Volunteering at OTES Library!

Hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday! The sun has finally broken through those rain clouds and is giving us great weather to lie around with a great read!!

I spent the morning helping out finding homes on the shelves as books made their way back for the summer time; even got some practice checking books in and out. OTES has a beautiful collection of books that could interest any reader. I love moving throughout and seeing the books of my childhood. I look forward to being able to help out more with the library this summer and find more great reads for our eager readers!! 

Follow the library's blog at http://justimagineyourlibrarian.wordpress.com/ to keep up with everything they are doing!!

The lessons of science should be experimental also. The sight of a planet through a telescope is worth all the course on astronomy - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently, I was recommended to work on a telescope/astronomy project for Old Town Elementary School. I have been putting together an instructional booklet to help those at home attach and adjust the additional features properly! The idea is that students will be able to check-out a kit containing a table telescope- Galileo, a moon map and a 20mm lens! 

 This program provides such a wonderful opportunity for students to become acquainted with our solar system and everything within. I remember when I was young my family was lucky enough to be gifted a fantastic telescope. The feeling of being an astronomer and identifying the North Star, Leo (my astrological sign), Orion's belt, and checking out the moon with my dad was so much fun! Not only did I get to spend that time with my father, but I felt like I was discovering things; this is when my interest in science really began to develop. Science, including astronomy, is often not "right or wrong", like Emerson said "the lessons are experimental".  

I can't wait for this project to move forward and have students become "Experienced Astronomers" and earn the opportunity to check out a second kit that has been put together! The second kit has an EZ Finder, a Moon Filter and a 10mm lens. The Moon Filter is a very neat tool; when the Moon is at its brightest, it will block more of the light and make the lunar surface appear sharper. There are so many brilliant features of the lunar surface to look at and this tool helps to make those appear sharper! 

Looking forward to getting all these great tools out to the kiddos!!

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekends :) 

New experiences!

Happy Friday all! 

I have been lucky enough to be granted substituting opportunities in First and Kindergarten classrooms at OTES. It was great to be walking the halls of the school; I have missed being there since the completion of the first portion of my student teaching experience. It was also good to be in those K and 1st classes; it has been a great while since I've taught that age group. 

My first day of subbing in the1st grade class went swimmingly! The students were great and so excited to show me their classroom guests- baby chicks and eggs in an incubator. One of the chicks had hatched over night and one had even begun to make his way our right before lunch time! During math, we practiced telling time with an analog clock and placed the hands to tell the time when read from a digital clock. 

This classroom utilizes the Daily 5- what a great program! The students are able to select which of the 5 they wish to work on- reading (to self or buddy), writing, and even math. Allowing the students to select what area they wish to work and even move a little in the process is a great way to heighten engagement. The most I needed to remind the students was about their volume. 

My experience in kindergarten was a little different in that I was a floating sub while the teachers needed to be else where. In the first class I was in the kiddos were learning about the animals that live on the farm. They had drawn secret animals that were put in the barn and they needed to write three clues about what animals they drew. In the second classroom we had the opportunity to get together with three other kindergartens and do some moving; which was excellent timing because after was library time! The Liberians said they were the best kindergarten all week! After the kiddos got a read aloud from Peter Brown's You WILL be my friend and picking new books, we moved into the computer lab and used BookFlix! 

Overall it was a great experience in all the classrooms and I am so grateful for the experiences!

The cat is leaving the Dishwasher!!

As my second student teaching placement comes to a close, so of my girls have been getting sneakier and sneakier. I started hearing them whisper "the cat is in the dishwasher!" and "don't press start!". Now we're here on my last day and the cat is leaving the dishwasher :(

I'm so sad to be leaving, this has been a fantastic experience working with these kiddos. This sassy bunch helped me to learn to teach this age group. Intimidating at first, but having fun with them and treating them like the teenagers they are growing quickly into created a funny connection between us all! 

I truly hope this is not the last time I work with these kiddos! They are a great group and I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity! 

Thank you all so much!!