On the first day....

Hi everyone! As I prepare to student teach, I began to think about the best way to chronicle my adventures. I will not be sharing where my placement is, simply for the sake of anonymity. I am looking forward to this journey.

Today I had the opportunity to visit my elementary school placement. While I am not officially beginning student teaching until January 9th, my cooperating teacher invited me to come in this week (I do not have school, but they continue until December 23rd!). I was able to attend a half day, since I am working quite a bit this week. I sat in on 3 classes, and had a blast.

The first class was 5th grade. The students are playing recorders, preparing for a collage concert and getting ready for a school assembly on Thursday! The class began with recorders, and it was.... interesting. Since so much needed to be accomplished today, it seemed like it was pushed aside, however some kids did really well. There were also students who couldn't figure out which hand went on top, but oh well. I'm sure this will be addressed later, and if not, I am sure I will be able to help when school resumes in January.

The week the students get back in January, there is a collage concert featuring several middle school bands, orchestras and choirs. There is also an opportunity for all of the 5th graders across the district to sing "When You Believe." Today, the students ran through this piece a few times, then we moved on to the holiday concert! Thursday, the entire school will assemble and holiday songs will be sung by students from the music classes. The songs cover a variety of holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Eid. There are also a couple "Winter Songs."

The students seemed to be having a lot of fun singing these songs. While it does take away from the "curriculum," my cooperating teacher explained to me why he does this. It keeps the students singing, and learning through singing. They have only worked on the songs for about a week, so the turnaround time is fairly quick. While these songs are "fun," they also teach about singing in different languages, and other skills the students will need in the future. It also helps control unruly classes the week before winter break (and the day before Christmas Eve.)

Today in class, I mostly observed, but I did have the opportunity to teach. The students are singing "Jolly Old St Nicholas" with accompanying gestures. I learned the gestures quickly and was promptly put in front of the class to lead them. The next class period, I actually ran them through the song on my own. It was scary, but exciting to begin teaching (even a small lesson) the first day in school.

I have the opportunity to return to the school Thursday, where I will be there all day. I'll get the chance to help with the assembly, and I'll get to sing with the students! There are two solos in the pieces, and my cooperating teacher asked me to sing them so he can focus on playing piano. It'll be fun.

I am very much looking forward to this next semester. I still do not have my secondary placement yet, so that makes me nervous, however things will fall where they will.

Once school resumes I will have more posting opportunities, however I may post over winter break if I read anything or learn anything exciting. I'll have more on Thursday!