, I call on one student to read at a time. This helps me to figure out which kids are understanding the books and which are just following along with their friends and not actually reading at all. I was actually pretty impressed by the kids who were reading well today. It was just a good day for reading I guess. Half the battle is just making sure the kids are on the right page, following along, pointing to the words, sitting up in their chairs, and quiet. Honestly, reading with kindergarteners is exhausting. I really do enjoy it though.

Throughout the day, kids were being pulled to see their siblings in the play that the second graders put on. Apparently it's a big deal. They were all excited about that. We also watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory during milk and lunch. Oh! And I found out that I'm allowed to drink a milk whenever I feel like it! The perks of being a teacher :)

Surprisingly, though, the kids weren't really into the movie. Some were talking, others were messing around, a lot just weren't paying attention. It might be because we watched the older version -- the kids probably just didn't connect as well with it. They've probably never seen this one before.

During the movie, my coop asked me to walk one student down to the office. He had an accident :( Poor kid. I tried to walk quickly and kind of shield him from kids in the hallway. I can only imagine that he was embarrassed. He didn't seem like it, though, but how could you not be?

After lunch, but before gym, the kids worked on their book boxes. They each have a box in the back of the classroom with a bunch of different books for them to practice reading. Apparently, part of the common core is for students to practice silent reading. My coop says we'll probably start doing this more often. I think it's a cool idea. She also said that the books in there now are mostly at the first grade level because that's what she used to teach. I guess we'll see how that goes.

Then, I walked the kids down to gym. I guess they were okay in gym but they were noisy on the way back. We had to stop several times to wait for it be quiet again before we could move on. Anyway, because of the delay, we didn't have time to get a drink of water. Apparently this is a BIG deal to the kids. They were really upset about it.

The behavior plan used for classroom management: kids pull
a star when they're not listening, not following directions,
or misbehaving in general.

Because it's Friday, we did our prize box which is part of the behavior plan that my teacher uses. The kids with at least one star left get to pick a prize from the little box. They're nothing special though. My teacher says it's more of a status thing than anything else. I've already learned a lot about classroom management from this placement. I feel like it's going to be big in a class full of six year olds.

One of my kids colored
this for me today :)

Anyway, my coop has been really helpful in illustrating effective and consistent management so far. She is constantly reminding me through actions and words about the importance of teaching the kids to behave, but also helping them to learn about the importance of working in a group. This reminds me of Illinois Professional Teaching Standard number 3 of the Learning Environment category which states that a competent teacher "understands how to help students work cooperatively and productively in groups." The kids can't stand walking over to the wall to pull a star when they misbehave. Anyway, do to the lack of time, my teacher let the kids vote if they wanted to do the prize box or get a drink of water. Some kids were upset when the prize box won. One child started crying. Oh man.

Welcome to kindergarten, I guess.

Classroom Confidential -- Chapter 10

What's the big deal about social justice? Why are the ideas of chapter 10 important for a Christian teacher?

For the most part, I have grown up in a predominantly white environment. While there was some diversity present at my high school, it was little. I would honestly admit to the same type of college experience. So, it has been eye-opening and very interesting at my current student teaching placement. There is a wide spread of races represented which allows for various cultures to be represented. I love that these kindergarten kids are being exposed to the idea of race equality at such a young age. Everyday they're taught to treat others with respect regardless of their appearance or their academic ability. I love seeing my twenty students get along well on a daily basis.

What particularly stuck out to me in Schmidt's chapter about social justice was her comment that "students long to address social injustice, but they need adult mentors to help them translate their ideas into action. They can't do it without us [teachers]" (p. 215). I think this quote strongly represents Schmidt's viewpoint on social justice. As teachers, we are to be examples of equal thinking, acting, and speaking for our children. They crave this equality and only when the see it modeled will they feel comfortable and reassured to behave the same way. What a responsibility we have!

Schmidt continues on to discuss skills that students gain when working on social justice projects:
-- Problem solving and decision making
-- Critical thinking
-- Use of persuasive speaking and writing
-- Willingness to take risks and accept challenges
-- Awareness of community needs
-- Awareness of personal convictions and abilities
-- Belief in the power of the individual to make a difference

These are such valuable skills for students to have. By introducing topics such as social justice to our students, we are enabling them to be successful in school, with other people, and in their community. All teachers should strive to help their students develop holistically; learning about and responding to social justice can help students in this way.

