Goodbye 4th Year!

I feel that once I start school, I can't wait for it to be over. And then when school ends, I can't wait for it to start again. It's the irony of learning and University I guess! Last Thursday (my birthday actually!) was when classes finished. I only took 3 this term! CHRTC 380 (Teaching Religious Education to youth), EDPY 416 (Intro to Teaching English as a Second Language) and EDPS 410 (Law & Ethics). Although I'm not graduating this year with all my other friends, it's exciting to know I'll be back this fall to take just Art class and then my final practicum. And of course, wish all my fellow Education graduates success to new challenges! 

I'm not graduating this year (/sad face) because I decided to finish my degree with my practicum instead. Although it pushes me behind a semester, I also believed I wasn't ready to do my practicum last year either. Don't get me wrong; I love teaching and it is my honest passion doing it, but I needed something to regain myself. Time. 

I needed time to learn, grow and absorb more. I needed (and maybe still need!) to energize and regroup my thoughts and ideas. I wanted to connect more and build upon ideas. Looking back, I'm pretty positive I made the best decision for myself. And who knows? Maybe I'm not fully ready right now. I'll sure take this upcoming summer for more me time will help me even more. I think of the second practicum as a "9-week job interview" because essentially, it is. My evaluation means everything for me, and I'll be bummed if it's sub-par or just average. I hope to excel and to succeed even more with those little learners. Watch me ;) 

January Volunteering

January was a superb month for volunteering! I try to volunteer in various settings with the youth so that I get as much exposure as I can when having a classroom of kiddo's on my own. 

The first week I was SO SO excited to be back in the north-end school that I was at before my practicum. I had to stop going there temporarily because my IFX happened, and then summer came working two jobs then last fall term hit. Nevertheless, I am extremely thrilled to be back there for this winter term! 

To sum it up in a sentence, kids read to me using the assessment Fountain & Pinnell. We read one-on-one so that I (the reading assistant) can scaffold them by correcting mispronounced words and asking them comprehension questions about the text. I read with children anywhere between grade 2 to grade 6, and I LOVE it. Unique opportunities like this provide me skills to adapt and be flexible with a wide age range of youth. Also, you can never read TOO much, can you? 

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I also volunteered with a good friend of mine at his parish. I helped deliver sacramental and confirmation preparation to both division I and II students. Again, I love the variation of youth I get to work with. I'm taking a class about teaching religious education to youth, and I feel that delivering church preparation aligns with what I'm learning in that class right now. 

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On a side note, this is why I LOVE and feel SPECIAL being an Education student! Unlike other programs (not going to name names of course..) most, if not all of my courses contribute to my knowledge that I can use in practical applications. I admire this because everything will always then come full circle. 

January Recap!

I can't believe it's already the end of January! I remember just buying new pencils and pens for the term to start. This term is different for me, and I am not entirely sure why!

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I'm in three classes only, which is super strange as every semester I take either 4 or 5. I originally was in 4, but I dropped one because I figured I didn't need it and I didn't want to add any more unnecessary stress. I only go to class twice a week - which is beautiful - because then I get to catch up with life on my other days off. I remember in first year going to class every day between Monday to Friday, and I just COULD NOT WAIT until the weekend. Having breaks in the middle of the week alleviates that stress! Plus, sleeping in past class time is always a bonus.

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In a nutshell, January flew. Course outlines were distributed first week and then we jumped into course content. I also volunteered at a school and at my friend's parish this month where I'll be talking about that in a separate blog post. I worked as always and met up with friends more times than average. Social life wise, I think it's as strong as ever as I've been able to meet and catch up various education and non-education friends! You can never have too many!

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Recap: EDPY 301

Last but not least I have to recap about EDPY 301, which also is Inclusive Education. This was a condensed, 5-week course because it was in conjunction with those taking their AFX, or the 9-week practicum. Basically, September and the first bit of October was the most overwhelming part of the term for me. Every day I had something to do or focus on for this class, just because it was at the fastest pace I ever experienced. I remember I took a spring course couple years ago, but that was 6 "manageable" weeks. This on the other hand, was go go go.

You can tell that I procrastinate with blogging when I blog about something, two full months later. In all honestly, I could have recapped back in October about this, but right after the final I was still swamped with other courses too! I don't even know the specific details from this class, but I do know this. Never EVER say "a blind child" or "a deaf child" because it's not inclusive language. Instead, say "a child who is blind/deaf/has a learning disability" since here, you're putting the child first over their ability. Something very useful, especially for job interviews.

