What Happened to August?

Did I post nothing for a whole month? Whoops!

So school started, and it was a bit rocky. I like my kids but last year their teacher left for the holidays and never came back.....which left them pretty traumatized. They had a hard year and so it's a period of adjustment for all us. They have to get to know me and understand me. And I have to get to know them too.

I believe in building relationships with my students. And I work hard to do that. Things are getting better but every day has been bumpy.

A new change this year (which is due to start next week) is that I'll be teaching a combo 2/3 math class during the math block. My plan is to start with the 2nd graders while an aide works with the 3rd grade. I'll handle the direct instruction while the aide works with the spiral review and extra practice. Then I'll switch and work with the 3rd grade while the aide takes the 2nd grade. I've never taught a combo class before, but I was in one when I was in the 3rd grade in California. They never cover stuff like that in Teacher College, but they really should. Because if there's a better way, I'd love to hear about it.

I'm taking another class for my Reading degree. This one is called Developing Reading and deals with....well, let me just copy the summary: The reading process, emergent literacy and models for teaching reading are central themes in this course. Content includes theories of language development, research on language, cognition, and language systems as they relate to reading.

Normally, this type of class is not my thing. So I wasn't looking really forward to taking it. My first homework was to review the theories of Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky, etc. The big guns of child development. I didn't remember much from my child development classes so I had no clue what each guy was famous for. I DO remember Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. But the rest I was quite rusty on.

As I began reading, I found this stuff much more interesting. After having spent 6 years as a classroom teacher and 8 years working with children, I was able to relate so much better. So maybe this class won't be so boring after all. Maybe I was mistaken.....that would be nice.

So my time will be busy with teaching, learning, walking Dakota.....and I have my sewing night once a week! I plan on finishing India's qespeq and I plan on making 3 more, including one using some Star Wars material!

Akiak is very different without the Millers. My social base has left and that's different. I don't feel sad but I tend to reflect on the changes. I wrote a status on facebook, how I took my friends for granted, and I guess that got mistaken for me being sad & feeling sorry for myself...which is not the case. Like I said, I like to be reflective on my life (scared I will miss out on one of life's lessons) and that thought came out of one of those moments.

There were many things about my life in California that I took for granted. I think fate brought me here for many reasons and one of those reasons was to really start to value the little things in life. And see how much harder things can be. I can't remember what I used to complain about when I taught in California......it seems so silly now. Things seem more in perspective now.

One of the things in life that makes me happy is my dog. His winter coat is coming in and he's getting fluffier. I swear, he was one of the best decisions I've ever made. It sounded crazy at the time, but I'm so glad I got him! He's so cuddly and funny! The cats are starting to like him more too!

So that's been life in a nutshell. Dakota, teaching, reading, watching movies, facebooking, sewing....it's not a big life but a good one.