Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Classroom Craziness!

Sorry for the dearth of posts as of late (isn't dearth a lovely word? I was taught it Junior year of high school through a short story that has always given me a smile when I use it). Student Teaching and the new quarter have begun, and, wow, is life going to be busy! My new classroom is 4th grade, and very different from first. So far it's going okay, though I really miss my little guys and the constant interaction I had with them. This age is so independent! I'm already getting antsy about teaching, and will get to do my first mini-lesson friday morning. As it's the buzz all around the nation, I thought it would be fun to do a lesson on the presidential primaries :) There's an awesome site for kids, Kids Pick the President, which has candidate information, a calendar displaying all the caucuses and primaries, On how we elect the president, and message boards so that they can chat with like minded kids. While the message boards could be seen as a bit questionable with internet safety and all that, the other sections are wonderful (for adults too, if you need to brush up on some facts). The best history lessons are about the history that is being created right now, so hopefully it'll go well :)

I'm not sure if I've shared this already, but I have officially decided to also get my Single Subject Credential in English as well, which is really exciting, but intimidating. Lots more work to do, but hopefully it will make me a better (and more hireable!) teacher :)

Running isn't happening right now, as I've realized that making sure I'm running at least once a week doesn't seem to be helping my leg. With over a week of rest at this point, it is doing a bit better I think. The full leg soreness isn't nearly as pronounced, so I'm thinking rest (and stretching) is good for now.

I'll try to keep up better with blogs, perhaps catch up this weekend, but this is going to be a busy quarter! Thanks for having patience :)

5 comments:

Gretchen said...

Ah, student teaching. I can't believe you even posted to your blog at all! Well it sounds like you are enjoying it, I think it all depends on whether you have a good master teacher. Anyway, I thought it was brutal.
I just moved up this year from teaching middle school to teaching high school english. I have been learning a ton, and it's been a good experience in many ways, but I'm pretty sure I want to go back to middle school. If you think 4th graders are independent...look out!
Good luck with student teaching, and since you're not running much you should try to find another positive activity to relieve stress--it will definitely help!

Rick Gaston said...

Love "dearth". I'll have to find a way to use that in my next blog post. Sorry to hear about the running still not happening. I think you are doing the right thing resting and stretching. Good luck on the work load. Lots of stuff to do but you are psyched.

Jean said...

Sorry to hear about the lack of running, Addy. Rest is a good thing, so hopefully that will pay off.

Good luck with your busy quarter. Sounds like it will be exciting!

Sarah said...

I just know you're going to be a great teacher, Addy! Hope you can run again soon.

runningtwig said...

That stinks about your leg, I hope it continues to get better so you can rock this year like you did last!

Good luck with student teaching - I know how stressful it can be. Hopefully, as Gretchen said, you have a good master teacher. I did and it made all the difference in the world. Just wait to you have your own classroom - it is awesome!