Another Reteaching Lesson... Learned?

Alright, so I retaught a lesson. They retook a test. Fail. I've never heard of teachers having to reteach twice. My professors had said something about having to reteach and reteach and reteach (using different approaches every time), but I had never pictured having to do it twice, let alone more than that. I just thought that if the students didn't get it the first time, the second would do the trick. Hahaha... good one. So I am onto my second reteach and this time, the format of the test will be changed. One of the other teachers on the 3rd grade team had said that the way the test was set up did not benefit the students in any way, so she made another one. Thank goodness because I am now desperate for the students to understand!

About this 3rd grade team, they are awesome! Every time we meet to plan... (ahem) every day, it's always fun. They get work done (they really do!), but they are great to get help from as well as talk to. There is another student teacher (who graduated with me) in the same grade and we both agree they are awesome! 

My mentor teacher, Mrs. R, took these pictures of me reteaching (the first time). We broke the kids up into small groups so when I teach a lesson, they get more attention from me and stay focused a lot easier. 

Tomorrow's test should be better :)

In other news, tonight was my last night of coaching soccer. I had been driving down south (2 hrs there and back) once a week to coach 4-6 and 7-10 year olds the beautiful game of soccer. I had to resign because even though it was a blast coaching and teaching them, it was also a big time commitment for me. Therefore, I sent in my two weeks notice a couple of weeks ago. It feels great to have done that, but I'm also thankful for calling it quits. Now I have more time to study for my content teacher certification test as well as plan for the upcoming lessons. Soon, I'll be taking over all of the lessons so I need the time as well as the energy. The Texas State Fair is also in town!! I've never been; this should be fun! :D 

Story of the Day

Yes, yes, an absolutely beautiful card made especially for me from one of my third graders :)

And what, you may ask, does it say on the inside?

"Roses are blue

and Violets are red

I need to go to the bathroom..."

...charming boy. Just charming ;)

An Explanation for not knowing the word, "Explanation."

This past week, I learned that saying a word and writing it on the board are too different things for kids. We took a test (a math test) and I specifically told the students that they will be doing their work in the "Explanation box." They nodded their heads as if they were saying, "Yes, the explanation box; we understand!" Little did I know that even though they understood what I said, they did not know where the
"Explanation box" was, or where to locate said box. Yes, it was labeled explanation box, but I had never written it up on the board for them to identify the word and the sound. So, I had at least 7 questions, each kid pointing to the word "explanation" and asking what it said. Well, I can honestly say that I have learned MY lesson and will now put the words on the board, point to the words written on the board, and say the word that is written on the board.

In other news, I am now addicted to PInterest, which is a website designed for anyone who has many interests and who wants to pin interesting things (get it? PIN-TEREST?...ha clever) they find on the web up on a pin-board...or 8. You can have as many pin-boards as you want and you can categorize them in whatever way you'd like. For example, one of my pin-boards is labeled "Classroom Ideas" and there are many crafts, anchor charts, and other fun things for any type of classroom posted on there. There are also other fun, new, and interesting pictures on there that will surprise you every time you go on there. It's great!

In personal news, I have been studying for my Content exam for teacher certification. My weekends and weekday nights have been busy with the study book and I will hopefully be ready to test next week! Nervous?! OH YES! 

I am also excited, like I have already said, for THANKSGIVING!! I have to keep myself from counting down the days till I get to go home to Colorado. Although the cold is not appealing to me, my family definitely makes up for it.  

Paul and me in Colorado 4th of July Weekend

Lessons Learned

In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.  ~Jacques Barzun           

    Well, as last week came to a close, I could not be happier. It was a challenging week. My new students didn’t start getting the hang of the schedule and the rules of the classroom till Thursday. Both Thursday and Friday went well. They got to go outside for recess! Yes, they had been losing their recess privileges all week because of all the misbehaving. Taking away recess is a good incentive for them, but I’m not quite sure if it works in the long run. Children need to go outside and get all their energy out and run around for a bit. Then, I think it may be easier for them to sit still when they have gotten a chance to get everything out. It may be just me, but I feel that maybe taking away something else may work. For example, if that student were the line leader, they lose that privilege. Or if that student didn’t have any special jobs, you could sit them by themselves for a while (move their desk). 

For now, however, it seems like the recess thing works. 