Specifically, the topic of social justice is important for a Christian teacher to express because it allows him/her to talk about and model Christian behavior and thought in ways 'unrelated' to the Bible. Christian teachers can discuss concepts such as morality and respect without ever speaking about Jesus or His Word. This can be especially beneficial for students who have never heard about these concepts. Teachers can promote good character and moral thinking through lessons on social justice. All students know the difference between right and wrong. Teachers will now have the opportunity to bring these topics into conversation.

As a Christian teacher, I will be teaching from my Biblical background everyday. While I may not be using terms in my lessons, my students will be exposed to these concepts through my actions and words. Social justice issues are a way in which I will be able to speak about these topics even in a public school.

A Whole New World (and I'm not quoting Disney movies...)

Monday

Lawn Manor exterior

Today I started my second placement! It's at a small public elementary school (K-2) in Oak Lawn called Lawn Manor.

Let me tell you, it was quite the adjustment. Going from a small private Christian school for kids with special needs and teaching in a classroom of seven children who are non-verbal and practicing mostly communication and social skills to a public school of 20 energetic kindergarten kiddos isn't necessarily easy.

All day I just kept thinking: 'Wow, is it loud in here.' I think that's going to take some getting used to.

Overall, though, the kids are great, and I have a feeling it won't take long until I get to know each of their personalities. Although, it was hard enough getting each of their names down today. They're a lot of fun, though!

My coop seems incredibly nice along with the rest of the teachers in the building. Again, their names escaped me, though; I'll have to work on that. It's always a little overwhelming on the first day because so much information is thrown at you.

I think I got the basic schedule down, though:

-- Math
-- Guided reading/Centers
-- (Art) Project
-- Free time
-- Lunch/recess
-- Calendar
-- Special (music, gym, or library)
-- Writing
-- Home

It was a pretty fun day and it actually went by rather quickly. I'm really looking forward to what God has in store for me in the next ten weeks at this school.

Tuesday
Today was pretty similar to yesterday, actually. That's one thing that I'm noticing as I compare both of my placements. Elim was crazy much of the time due to behaviors, goals, kids out, paras out, schedules, etc. While this kindergarten placement has some subtle differences from day to day, the general schedule remains the same because the kids really benefit from a routine.

The only main difference today was that we had computers at 11:00. This was a time during which students each sat in front of a computer and played a program called Lexia. It's a phonics program that teaches about rhyming, syllables, and sounds of letters. The computer teacher kept encouraging her students to pass the first level in order to move onto the next one. She was actually a bit harsh about the whole thing. I couldn't believe how she just called out certain students who she thought were having a tough time.

Around 11:15, one of my students (who had been absent yesterday and Friday) started saying he was cold. At first the computer lab teacher and I just kind of shook it off but once he said it again, we grew a little worried. We decided to send him to the nurse's office only to realize that he had a temperature. Thinking back, I realized that it was odd for him to say he was cold in that room unless he was really sick. Not many students would know to say they were cold; they might just say they didn't feel well if they felt like getting out of class. Anyway, it was a learning experience.

It was also hot lunch day today. I guess once every two weeks, on a Tuesday, some of the room moms 'make' hot dogs for the kids as a form of hot lunch. Otherwise, the kids eat bagged lunches everyday. They also eat in the classroom at their desks for lunch every single day. Just a subtle difference that I noticed about this particular school.

Finally, I had a meeting with the other staff today. The entire staff fit into a little computer lab comfortably -- again, what a difference from the number of staff at Elim. Crazy! We ended up watching a fifteen minute clip about renewing teacher licenses. It was interesting, but also a little boring. I felt like I was back in class at a lecture.

Wednesday
Today I got even more involved in the classroom; when my teacher stepped out to use the bathroom or talk to a co-worker, I felt comfortable to watch the kids and keep order in the classroom. It was great!

I also did a lot of:
-- helping with math worksheets (the kids are learning how to count to one hundred and skip count by twos)
-- shoe-tying
-- sitting on the floor
-- answering questions
-- reminding students to keep quiet
-- gluing Q-tips onto bunny faces -- it was an art project the kids did today

All the typical kindergarten stuff. It's been a little weird adjusting to the kindergarten setting, especially hopping from a middle grades special education setting. I'm still struggling a bit with the whole 'loud' thing.

My classroom!

