students [and puppies]

So I had my first experience teaching this week! It definitely taught me so much about myself, about flexibility, the individuality of each student, and the fact that if I was tired after 7... think about a class of 30. :) But the most important fact is that it confirmed my passion for what I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing.

Each day required us to make slight modifications to our lesson plans, but most importantly to be very prepared for the unexpected. We learned a lot about time management (yes, we did have to stop even when we were having fun!), about classroom management (certain things work for certain kids and definitely not others...) and about the teacher/student connection. At the end of the camp I was really sad about the kids I probably won't see again!!

Starting Monday the dynamic of our class is going to shift tremendously. We'll have 11 2nd graders, most of which are ELL (English Language Learners) from the Yamhill migrant community. It's definitely going to require a lot of patience and teaching modifications to get through the limited language barrier, but it will be awesome preparation for wherever I'm placed in the fall. I'm nervous because of my lack of experience, but excited for what I'll learn at the end of next week.

And on a lighter note, I adopted a puppy on Thursday. :) His name is Cooper, and he is the best puppy I could ever ask for! I've wanted a dog for a long time, but was just never when that would be. Now that I've lived alone for these past few months and my life is a lot more predictable than it was, I knew the timing was right. I feel like a new mom with him :) I get up in the night with him, train him, and it's SO amazing all of the people I've met so far just by going on walks, going to the pet store and other errands where people either have their dogs or love dogs. The doggy community is so big here! So that's been really awesome. People have shared their puppy stories, introduced their dogs to him, and given me tons of great tips. He is my little partner :) Things haven't been easy these past few days for sure to raise a puppy, but he's very loved!

busy busy busy

It's been a few weeks since I've written. Oops. I keep having the best intentions to get on and write because I know when I look back I would have wanted myself to. anyway...

the recap:

I'm just about to finish my 5th MAT class for the summer tomorrow.... then... summer break! [kind of].

So far I'm surprisingly doing well in the program... yeah for that. :) My classes so far have been: Learning Theory, The Professional Educator, Action Research 1, Language & Literacy, Structures for Teaching and Learning, a Multiple Intelligences Workshop, and two days of ESOL workshops. Then, next Monday I start a two-week student teaching practicum at Edwards Elementary for the Newberg Summerfest program. Summerfest is a day-camp for students in grades 1 - 5 to spend a week learning about a different theme for three hours-- mine is called, "Look at this World" -- we'll be exploring the various wildlife and species of rainforests, deserts, tundra and savanna's all across the world on a traveling adventure of planet Earth. :) We're making passports, playing games, doing skits and other activities including watching these really awesome National Geographic for Kids videos, and each day we'll be visiting a different continent. At the end of the week, students will have a traveling journal full of stories from their travels. We'll see how it goes... :)

The week of July 27th is solely going to be migrant students from the Newberg community, who are already part of a migrant-english immersion program that is federally funded. The students will also speak little to no English. That is definitely going to be the most challenging part, so the ESOL workshops we took this week will come in handy. Today Alysun and I spent the afternoon setting up our classroom, getting our supplies, and continuing to prepare. Tomorrow will be more set-up (making the journals, nametags, signs, etc.) before camp starts on Monday. I'm sure I'm going to have a lot to talk about during the middle of next week, depending on how things go...

After Summerfest is over, I have the entire month of August off. I have nooooooo idea what I'm going to do with my time-- I really want to be making money! :( We also don't have our student teaching placements for the fall yet, so I'm definitely anxious about that.

So far though, I've been really happy with the program. It's been humbling to be poor and not have a job, but I'm adapting. I'm more concerned with the state of teaching jobs next year, and what budgets are going to look like then. All we keep hearing is that Colorado is majorly hiring teachers! So we'll see what next year looks like. :)