Bulletin Boards Galore!

Hey everyone!

I've got another week of student teaching under my belt, and now it's only two weeks until my 15 day take-over! Yikes! And I still have so many assignments that need to get done before I get too busy with planning for those 15 days!

This week at school, I completed my Fall Into Reading bulletin board, which I told you about a couple weeks ago. I had the students choose a book, write about why it is their favorite book, and then draw an illustration that also shows why it is their favorite book.

This week I also taught a couple science lessons. In first grade, the focus is mostly on learning how to read and write and the basics of math so that students can then be successful in future grades, plus on the MCAS, which is our state-wide assessment that students in Massachusetts are required to pass in order to graduate high school. Plus, it's very early on in the year, so we are still really just learning how to read and write. For these reasons, there isn't much time left for science and social studies. But this week, we were able to tie in some science. First, I taught a lesson on the seasons, and we talked about the changes in weather, plants, and animals from season to season. The students then completed Season Weather Charts that I created. The next day, we went on a nature walk! We discussed the types of things that we would be able to find in nature during the fall (leaves, pine cones, acorns, etc.). On the nature walk, students found three items to bring back to the classroom to then make observations about. Students recorded their observations about the color, size, shape, weight, and texture of their items.

To further tie these lessons together and to provide additional enrichment about the fall season, I also brought in Indian Corn, pumpkins, and gourds, and with those items as well as samples of students' work, I created a bulletin board for our science table. I am really happy with how that turned out as well!

This week was a busy one besides teaching! I also went home Wednesday night because I had an appointment and then stayed for a home-cooked meal. It was nice to see my parents, and also pick up some things I needed. But it was a very long day! I didn't get back to Stonehill until almost 9:00 P.M.! Then they next morning on my way to school, I was rear-ended! No one was injured, and my car wasn't too badly damaged, but on Friday I was so sore and tired! I was surprised by how much a little car accident like that took out of me! Even though there was a lot going on, I had made plans to go visit my sister at Endicott College for dinner on Friday night. I was really excited to see her, so I still made the trip, and then was able to get a good night's sleep back here at Stonehill. The rest of the weekend looks like lots and lots of lesson planning, and well as finishing and working on a couple assignments for my student teaching seminar! This weekend at Stonehill is also Alumni Weekend, so if I have time, I am hoping maybe I will be running into some recent alums who are back for the weekend - either out enjoying the football game (despite the rainy weather) or perhaps at Brother Mike's - the bar on campus that takes place a few times a month.

My sister, Lindsay, and I.

As for next week, it looks like we will be doing some Halloween activities at school. On campus, Freak Week has already begun and will continue through next weekend! Check back next week for Halloween updates!!

*Note: Due to privacy restrictions, pictures of Kayla's classroom were removed

Columbus Day Weekend in Washington D.C.

Here it is! The long awaited (or so I'd like to think) blog post about this past weekend, which I spent with friends in D.C.! I was very nervous about going away for an entire long weekend while I am student teaching. But I had such a great time, seeing my friend Kathleen and all the D.C. sights. Plus, we made so many great memories that I just know we will look back and laugh about in years to come! It was totally worth having a very busy school week upon my arrival back on campus!

This week at school I videotaped myself teach a math lesson so I can now analyze it (which was an assignment for my student teaching seminar), and I also had my first formal observation of my teaching! And I feel like it went pretty well. I received both positive feedback as well as some constructive feedback on things to consider when I am planning my lessons. My college supervisor observed me teach two small reading groups, and then we sat and discussed my daily reflective journal, all of the lessons I have prepared and taught, the teaching he observed me do, and also my PPA, or the Pre-service Performance Assessment, which is required by the state of Massachusetts for teacher licensure. I have been really enjoying everything about teaching and being in school. The toughest hurdle I have been having is that it is just so tiring, so by the time I get home after school, I am exhausted, but I still have many requirements to meet for Stonehill - such as the journal, PPA, writing long lesson plans that are much more involved than any veteran teacher will prepare, as well as other small assignments. It is all the extra work required for learning how to become a teacher that gives me a schedule that's like having classes on top of a full time job. The toughest thing about student teaching, is being a college student living on campus, but having a schedule that is by no means like a college students' schedule.

But enough about my week at school! Let me fill you in on my fun and enjoyable weekend in D.C.! It was certainly a nice break from the hustle and bustle of school! My friends Emma, Kari, Kait, and I all flew down to D.C. Friday night. Of course, we couldn't make it out of Logan, without being delayed, so by the time we made it to American University to stay with our friend Kathleen, it was after midnight and we went straight to bed! Kathleen is a Stonehill student as well, but she is studying for the semester at AU and also interning. However, she actually just left on Thursday for a three-week travel experience to Bosnia with her program! It was nice to be able to spend some time with her before she left!

After sleeping in and getting Starbucks on Saturday morning, we had an afternoon of touring. We met up with my fellow blogger, Matt, who as you may know, is giving tours of the Capital as a part of his internship. Matt very kindly gave us a personalized tour of the Capital! (He even pointed out to us where he was when he saw J Lo!) Here are some pictures of our Capital visit:

Kathleen, Kait, Emma, myself, and Kari outside the Capital, in front of the Washington Monument and the National Mall.

At the center of Washington D.C.!

We also went to the Botanical Gardens. It was so pretty!

Saturday night we spent getting dinner and visiting with many other Stonehill students who are also studying or interning in D.C. for the semester and some of their friends. We also went out to Adams Morgan, which is the place to be for young people in D.C.

