Wrapping Up

Well, we did it! We are officially Teachers! Graduation was so much fun, we got to see all of our friends again and remember what it is like to actually be in a college town. These past four years have definitely been the best years of our lives. We look forward to our wedding day that is quickly approaching and cannot wait to move out into our own place to call home :)

April 8th

WOW! February 27th was the last time I was on here. That seems like so long ago, time flies! Well, a lot has been going on since then I dont even know where to start. Maybe I should get better at blogging on a daily basis. The newest news in our lives is that we both got new eyeware. Haha. Jon is trying out contacts and I have new glasses. I still am battling with the fit though. I have gone in twice now to have them adjusted... that is the drag, but once I get them right I will be set for another two years. Yippee! Not much else going on other than the countdown until graduation. I am done student teaching in only 3 weeks!!! Can you believe it?? Jon only has 4 more weeks. It will be so nice to be able to take a day off and just relax... then I will probably head back to sub :) Well, that is all for now.

Bring on the Stress

This semester is flying by. Being with Kindergarteners sure is different than second grade! I love my class and my mentor teacher. However, I cannot wait to have my own classroom. But I guess with my own classroom comes a lot of stress.

Recently I have been making resume's, cover letters, getting letters of reccomendation, and trying to make a professional portfolio website for myself. So far so good, I am done with my resume and cover letter, along with an application for a school district. Now I just need those letters of reccomendation and my website. Wish me luck. I am just a bit stressed out.

As the semester flies by with the blink of an eye, I seem to be getting more things on my plate. Not only am I trying to get everything squared away with graduating and finding a job, but I have to worry about getting certified in two states. Also comes the stress of planning this wedding. Everything is happening all at once, but does that mean it will all be over at once? I sure hope so! I cannot wait to relax and not have to do so many things.

I hope I do not go nuts in these next coupole months!

A September to Remember

September was a crazy month. Wedding planning came to a hault, and student teaching rushed into my life full force. Jon and I are both loving student teaching. He is in a 1st grade at Evergreen and I am in a 2nd grade at Deer Park Elementary. I wish I could go observe him for a day because I think he is great with the kids.

In my classroom there is a lot of low income families. It really opened my eyes when I got there. I love those kids so much and cannot wait to go back each Monday. They teach me so much while testing my patience, but I love it. I have already been observed twice by my Supervisor who is also my Principal. She says I am doing great and that she has never seen a student teacher who can make it look so easy and like they have been doing it for years. That dfinitely made me excited! I absolutely love the school I am in and really hope to get a job there someday. The staff is amazing and so is my mentor teacher!

Right now in Science we have insects. The kids love them, but I on the other hand hate them! There is so much work to do with those stupid things. You have to feed them, give them new water (which is fruit or veggies), care for them, and throw away the nasty stinky ones that have died. It takes so much time! Even when you make the kids do it. I will be glad when we get our Butterflies and just have one class culture and not 23 individual containers!

As for wedding planning goes, there is not much yet. But next week I am sure I will start again. We get our engagement pictures done tomorrow so then we can make our save the dates and send them out! YAY! Another check off of the list :)

Hope everyone is doing well in school and student teaching!

My Wonderful Week Off!

So this week I have absolutely no school! I am way too excited, but also sad at the same time. I am excited because I have no class, and no major assignments. AND, I am getting on top of so many things, I basically have all of my homework done for the rest of the year! It feels SO good. I am sad because I am in Spokane and Jon is in Moscow. We have not spent time like this apart before and it is hard! I can tell it will be really good for us, but at the same time I just miss him so much; and I still have 5 more days to go! Ugh, I can do it! Haha. I know this will strengthen our relationship and blah blah, but sometimes you take for granted those simple little hugs or kisses. I actually just miss his smell, laughter, and company; hugs and kisses are a bonus :) To get me through this week I have many activities planned. Each day I am giving my younger brother Dante a test or assignment for one of my case studies of a child I have to do for a class, so that will take some time. Also, I am doing an art final, Tao's final, and integrated lesson final project, oh and reading for one of my classes extensive reading charts... woooeeee! And I also get to go to lunch with my Grandma and Mom, so that will be fun, and I will be job hunting; wish me luck! Well, I will keep you posted on how things go! Until then if anyone is down in Moscow with my Jon Jon, give him a hug for me! Love you Jon :)

Will This Ever End?