I also had the opportunity to be the caboose for the Panda bus line. This basically means that I got to walk out with the kids and follow the line all the way onto the bus. Today, though, I guess a student brought in a note from her dad that said she had been crying as she stepped off because a boy had pulled her hair. It became a huge ordeal as the two students' stories did not line up. It was tough to try to gather how the event actually took place. I'm realizing that this aspect of this grade level might be difficult. Kids are constantly approaching my coop tattling and informing her of events that took place. How do you know what really happened and who should get in trouble for it? I guess I'll be dealing with a lot of that!

Thursday
Today was pretty usual again. Although, because my teacher will be out tomorrow, I was doing a lot of prep work for crafts for Saint Patrick's Day. So, basically I spent the entirety of the day in the tech room making copies, putting together treat bags, cutting paper, and beginning a macaroni noodle necklace project.

While it was nice to take some time 'off' and do some hands-on but mind-off work, it got a little old after a while. Although, I must say, everything turned out fantastic!

It was also nice to be able to help my coop who's been a bit overwhelmed with everything going on lately. I guess it's a lot of work to be out for a day. I knew this a little bit from overhearing conversations from other teachers, but I guess I never really took them all that seriously.

So, it should definitely be interesting tomorrow to be in the class with just the sub. As much as I know the kids now, I still haven't really started teaching yet so I might not have much credibility in terms of classroom management with them yet. We'll see I guess. Apparently, the sub is pretty laid back; nice, but quiet. And the kids were crazy enough today because of the holiday festivities. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring.

One of the books we're reading
in my lower level reading groups

I also had the chance to lead a guided reading group again today. I have the two lowest groups in terms of ability, but the kids are great! They're a lot of fun and full of energy. They're easy(ish) to motivate and they love to talk and play. What I've been finding difficult is keeping them all on the same page, on the same line so we can read the stories together. In kindergarten, everything is about competition: who can get in line first, who finishes writing their name first, who sits on the rug first, etc. All. Day. Long. Let me tell you, it gets old after a while. Although, I honestly remember doing the same thing when I was in those young grades.

We also had another encounter with school bus problems today. Apparently another parent called in today to complain about one student hitting his/her child on the bus. My coop and the other kindergarten teacher tried to figure out the problem by asking the kids what happened on the bus but of course they both came up with different stories. In the end, we talked with the bus driver and asked him to start reporting kids who misbehave, but essentially he just said that he doesn't see the kids moving around in the first place. He suggested that maybe they're crawling under the seats (you never know, I guess). Anyway, I guess that's the third report of misbehavior they've had this week. Wow. Who would've thought kindergarten kids could be so crazy on the bus.

Friday

A leprechaun trap

Today we had a substitute because my teacher was out for a wedding. We also celebrated St. Patrick's Day because the actual holiday is Sunday and kindergarteners like to get excited about stuff. So, all day we made little crafts and projects revolving around the holiday. The kids seemed to enjoy them and it was fun watching them get into the holiday. I had also prepared most of these little crafts so I liked seeing the kids' reactions to the finished projects. While they worked, I mostly sat at each table talking with the kids, helping them, and getting to know them. They're great.

Today was our last chance to participate in the gym competition. The teacher set up this little classroom management game where the kids earn stickers for their good behavior. After a set amount of days, the stickers are counted and whoever has the most wins. My teacher promised the class a party of their choosing if they beat the second grade class they were tied with for first place. Today was the day. We had one final chance to beat the other class and all we had to do was make good choices. I returned to the gym after the class was over to find somber faces. They were quick to inform me that we had not won because one of the students continued to throw the balls after the teacher said to stop. Of course, they all began to point fingers and blame the child for her misbehavior. It was sad to watch the kids' disappointment.

The set traps

However, when we got back from gym, the leprechaun had visited the classroom and left treats for the kids. The room was a mess (I guess that's what happens when the leprechaun comes) and the kids' traps were upturned, but no leprechaun was found. The kids were crazy. Some were mad at the mess he left, some were excited, all were loud. I honestly couldn't believe how out of control the class got. I took some pictures of their reactions and just tried to tolerate the noise happening. It was insane. It honestly made me question how I would bring the kids back to typical behavior and level should it be responsibility (it isn't yet because I'm still just observing). I then remembered the importance of IPTS #5 which says that the competent teacher "understands principles of and strategies for effective classroom management." I began thinking of all of the ways in which my coop uses strategies to get kids' attention and maintain control of the situation.