              Anyways, my supervising instructor came last Tuesday to observe me and I was nervous out of my mind. I expected some butterflies but what I experienced was pure panic. The lesson started off very well. I engaged the students in the lesson. Then it started going downhill. I wasn’t able to find my sheet of paper that had my notes about the lesson. I had the lesson itself, but when I have to stop and look to see where I am and read the whole paper, it takes too much time. Some students did not understand the lesson at all, while other students thought it was easy and got bored doing more problems together. So, it’s safe to say, that lesson was a bust.

      Thursday and Friday’s lesson were great! They were excited about rounding and saying it was easy and fun and wanting more problems to do. Then came the test. Oh man.  They were so confident in themselves that they forgot to read the directions. Well as you can all imagine, the directions are probably the most important part of a test. They let you know when to round to the nearest ten and when to round to the nearest HUNDRED! However, lesson learned on my end; next time I will make sure they read the instructions… twice.

        This week will be different. I will teach both Math and Science (the afternoon lessons). We are also going on a field trip this week so I will not have to teach. I will, however, have to catch up on some Social Studies because it seems as though we haven’t been pressed to teach this so we only did a few lessons about the Constitution. Each week I take over a new subject. We shall see what the future brings! 

And yes, I am still excited :D

In other news, I have my ticket HOME (to Colorado) for Thanksgiving!! Oh how wonderful it will be back home where the trees change beautiful colors and I have to wear scarves and boots because the mountains will be white with snow.

This is the mountain in the summertime. 

My family I shall see at home! Katy, Tim, Mom, and Dad.

Thankful Stories

#1 Yesterday I gave a test. Now this test had been reviewed at least twice, and I used the same format each practice. The format itself, however, was a bit confusing. It had a word problem at the top, then many spaces to write the two numbers given in different forms (standard, expanded, written, pictorial). They even had to put the numbers on place value charts and number lines. Well, after all of this, the solution to the word problem had to be given. This is what the problem looked like:


Karen has 2,759 stickers in her collection and Sean has 2,726 stickers in his collection. Who has more stickers?


The solution given by one of my bright students: “Ask your mom to buy some more stickers.” 


...because that is clearly the solution for Sean not having enough stickers. This definitely made me laugh when I took the tests home to grade. :) I'm just sad I had to count it wrong. BUT I am so happy I get to witness their brains at work and see the outcomes of the work they do.

#2 After the school day ended, it was time to go to my seminar class. The class went well and we met with our supervising professors afterwards (the ones that come and observe us when we teach lessons). Then the 3 hour study session for one of the certification tests came....and stayed.  I stared at the computer and took notes. My professor had us stretch and get up for a break or two if we needed it, but I was determined to get in as much studying as I could. We had to get through as many of what are called "Domains" as we could. There are a total of 4 that have as many at 171 pages. Well, this went on for a while and when the clock finally hit 9:00 we were out. Yes, I was relieved. BUT I still had to go grocery shopping for the week. So I went back to my apartment to drop my things off before leaving for the store. To my surprise, my groceries were on the counter and in the fridge. My boyfriend, Paul, had gone to the store after he got off of work and had done my shopping for me so I wouldn't have to go back out and stay up later than I had to to prepare for class. I was so relieved. It was so sweet of him to do that, but it was also amazing how he knew what I needed. This all happened while I was in class so I didn't get to see him, but I am so thankful to have such a loving, caring, amazing guy in my life.

The amazing guy and Me on a vacation in Colorado. I'm so happy to have his support in all of this. :)

Hectic Week

Labor Day weekend was great. Aside from getting sick the Friday before and having a head cold the whole weekend, I really enjoyed myself the few days I had off. My friend, Paul, and I went to visit his family in Missouri and we went on many adventures. The first two took place in Texas. We left at 4:15pm on Friday because I had school till that time. Then on the way, we got lost... TWICE (still in Texas, might I add). We arrived at our destination at 3am Saturday morning and were busy the rest of the weekend with a soccer game, the Anheuser- Busch Brewery tour, dinners out, and many fun family activities! Which meant: planning for the next week was minimal.


So this past week has been a wee bit crazy. I started teaching the actual Math lessons (Yay), and I was also introduced to a whole new experience when it comes to teachers and schools. One of the teachers in my grade was moved to a different grade... AND school!! The teacher's class was split  into two classes and we received several new students... on Friday. Talk about a crazy two days. We found this out Thursday after school before Meet the Teacher night, and we welcomed our new students Friday morning. Since they were a bit behind on the lessons, I was reteaching as well as trying to get a test done. We did not get to do the lesson in science and have also decided to wait and have them take the math test on Monday, as well as learn a new lesson. This will be hard to accomplish because I will have to review the lesson one last time before giving them the test, taking up more time and not getting to Science, once again. However, I am glad to be getting the experience so I can be ready for all the trials that come my way when I am on my own and teaching.


