"Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?"

This week I wanted to do something a little different. Below you will find my top 5 moments of the week:

5. I learned what happens when you ask a 2nd grader to wait to pee, until after a timed computer test....they pee their pants :)

4. I am blessed to have students in my classroom with autism at varying levels, and have a very diverse classroom as far as abilities are concerned.

3. There is a kindergarten teacher that is pregnant and due in January, and I have been told that when I talk to her, it is very likely that I will get that position.

2. If Lakeshore is full next year, they will need one more teacher in each grade. BONUS: I was also told that I will have no problem finding a position at that school!

1. My mentor teacher announced to the entire staff (including principals) that I was doing a great job in her class, that my classroom management skills were excellent and that she was glad I jumped right in from day 1!

STOP THE PRESS!

Okay this topic is so important that it requires its own separate post! I have newly discovered and am now newly addicted to....drum roll please.....VISTAPRINT!! I have never seen so many amazing possibilities for so cheap. I can make desk name tags, and rules posters, and student info cards....the combinations are never-ending and customizable! I had to post pics of all of the goodies I ordered. I must warn you however, before you go discovering Vistaprint, be prepared to stay up long hours creating countless materials and paying a large sum for shipping. I was able to get all of my items free, but the shipping was around $35. To really learn the in's and out's of Vistaprint it is vital that you check out proteacher.net and the group Vistaprint Addicts. Trust me once you get started you will quickly become an addict yourself at the expense of all those around you :)

Enjoy!

Can you say flexibility?

Wow! Today I survived my first day of school! It was so surreal being on the teacher side of things and I found many SFA ideas flooding my brain. I was amazed at how much at ease I felt stepping up in this new role of student teaching and I almost walked away with a teacher badge...too bad the machine was broken. There are 20 students in my classroom and I can already see the many different temperaments, interests and abilities. It's almost comical to me when the students try and test me, because I am very used to that from all of my babysitting! God definitely knew how to prepare me. I found myself praying for certain students...praying for their home life, praying for their attitude...and then it hit me, God is so patient with me. No matter how many times I mess up, rebel, and even throw fits, God still loves me and is always patient! Who am I then, to pray that he changes these children to better serve me? God created them all unique and special and for varying purposes. I realized in that moment of praying to change those students that I needed to instead pray that God change me! I began to pray that God would grant me patience when I feel like I have none left, and that he would give me understanding. I was able to meet the principle today and get my foot in the door. I am really hoping that I will get hired on in January, but I also had to remind myself that God has it all in control and his word says that His will for me is good, pleasing and perfect. If I don't get a job immediately that's okay....He has perfect timing and He knows what He wants with me. If I do get a job immediately then I know that God is the God who see's me and that He knows my heart and chose to bless me tremendously. If I ever doubted my place in the classroom, today, the day that should've been extremely stressful, I felt at ease and that I was right where God wanted me. I have a peace now about teaching and cannot wait to continue finding out all that God has planned for me this semester. I contacted my site coordinator today....actually my touch phone called her on and off from about the time of 10:40-11:50 all on its own. Imagine my horror when I survived my first day of student teaching to find that I had "prank" called, essentially, a teacher that holds the power to pass/fail me! I called her up and was surpised at how down to earth she was. She asked me how my day was, and chuckled when I said, "I definitely learned what it means to be flexible!" God is so good to me and I am excited to have finally started the descent on my journey to becoming a teacher!

Surviving the Parents and Target Dollar BINging

Sorry I've taken so long to post! I had meet the teacher nights this week, and met lots of parents for those busy kindergartners and second graders. I wasn't sure how to introduce myself at first to the parents, and was super embarrassed when they announced who I was in front of all of the K parents! Then we went back to the teacher I will be working with 2nd's classroom. Parents came and went and I pretty much just stood there feeling very out of place. Some of the parents came up to me so I quickly explained that I would not be there child's teacher and that I would be student teaching in October. It seemed weird to meet the parents at this time, but it never hurts to start parent-teacher communication early. The next night I was able to have a more casual come and go time with my 2nd grade cooperating teacher. She started out introducing me to parents, but as more and more came I had to take it upon myself to go up to all of the parents. I don't know why I was so nervous, but it definitely went much smoother than the previous night. I missed a few of the parents because for some unknown reason I couldn't work up the nerve to talk to them. This brings me to goal number one of my student teaching experience: "I will be comfortable in the classroom and confident in interacting with parents."

