The last few months were some of the most chaotic of my life! I started student teaching on September 1, and my last day was November 20. I drove 1.5 hours round trip each day, spent my days teaching first grade ELL students, then went home to work on other school coursework and writing lesson plans. I missed my family pretty badly. They were in the same home, but I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I wanted.
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My student teaching binder
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Meanwhile Trust and Liv didn't cope well with virtual schooling, and their grades dropped terribly. Olivia turned hers around pretty quickly, though I think she struggles with paying attention and tends to get her work finished quickly, thinking she knows what she's doing when she sometimes doesn't. It's much better now, at least. Trusten gets distracted and isn't academically self-disciplined like Olivia is. I'll be glad when he is back at school. He will perform so much better than he is now.
On the third day of my student teaching, I was walking out to my vehicle when I slipped on a rock. When I fell down my glass canteen that I was holding shattered, and my finger and hand were both lacerated. I rushed into the house and held my profusely bleeding finger in a bath towel until Carissa could bandage it and my hand. Then I speedily left, thinking I had wiped out all the blood from my slacks. (Ha, I had not, but I later did at school.) I waited until the end of the day and visited the ER to get stitches.
The next day was my birthday, and we visited my parents for Labor Day celebration, and my mom had made me a pretty and tasty cake.
Jade took pictures with everyone in his graduation gown since everyone could not attend his speedy, restricted pandemic graduation. I'm sad my sister wasn't present on the day I took pictures. Not everything in life is perfect, though. It's ok.
One of my birthday surprises was this Sharpie drawing from Carissa. I had imagined a beautiful blue duck with a black head one night before drifting off to sleep, and so this was special.
Carissa has homeschooled Elizabeth this semester, and I think they've both enjoyed it for the most part. Carissa has taken one night class this semester and has worked part-time.
We were not able to afford much this year for the kids' fall gifts, and I was too exhausted and busy to fix a big feast and special dessert, but I got the oldest three nail kits that I think they
really appreciated, and I got Elizabeth a new flashlight that she's really been wanting. We played games and enjoyed a nice day together.
I taught Carissa how to make an option map so that Elizabeth would focus and be motivated to work during her school day. Elizabeth struggles with confidence and motivation often, and she gets very upset. She really wants a snake, though, so I took $100 of hers and went to the bank to get 1s so that she can put a dollar into a big jar each day she happily works.
My sweet aunt sent me this beautiful metal tumbler to replace the glass canteen I broke. I think she was worried I'd have another accident!
I did strive to make time to go outside and enjoy time with my loves.
I even drove to Roaring River to visit my sister and family when they camped.
Carissa bought little pumpkins and some sidewalk chalk so we could enjoy some fun.
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Olivia's
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| Jaden's |
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Mine
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| Trusten's |
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| Carissa's |
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| Elizabeth's |
We went hiking. It might not have been as much as I'd like lately, but it was so great when we did get out and about.
I had my students think of nouns, and I wrote the word for them and gave them an index card to draw on and label. Then I had them cut them out and come glue them onto a poster board, one by one, to create a Noun Town. Another day I had them give me action verbs of what people could do in Noun Town and had them illustrate their verbs.
During our above-mentioned family hiking session, I collected various natural materials and took them to school and gave something to each student and let them try to describe the objects in two words. Some of them needed assistance, and I added a few new words to their vocabulary. My favorite thing was when one boy described soft fibers carrying seeds as "cozy." Yes, I wrote down
cozy. :-)
What follows is fun hanging out, the girls engaging in painting on canvases, and Badminton fun (I played, too!).
I applied and was approved for early graduation. I made a video clip and took part in a virtual graduation ceremony.
I'm not sure what type of mushrooms are pictured below. I don't recognize them and haven't tried to identify them. I just saw them and couldn't resist taking a picture with my phone when we all started out on a walk.
When I finished my student teaching, my host teacher and the students presented me with a sweet book. The students each drew a picture and wrote something a teacher should always do and something a teacher should never do. So precious! I'll treasure it forever.
I recently just painted this beetle. I need to add more background because I've decided I want to cut it to fit a 4x6 frame and include it in my classroom art. I wish my stripes were better, but I needed a tiny brush to pull off excellent stripes. I ended up using a toothpick, so I could not make a complete stripe without going back for more paint. That's why they look the way they do. It was fun, anyway. Carissa finished her beetle later, and I haven't photographed it, yet. I hope to include it in the next post.
We did end up going to visit family on Thanksgiving. We left early on Thanksgiving morning to get there and were not able to stay long. We social distanced and took precautions with some family members. We ate outside and wore masks inside when everyone was there.
Woo-hoo! Another game of Kick the Bucket. This particular turn, everyone followed me!
Until next time...