Looking back on my eClass, EDPY 301 was broken down into four main topics: Differentiated Instruction - Contextualized Learning & Instruction - Universal Design for Learning - Teacher Beliefs and Attitudes about Disabilities.

The evaluation component was pretty straightforward: a midterm, a final and two assignments. I took this class with a good friend of mine, where we partnered for the assignment (that we didn't do so well on...unfortunately, but whatever).

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Although this was my fastest course ever taken in my undergrad, I learned a lot in the 5 weeks. I just wished I had more time to absorb the course material, because not only was it timely and relevant for me, but also very applicable. I mean, hey, it's 2015, the classroom diversity will always expand and what you say and what you do in front of somebody, could have both positive and negative impacts.  

Jumpin' on the Pinterest Bandwagon

For some reason, I feel as if I'm the last person who has ever heard or uses Pinterest. When I bring it up in conversations, my teacher friends especially will gasp or roll their eyes or tell me YOU HAVE TO USE IT. Of course, that's what I've been doing allllll Christmas break! 

I had it for a while now and started some "pins" here and there, but never got myself on it on a regular basis. Now, I'm starting to slowly ease my way, becoming this Pinterest Master. I honestly know why teachers (elementary ones specifically) use it so often! If you don't follow me (is that even the correct terminology?!), click here too! Or, just comment with your link I'll follow yours too.

This is me, literally.. 

Recap: EDEL 496

A required class is taking an EDEL 4xx class, where I initially was going to take EDEL 411 or 412. Things happened last minute, classes got cancelled and shifted so I decided, why not 496?! Right from Beartracks, it's called Group Project: Integrating Language Arts & Art K-6. This was also my night class for the term, where I usually take a night class to make it easier on myself when finals arrive. Going into the first night, I was extremely nervous about this because I did not know what to expect at all. I found no professor ratings about it and none of my friends took it either. I was going in blind!

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Did I also mention that this class was a combined undergraduate and graduate class?! Yes, so it was a combined class called EDEL 496/595. Intimidating, right? 

As the class went on, Wednesday evenings became easier and easier for me. I was honestly overwhelmed with the graduate students, but being the "social butterfly" I am, I connected with most of them. There was full-time or part-time or retired teachers there, literacy consultants, teachers who taught abroad, etc. I mean, I was figuratively swimming in a pool with people with tremendous amount of knowledge and experience. Why should I be overwhelmed by this when I can use this to make meaningful connections? #useyourbrains 

The evaluation component is somewhat complicated to explain. To make it simple, there was an integration project using multimodal literacy, a major essay and participation marks. However, it branches out into further marks or points for assessment. I'd rather not talk about it, BECAUSE, in this class I want to highlight what I loved and learned and what I'll be walking away from it.

Sometimes, EDEL 496 didn't even feel like a class! I felt the evening, at times, was a PD session to learn and immerse ourselves into an art environment. We did self-portraits one evening, which was new for me as I'm not into art as much as some of my peers, but do check out the progress I made throughout the term! (And don't make fun of my eyes and hair haha!)

September 2015

December 2015

In another post, I'll brag about the amazing resources we used in the class. From my five classes this term, I was exposed to SO MANY outlets of representation that I cannot fit all my knowledge into this one post. EDEL 496 focused on integrating art and language arts, and because of that I want to share what I learned to you! A big thank you and shout out is needed to all my peers and my professor!

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Subject 5 (and final) - Religion

The last subject I taught was Religion! If you've been reading my blogs (which I hope you have!) then you would know that Easter Mass was during my last week of my practicum! I taught my class certain bible passages that were Easter related.

If you haven't read my blog post about the school's Easter Mass celebration, you can read it here! I listed in that post the two hymns that were played throughout the mass. These songs are on my repeat YouTube playlist without a doubt!

An activity I led in class which summed up the religion topics, was to make a greeting card for grade 2/3 students preparing for their First Holy Communion. This is legit straight from my lesson plan:

"Explain how First Communion is considered one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic person's life. It is the first time that a person receives the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is the consuming the bread and wine (body and blood). Catholics believe these to be the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Most Catholic children receive their First Communion when they're 7 or 8 years old."

Here are some examples of their greeting cards!