Finally, after much prompting, we got the kids quiet again and got ready to leave.

It was quite the day.

Saying Goodbye...

Monday
I can't believe it's already my last full week! Six weeks later and you feel like you just got there. Anyway, today was crazy in every sense of the word.

We had two paras out today so I was essentially just filling in wherever needed. Luckily I have enough experience in this classroom to where this wasn't a huge deal. I'm finally starting to feel comfortable working with each of the students in the classroom now. Figures that I have to leave next week.

In the morning, I was asked to take JK to the bathroom -- no big deal, right? I had a pretty good idea of how this student used the bathroom and how I needed to help him with that process. However, it seems like every time I open up these students' bags to pull out a clean diaper, there aren't any. So frustrating. I guess I would've been the one responsible for making sure that we had everything to begin with. Luckily the student was dry anyway so we didn't need to change his diaper after all. Dodged a bullet on that one! However, I came back later on in the day to find out that the same student had an 'accident' and needed to be completely changed into new clothes. Not my fault, though, -- right?

We started a new unit today! It's about fairy tales :)

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the other unit (the decades, remember?); but how many weeks of that can one possibly take? I don't know about the kids, but I was ready for a change.

Today I had the privilege of working with HP since a para was out for the day. This is the student with a behavior plan -- she can get aggressive and she doesn't really tolerate anything on her desk or in her space. I've worked with this student a little bit but never really one-on-one for the duration of a full lesson. So, this was a treat!

Everything started off fine. Until she ripped her already-taped-down handout. She got frustrated and just tore it up. Wow. So, I taped it back down and we kept chugging along. Anyway, during the lesson she decided that she didn't like my hands near her paper or on her desk so she scratched my hand. Hard. I mean, I can still see the marks. Let's just say I had some stuff to write in her behavior binder after that lesson.

I also got to witness my first ever IEP meeting today. I was supposed to go to HP's on Thursday of last week but my coop was out due to sickness so she took me to this one instead. I'll just say a few quick things about the meeting:
-- I felt fully prepared for the meeting (there were no surprises!) Thanks to my Trin prof.s for that!
-- The student's parent at this meeting was fantastic; he and his wife are wonderful people
-- The meeting itself was much shorter than I envisioned these meetings being: it was only about an hour and a half

-- I especially liked the beginning when all of the members of the meeting shared little stories about the student
-- It was interesting to hear about initial transition plan ideas beginning (the student will be fourteen next year)
-- Members present were: sped. teacher, assistant principal, district member, speech pathologist, OT, and PT

I learned a lot from the meeting; it was really interesting to see an actual meeting instead of a simulated or videotaped one. I feel like I have some kind of experience now, even though I didn't contribute at all.

Tuesday
SNOW DAY!

Glorious :)

Wednesday
Well, back at it. Today was mostly normal. Although, we still had a para out due to personal family stuff. We also had a student out -- I guess she wanted an extra day off.

Anyway, this morning we had a huge dog visiting our class. Apparently he's a therapy dog who travels, along with his trainer, to all of the classrooms in Elim to visit students. The kids in our room at the time really seemed to enjoy this experience. The trainer was great; she let the kids give Diesel treats and she played with them and cheered them up. It was fun to watch the effect that this animal had on these kids. One of my students, the one with the behavior plan, was being a little aggressive with the dog at times. She wasn't in a particularly good mood and she was hitting the animal in the head -- luckily not too hard. According to my coop, this child has a couple of dogs at home, but for all my teacher knows, she treats her animals the same way.

Most of the kids had really good days despite their return from a short break. JK had no minutes of refusal again which was encouraging to see. He had another great day!

This student already wears
light-sensitive glasses...

SH, a pretty laid back child was unusually loud today. He would scream and scream despite his para's efforts to adjust him in his seat, fix his glasses, take him to the bathroom, etc. According to  my coop, this student used to be very loud much of the time. I guess he's been doing much better in the past few months, but today was a bit of a relapse to his old behavior. It's always strange watching these students act differently than I've seen them behave the last six weeks. It always takes me by surprise.

Despite the fact that my full days of teaching are over, I find myself restless sitting in the back, observing and helping where needed. It seems almost boring now as I wait for opportunities to arise in which my teacher needs help or an extra pair of hands. Usually, though, with six paras in the room, they have more than enough help anyway. Don't get me wrong, I still teach a bit and help sometimes, and I enjoy observing my teacher and the paras, but it's just such a different mentality. I find myself wishing I could be more hands-on with the students and work with them more. I never thought it would be tough transitioning out of this role as student teacher.

