Craziness!

Hi Everyone! :)

I am SO sorry I haven't blogged in so long. I have a good reason though! haha My reason?--Life! I have been so incredibly busy I just haven't had the time. 

At the end of August I started my senior year at UT, YAY! I am in what they call a "cohort." Basically it is a group of about 23 girls. We are all elementary education majors. We take all of our classes together too. No one outside of the cohort is allowed in the classes, they are just for us. It is nice because you make some wonderful friendships and you have a built-in support system of other people who are experiencing exactly what you are. We should all get to know each other pretty well since we will be together for the next three semesters until we graduate! 

I started my student teaching about a month ago. I am in a Pre-K class at a Blue Ribbon school so it has been a great experience so far. The Pre-K program at this particular school is a little different from other programs. The students have to be assessed before they are accepted into it. They must be ESL, low SES, a child of a military parent, or in the foster system. Currently my class is made up of 13 ESL and low SES students. I love the diversity though, it really creates an amazing learning environment not just for the students but for myself too! We have children who speak Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Greek as their first languages just to name a few.

I already taught my first lesson last week! I know, I'm sure you are thinking "Oh yeah, that must have been hard, it's Pre-K!" But...let me tell you, it's not as easy as you might think! Getting 13 four-year olds to sit still and engaged for a lesson at the same time is a challenge. I was incredibly nervous because not only were all of their little eyes staring at me, but my CT (cooperating teacher--the teacher who's class I am interning in) and my cohort coordinator were observing me too! However, I have taught pre-school before awhile back so I tried to just remind myself that this is not the first time I've done this and to relax. Afterwards my coordinator (who is amazing by the way) went outside with me to talk about how I did. I will never forget when she said "You are a natural, this is what you were meant to do." Wow. I can't even express to you how much those words mean to me. She also said she was very impressed with my Spanish which I laughed at. (There is one little girl in my class who only speaks Spanish so I had asked her a question during the lesson in Spanish)

On top of interning in the elementary school twice a week I also have four classes to attend and a whole-lotta homework! (yes, I know that's not really a word LOL) This semester is really different for me in regards to this because there are no tests in any of my classes. Instead, each class has about a million papers and projects. You might think this sounds great, but projects take a lot longer to complete than a test does. Oh well, it's part of the learning process. Did I mention how I can't WAIT to graduate next December?!!! :)

Alright, sorry for going on so long about school but I told you I had a good reason for not posting here in awhile! As you can see, school keeps me incredibly busy and eternally stressed. I'm still trying to find a balance between school, family, friends, and church activities. Not sure that will ever happen but I'm trying! 

There is plenty more I could occupy your time with but you have probably already stopped reading. haha I will try to post more often but I can't promise anything. I have been tagged by a couple of friends recently and I will try to post that too as soon as I can. Please don't think I am ignoring you! 

Until later....I love you all! 

Adios!