Maestra, March Madness- Teacher, March Madness

This is not only my "IT'S FRIDAY" happy face, but also my excitement in surviving my 1st full week of teaching!!!

 

 

 

  

 I've been due for a blog update...but as the title says "March Madness" has got "Maestra" Rachel all tied up. Not literally! Thankfully my students like me more than that ;)

Here are some pictures and quick updates of what I've been up to at home and in school. 

Last weekend I did lesson planning, lesson planning, and more lesson planning. I was able to go to a church "pirate" skit/outreach evangelism event with Mani and Majo and that was a nice break, but I also enjoyed some more time with chef Rachel in the kitchen.

These little beauties came from some creative improvising, which thankfully all worked out...normally my cooking improvisations do not taste so great, but these were "delicioso!"

I had some leftover peanut butter from when I did my girls trip to La Fortuna (I must add that this peanut butter was not cheap, but very tasty!) so I decided to whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies. 

One way I take after my dad is that once I've set my mind to do something I am going to do it, one way or another :) Well....once I had started mixing ingredients I realized that I didn't have any baking powder. I also realized there was no flour. 

Hmmm....so I checked online and found a recipe without baking powder, but the flour was a must. 

 

That is when I remembered seeing a box of pancake mix in the pantry. Pancakes use flour so I decided I would just use the pancake mix as a substitute for my flour. And it worked! 

I will admit that the cookies tasted a tad different than what I was expecting, but they were still really good and my host family has not stopped begging me to make more.

 Here are some pictures of the other ingredients that made up my cookies:

                  

I also enjoyed jamming to some Hillsong, as Leo (our dog) watched me with one eyebrow raised :) And caught the sun setting in the west. Day well spent.

Now on to my 1st week of full control in the classroom.

Here are some pictures to give you a preview of the behind the work scenes that go into my lessons. 

  
The picture above shows some of the curriculum I use, which aid me in writing up lesson plans each week. And my #1 tool to the right, a teacher/ journal book that some of my college friends gave me before I left for Costa Rica. This book contains all of my schedules, important information, and lots of random teaching things.

This is what a week of lesson planning looks like. I have to record it in the computer for my site supervisor to review each week, but I also like to have it written out and in order so I can refer to it in class each day.

Last but not least, the picture on the right is one of my biggest areas of growth as a future teacher:
Classroom Management 101

I love my 2nd graders but they have a lot of growth when it comes to being quiet in the classroom and respecting the classroom rules. It is hard because I was not here when they established their classroom rules, so coming in now I am trying to reinforce good behavior in the classroom.

Last week I knew I had to figure out some classroom management strategy because my voice was starting to hurt from talking over my students, and I was feeling very frustrated by how much time we lost in noisy transitions. 

I started reading a book on "Positive Discipline," which the school counselor gave me and there were some good tips, but I decided to use my resources and ask for advice from my wonderful Blockheads. The Blockheads are my friends back in the states who are also doing their student teaching now (We all had Junior Block classes together at Trinity and got the nickname of being "The Blockheads"). 

Anyhooo...one tip for managing my classroom was to  reward the students with fake coins for good behavior and at the end of the week they can cash their coins in for prizes or save them for bigger prizes. I implemented this plan and had one week of success! Here are some examples of the amazing prizes the students are saving for:
$1: pick a sticker out of the treasure box
$4: pick a book for T. Rachel to read
$5: eat lunch with T. Rachel
$7: receive a good behavior slip

In addition, we have been studying about Helen Keller and my students have been pretty impressed by my sign language skills...I only know the alphabet in sign language but to 2nd graders this is quite impressive. 

My cooperating teacher recommended that I come up with a signal for getting the students attention and being quiet, so I decided to put my hand over my mouth (just like in the picture) and wait until all of my students copy my behavior. Once the classroom is quiet we put our hands down, and this is the sign (in sign language) for "Thank you." And it is a thank you for the students quietness and following good behavior. It has been working and hopefully it will keep working!

 
One thing I have had to adjust to is the many pieces that make up teaching. It is not just lesson planning, delivering the lesson, grading, and classroom management. Nope, it is also communicating with parents, sending weekly progress reports home, attending staff meetings, staying after school every Thursday until 4:30PM to help struggling students catch up and stay on track, etc... 

However, I finally feel like I am at a point where I know most of the routines and am able to comfortably accomplish the tasks. When I began to take over more subjects I was becoming very overwhelmed and discouraged, but God has been reminding me to take one day at a time and just continue to give it my best and leave Him with the rest. 

*Grouping: currently I have the students grouped into tables of three. This has really helped them keep each other accountable for staying on task, as well as provide opportunities for students to work together and help each other, instead of me being the only one who can answer their questions.

 I have also implemented best practice teaching methods in my classroom by differentiating my instruction. Some lessons are targeted at my visual learners, whereas other lessons reach my auditory and kinestethetic learners. For example, I partnered my 18 students in the classroom for reading time outside, which allowed them to read a book that was at their level, with a partner, as well as be outside in an area on the playground, which they got to choose. 


Here are some projects from our classroom: 

  

 

And I will close with a fantastic Friday finale: International Day

 Apparently every year my school celebrates one day at the school as "International Day." The parent association of the school has parents sign up to bring/serve a dish of food from their home country and everyone dresses up in a way that represents their home country. Today was extra special because the students were encouraged to wear green (since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day: and a shout out to all of my Finish relatives, as today we celebrate St. Urho's Day!) 
 




    I hit the jack pot, as I had a green shirt, which also represented the United States. Double dipping!

I also had a pair of big green glasses, which my students enjoyed trying on and making funny faces. 

                               





                                                

 Here is a picture of my 18 little rascals: 

 

And here are some pictures from the day's events and large supply of yummy food!

  

This was just one of my plates of food! We also had a huge plate of desserts, which were just as tasty, but so rich.


I had my first taste of Costa Rican coffee in a chocolate/coffee pie. That is one recipe I need to get :)

And that wraps up my week! Tomorrow I am going to a Christian festival called "Somos Uno." I am not sure what it will all entail, but I will be there most of the day tomorrow, and I am excited to see what God has in store for me there. (I'm going with Mani and Majo)

Finally, I have my wall of love/encouragement to share with you :)

One wall in my bedroom is covered with cards I have received from family/friends, as well as some of the precious drawings my students have drawn for me. These words are special and dear to me, but the most important words are the ones found in my favorite book, the Bible.

God is so good, all the time, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be learning every day. The days might not be easy. Some days are downright hard, tiring, and stressful, but I am taking one day at a time and searching for the joy within these tough times. Because no matter what God is here.