hey, i'm in charge here!

whoa.  just finished my first day as lead/head/main/kind-of-a-big-deal teacher in the classroom.  and it went soooo smoothly.  it was ... almost easy?  which kind of freaks me out.  the actual head teacher left the room for most of the day, and the kids transitioned fairly neatly to going to me with questions instead of her (success!).  really, it wasn't until she and i chatted about an upcoming meeting that i sat back and thought "dude, i totally just ran this entire school day.  sweet.  and nobody cried or broke anything.  things may have even been like, learned.  zing." (my inner monologue is, apparently, not particularly eloquent).  nevertheless, it was a great feeling.

let's just hope this rush fluke trend continues.

will you wear white, jenny jenkins? > i am wearing white, white, white

on monday, while my students enjoyed a day off, i had to go to a day-long lecture about using music in the classroom.  i actually learned some good things:

- when teaching a new song, a really effective way to help them learn is to sing it to them, in full, while they listen and do some kind of simple movement/finger play.

- if a song is coupled with movement, teach the movement first and, while they learn the moves, sing the song each time.  they will pick it up faster than if you did it call/response line by line.

- when keeping a beat, it is easiest for kids to maintain it by tapping on themselves or on the floor; however, the tapping must be on anything but their shoulders - somehow, that is harder for them than even walking on the beat (something to do with the angle.  try tapping your shoulders right now, with your right hand tapping your right shoulder - it's actually harder than it sounds).

- when using songs to practice things LIKE keeping the beat, go ahead and use good songs (classical, folk songs, etc.).  they can do "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" to a recording of "in the hall of the mountain king" just as easily as to a cheesy, childish tune.

- when it's the kids' time to sing, DO NOT SING WITH THEM.  they are expert echo-ers, and can do it in a split second, but they won't retain the music if you always sing along with them.  call and response is fine, but describe it to them like talking: they are not supposed to talk while you are talking, so they are not supposed to sing while you are singing!

- when selecting songs to use in the classroom, pick songs you like.  you are going to be stuck with them all year, so don't pick stuff just because "you think the kids might like this kind of thing."  if you would get bored of it after 30 days, ditch it.  Example: "will you wear white, oh my dear, oh my dear, will you wear white, jenny jenkins?  no, i won't wear white 'cause the color's too bright, i'll buy me a fol-de-rol-dy-tiddle-le-ol-dy seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll-a-find-me, roll, jenny jenkins, roll" is much more fun than "i am wearing white, white, white, and you are wearing white, white, white, and we are wearing white, white, white, so the color we love is white, white white."  ick.

the speaker also made some semi-crazy and even controversial points (there was a heated debate over the benefits v. costs of using silly songs like the hokey pokey in the classroom, believe it or not) but i thought that the general points he made (that i listed above) made good sense.  i am committing them to memory for when i teach new songs to my kids.

things fall apart

after several idyllic weeks, it was bound to happen: this past tuesday the kids were crazy.  essentially all of them, in fact. maybe it was the weather; maybe they were undergoing sugar withdrawal from valentine's day.  whatever the source, today they all decided not to listen to me.  even some of my best kids.

they all felt the need to chatter and move around. i had to have two of them go sit at the table. when the other class came in, they were equally funky. their head teacher had had a bad night the night before, and their teaching assistant was out sick. at one point i had to physically restrain a kid! it was rough. an exhausting.

so what did i do? that day i just did my best to keep my cool, and the next day i reviewed the rules of the class with them. and, amazingly and thankfully, it worked like a charm. the rest of the week they have been a million times better, and have only needed quick reminders of our rules to keep on track.

phew. now it's friday afternoon, and they are all peacefully napping.

i think i left my brain at work

it dawned on me this week that, apart from being at work or at a social event, i have been essentially a lump.  my routine has been go to work, get back from work, sit down, remember i'm hungry, cook/reheat something, turn on the t.v. "for a little bit," then two-to-three hours later i curl up in bed.  periodically i have extra work things or social events to attend, but my current modus operandi has been that of a brainless zombie bum.  this weekend i decided to cease these lazy, lazy habits.

yesterday i attacked the issue of physical health.  walking to and from work is fine, but the body needs more.  i tried everything to convince myself to go work out after work, including placing my bag of workout clothes such that i'd trip over them, but nothing worked.  finally i've worked out the plan: pack my workout clothes with me when i go to work, and changing at work before i walk home (which is literally right past a gym).  success.

tonight?  perusing online planning ideas with the t.v. on, and then reading an iep over a glass of wine.  surely my brain can still work after 5pm.  right?

teaching notes and funny quotes

first observed lesson really went pretty well - about 10x better than i expected.  my main goal, which i shared with my university supervisor (who did the observing) was "if a teacher or principal were to walk by or pop their head in, would it look like i knew what i was doing?" and the answer was "yes."  phew.  the hardest thing for me is that when one student needs extra help, i want to focus in and help that one kid for as long as they need.  which is fine.  good, even.  but if you are the "lead teacher" you also have to monitor all of the students.  luckily the teachers i'm working with each "took charge" of a couple of kids.  the other problem was when kids began to ask "what do i do when i'm done?"  my original plan and the head teacher's idea of what to do unfortunately were not one in the same.  so i have to remember that when i'm in charge i need to take charge, but to be sure and check with the lead teacher about her plans first.  next time, next time.

today i ran my first morning circle.  it actually went really well!  we got through all of the information (calendar, abc's, days of the week, etc.) with a little time to spare, even.  which was the problem.  we ran through the "follow up" (translation: the other group isn't here yet and we have to do something to hold the kids' attention for a little longer) activities, and so i had to wing it.  the kids stuck with it, believe it or not, and, again, i managed to look like i knew what i was doing.  now i just have to keep that up for eleven weeks.

amusing quote time:

when "reading" (making up a story for the pictures) a book to herself, one little girl decided two characters were fighting and one said to the other "you are a shark and not a big worm!"  a minute or two later, a fly landed on the book page.  she swatted it away, crying out "fly, stop!  i'm trying to read a book!"

another child, upon entering the classroom in the morning, came to me and said "i went to a concert.  it's a big-time rush!"  he didn't know what concert it was, but whatever it was it must have been good.

reaching an understanding

i've begun being in charge of things, with general success.  small group lessons, nothing too intimidating.  still, filling the role of teacher is rather nerve-wracking.  sitting in front of ten small people reliant on you to provide them with knowledge is surprisingly scary!  i'm sure it'll get better, but for now every lesson makes my heart race.

THANKFULLY, the kids have been so great with me.  they are starting to respect me as a teacher, and generally listen when i am speaking to them.  with exceptions, obviously.  prime example: today a student came to me with a question instead of the lead teacher (yay!) but later the teacher had to remind a different student that, contrary to her personal belief, i am not a toy to be played with (true).  clearly they are still trying to figure out my place in the classroom, but i say mixed amounts of respect > none at all.

i've also begun to notice that the kids are picking up some of my common turns of phrase.  today i apologized to a girl because, when i was handing out graham crackers for snack, i gave her a broken one.  she looked at me and responded "it's ok.  i'll survive."  love it.

so, apart from my major nerves (getting observed for the first time tomorrow!) and lack of sleep, all good things :)