Thursday
It's crazy how quickly a week can go when you've had a snow day!

Today I taught my last lesson and, as expected, it was bittersweet. While I'll definitely be sad to leave this school and these kids, I also think I'm ready to move forward and try something new. Still, it was hard to teach my last lesson in front of these kids. It was a News-To-You story about fire stations. It was a lot of fun to read the story, have the kids answer two journal questions, and watch a couple of videos about firefighters. They really seemed to like it. Overall, my last lesson went really well. It was a bit short again, but I kind of figured that going into the lesson. Unfortunately, because my teacher set the lesson up and had essentially everything planned for me, there was little I could do about it. I guess she just has an easier time dragging out a lesson. Besides that it went great!

I also had the privilege of playing with JK during both recesses today. Often times, this student just kind of stands around and watches the other kids play, so today I asked if he wanted to find something to do. We walked over to the corner of recess stuff expecting to try out a scooter but instead we ended up with a Frisbee of sorts. We tossed it back and forth and he did extremely well. He caught it a few times, tossed it pretty well, and generally had a blast. It was great to see him interacting and playing instead of just standing around. In the afternoon, he requested the Frisbee again (via hand gesture), but unfortunately that was put away. So, we settled on a basketball and ended up rolling it back and forth with a para. We explored different ways of pushing the ball to her and catching it in return. Again, he seemed to have fun.

One of the students in my class is getting a new behavior plan set in place. The behavior therapist was in the room today explaining the whole procedure. The student's para looked a little overwhelmed and I understood why. The new process involves constant use of the timer where every three minutes of 'good behavior' earns the child a 15 second 'break' with a preferred item of choice. While I understand why the therapist is trying to implement a new plan -- to try to reduce her aggression -- this plan seems silly to me, my teacher, and the para for a few different reasons.

One of HP's preferred toys

A. The student can already sit through full lessons without becoming aggressive -- why move backwards to 3 minute segments again?
B. The child has very few preferred items with which the plan will work; and the items she does enjoy are all disruptive to the rest of the class
C. The child doesn't yet fully understand the idea of 'cause' and 'effect' let alone an intricate token system behavior plan

I was intrigued to listen to the conversations occurring between my coop, the para, and the therapist. While everyone was extremely polite and considerate about the whole topic, there are many different opinions about this child and which plan will best help her. I found it interesting to see how there is some disagreement between the professionals at Elim. While this might not be a good thing, it is realistic. Professionals all have different opinions and need to learn how to work together, collaborate, and compromise.

Tomorrow is my last day!

Friday
Well, today's the day.

It was a pretty busy one, actually. The students were in and out all morning for various therapies, so the morning meeting was shortened. Then, we headed over to the gym for chapel. I loved this! I guess they have chapel at Elim once a month; a teacher who used to work there comes back and plays guitar and the kids can request songs to sing. It's fun to see the kids singing along, dancing, commenting on their devices, and just having a lot of fun.

After chapel, we had recess and then swimming. Of course, it was hotter than blazes in the pool area again, but it's so interesting to watch the kids swim. Sometimes they seem like completely different people in the pool. They're relaxed and enjoying the water -- it's kind of like a therapy for some of them.

After swimming, we had lunch in the classroom. Because it was my last day, the staff ordered in Aurelio's! It was delicious and definitely a nice break from the usual PB & J bagged lunch I usually have.

After lunch and sensory, we had Bible. Today the lesson was on the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. To accompany the story, my cooperating teacher got buckets of water and washed her students' feet. This was such a cool activity to witness. Some of the kids really liked it, but some were not having it at all. I don't think they understood it, and they definitely don't like experimenting with textures. What I really liked, though, was the symbolism behind the activity. It helped me to better understand how Jesus washed his disciples' feet and the act of service and love that he showed for them.

Just Dance

Finally, before packing up for the day, my coop plugged in her Wii on the SMARTBoard and we all took turns helping the kids play Just Dance. The kids really seemed to love it and the staff was having a blast. It was a lot of fun!

It was definitely hard saying goodbye to my cooperating teacher and the paras in the room, but it was especially hard saying goodbye to those seven kids today. Now, I'm not usually an emotional person, but I almost cried. They've been a big part of my last seven weeks and I can't imagine leaving them. However, I've been invited to come back to visit, so I might just have to take them up on that!