On a more interesting note, I have recently found the most exciting place to shop for teacher stuff....that's right TARGET! Target has these really cool dollar bins that are out all year round, but once a year near the start of school it becomes a teacher's paradise. Check out all of the stuff I got! Most all of it was only $1 a piece, even the dry erase boards!!

large view of all my goodies!

dry erase board class schedule, magnetic letters/numbers, smelly stickers, foam cylinders, good work stamps, hanging shoe holders...

dry erase boards, math bingo, nameplates, teacher plan book, good work stamps....

hanging shoe holders, student materials cups, smelly stickers, small pocket charts, magnetic letters/numbers...

If you need any teacher goodies it is never too early to stock up and I highly recommend you go on your on BINge soon!

The Pursuit of Teaching

Hi, and welcome to my blog! I decided that my first post should be an explanation of where I have been and where I am going. Most importantly, however, my relationship with Christ and his affect on my pursuit of teaching. As a young child I would always play "school" with my friends (needless to say, they weren't always as excited about it, as I was). I even remember my first weeks of school when all I wanted was some homework! It seemed that I was born to be a teacher. Then, my younger brother was born when I was 9. Having him around I realized that teaching was something I wanted to actually do, rather than play. During these times in my life, my family had always taken us to a Lutheran church in the area I grew up in. God had always seemed a part of my life, but never close at hand...always far away. But in attending the Lutheran church, I thought if I went through the routine of going to church Sundays, having communion and later getting confirmed would do the trick to get me into heaven. This went on through my father's struggle with cancer, and later death. I decided to get confirmed, altough I felt something tugging at me to not succumb to that, because I felt that it is what my dad would've wanted. I later figured out that this was God starting to work in me. Although I did not have Jesus in my heart at the time I felt God filling a void in my life once my father passed away. Then, when I was 14, I met the love of my life, Aaron. God knew exactly what He was doing, when He put Aaron in my life. Every week we were dating Aaron would go to his church on Sunday and I would go to mine. But we alternated on Wednesdays and went ot youth group together. All the while he was urging me to attend his church for good. I don't remember why, but at the time I was very hessitant and pushed it off for a few months. When I finally started attending his church full time, I realized how much I learned! I learned more there in one day than I did at my old church. I started listening to the local Christian radio station, KSBJ, and the youth group started studying Revelations. God shortly revealed to me that I was unsure where I would go when I died. One evening I went with my mom to Walgreens and she said she only needed 2 things. I turned on KSBJ and just sat there waiting and listening. All of a sudden the radio station cut out, I looked around and saw that the sky was red, and my mom had been in the store for at least 30 minutes. I put two and two together and started to frantically search for cars wrecking and other signs of the second coming. I began to pray to God that He would take me with Him and not leave me here. I thanked Him for His son, and the sacrifice He made to save me from a life of unresolved sin. Right then and there, I asked Jesus to come into my heart and take over my life. Once I finished praying, KSBJ came back on, the sky cleared and my mom came walking out. I was relieved that the second coming hadn't actually happened and that I was now SAVED by grace! Over the years God continued to work in me and feed my desire for teaching. He led me to Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, which was the perfect school for me. He also continued to draw Aaron and I together. We got married in August of 2008, in between my Sophomore and Junior year. He has been very supportive of my drive to teach. This semester I will be student teaching at Lakeshore Elementary in 2nd grade and in Kindergarten. I will be using this blog to chronicle my process from student teaching, to finding a job, to my first year teaching. This is the pursuit of teaching.