I emphasized the purpose of this activity was to use what they have learned in the previous classes, and explain why and how Jesus is important to all of us. I told them not to put their name on it, as this was anonymous. These grade 2's/3's would be thrilled for their First Holy Communion preparation to be started with a caring, 6th grader making them a card! Here is the template I provided for them. Of course, they were expected to add more! 

Dear Student, 

Jesus is important to everyone because… 

Jesus will always remind me of love, power and forgiveness because… 

Jesus is a part of me… 

Yours, 

A 6th Grade Student

My favorite part about this activity was I gave the students just one block to do and finish it. This block actually happened to be before recess. Once the bell rang, I believe about 8 or 9 kids stayed in, during their recess, to make it more colorful and more meaningful for the students. How thoughtful is that?! It definitely is, shows how caring these students are for younger ones!

Orientation Flag Making

Yesterday was a great evening to spend with my awesome Orientation volunteer team! I was, and still am, bummed about my practicum ending that it was great to see other Uni students to just laugh and hang out. It was also awesome to share (aka brag with delight) about my experiences as a student teacher and hear other people's too! This was a great opportunity to talk about what do we do now... no more planning/marking/classroom management/prepping/etc. This transition from teacher to student is just as tough as student to teacher.

Our team is called The Crookie Monsters which in my mind, sounds (and is!) the best. We cut out felt cookie monsters, one for each member on our team! Then, we'll print off each person's face and glue it onto their assigned monster. Creative, right?! I see you nodding your head there!

On the back, we have a giant C made out as a bitten cookie! It's chocolate chip obviously, the most universal and perfect treat. We even placed our hand prints via paint to add color, teamwork and unity. Tell me you're jealous. 

I am super pumped to spend more time with The Crookie Monsters and of course, Orientation 2015 in August!

My Sassy, Superb and Stunning Group of 6's

Today is Saturday. For the past weeks, my Saturdays would include working and creating lesson plans for the upcoming week. Today, however, is different. I don't have any more lesson plans to make until my APT and I don't work today since I switched shifts. I'm so used to having routine that it's strange for me to have it changed.

It's also strange that I won't see my fantastic group of grade 6's anymore. As the title says, they were a sassy, superb and stunning group of 6's that have further inspired my passion to teach. This blog post will explain what I gave each of my 6's as a little, parting gift!

I learned throughout my practicum that at any elementary age, you are never too old for stickers! So, I took a trip to The Education Station, recall my earlier blog post of how I'm in love with that store, and bought smelly stickers for each child. I gave them a sheet of varying smells in their bag!

strawberry, caramel & pineapple!

In addition to the stickers, I also made a personalized message on a colorful index card, highlighting their strengths and wishing them the best in their future schooling! It had many happy faces!

Do you remember my blog post about my class field trip to the legislature? Well, it was my second day with them and our class happened to run into the Alberta Premier -- Jim Prentice! I took a class photo of my 6's with them and printed the photo out so each child had a copy! When I gave them those pictures, every single one came up to me asking for my (messy) signature/autograph. It was super awkward, as I never consider myself famous or anything... but truthfully, it was pretty cool. But then again, people don't ask for "autographs" of famous people now-a-days, rather it's a selfie. Oh man. 

Lastly, I each gave them a lyric sheet of my Body Breaks/Transition Songs I used in class. There were 2 songs I used, since they were an older group, and as a result they totally LOVED! I told them how I was surprised that every single one of them participated in the songs and how the lyrics will help them remember to sing it, even when I'm not around. Here are the two songs I used -- they are pretty darn cool! There Was A Crocodile and Shark Song :) 

Meet Mr. Fabia

It wasn't until Friday that I had the opportunity to explain a little bit about myself to my grade 6's. I immediately started to teach on Monday, however I never had a "real" introduction of me to them. Instead of talking about myself, I kind of made it into a game!

I put up a list of 11 things and they have to choose 6 that they think I am. I went down the list and explained which nouns I am and which I'm not. It was actually pretty interesting and only took 10 minutes! After going through the list, I asked who got alllllllll 6 right. Turns out, not a lot! Surprise, surprise. The cool thing is, after this "game" ended I heard someone say "that was a fun activity!" Ha, it was just a different way for them to discover who I am before actually talking about myself.

