Wednesday, January 14, 2009

student teaching thoughts #1

This morning was my first day of student teaching! To be honest, I was a little nervous up until today. I really don't know why. I've observed plenty and feel confident in front of kids, but I think mostly it was not knowing exactly what to expect. You know, the fear of the unknown. ]]

I'm at a local TitleI elementary school co-teaching music. I was actually surprised it was TitleI, thinking that that meant you had to regularly be dodging bullets to get from your car to the office. There wasn't anything particularly crazy that went on today, but I'll be sure to let you know. Jenn sure has a great time with her Kindergarteners. Oh, one fun thing was that when one 3rd grade class was in the room, I walked in and they all gasped and one little girl said, "She's so pretty!" in a whispery voice. I was flattered! That same incident happened a few days ago picking up the bug from his school! Well, I never.

But it was actually an enjoyable day. The kids weren't even angels necessarily, but then again, I am just waiting for my turn to be the boss. It is crazy to me though that my teacher has each class every day for 25 minutes. With picking the kids up, dropping them off, and keeping them in line, you only get about 15-18 minutes of anything productive! Then they go to P.E. which is the same time frame. Crazy. I think it's fabulous they get music everyday, but I wonder what the trade-off really would be if it were bigger increments of time vs. quantity of segments. Anyway...

This is going to be interesting to me as a simulation of a 2 parent working family. We shall see how tired I am at the end of everyday, putting a healthy and warm dinner on the table every night (or most), and oh yeah, growing a healthy, beautiful baby inside as well! Speaking of... I have felt quite well lately, with the exception of yesterday. The "nagging" in my stomach as Amity and I have decided is a great description is gently subsiding, but still making itself known every once in awhile. I can keep it managed pretty well with the aid of a coke and a snack (or meal) every couple of hours.

Thank you all for your sweet comments about this new precious baby and all of your prayers! God is so faithful in EVERYTHING, and I am so excited to see what He has in store, not just for my life, but all of those people around me. His desires are perfect and good for your life and mine. Wait and watch how sweetly He moves.

5 comments:

Jennifer said...

Katy- I'm so glad your first day went well. What school are you at? I was at Bonham for student teaching. It was HEAVEN. I absolutely loved every second of it. And congratulations on the new baby if I haven't said it already!

Amity said...

You are SO pretty! Isn't it funny how a child can boost our self-esteem with a pure comment like that? She's right! You are beautiful inside and out.
Glad the "nag" is getting better. Same here! Still haven't thought of rhyming names...I guess I'll stick with Pat for now.

KP said...

I see my kiddo's ONCE a week for 45-50 minutes (I have 2 schools) 18 times a year (I split with art, every other six weeks) and it is far less appealing than I thought. Retention is slim to none, and I have a lot more discipline problems in the longer classtime than I did in the shorter, more often sequences. Little ones can't sit still long enough to learn a song when they know they have to do it for nearly an hour straight. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, because I want to split my time in half and see them twice a week for 25 minutes... they say, "You can't get ANYthing done in that amount of time." But what's funny is that I could review an old song, teach a new concept, review another old song with the new concept in it, teach a new song, AND have time for a game in 25 minutes when I was student teaching. Here, I have to draw everything out so the kids stay busy, and while I just combined those two lessons into one, the kids get sick of it pretty quick...and I like to think I'm energetic and interesting! Be thankful for shorter, more often classes. It seems like more work, but the kids are much more focused, cooperative, and productive when you only have about 20 minutes to accomplish a lot of content. (plus, it makes programs easier too!)

that boy mitch, big O, and me! said...

YES!!!! Congrats on your NEW baby. I am so excited for both you and Philip!

Lindy said...

I just read the news - congrats!! Hey, if you need any quick, good, dinner ideas - I've picked up LOTS of them! Did you know we are moving to Lubbock this summer? So we'll be a little closer! Let's hang out! :)