Full Control

Today was kind of a big deal for me. I had total, complete control of the class ALL DAY. It was kind of intimidating when Nikola first brought it up last week, but I just kept reminding myself that I will be in total, complete control all day every day when I'm a teacher. Looking back at it now that it's over, I actually feel great about it. Granted, there were a few kids who weren't good--in fact there were a few that were awful--but unfortunately that's not rare at all here at Colwill Primary School. But, here were some of the highlights of my day:

• I took the class on an Autumn nature walk before our writing block so that they would be able to write about the five senses of Autumn. (Autumn looks like...Autumn sounds like...Autumn smells like...Autumn tastes like...Autumn feels like...) They were pretty excited about our walk, and they had some pretty unique and entertaining observations. We went back and wrote about our experience, and it was fun hearing all their ideas. I wanted to do something more exciting than the weekend recounts that they do every single week, and it was a success! Thanks for the idea, Mom :)
• I taught a maths lesson about odd and even numbers, and they actually got it this time. Well, most of them got it. Mrs. Eka has taught them a few other mini lessons, but things finally started clicking today. We used thinking groups (groups of four students who think individually and then each person has to share their ideas) and I was so impressed with some of the explanations some of the students came up with. They were things and strategies I never would have never would have thought of, but they seemed to help a lot of the other students. Another successful lesson :)
• During fitness time, I had the joy of watching JUMP JAM for the first time. (click on the link to see some video clips and find out exactly what jump jam is). It is a popular school activity here in New Zealand, and I LOVED it! It was so entertaining to see the kids dancing, and they really seemed to enjoy it. This just might be one of those things I use with my future students!
• I wore my glasses today because my eye was bothering me this morning, and the kids just had the funniest reactions. The most common reaction was asking me if I was blind. One boy said I looked ugly in glasses (so sad, I know), but before I could say anything, all the kids around were telling him how rude, disrespectful, and wrong he was. They all reassured me that they liked my glasses and that I looked pretty with or without them. Haha. Thank goodness I have those kids to stand up for me ;)