Back in the Swing

We are now five weeks into the fall semester of college, and six weeks into teaching computers at the elementary school.

I'm kind of tired.

But in a good way!

Work is fun. Today I taught 3rd graders the entire left hand homerow for typing, showed 4th graders how to make a pie chart with M&M's (that they got to EAT after, whee!) and 7/8th graders how to do the basics of html. The only problem is I don't have as much time as I would like to spend on my lesson plans as I would like, because . . .

Yeah, school. It's kind of homework-y. The last two or three weeks each Sunday has been like 7 hours of homework. In a ROW. That is a lot of homework. Plus, ya'know, trying to actually spend time with my boyfriend (who is still wonderful) and my family (who are also busy) and Nick's family (Hi Clair!) and I am just BUSY.

(Notice I am up at nearly 1am on a school night just so I could have some goof off time. Normal hours rebellion, ahoy! Also, zzzzzz.)

Um. What else. Taekwondo is good! Mostly. And I did a cardio class! And got really sweaty. Um, I need to clean my fish tank. I need to clean my apartment. The list of things I need to do is kind of long, so let's just skip that and I'll say I'm totally going shopping tomorrow morning, because Kohl's gave me a $10 off coupon and I need work clothes! Yay, shopping!

I'm off for bed.

Ciao!

Substituting For the First Time

I taught third grade today. 

The principal called me this morning right while I was getting ready to leave for a dentist appointment and asked if I could sub for a sick teacher. I told him that I'd love to, but I have a dentist appointment. Would he still need me around ten? He said yes. 

(FYI, I have a slightly receding gumline on one tooth that I just need to brush more lightly, and a tiny cavity that should be able to be reversed by flossing. Whew! Dental Phobia Watch over for six months!) 

So I show up at ten-thirty at the school and get walked back to the classroom which has ten third graders standing. I'm greeted--"Good afternoon, Miss Katie"--and they are given permission to be seated. Ms. R, the school secretary, shows me the lesson plan and leaves me with some encouraging words. 

We start. 

Some relevant points:

1. Math. Sucks. 

2. They teach math super weird. 

3. It's hard to stick to the times alloted. Running behind is common. 

4. PE is awesome. They are gone 30 minutes and you can plan ahead! 

5. Bless Burger King's Value Meal and close proximity. 

6. History is awesome. I felt like I was actually teaching, we were taking points from the book and discussing them with real-life situations and problems. We even tied in some geography because I pulled down the big map and we went over the terrain for eastern and western United States and then learned about Mexico. 

7. I can't wait to learn the skills needed to keep a class under control. I feel like yelling just can't be the answer, ya'know?

8. Threats. Threatsthreatsthreats DO YOU WANT TO HAVE TIME-OUT? STOPPIT. 

9. Awe at children's ability to bounce back. After a day of me feeling one step behind and wishing I had better control of them and better teaching abilities, one of the children who was giving me the most problems said, "You're a good teacher, Miss Katie." 

10. They were sad I wasn't substituting tomorrow. I love them.