Overdue.

It has been long overdue that I update my blog on ST. I am in the full swing of things now, and will be finished with my two full weeks of ST the end of this week! Then I will have a lovely week of SB and go back for 3 more weeks of some teaching/observing/loving & admiring these sweet kids. I have had a great experience and am SO thankful to be with such a good group of kids as well as fellow teachers. I have laughed with and learned from these teachers more than I realized I would. As for the kids, I have grown to adore them, and will miss them terribly. It has been wonderful to see them grow/change over the last few weeks and getting to know them each so well. I wanted to share with you some of the laughs I have had over the last two weeks of FT teaching. 1. Heritage is big of reading as a class and following along together, they call this "Bounce." I did the same thing when I was in school but we called it "Popcorn." I made the terrible mistake of calling it Popcorn and the class lost it, they thought it was the biggest blunder AND they thought we were having popcorn! Oh my, the laughs we had! 2. One of my good readers read "he looked at him with a slobery face" instead of "sober." And ohh the laughs! 3. During a third grade rotation, my class comes back after another class had been in there. One boy exclaims for all to hear "Those kids pulled everything out of my desk and threw my pencil across the floor!" I had to gently remind him that those sweet kids from across the hall did not in fact go anywhere but the floor, he was a little embarressed :) There are so many others! I hope you atleast could smile at these! Some sweet times that I have shared with my class: 1. Talking about Jesus' brokenness in Gethsemane. We talked about what it was like to be broken, and they shared times they felt broken, and what they did when they felt that way. 2. I have them writing "kindness cards" about people they seeing doing something friendly or going out of their way to serve someone, we share these on Fridays. Oh the smiles kids get when they realize that what they are doing counts and others appreciate them! 3. My class getting excited about helping others in their class and doing their best. This certainly is not the case everyday or all day, but it is so sweet when it happens naturally. 4. Sincere apologies and biblical conversations with a child when they have had a hard day doing what is right. Their sweet apologies remind of the simplicity of being a "Child of God" I will miss this dear class! So much more to share!

Third Grade Scientists.

As previously said, my favorite subject has definitely been Science! I love bringing in supplemental materials to share and having them do lots of fun activities.

The first few pictures are from a habitat activity we did. I gave each group a book on a different habitat and their job was the locate basic information (filling in a worksheet I made) and then make a poster to share about their habitat with the class. It is an understatement to say they LOVED doing this. I think they enjoyed the freedom + working in groups + creating something. This was a great activity!

The last pictures are from my animal unit. Every year third graders make habitats and mosaics on an animal they choose to research. I took some pictures to show you how creative these kids are! They all truly turned out wonderful, and they really enjoyed doing these projects.

Last but not least, my desk with a personalized sign and all! And of course our class caterpillars we are watching grow!

Sillies.

Okay, so my girls daily ask me if I have my camera and if we can take pictures...this week I happened to have it! This was the third or so picture we got without the boys in the background giving us bunny ears! So of course after we girls had a picture, the boys clammored around me! So sweet! I have become very fond of this group of children and will miss them dearly. I can't believe they will be big 4th graders soon! This means that I am nearing the end of my ST, which I am thrilled about (because I'll have a degree and maybe a class of my own!), but sad for the obvious reason that I will miss these kiddos.

This week will be standardized testing, then two weeks of full-time teaching, and then Spring Break! One of the harder parts of ST is after you have taught and then have to give a test that covers the material I taught, wow. I sure do feel a lot of pressure, and pray these little ones do well. It is very difficult when I see grades plummet, and it is very each to blame myself and my teaching. Fortunately, my CT reminds me that she too felt the same way, but when it is only 2 or 3 that don't do well, I can't blame myself, there is often something else underlying this. Of course it does the other way, and when they do wonderfully, I can't help but be thankful.

Anyhow, getting some spring cleaning done today, not much planning this weekend because of standardized testing next week!

Thankful #2.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:24-25

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:9-10

Thankful.

It is been quite a while since I have last posted, all that to say is that I have been busy! So much to say, but I will write a short update. I am thankful for my class, oh my, they are such a fun buch of kids! So diverse, and each one has a unique personality. They are so much fun to be around, I have really enjoyed getting to know them and spending so much time with them! I am thankful beyond words for the third grade teachers, they have been so encouraging and offering affirmation during this time of student teaching. I will miss them all very much, leaving behind great relationships is sooo hard to do! But I will continue to enjoy my time with them.

Right now I am full time teaching except Phonics, which I will pick up next week. I will be full time teaching until the end of March, and then hello spring break! After SB I will have a couple of weeks to just hang out and teach part time until I say my good-byes. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by! In the rest of my time student teaching we will do a big third grade zoo trip and a Fun Run!

My favorite subject to teach right now is Science, I love bringing in picture books to share with them and having them do lots of fun experiments and activities. One of the hardest subjects to teach is Math because of the curriculum covers so much in third grade, and the pace picks up quickly at the end of third grade.

Okay, short post as promised. More and pictures to come soon :) My computer has a virus, so I am trying not to use it too much until it gets fixed.

Until we meet again!