I dare you to try it out if you can! I put it down below for you to see. Can YOU guess which six I am or was? ;)

Pros & Cons of Group Work

Group Work. Ohhh group work. Every semester I expect to work (or partner) with people in terms of assignments or studying, and this semester was no exception. Having only three classes, each one had some sort of partner or group work component.

In assessment, we had to do a two-part assignment either by yourself, with a partner or with a group of three. I worked with my fantastic friend (and partner in crime) who I met this past year! We got pretty decent scores in our assessment assignments that it wasn't something major we stressed about--as we had each other to rely on.

During music, we had to do a group lesson about a topic from the POS (Program of Studies). I worked in a group of 4, and to be franc, it was a little bit of a headache. I felt that there were more hiccups than necessary but then again, it wasn't worth that much. I'm thinking in my head "only 10%, only 10%, only 10%." I did learn from this though, how group work you're forced to work with people who have different work ethics than you and how people voice their ideas differently. Sometimes, you don't even have control with whom you're with. You just have to deal with it, which exactly is what I did. Rather than just getting frustrated, all it takes is time. Time to adjust, time to explain and time to absorb the different learning styles people have. Will Smith says it best... I think.

Lastly, for science, we were presented the biggest group term assignment so far in my undergrad. Where with a group, you plan a lesson plan (ours was relating to Air & Aerodynamics!), deliver the lesson and answer a bunch of questions analyzing our experience and evidence. I worked in a group with 5 other people, where hands down was the best group I've worked with school wise. I think it's because we meshed well right at the beginning. Usually, I take a leadership role come group work but I didn't this time around. I felt that every person contributed to our term assignment equally. Did I mention that it was worth 35%!? Yes, 35%! We met multiple times and helped each other constantly as it lightened the load of the assignment itself.

If someone asked me what I learned from working with my science group, I would have to say how teachers are very supportive of one another. I always felt that way during this course and I look forward in the other teachers I'll be working with later in my career (or even during my practicum)! All in all, I really did luck out in working with an outstanding group of pre-service teachers. Even though this meme brings some truth and humor, it does not reflect my experiences of group work this past term. Or did it..? 

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 One

I just finished my first Observation day at the school I'll be doing my IFX, and I must admit it is a fantastic school! I'm not the only student teacher there, in fact there's 6 of us. So our day consisted of half of us observing the lower grades and the other half observing the upper grades. Then next Friday we'll switch. 

Morning Recap: We met our school coordinator (who by the way was welcoming and supportive throughout the whole day!) and many staff members. Mandatory paperwork was completed and a tour of the school was done. I also observed a math class and a health class where I was able to contribute in a teacher-like authority about the concepts they were learning.

When the lunch bell rang, I walked back to the staff room when I was stopped by a student. I think she was in the upper grade level because of the location of the school. She asked:

How long does it take to get your degree at the University?

I responded saying that it usually takes 4, but some people take longer. Then I explained at how expensive it was and that they should start saving money now. (I was part joking, but also part serious).

At this point in my explanation, I had at least 7 of them gathered around me inquiring about University. They were giving me so many oohs and aahs that I just had to mention it here. Internally, I was trying to hold it in so that way I wouldn't scare them.

Afternoon Recap: We played Doctor Dodgeball (seriously we did) with 2 classes in the gym, so I think that was 50+ elementary kids running around either a) "killing" someone b) protecting their "Doctor" or c) wanting me to throw the balls so that their team would win. Of course I played, but wearing a suit and tie, I just was a helper in retrieving some balls. After gym, I watched a science unit about constellations and a language arts project. 

How did my day go? It turned out better than I expected! I'm really excited in the students' enthusiasm and energy that I briefly witnessed today. I could tell that some were thrilled to get student teachers, so I'm not worried at all in which grade I'll be getting to teach.

(But I'm really hoping for Grade 5!) 

Weekend Recap

In junior high, every Monday our homeroom would go around, one by one, describing what we did on the weekend. We were too young to say "worked all weekend" since we were <14. I remember most of us mentioned homework, homework, homework. Now, I'm not one for sharing my weekend highlights every single weekend, only when it's worth sharing.

