Student Teaching - Week 1

I survived my first week of student teaching!!  And it went well!!  Granted, it was only 3 days…    I am still pretty anxious, but if I know exactly what I plan to do and talk about each day, then I feel better.  I know that sounds strange…I should ALWAYS know what I’m planning on doing each day, but in a classroom where the teacher already has set procedures, it takes some time to get used to how things are set up.  One of the most important things I need to remember is that I should think as if it is my classroom and I am the only teacher.  “What do I expect from my students?”  “What do I want my students to learn today?”

Day 1:  We had in-service, so I was able to meet all the other high school and middle school music teachers in the KCK district.  We talked a lot about writing and how we can help our students with their writing skills.  Before we went to lunch at a Chinese Buffet, I ran into two of my friends from UMKC who are teaching in the KCK district now!  They are both elementary teachers, so they were in a separate room than we were for in-service, but I ran into them in the hallway as I was leaving.  It was such a wonderful surprise!  We spent the rest of the day at Sumner Academy planning for the first couple of days of classes.

Day 2:  We were team-teaching most of the day, which I thought worked out very well.  It felt a little rocky for me at first, but I felt successful and I was excited to hear the students vocalize for the first time.    We are going to have GREAT singers in the choirs this semester.

Day 3:  The third day went even better!  I started to become more comfortable and since the first two days were block days, we taught the same lessons.  It was a great wrap-up to the first week.

I had a pretty busy week.  I also purchased a new phone this week!  It was incredibly exciting!  I got the Samsung Galaxy Glide.

I absolutely LOVE it!  I cannot stop playing with it.

‘Tis the time to make New Year’s resolutions…well, you could say I make resolutions, but they are more like “new beginnings.”  I love fresh starts, so I have many wonderful plans and goals for the year.  A couple years ago I did a wonderful job at changing my eating habits and exercise regiment.  Well, I fell out of that at some point in time and I would like to get back to it.  …I cannot say I’ve been doing well.  I think it’s going to take me a little more time to transition my eating and exercising habits than I expected, but I know I can do it.

I did have an interesting first time at a restaurant called Grinders, downtown.  They are known for their Philly sandwiches and were featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Well, since I am trying to eat better, I steered clear of the Philly, burgers, and fried food.  I decided to do the lunch special of half salad, half curried chicken sandwich…or at least I thought I read sandwich.  It actually said curried chicken “salad.”  So how does that change it completely for me?  It’s made with mayonnaise…and I dislike mayonnaise VERY much.  However, the spinach salad was amazing!

(Did I mention that I sat on the patio in January to eat this lunch?!  It was beautiful out!)

I was a “good girl,” though, and at least tried the sandwich.  It was as bad as I had expected, but I still didn’t care for it.  Next time…I should try a Philly.

As for my workout regiment?  I’ve  got a good start with 3 days at the gym this week and I’ve started using my old spreadsheet that I made a couple years ago.  I’ve also started using my Blender bottle that I got myself for Christmas.    My favorite protein shake I have made so far is 1 cup of almond (or soy) milk, 1 tablespoon of vegetable protein powder, and a couple squeezes of raw agave nectar.

I couldn’t get a picture of it quickly enough before I drank it all.    Opps!

This week is off to a slow, but great start and I’m excited to see how things continue. 

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