I love February Break.

Since I have been posting everywhere else I post at online, I figured I'd post here, too. :)

I stayed up late last night to work on a schedule for my upcoming "Forces in Motion" unit (e.g., friction, gravity, and balance). It's finished, and I feel somewhat more settled with it now that I know it will probably extend right before April break. I just need to find supplement activities that are a bit more exciting and relative to the kids. Certain district curriculum mandates can be a bit bland and dry (did we think any less?), so of course, teachers need to tailor the activities to their specific classrooms.

Anyone who knows the "teacher geek" inside of me knows I am obsessed with The Magic School Bus (from here on out, MSB is its name)... meaning, I just adore this series of books and DVDs and aim to have the entire collection for my classroom (I almost have all of the DVDs! Just need one more: The MSB Catches a Wave). Well, the first thing I did with this was to check the MSB's website. Lo and behold, I found an episode, book, AND lesson activity on friction. I was very excited for this, seeing as that I could FINALLY bring the MSB into my practicum experience. Yes, the teacher geek geeks out. (P.S. Miss EB does not help this obsession as she sends me links to different sites selling huge lots of MSB stuff (secretly I'm thrilled, but openly, I have to be anxious). :P

I also am on a kick to also acquire a lot of Wishbone books. I used to have quite a few when I was younger, but those disappeared when a lot of moving took place. So, eventually, I will integrate classic literature into second grade. The English major inside of me weeps every time she can't be a part of my lessons. So, I'm hawkeye-ing eBay and watching particular lot auctions. If you don't know of Wishbone the dog, you must. It's a Jack Russell terrier that plays (mostly) the main character of a classic novel/story. He goes through different adventures and mysteries, doing what he does best: putting a fun spin on stories such as The Odyssey, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, and several different cultures' tales. The 50+ episodes combine real life themes that run parallel to the themes in classic literature. They just make it work. It's ingenious! I don't know one who wouldn't love this as an educational tool.

Well, I'm going to our nation's capitol tomorrow to visit my best bud-sister for my February break. I'm very excited to just have a break from everything even if I'm still having to do work on my thesis.

- Miss Chelsea :)

Fourth week completed.

So I've made it through thus far. As each day passes, I'm becoming more and more comfortable in the school. There was some time where I just felt out of place and not "part of the community"... but it's slowly changing, and I'm VERY glad.

Yesterday was the first real "fun" day that I've had while at M-R. Not the kind of fun where kids are running around. But the teacher kind of fun where you just love being in the classroom, teaching your lesson. I taught about the moon phases yesterday... and we did a hands-on activity (that Ms. DT said was a great idea! :) ) where the kids hold a stryofoam ball on a stick and use a flashlight to see the moon's phases. We couldn't find a dark place at first, but then Ms. DT and I improvised and did it right in the large area in front of the gym. We turned off the lights, and bam! perfect. The students had a blast, I had a blast, my CT had a blast, and it felt so natural. This is what teaching should be like! I have my confirmation now.

As I'm getting more comfortable so my classroom management skills are getting more assertive. Thankfully, these kids are pretty well-behaved and have always listened to me, but I'm slowly learning how to work "it." I inner-laugh at a lot of the stuff I subconsciously do because it's so "mom." I'll give a look and J will know I mean business. Or I'll just walk by S who is busily chatting during literacy and he'll immediately remind himself that's not okay.

Then we move along to another type of student... A is a boy who is a "helpless handraiser." I told him he needed to remove "I need help" from his vocabulary. :P So he started getting creative. "Miss Chelsea, may I have your assistance?" I laughed and replied, "Well, at least that's better than 'I need help'." He's a sweet kid, but I'm finding out I have a bit more to learn about how to make my students independent. I'm conflicted, too. While independence is a good thing, our society has become TOO independent (which leads to higher cases of stress, suicide, anxiety, breakdowns, etc). I want my students to know that they should have someone they can rely on... they do NOT always have to rely on themselves. However, they do need to be independent enough to do things on their own. It's a balance that needs to be drawn. It's hard to implement in this school, though, since a lot of independence is greatly emphasized.

I have my MTEL #2 in 3 weeks, and I haven't even begun to study. Ugh. My plan is to do that today.

Since I finally bought another portable filing carrier thing, I went through all of my papers, lesson materials, worksheets, etc. and filed it according to subject and topic. Okay, you may laugh, but when I start teaching, I'm going to be bombarded with papers, and I want to know where I can find ideas for weather lessons or a Magic School Bus poster asap! :P

A few weeks ago, I did a bulletin board for our China unit... I'm quite proud because I had fun. :)

I was feeling kinda iffy this morning, so I've been drinking Airborne like crazy today. I will NOT get sick again in a month's period. That's ridiculous and unacceptable!! So, hello, Zinc and Vitamin C, you are my new kindred spirits. (We had a girls movie night last night... and watched the final installment of Anne of Green Gables. I blame all dramatizations on Anne Shirley. haha)

Well, onto more work and all that fun stuff.
Chelsea :)