This is the first weekend after school started last Monday. First off, I ordered my laptop on the 2nd of January and it came in last Thursday! I bought an Asus brand off the Microsoft store. It's this one! I've been searching around since December to find a workable, durable laptop for school and such. My brown Lenovo one, which I bought in Oct 2012, is becoming slower all around. I actually timed its battery life and guess how long it was. Two hours? Wrong. One? No way. 30 minutes? Nice try. It was 9 full minutes. Yes, 9 whole minutes from 100% to 5%. That's about 540 seconds. That instant I needed to find a new investment of a laptop, especially since my IFX is just around the corner. I'm using both laptops 50/50 so that I slowly transition towards the Asus one. Isn't it nice?!

After several weeks debating and searching, I finally have a new laptop. I'm not sure why everyone's gun-ho about Mac and Apple. I mean, I have an iPhone and an iPad, but I don't think I'm ready for a Mac commitment. It's just too much. Not now, maybe not ever. 

Friday I volunteered at an elementary school as always, but I talked about that in a December blog post. It was after that is what's worth sharing. I had a really nice lunch with a great friend from high school. I graduated from a small Catholic high school with about ~250 graduates. Since then, I don't keep in contact with a whole lot, just a couple (meaning 1 or 2). The person I had lunch with, we worked together endlessly through grade 12 student council and that I owed so much to her hard work and efforts. It's outstanding to see that after so many years still, our friendship is still going strong. Even though we don't depend on each other as much now as we did in high school, it's nice to see fellow high school friends then and there. 

I worked Saturday evening and driving home each time, I always pass by my local elementary school. The signs each school has for over-the-school-zone speed limit drivers are always interesting! That night I actually took a picture of what it said because I thought it was meaningful. This is the quote:

"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, engage me and I learn." 

I love this quote because teachers can do all: tell, teach and engage students. Differentiating its influence towards students is what's rewarding as a teacher. Of course as a future teacher, I want my students to learn and remember my teaching, never forget it. 

And to finish off my weekend, I made (or put together?) chocolate covered licorice! I'm never known for being the best baker or cook, but really as a student, this is cheap and delicious. The perfect combination!

Three Top Notch Shout-Outs

Before I forget and when 2015 rolls in so quickly, I have to give out top notch shout-outs to 3 important friends who have tremendously helped me out during this past term. I would give them all unicorns or chocolate or even a new car, however I'm a student, they're all students, therefore apparently everyone I know are students. 

Basically the point of this post is that without teamwork, group work and collaboration from my fellow classmates and friends, I would fall off my study table landing back first. Literally and figuratively (dying from the stress of these courses).

Shout out to Ms. R! I think I wouldn't have survived educational psychology fully without her. We sat beside together every class and we had language arts curriculum together (though unfortunately we didn't sit together in this class). She also helped me a bit to prepare for the math curriculum final. I love having a class with Ms. R because she has the best sense of humor that cracks me up during the most inappropriate class time. 

Shout out to Ms. N! She's the reason why I went to Aboriginal educational context class every weekly lecture. She would make sure (or attempt to) keep me awake. Though, I actually slept through 11/15 lectures, because it was dry, unfortunately. Even though Ms. N is teaching secondary, we did a power afternoon of hardcore studying for this final and I'm so glad we did. Study groups are useful, trust me.

Last but not least, shout out to Ms. M! We sat beside together in math curriculum class, and did a major math lesson plan together and studied for this final endlessly. You can say that we did spent quite some time together. I convinced her to even take a class with me next semester! I just feel that our work ethic and personalities mesh that in all honesty, I'm so glad I chose to sit beside her on the very first day of classes. (She looked lonely, so I took pity. Kidding.. maybe).

To sum this post up, my teacher friends/classmates have a major impact on my learning that it continues to inspire me to become a better teacher someday! I'm excited to learn from other pre-service teachers in my future classes. 

PS - If you know who this is, then I'm sure we can discuss all about Big Brother in the new year, I'm close to obsessed with the show. (Who's excited that BB Canada is starting in Spring?!)

First Post!

This is so exciting; this is my very first blog post on this blog! Okay, so the reason why I want to start blogging is because as a pre-service elementary teacher, I want to document experiences, stories, laughs, comments, etc that other (future) teachers can either relate to it and give their two cents saying something like "been there, done that, here's some advice for you sir..." Whether it's through my two field experiences or during my volunteer, I want to document those experiences for others. Also, I'm always, and I always mean looking for feedback on my teaching skills, strengths & weaknesses and so I hope my readers will be interactive with me as much as possible, anything from posting questions to sharing their stories, any contribution helps. I'm so excited for this electronic blogging journey to start, and I hope you are too!