These last seven weeks at Elim have been eye-opening to say the very least. Walking into that classroom back in January was tough. I'd never quite experienced the degree of special education that accompanied this placement. I was definitely nervous walking into Elim -- I didn't know what to expect and I doubted my ability to learn everything that I had to in order to feel like the teacher there and not just an observer in the back of the class. It was tough learning all of the details of each child: bathroom routines, behavior plans, devices, medical needs, expectations, therapy schedules, goals, feeding procedures, personalities, motivation, preferences, abilities, etc. I had so much to learn and I didn't know if I would be able to fully grasp what I needed to in order to be successful there but also to get to know the kids in a personal way.

So, while I still don't feel like I could officially take over the classroom all year (there are still things that I don't know about the kids), I can honestly walk away from that experience knowing that I learned a ton about special education in general and also about specific disabilities and situations. I can't even explain the amount or the quality of the stuff that I saw and was able to experience.

Despite my initial hesitancy, I can say, without a doubt, that I'm glad to have been placed at Elim. I wouldn't trade my experiences there for anything. I loved my coop teacher, the paras in the room, and I absolutely adored the children. I'm going to miss them so much!

Classroom Confidential -- Chapter 6

Discuss some ways that you could use the strategies from chapter 6 in your own teaching, even if you don't teach writing.

As long as I can remember, I've been a pretty solid writer. It's one of my strengths (unlike math, science or social studies). So, while other students complained endlessly about Daily Oral Language, comma use, or writing papers, I never did. I love everything about the English language.

So, it was really interesting to read this chapter and take on a better understanding of the ways in which many students view writing. I was particularly struck by the first few paragraphs of the chapter. These sentences caught my attention:

"[Students who hate writing] spend their entire school career held at penpoint...For them, writing is just a really, really inefficient way to communicate -- slower than talking and far more hazardous...For these kids, writing is just tough, puzzling work" (p. 114).

This passage helped remind me that writing isn't fun or easy for everyone. A lot of kids hate it because they find it so challenging. I'm now feeling more motivated to find ways to intrigue students and help them write in ways that make sense to them. When students see why they need to learn to write, they will be more motivated to learn the skills they need.

The chapter went on to describe a few different kinds of ciphers. I love these codes and I remember using them when I was little. What a fun way for students to learn about reading, writing, decoding, and communication.

I also found interesting Schmidt's passage on the importance of reading aloud to students. She names a few different reasons why teachers should do this daily:

1. Their vocabularies grow
2. They internalize the tricks writers use with sentences (dependent clauses, adjectival excess, sentence fragments, etc.)
3. They discover the use of dialogue
4. Learn about the different forms of literature
5. They get lost in a book

This was a fun chapter. I love writing and I hope to be able to express my love for it in my teaching. I want my students to love reading and writing too because I want them to see the benefits that it brings them. Writing is fun! I think all kids deserve to experience how writing should be!

Full Teaching Fun :)

Monday
A full week! Because of my crazy, jam-packed weekend (a women's retreat through Trinity and then a day at a hotel with family), I was sure to get to bed early last night. I figured, with a full week ahead of me, I would need the extra sleep. Let's just say I don't regret my decision.

The day started off pretty similar to the others at Elim so far. Not much out of the ordinary. Nobody was out today, so that made life a little easier already. That one student only had six minutes of refusal all day -- not bad! It was shaping out to be a pretty smooth day.

Right after snack time, the students choose a friend to hang out with -- they play a game, read a book, or go on the computer with that person and make a few comments back and forth. It's good for their social skills. Anyway, two students had already paired off, one was eating, and two were at therapy. If you're into math at all, you'd know that there were two students left in the room at  this point, unpaired and ready to chat.

Let me back up for a minute. One of my students had just recovered from a 'meltdown,' if that's what you want to call it. She's (currently) the only child in the room with a behavior plan and she can get aggressive toward others and objects. So, I was a bit hesitant to pair her up for social time. But, the other student was bored, quickly losing interest in whatever was happening around him, and he deserved the chance to play with a friend. So, after asking him what he wanted to do and retrieving the puzzle, he sat back down at his desk waiting while I summoned the other child over. Everything started out fine, but soon the second student just wasn't even entertaining the idea of the activity. She was pushing against me as I guided her over to her friend's desk, scratching me and hitting desks. You get the idea. After several minutes of struggle (she is surprisingly strong) and a little help from a para, we got the child to sit down at her friend's desk. After several more minutes, she was playing in what I deemed an acceptable manner. What a victory. To say I was relieved at this point is a vast understatement.

