Starting with stickers (265 out of 365) #blogaday

Today was a bit rough with the some of the students and listening – one child in particular is somewhat of the “leader” for setting off the other children. I will be starting a sticker reward system tomorrow with two children who follow him the most. The children enjoy my co-teacher’s praise, so he will be the one giving out the stickers if the students listen to me without more than 3 reminders. I hope this is a successful management for the two children, and I will be asking the parents of the third boy for rewards that would motivate him (the “Super Friend” Hats and stickers do not seem to interest him at this point).

The need to support every child is very important to me – even though it is tough, teachers should strive to have all the children learning and being successful in the classroom. I really want the respect and the calmer environment for everyone. It is frustrating and disappointing to have these children not listening to my rules and demands. Allowing my coteacher to leave and not needing a second teacher come in to assist would be great for me! I will give an update of how this idea went tomorrow; it should be successful.

Young Ages Are Able (258 out of 365) #blogaday

Today was an interesting day because my Pre-K children were having a bit of a tough time listening, BUT the preschoolers joined us in the afternoon and they were acting much better than my students – this surprises me! The younger children should still be figuring out who to be respectful to. So far, when the preschoolers join our Pre-K class, they act better than in their own class. They might be a little overwhelmed with being in a different room with another teacher. The afternoon was much calmer than the morning which was nice 🙂

Forget about the fear with friends (55 out of 365) #blogaday #sol15

​SOL day 3​

Entering a group text message 

“Hey! It’s good to hear your voice! How have you been?”

“How is graduate school?”

“What’s work like?”

“I’ve been so busy!”

“Miss you!”

I recently decided to text my best friends from high school – we usually see each other every Winter holiday season due to the break from school. This year, it didn’t work out because they are all out of school and working in various careers that only gave a couple days off for Christmas. Missing December 24-26 was out of the question because it is such a family affair WHICH I LOVE. I have been talking to my friends briefly here and there, but it is nice to catch up with them (even if it isn’t an hour long lunch of us all sharing stories!) There is something about chatting that brings us back to high school days and gushing over the newest drama. Even though it has only been five years since then, it feels like a long time has passed. We are getting jobs or already have jobs, working all day with school or clients, and dressing professionally more than not. Seeing them succeeding brilliantly at “real” adult life helps calm me down for the full-time teaching term to come, and starting job interviews. It reassures me that it can be done because the girls I matured with and who were my anchor in college sound very excited by their jobs and are living happy lives. My friends in graduate school and from college help with the every day worries and freakouts that arise as well 🙂 It is important to use your friends, not to vent, but to listen to their adventures. It definitely helps when I can imagine what’s going on with them and tell them the exciting parts of my life.