Midnight Sun Optional School

Oh my goodness, I had died and gone to education heaven. Anna and I started our school exchange this week and I honestly went in not knowing what to expect. Midnight Sun Optional is the only optional school in the valley (that I'm aware of) and we were a little hesitant because there were a few weird things about the school such as they only have office hours from 10am to 1pm each day and that they are located in the middle of nowhere. We were there for one whole day this week and we will be there for one more day this next week. We observed and helped in a primary class this last week where there are 20 students from ages Kindergarten to second grade. It was neat because with a three year age span, siblings often get to be together and be in the same class. All day long I was amazed. The kids all got along so well and the noise level in the classroom seemed very quiet. Also, the kids were almost always on task, helping each other, and being engaged in what they were learning. I loved the "laid-back" attitude of the classroom even though learning was taking place. Although there is a daily schedule and things are planned to happen at certain times, there was no rushing or push to move on to the next thing. I found it really cool that there were still props for imaginary play (kitchen set, dress up clothes, etc.) and the children got "choice" time almost every day. In the first grade class I have been in, the kids get choice time only on Friday for 30 minutes and there are no imaginary play props. Also, the class we visited was doing a theme study on "eggs."
The teacher designed a literature based integrated unit and it was awesome to see how the egg theme stretched across the content areas. The classroom had an incubator where chicks were being hatched and the kids had also gotten to make "bouncing eggs." The day we were there, we all got to make deviled eggs. I could tell that each and every child in this class loved coming to school and taking part in all the exciting things they get to do. One last thing I wanted to mention took place during Writing Workshop. When the kids were dismissed to begin writing, it was the coolest thing-kids got up and went over to the mobile lab, pulling out Mac laptops to work on their writing. Even kindergartners were typing up their stories on the computers! The kids knew how to use them and respect the property.
I am very excited and eager to go back to Midnight Sun Optional School. The way things were done and viewed at Midnight Sun is the complete opposite from the Title 1 school I have been at for my internship. I am even going to attend the Midnight Sun Orientation this next week to get my son on the lottery for 2010!

SBA testing

Okay, to be honest, I am a week behind on my blogging, not that that is anything new :-) We actually did SBA testing at our school last week, but I decided to blog about it this week to catch up. It was nice to have somewhat of a break from teaching this week and help out with testing. Anna and I helped support our school by being available for whatever was asked of us, which was not very much. The first day we hung out and circled around the room, answering questions and fetching pencils should any of the students need a replacement. The second day we helped with testing, however, we had to do a little more. This day we were asked to help support two ELL students by reading the test questions aloud to them. We were unable to answer questions or help the students at all, of course, but we could read the questions out loud as many times as they needed us to. I found it really hard not to make any comments or help at all if one of the kids was answering a problem incorrectly. It was a little weird to be in the school and not be in my first grade classroom, but I got over it :-)

Rough week...

This last week made me realize how ready I really am to be done with the school year. I don't know what the deal was, but my first graders had a horrible time listening and following directions. There were so many distractions during a few of the lessons I taught that I stopped the lessons and had everyone go back to their tables and sit with their heads down. No one could learn in an environment like that so I figured the best thing was to try it again later. The weird thing was, though, is that the kids acting up and causing problems weren't our regular challenging kids. I was so frustrated by the end of each day that I started doubting myself as a teacher again. Classroom management is so hard! In Science we started learning about soils and seeds which was kind of fun. We planted 4 different kinds of seeds and then the kids predicted which seed they think will grow the best. We are observing the soil each day and recording our observations. In reading and writing, we are still working on "questioning" which the students are really starting to grasp. This week I am going to be helping our school during SBA testing.

Thoughts

It has been an interesting transition going from being the full time teacher to teaching a few lessons a week. Don't get me wrong...not that I mind having my workload cut down. My teacher was really excited to get back to teaching and she started some new fun things such as "Questioning" in reading and writing. The kids are learning how wise readers ask questions before, during, and after they read. This is also carrying over into writing with question and answer non-fiction books. I have been really impressed at the questions the kids are coming up with after a read-aloud. Most of them are really understanding the concept. It has been really interesting after residency to step back and observe again. I feel like I am really still learning and now I have time to actually process and reflect on what I am seeing whereas when I was teaching full time, I would forget certain things at the end of the day.

A well deserved spring break

Never before have I looked forward to spring break so much. It is hard to believe that residency is over and I am that much closer to graduation. It is such a relief to be done with lesson plans and the daily duties of being a full-time teacher. Of course, I will still be a big part of the classroom, but I am more than happy to hand the responsibility back to my mentor. She is actually excited to get back to teaching, I think she has really missed it. I do not feel that I can really relax, however, until I finish 3rd quarter grades. It was such a relief to find out we didn't have to add comments for each child since we just had Parent/Teacher conferences. Just entering grades and having work samples to back up each grade is enough work in itself. I am so looking forward to cutting back my hours after spring break. We are definitely on the homestretch!

Are we really almost done?????

Oh my goodness, only 3 days left! After today, I could not be more ready! I don't know what was wrong with my first graders today but the day was absolutely insane. Let's just say I'm looking forward to unwinding over a glass of wine tonight :-) This week has not been much than the last few weeks so lesson planning and prep has been fairly simple. We have been revisiting how to read words with a silent e because our kiddos don't seem to be grasping the concept when we have been conferencing with them. I've been trying to find different ways to present the concept and I think some of the kids are understanding a little more. It's kind of a bummer with the English language because there are so many exceptions to a rule and of course, the kids always find those ones. I hope the rest of the week settles down a bit after today, but I am mentally preparing myself if that doesn't happen with spring break right around the corner.

I'm running low on energy

This last week was the first week where I really felt ready to be done with residency. I don't know if it is just all the work and prep for teaching each day, having two young children and being a single mom half the time, or the combination of both that is wearing me out, but I am definitely counting down the days to being done. Only 1 week to go! Officially, I should be done this Wednesday, but I am going to go ahead and finish out the week seeing as it is the week before spring break and it might be a little hard for my mentor to step in for just two days. I started filling in grades tonight in the "Social Emotional" section. This section was pretty easy to fill out since I know all the kids really well and have observed them for a long time now. I'm a little nervous about doing the rest of the grades because it is definitely a lot of work. I have to figure out which kiddos I need to do assessments on this week so that I have all the information I need to complete report cards.