Reading Week Recap

It's been over a week since I've blogged last, where I feel a little horrible. Last week was our University Reading Week which means a week of no classes! Yay! With that said, I wanted to quickly recap of my past week in this blog post:

1. Work. I worked everyday of the week, literally. Actually I had 2 days off and that's it since I picked up a lot of shifts. That's fine as I banked a lot of hours, anticipating until pay day to arrive. BRB as I count my $50 bills.

2. Applications for scholarships! I worked on my scholarship applications. There's this one where it's a couple grand and the due date is this Saturday. For the past two weeks specifically I've been working on my application. I really hope I get it! But if I don't, it's good to know that I tried! I'm also planning to apply for the leadership ones through the U of A. But the deadline for that isn't until May, so I still have time!

3. What school work did I do again? Oh yeah, I met up my group for science and reviewed some music and science notes. That's basically it. I watched a lot of TV too since it was a "supposed" break from school to catch up on readings, etc etc.

Currently, I have under two weeks left of school! Exactly 6 days of classes to be exact. I start my finals next Friday and go until the following week. Then, I start my practicum on March 16th! Wowzers, this semester honestly fleeeeeeeeew by. 

Observation Day Three

My third and final observation day is complete and I couldn't be more content. "Observing" for the first little while was fine, but if you're a hands-on/kinesthetic learner like me, then watching for so long can get boring. There were parts that were, however as a whole I'm glad my observation days happened as they were organized and truthfully quick.

Knowing that the teacher I'm with is my mentor teacher is such a great feeling, as she's had many student teachers before. She told me that I'll be teaching a lot of ELA and science, which I'm not at all disappointed! She also mentioned that if I am comfortable with teaching more, she'll let me at that opportunity. I most likely will already be comfortable that I'm not surprised that I'll take on more.

Also, as it's the school day before Valentine's Day, it was nice that my MT gave them time to hand out Valentine cards/treats to one another. Here are 3 reasons why I'm looking forward in teaching Grade 6!

- They think of each other.

I can give clear, distinct examples in how they consider one another, but I won't. You just have to trust me that they genuinely care for each other by not using their words, but also their actions. Watching these students interact with one another is such a privilege. 

- They get involved in other curricular activities.

I witnessed several students getting involved within the school community, which I am totally gun-ho about. Knowing me, I get involved with various schools/organizations that it could be a bit overwhelming. In high school, I was even President, Grade Representative and even Event's Coordinator...not to toot my own horn or anything. Regardless, I love the community aspect that these students bring! 

- They want to learn.

In my teaching career, I will encounter students who truly don't want to learn. With what I observed yesterday, I did not witness that motive whatsoever. I can 100% say that all the students I saw want to learn something new and expand their knowledge with school. Those sixth grade keeners! 

With all this information given, I know I'm blessed in having the grade, the group of students and the mentor teacher assigned. To end off, I took a picture of what I received from them. I mean, I got Ferrero Rocher. Jealous? You should be. (Actually don't since I can't even eat Ferrero Rocher). 

Why Do Kids Cry?

So, why do kids cry? Having already experienced 2 observation days and volunteering in so many schools, I feel that I have come up with 2 conclusions in why kids do cry.

1. Kids cry because they don't get what they want.

So my second observation day, I actually did make a kid cry. Horrible, right?! Actually, I'm a pretty kind person. This is what happened as I'll give you the quick and dirty version. It was indoor recess and so the kids were playing with their iPads, there was me trying to socialize and talk to these students while they were playing. All of a sudden, someone lost and starts to cry. I go over and ask him what's wrong. He starts by saying how I was distracting him from him winning and that because of me, he lost. Then he loses it and cries. Runs across the room to crawl into a ball and cry. Fast forward, I apologized to him later saying I shouldn't have distracted him, but in reality I was trying to make an effort in introducing myself!

I feel that kids don't only cry because they don't get what they want, but adults too. For example, adults could cry when they experience the following:

- really emotional and really tough break-ups (don't get my mom started on The Bachelor!)

^ Actually that's the only thing I could come up with, so if you have any ideas, feel free to share!

2. Kids cry because they get scared.

When I did storytime to daycare of age 3-5, I would bring a really scary crocodile puppet to sing with. When I pulled him out, almost all of them thought it was a real crocodile. To make it more interesting, I would take the puppet and almost eat one of their heads and chew them off. As I'm writing this I kind of feel horrible, but it was more on the entertaining side of things. Some kids actually cried because they were SO scared of the puppet. I had to reassure them, and same with their peers, that the crocodile puppet was fake, meaning not real. Kids these days, believing a puppet is real and that money grows on trees. What's next?!

In upper elementary or junior high, I remember they would cry if they got "detention" or a "call to the parents". Looking back, they actually did work and can see why getting either would make them want to cry.

Now there could be many more reasons why kids cry, but for right now those are the two that I can clearly think of. If you can add more to this list, please feel free to do so! 

Observation Day Two

Today marks the completion of my second observation day at the school I'll be doing my practicum. From my blog last week, I shadowed the upper grades, thus today I watched the lower grades. 

In the morning, I watched a third grade class do their "morning routine" which consisted of many mini-lessons of ELA, math and social studies. They work in their booklets for 20-30 minutes every day right when the morning bell rings. After, I shadowed another third grade class (this one had twice as many students as they combined the classes) for their lesson on guided math. With my immense experience with mathematics and explaining numbers like a pro, I had no trouble at all with this one. 

As I was roaming around the classroom, I had a conversation with a young boy which I thought was pretty hilarious. Here's what went down:

Student: Where is the University?

Me: About 20 minutes from here.

Student: By Saskatchewan Drive?

Me: Yes! Very close to there!

Student: Cool, do you know an Ashley?

Me: Do you know how many students go to the University? A lot! And I mean about 30 000 alot! So the chances of me knowing someone you know are very tiny, just because there are so many people at the University!

Student: Oh, I don't care, so you know an Ashley?

Internally, I'm laughing inside as I love how these students think we know everyone at the University, knowing them by their first names. Their curiosity and their humor kind of wants me to be a comedian, however I'm no Jimmy Fallon or Ellen DeGeneres. I don't think I'm that funny..

Lunch was lunch as I had a soggy salad and read my emails and texts. 

In the afternoon, I observed a grade 2 class and another grade 3 class. The second grade class was the most energetic group of kids ever, as they completed "mini challenges" since today was their 100th day of school! I could tell their stamina and motivation in celebrating the 100th day of school is something that could last as long as the movie Titanic. If I teach these kids gym, I would be out of breath within minutes while these little ones are waiting to do more suicides...

Right at 2:30 we were able to find out which grade and mentor teacher we'll be assigned and the wait is over! I will be teaching...

..........GRADE 6! 

Yes, the older ones. The rough ones. The loud ones. Actually, the group last week weren't rough or loud, but interesting. I'm so so so so SO excited for this group as I was hoping for an older group for my practicum. Working at the library last summer I was exposed regularly to younger kids, not as much to the older ones. Having a grade 6 classroom is absolutely thrilling to look forward to! I'm secretly dancing as I'm typing this.