So, the day went on. As I pulled up the 1980's adapted story 'powerpoint' on the computer at 1:30, the P.A. system announced to the school that there was going to be a lock down drill. Now, to be fair, I had been warned. However, my teacher was still out of the room and I had to administer a drill that I've never even practiced myself. The paras and I got all of the students into the corner of the classroom, locked the door, closed the blinds, and slid the green 'all clear' paper under the door. What followed were the longest 15 minutes of my life. With a little coaxing, the students were unbelievably quiet. I was amazed at how well they responded to the whole ordeal. Now, that's not to say that we had a perfect drill. There was talking, grunting, sleeping, laughing, and one student took her socks and shoes off. But, considering what could have went down, I'll take that stuff any day.

There's just never a dull moment at Elim.

Tuesday
My teacher was out today. She told me yesterday that she wasn't feeling well and that she would let me know if she decided not to come in. So, sure enough, at 6:39 she texted to inform me that she was taking the day off to recover.

I figured everything would be fine; I've taught the class for well over a week now and the students know me and respond considerably well when I'm in the front of the room. We also had a student out (due to a procedure happening) and, consequently, a para in a different classroom.

Because I'm still a student teacher, the school still needs to replace my cooperating teacher with another certified individual. So, needless to say, a teacher sat in the back of the room all day long, watching me.

Not my favorite.

Actually, though, the day went surprisingly well. JK only had 2 minutes of refusal, HP had very little aggression, and the paras were helpful, as usual. One student slept almost the entire day, which isn't entirely out of the ordinary but is still unfortunate. He ate little, didn't use the bathroom at all, and didn't participate in the lessons whatsoever. Luckily, no seizures, though. Everyone else seemed to have pretty spectacular days, though. I was impressed.

My lesson in the afternoon -- on writing an advertisement for a toy from the '80s -- went pretty short. I knew, when reviewing the lesson, that it had very little to it to begin with. However, since I don't really plan the lessons, I wasn't sure what to do about it.

Cabbage Patch Kids -- toys from the ''80s

Side note: My teacher, along with the three other cross cat. middle grades teachers plan and share units. This year focuses on the decades.

So even though I knew the lesson would go short, and I tried to drag it out, we still ended about ten minutes early. However, it ended up being a bit of a blessing because that's when the snow starting getting bad and students got called down for early dismissal. One by one students started leaving until there were only two left.

So, today definitely had its ups and downs as I'm finding out is normal for the teaching profession.


Wednesday
My teacher was out again; I've been praying that she feels better. Luckily, all of the paras were in again so the day went as smoothly as usual.

The way we track a student's progress on goals

As yesterday, though, we still needed a sub in the room. Although I understand the procedures, it still just seems silly. Since I'm full teaching right now, she sat in the back of the room ALL day long. Whatever.

The divider we use a lot for JK

Besides goal work and sensory today, it was a pretty quiet day. JK had a bit of a rough patch this morning. He had fifteen minutes of refusal in one sitting. I guess he got sick of working on goal stuff. With three minutes on the way to the bathroom, he was up to a solid eighteen minutes before lunch. It was looking like  it was going to be a very long day. I walked over to him and had a bit of a talk with him about his behavior. I asked if he would like to make a deal: if he behaved and made good choices in the afternoon, he could earn some free time at the end of the day. It was official -- we even shook on it. He was true to his word; he had a fantastic afternoon and got his Night at the museum clip after he was packed up and ready to leave. Looking back though, there's really no way to know for sure if he behaved the way he did because of the little chat we had or if he even understand what I was saying at all. I've asked my coop and she doesn't know either. It's so difficult when you don't honestly know how much a child understands to begin with.

Right before lunch, we spent some time on a sensory activity -- we made texture books. The idea was pretty simple. Students each had four black rectangles of construction paper. On each piece, they glued a different textured material to create a book of sorts. The four materials we used were: aluminum foil, cotton balls, sand paper, and macaroni noodles. I was surprised by how well the activity went over. Usually, the majority of the students do not enjoy these kinds of sensory activities. They refuse to even try to touch the textures. All of them did really well today though. Win!