School responsibilities just seem to keep growing. Everyday I seem to go into class thinking, ah... I have completed the assignment due today and feel great, but then at the end of class I seem to walk out thinking, crap... gotta add all of this to my list of things to do now. I feel like school is getting so overwhelming. This week I am teaching in a classroom all week and am so nervous that something is going to go wrong. I want the students to learn from this and remember this experience as a good one... last semester the Lit Block students did not leave a good impression apparently so I am a little nervous. I sure hope my group does a better job! I am really excited for this week though at the same time. I get to teach all about Walt Disney and biographies, and I cannot wait. But it is just so stressful... I guess this is how work will be when I graduate though right? Yikes! Maybe I am not cut out for this profession. I have often doubted myself and it scares me. I know that it is not bad to go back to school and get a different major, but I just feel like these four years would have been such a waste then. I have learned so many things that will be helpful in my life no matter what profession though so I guess that is good. Who knows, maybe after student teaching next year I will absolutely love it and be more confident. Let's Hope!

Another reason I am excited for this week is because I will accomplish so much and then my next few weeks the weight will be lifted a little which will be very nice. Also, I get to go home on Friday! That is always a nice thing because I get free food (that is really yummy), free laundry facilities (thanks mom), AND relaxation away from Moscow and the typical weekend frat scene. Oh, and this weekend is Jon and my official two year even though we already celebrated our "fake" two year; I am still very excited. I am taking him out to dinner to a place he has never been where the cooks cook right on your table and put on a little show for you. It is going to be AMAZING! And, YUM, the food is absolutely to die for! Anyone looking for a fun date, go to Shogun on third street, downtown Spokane, Wa! Very Yummy, and not too outrageously priced. Yes, it is pretty spendy but for a once a year romantic date or even birthday celebration it is worth it. It is a great atmosphere and kids love watching the utensil throwing, flames, and lights. Also, if it's a special occasion you get to wear a japanese outfit thing and head piece and get your picture taken and a pinapple... it's fun :) So, if you cannot tell... I am way excited to get through this week! Hopefully everyone else enjoys their week. I will post pictures if Jon and I tell the place it's our anniversary. PS- this is a suprise and Jon does not know about it... so no one tell him! Thanks

Arby's

Yum! That is the first thing I have to say about Arby's! Haha. So Jon is not very fond of Arby's so I never get to go there, but I have a dear friend who absolutely feels my pain. Her husband is not so fond of the place either. So we have made a few lunch dates, and since the first date we have never gone anywhere else... it is our secret addiction! Haha. Today was one of our much needed lunch dates. She is one of my best friends and I love hanging out with her. I have not gotten alone time with her in way too long. Today was one of the most needed alone times of the year and I think it was the most enjoyable. The past few months have been crazy and being able to just sit down and relax for two seconds and not think about anything with a great friend was so nice! Thanks Ann! We will definitely be going to Arby's at least once more before school gets out! And if we dont make it because of our crazy homework load we will have to go the last day of school, we just have to! Haha. Spending time with a great friend whom you have not gotten much time with is always such a nice breath of fresh air. I recomend it to everyone!

It's that kind of day

You know those days when you know you should be doing homework or something productive, but just cant bring yourself to do it? Well, it's that kind of day for me. I feel like I could be doing so many productive things right now, but I just get bored when I think of doing them. I have a huge paper I could be writing for an online class, massive amounts of reading for my Monday and Tuesday class, a presentation for my Thursday class, and an assignment for my Friday class that I will be missing. Ugh, I just have no motivation right now what so ever!

