Something has been stirring in my heart for the past couple of days and I'm not quite sure what that is but I decided I would try to write some of it out and begin to sort through my feelings.
I've spent a of of these past 4 months wallowing in the challenges of moving to a new place, living alone and being a first year teacher. A few days ago I woke up thinking, here I am, single teaching in a high poverty school. What COULD I be doing that I'm not. What opportunities do I have as a young single woman that I might not have later in life as a teacher. Can I invest more time in my kids? Can I spend more time lesson planning? Can I pray for them more? Can I pray for my patience more? Can I volunteer with an extracurricular activity? Can I search for volunteers to get help into a school that desperately needs it? Can I spend time with kids after school to foster relationships?
So those are a few thoughts that had been spiraling in my head for the past few days. Then today my eyes were opened to the fact that I have so much power and influence over the lives of my kids. This moment happened after school when I only had a few kids left in my room. We had just finished playing treasure (where the kids search for the magic piece of treasure (trash) from the floor and whoever gets the magic piece gets candy. Basically a quick way to get the floor cleaned) But anyway, I was sitting up on my back table and my kids were all sitting criss cross on the floor in front of me. I was about to award the winner of the game and I also gave an honorable mention to every child that participated for something great they had done during that time. The kids were looking at me with these wide open eyes that were just anticipating what positive thing I was going to say about them. There was nothing magical or important about this moment, I just got this overwhelming feeling that my words and actions had huge power over my kids.
So I began thinking about how my attitude and demeanor towards my kids has power and how I need to be more aware of that. If I snap at a child because someone snapped at me and the effects are now rippling, what is that doing to the kid? If I tell a child to stop talking when all they want is to have their voice heard, then what message am I sending them about the value of their opinions and ideas.
I'm in a hard position with some hard kids, but I am in the position to influence them in a positive way. So I simply have to make the decision, HOW am I going to use my words and actions to influence my kids.
Hmm...
Well I guess I'm going to get back to grading papers and snow dancing. This tired first year teacher would LOVE a 2 hour delay. Come on wake county... please?!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wacky Tacky Day
Wacky Tacky day was THURSDAY at school this week. I know these kids don't really look too wacky tacky but normally these little "angelic" children wear uniforms that keep them all looking very much the same. However, this week as a substitute for not being allowed to dress up for Halloween, the kids were allowed to pay a dollar to dress up "Wacky Tacky."
I made the mishap of telling my kids that Wacky Tacky day was on Wednesday instead of Thursday. I had about 9 kids show up dressed out of uniform on Wednesday. It was quite the disaster. Kids were crying (I think because they were embarrassed). I was fighting tears (because I was embarrassed) and the whole thing was just quite a mess. Thankfully the kids didn't realize I was fighting tears because there was this one day where my eyes were really messing with me and watering a lot. So now every time I am fighting tears, they just ask me if my eyes are bothering me again and I always say "yes." No more questions are asked...thank you God for allowing them to believe me.
The real wacky tacky day (Thursday) came along and the kids were wild. It was cool to see their personalities shine though, but no uniforms paired with cupcakes from a Mom made for a high energy day. Lucky me I was trying to keep them calm enough to take spelling, reading AND math tests. Oh yea... it was also a half day which added to the insanity. Needless to say I think we will all be retaking the math test Monday when we are a little more focused.
I didn't have them today (Teacher Workday) which was a nice change, and I'm hoping for a rejuvenating weekend so that I can go back on Monday to do it all over again. I'm unsure of a lot of things in and around the job world right now but one thing I know for sure.. I can almost guarantee I will never say Wacky Tacky day is on the wrong day of the week ever again.
See Pictures Below!
Wacky Tacky Pictures
The picture above is them doing their "good children" imitation!
This looks a little more like the rowdy 6 and 7 year olds I spend my days with!Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Technology
Today I was spent.. simply spent. Kids didn't listen all day. I had 5 kids out today, so I thought things would be calmer but I was wrong.
