Things I Really Miss Right Now

I don't have much of a life right now while I'm student teaching, if that wasn't already apparent by the lack of posts beyond the weekly recaps of teaching. I couldn't even do an "End of the Week Roundup" post if I wanted to since it would literally just recap what I'm already recapping. Anyway, there are a few things that I absolutely miss right now and makes student teaching stretch out a little longer than I'd like it to.

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1. Having a life in general
So while I'm teaching, I'm still working a minimum of 10 hours a week at my regular job. While that may not sound like a lot, couple that with the fact that I never know quite when I'm leaving school each day and it makes for a really tough schedule. Most days I don't leave the school until around 5 and I still have to go home and prep for something with school, meaning I'm working well into the evening on school stuff. To make up for the time, I work every Saturday at my regular job 7-3 and then go into work for an hour two nights a week to make up the rest of the time. Sundays are spent doing school work too. That leaves no time for anything else. Literally.
2. My friends
Since I'm so busy/tired, it's impossible to make any time to hang out with friends let alone text them to see how they're doing/hold a normal adult conversation with them. I really miss all my friends, so much so I've been avoiding most social media since seeing them makes me feel "homesick" for them.
3. Sewing
I haven't stepped foot into my sewing room since the end of August and I really miss the hum of my sewing machine. The one plus side of teaching right now is that I have a creativity outlet so I'm not going insane needing to release my creative energies.
4. Spending money
That's right, I'll admit it. I like to spend money. Who doesn't? I'm not saying it's a great thing, I'm just saying that I like being able to buy a new shirt if I want to or some lipstick I want to try. But when you're living off your savings, spending money on anything that isn't a necessity is not an option. Sometimes I'll log on to my Amazon wish list and just look at all the pretty things I want to buy. 
5. Me time at lunch
Lunch time at my regular job was something I really relished. Whether it was going to Panera, sitting in my car reading, or going for a walk, I could do pretty much whatever I wanted on my lunch break. Now, lunch break consists of either completing school work with my cooperating teacher or helping students out who are oblivious to the idea that their teacher needs to eat too. 
Don't get me wrong, teaching is not all that bad. In fact, it's a good thing I can't spend money right now. It's a lesson in learning how to budget, which I've never properly learned. Plus, the connections I'm building with my students will stay with me forever, and will probably be much more satisfying than most of the "relationships" I have with people I work with. But in general, I miss  a lot of the cozier aspects of my life that I had pre-teaching. Just a few more weeks and I'll have it back and I'll probably be moaning about how much I miss teaching. 

Student Teaching - Week 7

What I Wore:

Student Teaching Week 7 

Loft blouse / Old navy sweater / Banana Republic ankle jeans / New York & Company boot cut pants / MIA black ballet shoes, $57

What I Did:
I went into this week in a mild panic. It was a notes heavy week and I had tried to come up with alternatives for the students instead of note taking but my energy, brain capacity, enthusiasm, and lesson planning skills were just not up to par so I knew going into the week that not only would the kids  have to take notes three out of the five days but also that I didn't have enough filler to take care of the downtime. Luckily for me, my cooperating teacher is awesome and within ten minutes of me walking into the building, she had suggestions in place and I was ready to go. 
Things I Learned:
With the exception of the electives, I teach the lower academic students. That isn't to say they aren't smart, history just may not be their forte. Anyway, this week I learned that those students love word puzzles. I gave them cryptograms, crosswords, word searches, and word scrambles and they really took to them.
Memorable Moment of the Week:
An exceptionally difficult student who refuses to do any work yelled out "I love word searches" and then poured over it, being the first one to complete it. It's the first time I've seen her show any kind of enthusiasm for anything and it was nice to find something that she really took to.
Looking Forward To:
This week in general. It's a fairly easy week for me, Friday is a half day so I won't teach them. Tuesday and Thursday are a map test and a unit test, respectively and the other two days will be review games. The week usually flies by for me anyway, but I'm assuming this week will really go quickly.
Honest Thoughts:
I'm definitely enjoying myself much more now but I still can't wait for this to end. It's still very exhausting and time consuming. Plus, no matter how many lessons I create or days I head into school prepared, it still causes anxiety. It'll be nice to be done and actually rest (and sew!) for once.
Seven weeks down, five to go! The countdown is really on!

Student Teaching - Week 6

What I Wore:

A few things are similar but not exact since most of the things I own are a few years old.

student teaching week 6 

Gap short sleeve top / Banana republic top / Long slip / Express green pants / LOFT summer pants / Bloch pink flat / Ollio ballerina flat / LOFT post earrings / Loop scarf

What I Did:

This week was a bit of a nice break for me. Not only did we have Monday off for Columbus Day (thank you Mr. Columbus for getting lost!) but Wednesday was PSAT testing so I got to spend the majority of the day supervising students watching movies. It was such a light week, but definitely a much needed reprieve. 