Yes, this next week will be challenging, but I am still only teaching the math lessons so it shouldn't be too, too difficult. I am still loving it and am excited to take my certification tests these next few weeks.I have been studying, but I have also been planning, coaching soccer, and trying to get as much sleep as I can in before the next school day. Hello, Real World, I had no idea you were this hectic! :)

The Author

I know I jumped into this without really introducing myself...SO I won't bore you with paragraphs of details of my life story. If you'd like to know, here are answers to some questions! :D


NICKNAMES: Mares, MG
BIRTHDAY: June 19
ZODIAC: Gemini
HEIGHT: 5'9"
EYE COLOUR: Blue
HAIR COLOR: (Natural) Brown, but I tend to switch it up...a lot.
HANDED: Right 
FROM: New York and Colorado
PETS: none (I want a black labrador)
FAMILY: I am the youngest of six and I am single (as of now)
PERSONALITY: Shy but very energetic when you get to know me. 
HOBBIES: I like to read, draw, write, listen to music, watch movies, play soccer and basketball and even golf, look up fun creative projects to do online, !teach!
LIKES: chocolate ice cream, energy, cleanliness (my room/apartment), sports
DISLIKES: Stress, 
FAVORITE ACCENTS: australian, irish 
FAVE ACTORS: Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, 
FAVORITE ACTRESSES: Sandra Bullock, 
FAVORITE ANIMALS: puppies, horses
FAVORITE MUSIC: indie, bluegrass, country, hip-hop, rock, alternative, pop, oldies (basically everything)
FAVORITE BOOKS: Dan Brown books, Harry Potter, C.S. Lewis books (still need to read the Screwtape Letters)
FAVORITE CANDY: sour patch kids, hershey's kisses, tootsie pops/rolls
FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER: ummm... madagascar penguins? I don't watch the cartoons, but my nieces and nephews do ;)
FAVORITE COLORS: Blue and Pink
FAVORITE COUNTRY: U.S.A.!
FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK: Friday
FAVORITE DRINK: I really enjoy Pepsi
FAVORITE FLOWER: Lilies, Lilacs, Jasmine
FAVORITE FOODS: Steak and potatoes (when I'm with the family)
FAVORITE GIRLS NAMES: Cecelia, Margaret, Agnes
FAVORITE HOLIDAYS: Christmas
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: CHOCOLATE!
FAVORITE MONTH: September
FAVORITE MOVIES: My Sassy Girl, You've Got Mail, Serendipity, Green Street Hooligans, 
FAVORITE NUMBER: 4
FAVORITE PERSON: Mom and Dad (can't choose; they are one!)
FAVORITE POS SESSIONS: laptop, bed, phone
FAVORITE QUOTES: "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." ~ C.S. Lewis
FAVORITE SHOES: tennis shoes!
FAVORITE SONGS: Dream ~ The Cranberries
FAVORITE SPORT: Basketball/Soccer
FAVORITE TV SHOWS: Cheers, Fraser, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Bachelor Pad, Seinfeld,

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME
1. Not liking my job
2. Regretting things I didn't do
3. Money

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND1. really expensive purses
2. new curriculums
3. other languages

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN
1. How to Box
2. Portugese
3. and Spanish

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK
1. Big Calendar
2. Lamp
3. Picture frame

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE
1. Become a mother
2. go to Europe at least once
3. become an amazing teacher, mentor, and role model

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY
1. energetic at times
2. sleepy
3. friendly

THREE BAD THINGS ABOUT MY PERSONALITY
1. selfish
2. sensitive
3. worry to much

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1. 1/2 Polish
2. 1/4 Irish
3. French and German

THREE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MY BODY
1. My eyes
2. My dimples
3. the size of my feet

THREE THINGS I DON'T LIKE ABOUT MY BODY
1. My hips
2. My ears
3. My birth mark on my leg

THREE THINGS MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU
 I like to dance

THREE THINGS I SAY THE MOST
1. golden
2. alright
3. yeah

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO
1. Ireland
2. Poland
3. Australia


This was fun to fill out... it really made me answer  things I haven't put much thought into.