First Day Of School

I'll be posting pictures of my classroom before too long but first I want to talk about my first day.

I can't even believe how fast it went. It was 7th hour before I knew it.

I survived, obviously. The worst of it all was the heels I made the stupid decision to wear haha. I'm thoroughly impressed with how awesome my students were. For example, because I have the same kids twice in a day, math in the morning and science in the afternoon, I didn't want to have to introduce myself to them twice. So I decided to do something a little different. In math, I did a powerpoint that had lots of facts about me, then in science we played a game of charades. The students had to act out things they learned about me from my powerpoint. One of the words was France. Had I been a sixth grader, I would've had no idea where to even begin, but my smart little sixth grader didn't even hesitate. He immediately began acting like a mime, the students instantly knew he was miming, and then quickly made the connection to Paris and then France. They are awesome!

While I know that the first day is probably the easiest when it comes to discipline I had very few problems. There was quite a bit of talking at times but I understand, it's rough hearing the rules and syllabus for 7 classes in a row. I'll keep them busier in the future.

One of my science classes is an inclusion class. This means that almost half of the students are on some kind of science class and are in a special education class. Because there are so many in one hour I was given a paraprofessional to help with them. At the beginning of the hour, it didn't bother me at all having him in there, then he told me that he taught 7th grade science for 20 years. Awesome.... I was nervous then haha. I really don't have a lot of experience teaching science so that should be interesting. Either he could think I'm awful, or he could be a huge help....we will see.

I was also surprised at how well these 6th graders were following the dress code. Apparently that isn't a huge issue yet.....I'll wait till the end of the year haha.

Okay. That's all I got for now. I'm so excited for the rest of the year!

-Kristina

Future Sandite

I haven't updated my blog in six months. I can guarantee you this is not because the last six months have been uneventful. It's because of how busy I've been. But, I'm back. Hopefully to post much more often than I have recently. Here's for a recap of some of the biggest things that happened in those six months.

• Lucas graduated from college! And he got accepted into grad school! I am super proud of him but also so worried about how we are going to work this into our already stressful lives and continue to ensure that we get plenty of time for us. But, we can do it!
• We moved back to Owasso. This was kinda a long drawn out decision but it has been absolutely wonderful being back near our families while we can. I know we will be here though high graduate program, but after that we could end up anywhere. I'm going to enjoy our time here while it lasts, and who knows? Maybe we will end up here for good.
• I got a teaching job. While looking I was continually getting discouraged because I wasn't hearing back from ANY of the jobs that I was applying for. I applied for Sand Springs on a whim and actually didn't even fill out an application. I e-mailed the principal and got a response within an hour to set up an interview. I think the wait was well worth it and I couldn't be happier with what I'm teaching. I'll be teaching three hours of sixth grade math followed by three hours of sixth grade science. Be prepared for lots of postings about my first year as a teacher. 
• Lucas and I celebrated being together for 5 years! I can't speak for Lucas but I feel like we are both so happy and both feel so blessed to have one another. I love him!

These are just a few of the many things that have happened. Expect much more detailed posts from here on out.  =)

-Kristina