exercise!

Over our three week block I was slacking on going to the gym as I live out of town and did not want to drive into the city. I started to feel tired and gross after the first week and I know exactly why! Since we have been back to university I have gotten back into my gym routine and I feel way better! This just shows how important it is that we have our students moving as they are not only going to feel better they are going to do better in school and enjoy life more.

I have learnt so many essential things in relation to physical education this semester from our three week block and especially epe 310! I am thankful for this new knowledge and am going to carry it with me throughout my teaching career!

Amazing Experience

I could not have asked for a better time out in the schools. I have learnt many classroom management strategies and found tons of cool teaching activities. I got to build strong relationships with two grade two classes and two amazing cooperating teachers. I still cannot believe we aren't going back on Monday but I know I will be back to visit and help out in the classroom.

I taught a total of four phys.ed lessons and learnt lots about classroom management and how to guide children in learning all about physical education. There are many challenges while teaching phys.ed and I hope to be able to teach some more phys.ed lessons throughout internship.

See everyone Monday!!

Where has time gone!?

I can't believe we only have a week left in the schools. I am having an amazing time and am dreading having to leave. Alannah and I have done some really fun and exciting things with our class! One thing I want to talk specifically about is recess. A bobcat had come to the school to move some snow around to try and prevent flooding. This created tons of awesome blocks for snow forts. So over the past few recesses that we have actually gone outside and not been stuck inside for indoor recess (cause of the cold) we have gone out and helped the kids build snow forts. Amazing experience and so much fun! The kids were excited that we were coming out to help. I even caught myself complaining when the bell rang to go back inside! So I guess my message is go outside and have fun with your kids!! You won't regret it!!

Taught my first phys.ed lesson!

Today me and Alannah taught our first phys.ed lesson twice! I was very happy with how it went and our teacher that was observing was too. We first taught our lesson to the grade two class that we are pre-interning in. We started with a warm up and then played a game that allowed them to practise their basketball skills. We added lot's of challenges and the kids really enjoyed it. At the end we did a cool down and talked as a class about what went good and what we could have done better.

We also taught the other grade two class right after! We considered the comments that the teacher had left us and the lesson ran much smoother. We again started with a warm up and then went over the rules and expectations in the gym (this class has more behavioural challenges). We then went into some skill developing and we had the students practise throwing a ball. Next is when we went into our game and it went much smoother as each student knew exactly what it was that they were supposed to be doing. We ended with a cool down and discussion.

I strongly advice having discussions at the end of your lessons with your students as they give some excellent feedback and I have already learnt a lot from them. I also advice that everyone try and teach a phys.ed lesson! They are great and a lot of fun! Just make sure you bring your teacher voice as I quickly found out my voice is very quiet.

Getting It!

So this week me and Alannah had to teach contractions to our grade two class... this was alot harder than I thought! We took turns teachings (one would teach one day and the other the next) and on Friday it was my job to give them a test. I was worried going into it that the students were not understanding and that they weren't going to get it! Our co-op teacher said she was going to use this test for their report cards and it would be something that they could hopefully show the parents in parent teacher interviews, yikes! So I decided to make the test a cut and paste matching test and they all got it !!! I was so proud and happy for them I had a permanent smile for the rest of day! How great of a feeling is it when you realise your students understand! :) YAY!

Ten minute run for grade two's?

I have been so busy with being in the classroom that I kind of forgot about blogging...opps! I am having an amazing time with the grade twos and am going to have a tough time coming back to the university. Children have such a special joy that they bring everyday and I have been way happier spending time with them this week.

My teaching partner and I went to phys.ed today. The grade two's participated in a ten minute run! I am curious what you all think! Do you think a 10 minute run is appropriate for grade two children? What is it teaching them? Are they grasping the concepts?

Hope everyone is enjoying their three week block!

Hmmmm?

An article caught my eye in the leader post it was called "No wonder teachers are driven away." After reading the article it made me question and think ... how many people have read this article (especially those who are unfamiliar with this field). The article was very true and showed some of the struggles of teaching. Dealing with parents is going to be one of the hard parts about teaching and it is something that you cannot always prepare for as every parent and every situation is going to be different. The part of this article that stood out the most to me was the Sandy Hook Elementary School teacher who had hidden her students in the bathroom and told them that she loved them. In an interview she stated that she didn't care if she would get in trouble after the fact as those children needed to hear those words in order to feel some kind of comfort and hope in the most devastating situation. She was worried what the public and the children's parents were going to think. This teacher is a true hero and I feel like she did the right thing!

What are your thoughts? Also why do you think so many teachers are driven away?