Today was a long day.
My CT was gone all morning at meetings, so today was our first day with a substitute teacher. No sweat, right? I've been with these kids all year. I felt totally prepared. What I didn't prepare for, though, was how a few of our kids would react to a new adult in the room and a lack a second adult that they knew. I realized today how much team teaching we really do and how well we worked together. During morning meeting, the Wanderer was all over the place. He wouldn't sit in the circle (no big surprise there) but was SO loud about it. He kept walking in and out of the circle, making loud noises, and interrupting whenever I wasn't giving him attention. I try to focus on the positive with him but it's hard! When you're trying to lead 15 kids through an activity and one of them wants and sometimes needs your undivided attention, you get stuck. We got through morning meeting and moved to reading. I taught a new literacy game- Word Snag which was awesome! It's sort of like Scattergories but far more kid-friendly.
I taught the first lesson (well, the first part of the first lesson) of my TPA tonight. I realized that writing out all of my lesson plans in advance is foolish and a waste of my time. I made an outline of the things I want them to learn about informative writing and I am going to follow that. I will continue to research and find creative ways to teach, but have decided that much of my work will be done retrospectively. I know where I want my kids to go with their writing, but I am going to let them help me decide how to get there. I feel like in the past, I've been SO stuck on the lesson that I jstu continued to plow ahead even though I knew that things weren't working for my students. One of the big things I'm focusing on this semester is doing what I mentioned- setting goals for them but letting them have more say in how we get there. I couldn't be more excited! The lesson I taught today went really, really well. I'll be finishing it up and starting a new one tomorrow.
We went to a Youth Farm today that is organized by Community GroundWorks. SUCH an awesome opportunity! The kids rotated around to five stations: salsa making, playing with chickens, planting garlic, taking out broccoli plants, taking down tomato trellises. I was glad that the kids were able to work for a while, rather than just being talked at, which tends to happen on field trips. Things weren't all rainbows and butterflies though, because the Wanderer was having an off day. He got into a physical altercation with another student, continued yelling and interrupting, and would not stop moving his body. I was almost concerned about his mental health- it felt like he wasn't entirely in control of his body. I also had a student punch another student twice because one lost the "garlic planting challenge." Woof! To top off my day, I went to work at the daycare and one of my two's bit me in the thigh because I wouldn't pick her up.
There is a silver lining on my day though- one of my second graders wore his "Mucho Aloha Bro" graphic tee today. Who makes a shirt like that?! Just cracks me up. It's the little things that keep you going :)
Love,
Ms. T
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