Just judging by the time I got around to writing this post I know it will be a long week (it's a little before 11pm). The worst thing (sorry Mrs. Palmer) is that I haven't started lesson planning yet for tomorrow. Oops! My friends wanted to take me out for a late birthday dinner, and we just got back not long ago. I also had seminar tonight from 5-8 so that took up most of my evening (eww). Also a quick side note: sorry for no post last Thursday. Nothing really happened, except for a half day with the students then parent teacher conferences all night. Friday was just a Professional Development day, so I was in meetings all day. So, not very exciting things to blog about.
Today was pretty crazy. My students came into the class, had a pretty calm morning, but once math started they were crazy and talkative. Since we have a test tomorrow, I decided to play Kahoot with the students so they could practice telling time and counting money. They were very chatty during this time and we had to take off some snack time because it was taking so long to get through the questions. Even after taking a whole class Dojo point off they were not much better. Once I mentioned that they might not get to snack at all, that's when they decided to be quiet. They'll do anything to keep their snack time!
For specials, we kind of had a weird schedule. The students went to tech for a half hour like usual, then they came back for a half hour, then went to music for another half hour until lunch. Usually, they have tech and then come back for some review or a lesson, instead of having a second special. I don't know if it's because they are getting more comfortable with me or trying to see how far I will go with discipline, but they got all of their specials points and lunch point! Why can't they be that awesome throughout the WHOLE day??? (They're still awesome... I just don't like when they talk out of turn a lot) Today, I led another whole class literacy lesson. I started to teach transition words, and will continue it tomorrow. They caught on pretty well to this, and with more practice tomorrow it should be more clear as to what they are.
This week, I am taking over WIN intervention time. This is where I take students by ability group and work with them on reading comprehension and fluency. The students practice reading a passage out loud, then we work together to answer questions and complete various activities related to the passage. This is the one thing I don't need to lesson plan for - yay!!
In science, we unfortunately did not get our butterflies over the weekend. They are still in the chrysalis, but will hopefully change within the next day or so! However, our milkweed bugs did change and hatch out of their egg, I need to switch their habitat soon! A few of my students have mealworm pupae, they will get to see their change soon! I asked for predictions as to what they will turn into. One of my students guessed correctly (beetle) and I tried so hard not to say, "yes that's correct!" or to give it away by facial expression, because I do want it to be a surprise!
Fun Fact: It is Dr. Seuss week! So, we get to dress up every day, and today I got to wear my "I teach a thing or two at ktec" shirt, they're so cute!
Fun Fact 2: Mrs. Palmer brought in cookies and decorated the room for my birthday :) I even received a few birthday cards from my students! They are so sweet :)
Weird Observation 1: Students will do anything to get their pencil sharp, and they think it helps! I've seen them do weird things with the pencil sharpener, use their nails to peel off some of the wood part, or even bite it off. Also, pencils are still basically like gold in my classroom. Once you have one, don't let it out of your sight. And many students still lose multiple pencils throughout the day... HOW???
Weird Observation 2: My students sit so weird in their chairs. I've seen some interesting sitting positions! I've seen students read with their book on the ground, and their chest on the chair with their head hanging off. I've seen students sit on it backwards with their legs up and over the backrest. I've seen students awkwardly sit sideways with one leg up on the char. I've seen students sit on their feet with their knees scrunched up. The list can go on and on! I mean I know those chairs can't be too comfy to sit in all day, but still!
Overall, today was a pretty good day, except for the chatter. My edTPA is slowly coming along, I have pushed the videoing to next week because I am not ready yet! Now, time to go lesson plan!