This was a title of one of the very first papers Dorene and I had the students write. So I only felt it appropriate to title my first blog entry the same way. Third grade so far is amazing. I started out in the education minor wanting to end up in third grade. Last Spring I doubted that I was even in the right career! However, every day in the classroom that goes by is a confirmation that I am in the right spot.
Dorene and I are a great match. We work so well together, and have been learning from each other. In fact, not only is she my teaching mentor, but she has become my cooking mentor as well 
I have taught a lot of mini lessons, but I have been trying to teach more. Thursday was my first math lesson, and boy was I nervous! I got up there and instantly turned red because of nerves. Its strange how it gets about ten times hotter when you transfer from the back of the room to the front of the room. Math is certainly one of the subjects that I struggle with the most, and teaching it terrifies me. We have math at two o’clock. Keeping the attention of 24 eight year olds at that time in the afternoon is definitely no easy feat.
The lesson was on the value of money, and on counting money. It was a fun and engaging lesson, but it was rough. Most days it feels impossible for them to whisper, and it got very loud very fast. We keep a marble jar for classroom management and I took quite a few marbles out of the jar during this lesson. They had a lot of fun with the play money I passed out. I had them explore their play money, then I asked them to show me random amounts of money. It was great how enthused they were. Some took forever though, because they would end up using all pennies.
I definitely did not get as much done as I thought I would in this lesson, and my pacing still seems to be off. I felt like we took too much time with the counting out money, and not enough time on the worksheet. We had to hurry through that at the end, and didn’t get all the way through the side of the worksheet we were supposed to do in class.
I felt that it was a very long lesson. I felt flustered. I felt that it went terrible, and I was so very afraid to see how they did on their homework they had to take home. However, Dorene and Kay both thought it went well and didn’t have much critique for me. As far as the homework goes? A success!! All but 3 had brought their homework back complete! Two had just left it at home, typical for them (sad but true, I’m hoping to figure out a way to motivate them), and One little guy just didn’t have his all the way finished. Seeing this made me feel better about my lesson. Sometimes I think that teaching is actually a lot like birthing a child. The process can be painful and leave you breathless and sweaty and exhausted and red in the face (gross metaphor). But the after”math” is totally worth it. Pun intended, hahahaha.
Discipline in the classroom is pretty few and far between. All of the students are careful to show Dorene and I respect in the classroom. There are a couple that are challenging. One particular little girl loves to talk. She has the disposition of a mother hen. She is always trying to take care of others before she takes care of herself. Always the last one to finish her assignments, assessments, even breakfast. Giving her a refocus does not work. It wastes more time (her specialty), and puts her further behind. Dorene and I have been trying to figure out what we can do to motivate her more. I am careful to show her positive attention when I can though. She is apparently a difficult child at home, and I wonder if she is shown love?
I am already hanging up drawings and little notes from them on my refrigerator, and eating my gifts of apples at lunch. I love each and every one of my students already. Even the difficult ones. I’m already dreading mid January, when I switch not only classrooms, but schools. Sad day.