So by the end of the day the kids are done, I'm done. We are just done. HOWEVER, we still had thirty minutes left and it was time for Social Studies. We began our social studies unit on technology.
So we are talking about technology and how technology is when science helps to make something easier or solve a problem. We talk cars, cameras, etc for a while and then I suggest a piece of technology I hope they create in the future. I told the kids that a problem I had was that my 2nd graders didn't know how to keep their mouths quiet while I was teaching, and that hopefully one day someone would create some type of technology that would fix that.
One of my sassiest girls calls out and says, "Ms. Funk we already have that.. it's called a clothespin. Open the clothespin and pin the mouth shut."
At the end of an exhausting day this just made me laugh. Thank goodness for laughter.
So by the end of the day the kids are done, I'm done. We are just done. HOWEVER, we still had thirty minutes left and it was time for Social Studies. We began our social studies unit on technology.
So we are talking about technology and how technology is when science helps to make something easier or solve a problem. We talk cars, cameras, etc for a while and then I suggest a piece of technology I hope they create in the future. I told the kids that a problem I had was that my 2nd graders didn't know how to keep their mouths quiet while I was teaching, and that hopefully one day someone would create some type of technology that would fix that.
One of my sassiest girls calls out and says, "Ms. Funk we already have that.. it's called a clothespin. Open the clothespin and pin the mouth shut."
At the end of an exhausting day this just made me laugh. Thank goodness for laughter.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Teaching Update!
I knew teaching would be hard, but I'm not sure I was ready for just HOW hard it truly is. My days normally start around 5:45 am (later once I have hit snooze a couple of times) and I get home from work around 5 in the evenings. The time in between, well, that is where the craziness ensues.
I love being at the school really early in the morning before any of the students or the majority of the staff have arrived. I love the quiet, and the ability to use the copier without waiting in a line :)
Kids start entering the building at 7:45 where they sit down in the gym and wait until 8 o'clock where we have our morning assembly. There we say the pledge of allegiance, and struggle through the student pledge together. One day I WILL get it right. "We are PreEminent Students..."
I then escort my 2nd graders back to our room where we settle down and write in our journals until they rather quickly leave for their specials class. They are then gone for about 40 minutes and I spend that time either in meetings or getting things together in the classroom. Anything that needs to happen without kids better happen then because once they come back at 9:10 they are mine all mine until the end of dismissal at 4:00.
The rest of the day is a mix of whole group teaching, and workshop time (Centers). The kids eat lunch in the classroom, so we go pick up our food and then come right back and eat SILENTLY. The silence is because the 15 minute lunch period will never happen if they are allowed to talk. It already takes longer and they are silent. Everyday during lunch we listen to Canon in D which is basically for my sanity. Recess is after lunch for another 15 minutes, and then we are back in for the long haul of the rest of the afternoon.
I have 25 second graders in total and 18 of them are boys. The girls are pretty good as a whole, but the boys are crazy! I have about 6 constant trouble makers and the rest of them are just chatty little 7 year olds. Now would be an appropriate time to note that I have no assistant, so that is problematic sometimes. How I would love to have an extra set of hands in the room on occasion!
I have had my fair share of issues, "accidents" and vomiting etc, but nothing too too major. One of the funniest lines I've heard all year was when I was reading a story to my kids on the first day. It was called Don't Eat Your Teacher. So at the end I asked if they were going to eat me now that they had read the story to which one little boy replied, "nah we'll save YOU for dismissal" I clever response from a 7 year old...
Some sweet moments that truly keep me going are moments such as every morning when one little boy walks in and shakes my hand while looking at me with his sparkling eyes and bright smile. Or at the end of every day when one little girl gets called for dismissal, and runs up and gives me a huge hug and tells me she loves me before she leaves.
Let me end this post by saying today has been one of the better days I have had thus far, and there have been many days when I have not come home with quite such a positive attitude about this new journey I am on. However, I felt like I needed to record some positive things while these feelings were with me so that the next time I come home feeling like I just fought an 8 hour war I can remind myself that I DO enjoy teaching!