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Alternatives to note taking. I attempted to create two different types of lessons for the coming week, which is note heavy and both just ended up bombing in my face. It doesn't help that I'm new to this and, honestly, there is a ton of pressure to do well. Maybe down the road, in a classroom of my own, I'll find a way to teach without lecturing/notes, but for student teaching its not going to happen.

Looking Forward To:

Teaching a new class. So far I've been teaching all three core History classes, which means the same lesson three times a day. This week, I'll begin teaching an elective course my teacher has, Myths and Legends. Considering Greek mythology is one of my favorite things in the world, I have so much to share!

Honest Thoughts:

It's still very stressful, especially today (I'm writing this Sunday). I've spent the past four hours trying to find fun activities to go with all the notes I'm cramming down these kids' throats and I came up empty handed. It's so frustrating and the thought of heading there stresses me out but then when I actually do show up, most of my worries melt away and my days fly by. It's a catch-22.
6 weeks down, 6 to go -- I am officially halfway through this!

Student Teaching - Week Five

What I "Wore":

Most of what you see here I own, a few things like the boots and flats are similar but not exact since the ones I own are a few years old. 

Student Teaching Week 5

Old Navy petite dress / American Eagle Outfitters sexy top / Banana Republic pink sweater / Banana Republic black pants / Madden girl boots / Mossimo black flat / Kate spade jewelry / FOSSIL brown belt

What I Did:

This was my first week of teaching my own lesson plans in my core history class for the entire week. It was exhausting, during the day I'd either be prepping for the lesson, teaching, or modifying the lesson to better meet the needs of the student. Then, I'd go home and make sure my lesson plan was set to go for the next day/write lesson plans for another day.
Things I Learned:

End of the school day by no means end of the work day. Most days I'm staying two hours after school lets out to finish up grading or prepping. Then, when I do eventually get home, I'm still working on school stuff. 

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Still working on that classroom management! It's the bane of my existence.

Memorable Moment of the Week:

I'm currently teaching the students about the industrial revolution, and Thursday I had half the class pretend they were working in a factory. One of the roles was a 9 year old factory worker who cried a lot. I asked one student in one of the classes that I knew would really run with it to play the kid in the factory. He was so hilarious but also very helpful in making the environment uncomfortable so the kids could get an idea what it would be like to work in the factory with a child. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants a few times.

Looking Forward To:

Right now, I'm looking forward to all this being over, its so tiring!

Honest Thoughts:

See above.

5 weeks down, 7 to go! Next week we will be halfway done....I'm so ready for normalcy again!

Student Teaching - Week Four

What I Wore:

Just a few key outfits....

Teaching Week 4 

The Limited mini top / LOFT scoop neck tank top / Merona purple cardigan / Express / Banana Republic pants / ZiGiny pointy toe flat shoes

What I Did:

Things week was a bit broken up, since sadly Dave's grandfather passed away and the funeral was Thursday.

The school I am at expects their students to write a five paragraph essay at the end of each unit. I think this is a great idea since it gets the students used to writing but it's also like pulling teeth with them. The first three days of my core classes we spent prepping the kids for the essay and then getting them written. Friday I taught my own lesson again with the core classes, although it was just notes.

Things I Learned:

"I don't know" doesn't necessarily mean "I don't know". Sometimes it means "I don't want to do this".

Kids who pay no attention to you whatsoever will suddenly be very concerned in your absence.

Things I Still Need to Learn:

Classroom management is still a tough one for me to conquer. This week it was learning how to gradually increase my threats to get them to be quiet instead of heading straight to the worst consequence.

Memorable Moment of the Week:

I got a chance to connect with some teachers over my Chicken and Rice Bake recipe when I brought some for lunch this week. They tried it and loved it so much, I ended up printing the recipe and sharing it with them!

Looking Forward To:

Having a day off next Monday. Seriously, I need a day of binge watching Netflix by myself.

Honest Thoughts:

I'm really starting to get into the nitty gritty of all this and it's tough for me. This past week I literally went to school, then went to my regular job for a bit and then came straight home to work on even more school work until I went to bed. They were long days and I'm definitely on autopilot right now to get myself through all this. I'm hoping that this week was rougher because not only did I have to come up with the lesson plans for the core class for the month but then I had to write some. Now hopefully for the next month all I'll need to do is write up the lessons and prep for them. We'll see!

4 weeks down, 8 to go!