Teaching Dilemas

My experience during Block was a wonderful experience but now that it has ended and I see how far behind I am in my other assignments I cannot help but to think about all the other teachers out there who do this every day of their life and how they are able to juggle everything in their lives. I love the idea of blogging and expressing how I feel and feel that doing a classroom blog for my parents and students is an excellent idea but how do I keep all the "plates spinning in the air?" The daily struggles of teaching with lesson plans, individualized plans, quizzes, grading and implementing the plans left very little time for anything else. I loved every minute of my teaching experience but it definitely gave me perspective and insight on how and what I need to do to make my teaching experience a more successful one.

Field Trips for Lifelong Memories

 

     This week my daughter went on a school field trip to New Orleans. Her pure excitement made me think about what kind of impact we have on our students as a teacher. Her teachers planned and prepared a wonderful 2 day field trip where the children learned so much. This made a huge impact on me and how I want to be able to touch children like this when I get my classroom. The smile on Caiden's face made the trip so important- because not only was she having a wonderful time but she was having a wonderful time learning.

 

Stressed Out!

Last week was a rough week for all of us. We have quite a number of "irons in the fire" and are feeling quite overwhelmed. While we were all having our little mental meltdowns I had an epiphany- We are adults and assume that we are beyond stressed out because we have a lot of "to-do's" but in reality once we get into the classroom our children might feel the same way. We need to be observant of our surrounding and children, watch their expressions and body language and be prepared to take a step back if the situation is needed. Our children get just as overwhelmed as we do but are unable to cope with it since they do not possess the ability to do so yet. We need to plan appropriately, keeping them engaged but not overly busy with "busy work." We also need to have fun interactive games set up that breaks up the monotonous work in front of them. 

Inflatable Globe

My social studies block is an extremely fun class. I have learned so much in there and cannot wait to use some of the strategies my teacher has taught us in my own classroom one day. This past week Dr. Coleman told us about the use of an inflatable globe and all the ways we can use it in the classroom.  One of the ways she told us we could use it was to toss the ball from student to student and they could name the county or city where their fingers catch the ball.  She gave us a handout with lots of different strategies that would come in handy for our classroom and I really hope I am able to integrate it in my classroom this semester during field experience.

First Blog Post

Hello!

My name is Rachel Clemmons. I am a senior at Mississippi University for Women and an Elementary Education Major. I am currently in BLOCK and will start my school experience this month. I am in BLOCK with 6 other wonderful women and we will all intern and graduate in December!

A little about me- I am the mother of two wonderful children. Clay is 16 years old and a junior in high school and Caiden is 11 and in the 5th grade. I am also pregnant with my 3rd child and due in May and couldn't be happier. I love teaching and have always wanted to be a teacher. I used to be an assistant teacher at a local school and then a preschool teacher at a christian daycare and then decided I wanted to pursue my degree in elementary education so here I am.

I am a very bubbly crafty person and love being around people. I am friendly to everyone and love to meet new people and to try new things. I love to travel and I love love love the beach!