The Hike Continues

A few days ago I got informed that one of the schools I really wanted to student teach at already is slammed with student teachers from Spokane schools. This means I really have to pray that my second or third choice will take me, otherwise I might be shipped out to Coeur D Alene. Please pray with me! Updates are soon to come.

Camera, Sad Story, Superbowl

My mom brought me good news on Thursday during my art class. My phone rang which reminded me to put it on vibrate and I got good news. The workers at my dads office found my camera! It was right where I told them to look in their work truck, but they are men and apparently cannot look in a glove box!!!!

On saturday night I went out with some friends and found out some sad news. A girl I know made a life decision to have sex for the first time with a guy she was not dating and who obviously did not care about her. In the end he ended up taking her virginity, getting her pregnant and giving her a disease! He was a complete ass and told her she was a whore and to not tell anyone it is his. He also told her she had to get an abortion. Well, Jane (the baby) is due to come onto the earth in about two weeks! What a blessing. The mom and keeping her and her family is supporting her. I just want all of my girls out there to know to be safe and only give yourself to those who will love you and cherish you for the rest of their life! You do not want a man to run out and leave you with nasty diseases because he does not care about you.

The Superbowl turned out to be an upset for most of my family. Cardinals played a good game though! I had tons of fun and delicious food! My mom even got me a Costco cake. YUM! I was sad to leave at the end of the night and drive 2 hours to Moscow, Idaho. But you gotta leave the ones you love to grow closer and fonder right? Haha. Well, I guess but I wish I could just be home already! I am sick of school, and homework.

The Journey to a Teaching Career

Today I am one step closer to getting placed in my student teaching portion of my schooling. Yesterday I had an interview with the area coordinator (Sally Green) to discuss my placement and preferences. It went really well. I even told her that I might want to teach in a Catholic School someday so she is going to work on placing me in a student teaching postition at a Catholic school for one of my student teaching semesters. I am really excited and cannot wait to see where I get placed. She told me at the meeting that I would need to turn in a resume to her to better my chances at getting placed out of state. So I turned it in today and now just have to wait. She told me that I should know by spring break where I am placed so that I can meet with my teacher and introduce myself and get aquainted. I am so very excited and cannot wait to hear more on this issue. Oh, today I also had my fingerprints taken. This is also one of the steps to becoming a student teacher. I think it went well, and I think they turned out. This was good news because my sister was the hardest persons fingerprints to get last year! I was nervous, but they said mine looked good, so we will see!

New Semester Jitters

So far this semester seems like it will be pretty easy, but for some reason I already feel behind. I think it is because the only classes I have had so far are Art, Dance, and Theatre. I have not been to a class yet that gives me a syllabus with daily assignments. It feels really weird and it is kind of freaking me out. I also have an online class that I have not started doing yet. Well, I did the first assignment of introducing myself, but I have been putting off the rest of the module. I should probably get going so I do not get behind. Today I feel very out of my element and behind and it is giving me butterflies. I know that sounds stupid, but yes 20 year olds still get the first day jitters! Today is my first Childrens Lit class and I am a little jittery about it. I think maybe I am just worked up because I have SO much going on in the next few weeks. Oh well, let's push through and move on! COME ON SUMMER!

One Week Down

Last week was my first week of my last semester before student teaching! I am really excited to get these classes out of the way so I can start teaching. I think I will like my classes. So far I think I will really like my Theatre Methods class and my Art Methods class. I am a little unsure of Dance. The teacher is a little out there but I think it will be a good experience. I still have yet to go to 2 of my classes due to the shortened week. I will let you all know about my other two classes once I go to them!

A Big Relief

Today I got the scores for my PRAXIS test. It is a test I have to take to become a teacher. Well, I PASSED! I am so relieved I do not have to take that monster of a test again. I know a few people who were not as fortunate as I was but I know they will learn even more and be thankful when they do pass in the future. There is a reason for every failure and once they realize what the reason was they will be greatful and learn from the past. Good job to all who passed, and good luck to all of those who take it in the future!