"Canada's a country?!"

Sunday night involved Whit coming down to inspect my wardrobe for the week and let me borrow gobs and gobs of jewelry.  This is what happens when your best friend sells jewelry on the side!  :)

Monday morning 5:50 came way to quickly!  It had been quite a while since I had been pulled from my bed that early!  I got ready and got everything I needed loaded into my car.  There came a point in my drive where there was nothing on the radio so I just shut it off.  It feels good to do that sometimes.  To just sit there in the quiet and drive as the sun is coming up.  I took that wonderful opportunity to pray.  I'm pretty sure it will become my daily ritual.  It's the perfect time to talk to God.  Before I get too busy for the day.  Before I'm surrounded by people for the whole day.  Before I forget completely.

I got to school and was greeted by all the faculty that I met en route to my room.  From then on, it didn't really slow down at all for the whole day.  I gave a picture presentation on myself and the kids were a hoot!  They loved stories about Ruby, and giggled at my 3rd grade school picture.  I'm kind of proud of myself.  I think I got all of their names down by lunchtime!  :)  I think a big shout out goes to my years at camp for switching up campers every single week and getting new names so often!  :)  We eat lunch with the kids and I got so many requests all week as to who I should sit by.  It makes me feel like I'm doing something right in this pursuit of my dream.  The rest of the day went as quickly as the morning had, and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to the students at the end of my first day of student teaching.  My mentor teacher gave me some responsibilities for the next day and I took some work home.  This really makes me feel like I'm doing something right if I'm getting more responsibilities on the first day!

Tuesday was such a joy too!  The girls love my necklaces and have started giving me compliments instead of the usual morning greetings!  I heard a lot of students read.  I also started to accidentally cave in an Ottoman seat because the lid doesn't fit the base anymore.  That was a slightly embarrassing moment, but I recovered quickly!  My students are readers!  They are really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Magic Tree House.  I also got to teach a mini lesson and read to the students.  I got really into reading this story and I think they were pretty okay with hearing it for the third time once they heard me read!  During social studies, we are doing a map activity.  The students have maps and they have been locating various places.  Suddenly I hear, "Canada's a country?!" from one of the students.  It was one of those moments where I wanted to bust out laughing, but I knew I couldn't.  The 3rd grade is so much fun!

Wednesday started extra early because of a needed meeting.  My favorite part of Wednesday was when I read Gasp! to the kids.  This book has it all!  Plenty of action and suspense, humor and wit.  I got really into and gave so much expression that I think the kids like when I read.  It was so much fun!  We sent the kids home early.  Naturally, us teachers couldn't leave when the kids left, so we gathered as a 3rd grade pod to have a meeting about curriculum.  I love the 3rd grade teachers!  They are hilarious and the principal visited and he's a hoot as well.  I'm so grateful that my personality fits in so well!  :)

Thursday was just as fun!  I can already see the progress that the kids are making.  It is so cool that in 4 days, I am able to see what they are learning.  I think the funniest part of Thursday was when I was wandering around the room having students read out loud to me.  I came to a boy reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  In the back of this particular book, there was a few comics.  One of them was about Fart Police and getting arrested for farting.  It was all I could do to hold my composure and not bust out laughing at the subject matter!  My teacher and I both love books.  We got a little distracted after school and stayed pretty late!  She is giving me more things to do and I feel like I'm getting somewhere!  It's so new, exciting, and I love it!

Friday was Friday.  Full of craziness.  Full of catching up for the week.  Full of giggles and squirming.  We also had 'store' for the kids, so that only added to the craziness!  It was a lot of fun throughout the day.  I had a few opportunities to be kind of in charge and I love it!  My eventual take over has already begun in the first week!  My teacher told them that I would be reading a book to them.  A resounding hiss of a "YES!" quickly followed.  That brought a HUG+E smile to my face!  I love reading to these guys!  They get into it just as much as I do!  :)  It was finally time to send them on their merry way to a weekend away from school.  With planning with my teacher after school, I will take over 2 reading groups next week, and I'll have a few mini lessons scattered throughout the week.  I really start taking over during week 3, and it feels good to begin taking ground already.

This weekend, I'm looking forward to catching up on my sleep before heading back on Monday.  I'm back to teacher bedtime, but I'm still pooped in a good way at the end of every day.  I can't wait to see what the next 7 weeks will bring in my first placement!  :)