I love being at the school really early in the morning before any of the students or the majority of the staff have arrived. I love the quiet, and the ability to use the copier without waiting in a line :)
Kids start entering the building at 7:45 where they sit down in the gym and wait until 8 o'clock where we have our morning assembly. There we say the pledge of allegiance, and struggle through the student pledge together. One day I WILL get it right. "We are PreEminent Students..."
I then escort my 2nd graders back to our room where we settle down and write in our journals until they rather quickly leave for their specials class. They are then gone for about 40 minutes and I spend that time either in meetings or getting things together in the classroom. Anything that needs to happen without kids better happen then because once they come back at 9:10 they are mine all mine until the end of dismissal at 4:00.
The rest of the day is a mix of whole group teaching, and workshop time (Centers). The kids eat lunch in the classroom, so we go pick up our food and then come right back and eat SILENTLY. The silence is because the 15 minute lunch period will never happen if they are allowed to talk. It already takes longer and they are silent. Everyday during lunch we listen to Canon in D which is basically for my sanity. Recess is after lunch for another 15 minutes, and then we are back in for the long haul of the rest of the afternoon.
I have 25 second graders in total and 18 of them are boys. The girls are pretty good as a whole, but the boys are crazy! I have about 6 constant trouble makers and the rest of them are just chatty little 7 year olds. Now would be an appropriate time to note that I have no assistant, so that is problematic sometimes. How I would love to have an extra set of hands in the room on occasion!
I have had my fair share of issues, "accidents" and vomiting etc, but nothing too too major. One of the funniest lines I've heard all year was when I was reading a story to my kids on the first day. It was called Don't Eat Your Teacher. So at the end I asked if they were going to eat me now that they had read the story to which one little boy replied, "nah we'll save YOU for dismissal" I clever response from a 7 year old...
Some sweet moments that truly keep me going are moments such as every morning when one little boy walks in and shakes my hand while looking at me with his sparkling eyes and bright smile. Or at the end of every day when one little girl gets called for dismissal, and runs up and gives me a huge hug and tells me she loves me before she leaves.
Let me end this post by saying today has been one of the better days I have had thus far, and there have been many days when I have not come home with quite such a positive attitude about this new journey I am on. However, I felt like I needed to record some positive things while these feelings were with me so that the next time I come home feeling like I just fought an 8 hour war I can remind myself that I DO enjoy teaching!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Open House Night!
This is a video of my classroom! Sorry that it is a little blurry, but you get the idea :)
Tonight was the open house at school! I met 15 of my 25 students and had a wonderful evening. I loved meeting the parents and getting to know just a little bit about some of the kids.
Wednesday is our first day of school and I couldn't be more excited :)
Tonight was the open house at school! I met 15 of my 25 students and had a wonderful evening. I loved meeting the parents and getting to know just a little bit about some of the kids.
Wednesday is our first day of school and I couldn't be more excited :)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Bring it on August...
18 Days and Counting! (The First Day of School)
August is going to be a big month for me! Today I flew to Grand Rapids Michigan where I am currently sitting in a hotel room before beginning my new teacher orientation training. I will be spending the next 5 days with National Heritage Academies training for the year ahead. I believe I will gain a wealth of knowledge and will hopefully leave feeling even more prepared to begin this journey.
Upon arriving home on Friday I will then move to my new apartment on Saturday! I will spend two days moving in (and turn 22) before starting work on Monday!
Monday the 9th begins a full week of professional development and then school begins the NEXT week. Yes actual school. With actual students. August 18th is the day to be exact. So again I say... August is going to be a BIG month.
Back to NTO however...
I spent the evening roaming around with two new friends (Patrice and Shaundria (not sure about the spelling!) who will be teaching kindergarten and 1st grade at my school. I had a lot of fun with them and am looking forward to meeting even more people over the rest of this week. My roommate Kristen is also teaching at my school next year but she has yet to arrive so we have not met yet. I'm not sure where she is but I hope she gets here soon!
