I wish. I totally wish I had a pair of ruby Danskos, or that this post was about me finding out they even make a pair of ruby Danskos — nope! This post is actually about my metaphorical ruby Danskos, or what a day in my life was like as a student teacher.
For reference, these would be the actual Danskos (my feet are so big and awkward I have to buy the men’s) that graced my soles:
5:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off, depending on how much sleep I’ve gotten (assuming I’ve gone to sleep at all, hah!) I may or may not hit snooze. I shower/get dressed/put finishing touches on lesson plans and materials.
6:45 a.m. – Wheels up and out of the driveway.
8:00 a.m. – Drop William off at daycare. (Depending on traffic, we have about an hour commute to his daycare!)
8:30 a.m. – I get dropped off at my school and Mr. Plum drives to his two miles away. (Both of us completed our internship at the same time — a mere two miles apart in the same school district!)
8:45 a.m. – Shovel a hardboiled egg down while writing the morning message and laying out the days’ materials.
9:05 a.m. – Kiddos walk in, announcements start, and I pretend I am well-rested and totally energetic!
9:25 a.m. – Language Arts block starts; guided reading happens, center rotations, mini-lessons, etc. We do a big word study focus on Monday, and then are pretty flexible the rest of the week.
11:25 a.m. – Science or social studies starts, depending on the day. About half the time these two subjects gets integrated with language arts, which I loved doing.
12:20 p.m. – Time for lunch! I drop the kiddos off, heat up my lunch (assuming I didn’t leave it in the car — which is two miles away — d’oh!) and eat lunch with the kiddos and my cooperating teacher.
12:50 p.m. – We head out for recess (and I try not to burn with my near-translucent skin).
1:20 p.m. – We head inside and start math, and try not to roast like chicken in our un-air-conditioned hotbox. Sometimes we’d do centers or small group, but this bunch of kiddos responded best to whole-group math instruction.
2:20 p.m. – SPECIALS TIME! I do a happy dance and hope the kiddos don’t see.
3:05 p.m. – I pick ’em up from specials, we wrap up with some fun activities, and do a few administrative tasks (notes, signing agendas, reviewing homework, afternoon annoucements, etc.).
3:30 p.m. – I wave bye-bye and get some much-appreciated hugs from the kiddos.
4:30 p.m. – Mr. Plum picks me up, and we swap war stories from the day on the way to pick up William.
5:00 p.m. – We pick up William, he immediately demands snacks, and we oblige. If we’ve remembered them. Hopefully.
6:15 p.m. – We roll into the driveway, and immediately collapse. Just kidding.
7:00 p.m. – We eat dinner… well, William eats dinner. Mr. Plum and I just try and stay awake. I most certainly drink coffee.
9:00 p.m. – William hopefully is in his room, putting himself to sleep. I’m starting to sift through my massive to-do list, finish writing another four page lesson plan (torture, I tell you!), grade student papers, and write a reflection for each lesson I taught that day.
12:00 a.m. – Snack break. I’m probably on my second episode of Hoarders on Netflix by now.
2:00 a.m. – Generally finished creating/writing and printing, and now just laminating. I’ve moved on from Hoarders, and am probably watching Toddlers and Tiaras so that my outrage keeps me awake.
2:45 a.m. – Finally in bed. Usually.
By the time the weekend hit, both my husband and I were beat. Totally wiped out. When I look back on my final semester of graduate school, I honestly marvel at how we did it because the entire thing was one long blur. I do remember thinking about mid-way through that the days were just melting together and that it was best to “go with the flow.”
One thing is for certain — the experience solidified just how much I love this profession and could not possibly do anything else for the joy it has given me. Despite the complete and utter sleep deprivation (which I know everyone has experienced — a rite of passage!), I never wanted to give up. I never felt like the tasks before me were insurmountable, or dread getting up in the morning. That was a great feeling.
Now it’s your turn — tell me about a day in your shoes! Head on over to Ingles360 and link up as a part of TBA’s celebration of International Blog-Hopping Day!
And while you’re at it, you may as well head on over to my TPT store to grab this:
I’m celebrating with TBA by posting another freebie from my stint during student teaching! This freebie is a teacher “big book” and student booklet that can be used as basic reference or review for plane and solid geometric figures.
Do you have a freebie you’d like to share? Head on over to Kreative in Kinder to link up and share one!
Wow! That is one long day. Remember that your students will need the best of you and that means a teacher who is well-rested. I found myself sick so much of my first year because I was exhausted. Take time to enjoy and allow yourself a day off.
Absolutely. I think that, for me, student teaching was a learning experience about how to handle the physical demands and where I needed to create balance in order to be the best I could be for my family, my students, and myself.
The teaching experience was secondary to the sheer logistics of it — because you can't replicate that. You have to experience it firsthand.
You have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award! Come over to http://mrsriosteachessecondgrade.blogspot.com/ to pick it up.
Nicole
Thank you so much!
Happy Friday,
Just stopped by to say that I'm glad I found your blog! And, The Versatile Blogger and The One Lovely Blog [AWARDS] are yours. Come visit my blog to accept them!
P.S. my sincere apologies if you've already been nominated, but that means your blog is being well-stalked by other teachers!! 🙂
Your follower & fellow blogger,
Antonia @ forkin 4th
Thank you so much!
I'm a first year teacher too and just found your blog! I'm your newest follower! 🙂
✰Amber
Sparkles , Smiles, and Student Teaching
Awesome! I'm glad we'll get to share in this journey together!
Wow!!! You made me tired just reading about your day;). While I've taught 1st/2nd before (both multi-age and looping), I've been out of the classroom for 4 years while teaching Title 1. I am now returning to the classroom – 2nd grade! No looping or multi-age, just my dream grade!!
I just found your blog and am excited to read more!
Amy
Where Seconds Count
How exciting! I hope you have a wonderful year this year in 2nd grade!