I'm Still Here

Wow. I just remembered I have a blog! It has been a really long time. I guess I'll add a quick update. I have tons of fun pictures that need to be posted. Most important news is that I have the most adorable little niece! Kadence Nicole was born in May. She is so dang cute I just love her! She is in a really fun interactive stage right now and is starting to crawl. I guess the other really big news is that I'm a teacher now. It's still a little bit surreal. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm not just a student teacher anymore! It's really fun. I am loving being in the classroom. It's definitely not an easy job, but it is a very enjoyable and rewarding one! Now back to that adorable niece:




Kadence went to California and learned to make this funny face. Now she makes it all the time!



I think this is one of the most precious Mother/Daughter pictures I have ever seen!



Like I said, she is just learning how to crawl. She is also chewing on everything in sight. She just combined the two! She crawled to something she could chew on...




Cute little Minnie Mouse!

Is she not the cutest thing ever? I love her little bikini and her chunky legs!

Quick update

Someday I will hey better at this blogging thing. Maybe once Kadence is born I will post more because I will want to show my niece off to everyone! Right now I'm still student teaching. One month left! I'm excited to get done and graduate but I am not looking forward to doing my senior project and I definitely don't like this job hunting business! I have some interviews this month and next month. I never thought I'd be saying this but I'm hoping for a job in Utah. I'm willing to go out of state with my first niece coming soon I'm not as anxious to go out of state!

Our first clogging competition of the year was yesterday at thanksgiving point! We didn't get an overall this time around but we did get a first on our Madonna dance and we had fun! Now I need to get an a'capella routine together for the next one!

Wow, I'm Bad at This

Wow, I am bad at this whole blogging thing! At least now I have an excuse for being behind. The excuse is called Student Teaching. It runs my life right now. I am teaching 7th and 8th grade English at Pleasant Grove Junior High. My 7th grade classes are both ESL/Integrated English/Read 180, which was a bit of a surprise my first day. I don't have a whole lot of ESL experience, but it has been fun. I am definitely learning a lot about classroom management and getting plenty of management practice, but in a way I'm kind of glad. My days would be really boring without some the chaos that must be expected when you spend hours in a classroom with 12-14 year old kids. There have been a few frustrating days, but there have been even more fun and successful days. A few of my students can be really obnoxious and difficult to deal with when they constantly disrupt my class, but at the same time, they can be absolutely hilarious and sometimes I just have to laugh at their creative jokes and stories. I am amazed by the things they can come up with on a daily basis. I especially love their excuses and tricks they try to use to get out of doing their work in class.

We had an exciting day a week ago. One of my students went to use the bathroom and came right back to tell me that one of the toilets was on fire! I'm still not sure how that one was pulled off or who did it, but it created some excitement for a couple of days!

My biggest challenge/fear is having confidence in my own skills. I hate being watched/judged so every time I teach a lesson I am terrified that I am teaching something incorrectly and giving the students false information that Mrs. Schow is going to have to correct, but I am slowly becoming more and more confident as I spend more time in the classroom. Mrs. Schow (my cooperating teacher) has been teaching for over twenty years, so everything comes naturally and easily to her. I, on the other hand, have to plan out every minute of every lesson in detail before I teach.

I have been teaching for a few weeks now, which means I have about ten weeks to go. Wish me luck!