Our schedule for the week is jam packed with sessions on all the different subjects, classroom management, etc. Right now I feel like an open book just waiting for people to dump knowledge into and I hope this will do just that.
Now I'm rambling which means it is time to go to bed (especially considering I have to be up by 6:15 in the morning! YIKES.. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! :)
August is going to be a big month for me! Today I flew to Grand Rapids Michigan where I am currently sitting in a hotel room before beginning my new teacher orientation training. I will be spending the next 5 days with National Heritage Academies training for the year ahead. I believe I will gain a wealth of knowledge and will hopefully leave feeling even more prepared to begin this journey.
Upon arriving home on Friday I will then move to my new apartment on Saturday! I will spend two days moving in (and turn 22) before starting work on Monday!
Monday the 9th begins a full week of professional development and then school begins the NEXT week. Yes actual school. With actual students. August 18th is the day to be exact. So again I say... August is going to be a BIG month.
Back to NTO however...
I spent the evening roaming around with two new friends (Patrice and Shaundria (not sure about the spelling!) who will be teaching kindergarten and 1st grade at my school. I had a lot of fun with them and am looking forward to meeting even more people over the rest of this week. My roommate Kristen is also teaching at my school next year but she has yet to arrive so we have not met yet. I'm not sure where she is but I hope she gets here soon!
Our schedule for the week is jam packed with sessions on all the different subjects, classroom management, etc. Right now I feel like an open book just waiting for people to dump knowledge into and I hope this will do just that.
Now I'm rambling which means it is time to go to bed (especially considering I have to be up by 6:15 in the morning! YIKES.. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! :)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
2nd Grade Meeting # 1
Yesterday I met the other two teachers on the 2nd grade team for the first time! We spent 4 hours together, just chatting and beginning to get to know each other as well as talking logistics of the year ahead. We ate at the shopping center right beside my new apartment complex, which was so weird as that is soon to be my home! Anyway, I am very thankful that Mrs. Getzoff and Ms. Heheman (Terry and Jessica) were willing to meet with me and let me ask millions of questions. They were incredibly helpful and being able to meet them before the actual teacher workdays really meant a lot to me.
I left our meeting feeling more comfortable and informed about the way things would work, but also more overwhelmed as I realized all the things I needed to learn/create/do/plan/etc. Needless to say I left straight from our meeting and headed to Starbucks where I met Iris and had a grande caramel frappucino! My head was pounding which at the time I was alluding to information overload and am now possibly alluding to sinuses. But regardless, my head was spinning and I just needed to sit and process! Dinner with Iris and Brandy ended a day of new beginnings and new friendships with old friends and good times.
After driving about 30 mph down 40 with my emergency flashers on for about 2 hours, I climbed into bed with some teacher books and started reading. Really began to get a better feel for the reading program the school uses, and after all the conversations earlier in the day, things really began to come together.
As I drove to TN today, well as I was riding to TN rather, I planned out my bulletin boards and how I want them to look for the beginning of the school year. My Mom also called her school to ask if I could use their laminating machine if I bought my own laminating paper. They said sure, so hopefully I can get a lot of stuff laminated before getting to the classroom, which will speed up the set up process!
So as I said I'm now in TN spending some time with my Mom and Grandmother. Tomorrow we are going shopping and I'm really excited. Some things on my list include:
-Closed toe comfortable teaching shoes
-Dishes for my apartment
-Cricut (Yes7 months later I still want one.. so I'm gonna go for it)
-Towels
-Teacher Clothes
We will see what else I come up with by the end of the day. After this week I only have two weeks till I leave for Michigan and then things are in full force so it is time to get my act together.
All in all though I'm feeling good about life :)
I left our meeting feeling more comfortable and informed about the way things would work, but also more overwhelmed as I realized all the things I needed to learn/create/do/plan/etc. Needless to say I left straight from our meeting and headed to Starbucks where I met Iris and had a grande caramel frappucino! My head was pounding which at the time I was alluding to information overload and am now possibly alluding to sinuses. But regardless, my head was spinning and I just needed to sit and process! Dinner with Iris and Brandy ended a day of new beginnings and new friendships with old friends and good times.
