New Beginnings

It is finally here! The thing that I have worked for 4 (in my case 5) years to get to, is finally here. Although I am going into my fifth week of student teaching, I decided I wanted to blog about the final 10 weeks. Through this blog, I hope to see my progress throughout this experience. Let me just break down what has been going on my first 4 weeks:

WEEK 1:

I started student teaching on a Wednesday, so the first week was short. I was super nervous waking up this Wednesday morning. It's one of those Christmas morning feelings, where you really can't sleep the night before, and you wake up super early without an alarm. Apart of me was probably so nervous about oversleeping, so that could explain the waking up in the middle of the night a bunch of times. But the morning was here. I had my outfits all picked out, my Vera Bradley stuffed with all materials ready to go, and my lunch packed and in the fridge.

I got to the school and was well aware of where I needed to go since I had visited in December. I got into the classroom, and my cooperating teacher wasn't there yet, but I was already aware of this. I took the quiet opportunity to explore the room, looking at the desks and name tags on them, looking at the various bulletins and posters on the walls. The classroom is small, but its welcoming, and suites the students well. The bell finally rings, and the students come in. Most of them greet me by saying " Hi Miss. Dailey!" as if they have known me for years. The feeling of this is overwhelming, and something that cannot be described, only felt.

During the first 3 days and the week after, I mostly observed the class, their routines, and my cooperating teachers way of doing things. I got a grasp on the curriculum (which I won't lie, I had been studying it for weeks prior). I learned the ways of taking attendance, lunch count, where all of the specials classrooms were, the lunchroom, etc.

WEEK 3:

I started taking over the reading block this week. The program used is Story Town, which is a scripted Language Arts Program. Although it is scripted, Myers is pretty laid back with following it to the T, so there is room for creativity, as long as all objectives are covered.

I must say, my teacher has warned me about taking on Reading first, since it is the longest block, and the most confusing, and she was right. It definitely took some time to get used to. No matter how much you plan and layout what you think you are going to teach during your lesson, it never turns out exactly that way. My biggest problem is time. I plan these lessons, and give them exact amounts of time, and I always end up going over, which prevents me from getting other things done.

WEEK 4:

My supervisor came Monday to observe me for the first time. I was a nervous wreck. My co-op kept telling me to relax, and that I am fine, but that just doesn't control nerves. No matter how confident you think you are, or how well prepared you think you are, those nerves can always get the best of you. I must say though, the lesson went great. 75 minutes of talking went by in a flash, and after the initial five minutes of butterflies fluttering around my stomach, I completely forgot my supervisor was there, and taught the lesson as planned. Except for time of course, which I ran out of. Again, my biggest problem which I hope to conquer sooner than later. My supervisor, however, had nothing but positive, enlightening things to say about me. I was very excited, and that definitely gave me the confidence boost that I needed.