It's been awhile...

Today was a bummer day for some reason. I didn't especially want to get up this morning and we were pretty rushed getting out of here on time. I wasn't thrilled with my lessons for the day and it showed. My co-op has been challenging me to do more creative things and I feel like I have been. I think she is holding me to pretty high standards and I want to rise up to the challenge, but it takes A LOT more time and effort that I have not been putting into my planning.

I prayed throughout the day that God would make me humble and teachable and that I would have renewed energy for tonight's planning. I want to embrace this time as a time to grow and learn and not simply "get by."

Please pray that I will put the time and effort needed to benefit my students and to better myself as an educator.

another good day

Hello again! Today was a good day at St. Johns. I enjoyed the students today a lot. My co-op is really funny and I just enjoy being in the classroom.

I taught today and my co-op was out of the room. She had a team curriculum meeting, so I did vocabulary and read a chapter from "By the Great Horn Spoon!" to the students. They are excellent students and pay attention! Haha. I really appreciate them. I also took them outside and we played "Newcomb," a game on the turf outside.

The weather was nice today and I felt hot for the first time since we've arrived. Todd and I decided to ride bikes on the trail by our house. It was breezy, but felt good to ride.

I am going to go help with dinner. Will write soon!

hello from california!!

We made it! We began our journey Thursday afternoon and arrived in California Saturday afternoon. We saw family in Colorado and Las Vegas. They were quick trips, but really enjoyable. The trip went surprisingly well and was fun! The scenery was beautiful and I had a few movies to occupy my mind. :) I also took a turn driving.

Since arriving, it has been a whirlwind. We were quickly swept up into the hurried California pace. That is going to be an adjustment!

The weather is relatively warm here, even though the locals think it is chilly! It is comical.

Before today, our trip had been a mini-vacation. I was a little unsure of what it would be like to jump into another classroom. We left pretty early this morning and were able to avoid heavy traffic on the freeway. It took about 15 minutes to get to school, which is pretty close! We met Todd's teacher and he gave us a tour. I then went into my classroom and read notes the students had written to me. It was good to familiarize myself with names before the day began.

My co-op arrived and introduced herself. She is very confident and efficient. Those are my best descriptor words so far. I think she will be EXCELLENT to work with. I really, really like her. She is slightly intimidating because I think she is such a good teacher. She had such command in the classroom and is very much in control. I really like her style and think we will get along great. I know I will be challenged, but I am excited to learn from her.

I really, really enjoyed today. I think it is going to be a really good experience. My co-op is also going to set me up with time in both the K and 1st classrooms to prepare for next year. I am really thankful she is so ready and willing to help make this a good experience for me. I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Last week!

I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by. Todd and I were super busy this weekend, frantically crossing things off of my ever-growing "to-do" list! We really were able to get a lot accomplished. Our house looks like a disaster, but it is organized chaos--I promise!

This week will be relatively easy in regards to schoolwork. I am only teaching English this week so I have had lots of time to make copies of good hand-outs my co-op has and sit in on a few other teachers.

I am really looking foward to tomorrow, where I will spend my afternoon in the Kindergarten classroom!

I really will miss the students. It will be difficult to leave, but there is much excitement ahead!