Sunday was a full day of sightseeing, and was very exhausting because we did a LOT of walking! Kathleen needed to get some work done on a mid-term, so Emma, Kait, Kari, and I found our way around the city. We stopped by the National Archives, Ford's Theater and the House Where Lincoln Died (as it is so eloquently labled), and the White House, among other sights that we happened upon as we meandered through our nation's capital.

Kari is taking a photography course at Stonehill, and so she was taking some really awesome photos. I really like this one of me outside of the Archives!

After dinner, we gave ourselves a self-guided tour of the monuments by night. It was exhausting because it was the end of a busy weekend and there was a long way to walk in between monuments, which we hadn't realized ahead of time. But as exhausting as it was, this was my favorite part of the entire weekend. The monuments are so famous, that I was really excited to be there and to get to see it all in person for the first time. All of the monuments are beautiful at night, but I think my favorite was walking around the WWII Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial. Being able to look back and see the Washington Monument and the Capital was breath-taking. I also enjoyed this part of the tour because it was kind of like the grand finale, and we also were able to see Matt again as well as Sam and Dan, two other friends of ours from Stonehill. It was so nice to be able to take in the atmosphere and enjoy each other's company, with Lincoln himself! Here are some pictures of the monuments:

The Washington Monument

The Jefferson Memorial

FDR Memorial

WWII Memorial

Lincoln Memorial - with Kait, Matt, Dan, Sam, Emma, and Kari!

Well, it is time for me to go have a productive weekend and also to get some sleep! Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

Stonehill's Wilderness

So I was sitting at my desk today writing lesson plans, when all of a sudden I noticed three deer in the woods outside my window!

The pictures didn't come out very good with the shadows from the trees, but can you see this deer's two friends in the woods?!

Anyway, I was excited to see the deer, and just wanted to share it with someone!

Fall is in the Air

My original plan was to write this blog on Monday night, and now here I am , Saturday afternoon, with my first chance to take the time to write! So I apologize for the delay, but now I have a lot to update you on!

Last weekend I went home, which is something I don't do often, usually I only go home when they close the residence halls and on Columbus Day weekend. But I had a couple reasons for going home. Next weekend, which is Columbus Day weekend, I am going to D.C. to visit my friend Kathleen who is interning and studying at American University for the semester! So I won't be able to go home next weekend, and I needed to bring back some warmer clothes and also carry-on luggage for our flight! Also, it was my cousin's baby's christening, so I went home to go to the christening. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I also took the GREs! I had Monday off from school for Yom Kippur, so I decided this was the ideal day to take the GREs, because who knows when I will get another good opportunity with my student teaching schedule! I was lucky that I was able to put all of these things into one long weekend at home.

While I was home I was able to sleep in, I got a flu shot from a neighbor who is a nurse, did some errands to buy things for school with my mom, and also went apple picking with my mom and my gramma. Per my request, my mom then made me apple crisp and sent me back to school with apples and apple muffins that I am still eating! I was so excited to do something that is a fall tradition - now it truly feels like fall is here! Here are some pictures of our apple picking adventure:

Picking an apple! Yum!

Gramma with her pumpkin outside the orchard's barn.

Tractor rides out into the orchard!

My mom and I also picked out some mums to put on the front porch at home.

Sunday was a very long day. I left the house with my parents early to go pick up my sister from Endicott College, where she is a sophomore. This was the first time I have been there this year, so I was excited to see her room. I'm pretty jealous of her room, she and her roommate have their own bathroom, and lots of space! It is nicely decorated and feels very home-y. We then went to Salem, MA for Cameron's christening. It was nice to see lots of family. Cameron's mom is actually a Stonehill alum, and she also taught at the same school that I am student teaching at now! Here are some pictures of Cameron's big day:

Cameron with mom and dad (my cousin Dan and his wife Lisa), godmother (my cousin Amanda), and godfather (Lisa's brother). By the way, the priest who performed the service actually used to work here at Stonehill!

Cam was excited to get changed out of his christening dress and into his new Teddy Bruschi jersey in time for game time!

On the way home from Salem, my mom, dad, and I stopped by my mom's new office building in Waltham, MA. National Grid, her company, just moved into the brand new building this summer, so it was the first time I got to see her office. I really liked getting to see where she works! Plus, the building is beautiful! It's too bad that Waltham is such a long commute from home! I went to bed early Sunday night after getting packed and ready to come back to school. Monday morning I was up early to take the GREs and then drove right back to Stonehill afterwards to get back for my student teaching seminar. By the time I was unpacked, it was already getting late and I had to prep for the next day of school!

The rest of the school week went well, and also went by fast since it was a four day week. I took on a lot more teaching than I have so far. I taught two grammar lessons on sentences, a math lesson on using tally marks, two whole class literacy lesson (phonics and anthology reading, etc.), as well as a couple small reading group lessons! Plus, I started working on my bulletin board for the month of October! I decided to do a Fall Into Reading Board, complete with pumpkins and a tree with leaves that are changing color!

Last week in school was also our Curriculum Night when parents are invited to the classroom to learn about what the students learn about and do in school. We did a lot of prep work to get ready for Curriculum Night! For example, I put together our Beary Special Class wall outside the door of the classroom, our Meet My Family display, and also a Best Buddies bulletin board.
But my favorite part of our work for Curriculum Night were the heads that each of the students made in art to put on the back of their chairs. I worked with all of the students on finishing their hair all week long! We asked the students to bring in a shirt that we put over their heads and chairs. When the parents arrived, we asked them to "find their student in the classroom." They all came out so cute, they really looked like our students, and it was a huge hit with the families!

Well I have a lot of lesson planning and brainstorming for future lessons plus other work for my seminar to do, so it's back to work for me on this rainy weekend! Check back for my next post about my Columbus Day trip to D.C.!!!!

*Note: Due to privacy concerns, some classroom photos have been removed