After driving about 30 mph down 40 with my emergency flashers on for about 2 hours, I climbed into bed with some teacher books and started reading. Really began to get a better feel for the reading program the school uses, and after all the conversations earlier in the day, things really began to come together.
As I drove to TN today, well as I was riding to TN rather, I planned out my bulletin boards and how I want them to look for the beginning of the school year. My Mom also called her school to ask if I could use their laminating machine if I bought my own laminating paper. They said sure, so hopefully I can get a lot of stuff laminated before getting to the classroom, which will speed up the set up process!
So as I said I'm now in TN spending some time with my Mom and Grandmother. Tomorrow we are going shopping and I'm really excited. Some things on my list include:
-Closed toe comfortable teaching shoes
-Dishes for my apartment
-Cricut (Yes7 months later I still want one.. so I'm gonna go for it)
-Towels
-Teacher Clothes
We will see what else I come up with by the end of the day. After this week I only have two weeks till I leave for Michigan and then things are in full force so it is time to get my act together.
All in all though I'm feeling good about life :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
My Classroom!
The video below is a quick tour through my new classroom! Give me a couple of weeks and hopefully it will be transformed into a fun place for students to spend 7 hours a day!
When One Door Closes Another Door Opens...
For a couple of weeks now I have been saying, "When I'm done coaching at the elks then I will be teaching 2nd grade in Raleigh." Well.... as of last night around 11 o'clock I am done coaching!
Yesterday completed the city championship meet and thus swimming is over for the summer. The implication of this is that now I really must begin to think about my new adventure ahead of me! I am going to be a teacher! I can hardly believe that the day where I am going to step foot inside my own classroom, with my own group of kids is about to be here! I've dreamed of being a teacher since I was a young girl. I played school with dolls, and bears, and my brother, and anything I could get to pretend to listen to me!
Now, in not too many days I am going to have a handful of 7 year old kids enter MY classroom. The thought is mind boggling to me. Don't get me wrong I am SO excited, and I truly feel as if Elon prepared me for this job. Yet it still doesn't take away the wow factor that comes along with the fact that in 3 weeks I am beginning a "grown up" job and moving to a new city!
I've been so blessed because the families on my swim team have really pulled through and given me TONS of things for my new classroom. I truly have books galore, along with games and teacher supplies given to me from ladies who used to be teachers!
Now in the next three weeks I am going to visit my grandmother, visit my roommate from college in OH, and get my life organized and ready to head to Raleigh. This blog is really just for me to record my journey through my first year of teaching. The funny stories, the stressful moments, the new friendships, and the maintenance of old ones. I want to be able to look back and remember all the things that happen over the next year!
Yesterday completed the city championship meet and thus swimming is over for the summer. The implication of this is that now I really must begin to think about my new adventure ahead of me! I am going to be a teacher! I can hardly believe that the day where I am going to step foot inside my own classroom, with my own group of kids is about to be here! I've dreamed of being a teacher since I was a young girl. I played school with dolls, and bears, and my brother, and anything I could get to pretend to listen to me!
Now, in not too many days I am going to have a handful of 7 year old kids enter MY classroom. The thought is mind boggling to me. Don't get me wrong I am SO excited, and I truly feel as if Elon prepared me for this job. Yet it still doesn't take away the wow factor that comes along with the fact that in 3 weeks I am beginning a "grown up" job and moving to a new city!
I've been so blessed because the families on my swim team have really pulled through and given me TONS of things for my new classroom. I truly have books galore, along with games and teacher supplies given to me from ladies who used to be teachers!
Now in the next three weeks I am going to visit my grandmother, visit my roommate from college in OH, and get my life organized and ready to head to Raleigh. This blog is really just for me to record my journey through my first year of teaching. The funny stories, the stressful moments, the new friendships, and the maintenance of old ones. I want to be able to look back and remember all the things that happen over the next year!
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