During snack, HP decided (for reasons unknown to us) that she was going to refuse to 'eat' her snack. She's g-tube fed so she began pulling up her shirt and pulling at her cords. When her para tried to stop her, she started hitting and scratching her. After the student settled down, I was told that she has rarely become aggressive during snack. We still aren't entirely sure what caused that behavior.

Also during snack, another student started getting really upset while her para was preparing her orange. She got really loud and then began crying. This behavior hasn't been particularly uncommon recently, but in the past few weeks it has gotten worse and worse. We were guessing that she didn't like the snack she was about to have, but again, it was only a guess.

This same student later asked for pressure on her head. This isn't uncommon in the classroom; the students like the feeling of pressure and will often ask for it. When it was given to her, she requested more (via sign language) and then became much quieter. My paras threw around ideas for a bit and decided that maybe she had a headache. This was just another instance that hit me hard. I was reminded about how these children cannot easily communicate with those around them. Imagine being in pain and not being able to say anything to explain that feeling so nobody has any idea about it. How frustrating!

Thursday
Today was kind of all over the place. First off, I forgot to send in the attendance before nine again. Oops. Dang it.

BB's desk with an
accommodation on his chair

One of my paras was out again which meant that we had a sub in the room who doubled as a para for the day. Too bad she knew absolutely nothing about that student. Anyway, I ended up doing a lot for both him and the one I usually work with. It was quite exhausting.

Other 'highlights' from my day:
-- a student sobbing during one of my lessons for no apparent reason; what do you do about that?
-- a student dripping snot all day long
-- a seizure
-- a para distracted by personal issues (and understandably so)
-- a confused parent about a letter sent home from the speech therapist that I had no idea about whatsoever
-- my teacher was out again for the third day in a row
-- an IEP meeting that I was supposed to go to but didn't because my teacher was out
-- accidentally sending home a student's personal (in classroom) DVD player because I didn't know it was supposed to stay in the classroom

All in a day's work. I think I'm actually starting to enjoy the craziness of all that is Elim, though. It's something new every single day.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Friday
Well, my coop wasn't quite 100% but she felt as though she needed to come in -- she missed an IEP yesterday and 3 days of IAA testing...I can see why she felt pressured. Anyway, today things returned to what one might call 'normal'.

The Last Supper: our Bible lesson -- the kids got
to taste bread and juice (if they were able)

JK had a pretty wonderful morning. He didn't have any minutes of refusal and was even participating with the class. After lunch, though, he got tired of his sensory lacing activity and everything went downhill from there. Even though he usually loves Bible, he wasn't listening to staff so the dividers went up. About a half an hour later, he had PT so he started off walking down fine, but I guess the situation only got worse in the hallway. He dropped to the floor until the therapist came. So, despite the solid start, I had to give Joey his 'No DVD' card at the end of the day. He seemed a bit confused and he pointed to the green card, requesting instead that he could watch a DVD at home. This was the first time we've seen any real realization that he understands the consequences of this system of discipline.

HP had a pretty awesome day though. She was pretty good with me and only was aggressive a couple of times throughout the day. Not bad! MS only had one seizure in the morning too -- the day was looking up!

I was also videotaping a couple of my lessons today too. For my seminar class, we have a huge project due and we need clips of us teaching. Anyway, I lugged the camera in today and tried to get a few solid minutes of me teaching. Of course, nothing goes as smoothly as you'd like, but I'd say I managed to get a few good clips. My paras weren't exactly keen on the idea, though. They asked how long it would be running and whether or not they would be in the line of vision. I laughed to myself, but did my best not to get them in the videos. It definitely added a little bit more 'crazy' to the day. Right as I was setting up the last angle for my Bible lesson, JK melted down and we had to put the dividers up. Needless to say, I didn't really get much in that last 30 minute segment. Oh well.

I also taught a little lesson on toys from the 1980's. It was fun! The kids asked for a turn and then came up to the SMARTBoard to guess whether or not the given toys were from the 1980's or not. They seemed to really like it. The paras in the room knew all about the toys too -- they were a little surprised when I told them I hadn't heard of some of the toys. What a fun lesson! Some of the toys were: transformers, koosh balls, slap bracelets, pogo balls, cabbage patch kids, My Little Pony, etc.

Overall, it was a pretty solid last full day of teaching.