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!
Mrs. Parker says
July 5, 2012 at 5:14 amWow! 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.
Mrs. Plum says
July 5, 2012 at 5:30 amAbsolutely. 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.
Mrs. Rios says
July 5, 2012 at 7:53 pmYou have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award! Come over to http://mrsriosteachessecondgrade.blogspot.com/ to pick it up.
Nicole
Mrs. Plum says
July 6, 2012 at 12:59 amThank you so much!
forkin4th says
July 6, 2012 at 7:34 amHappy 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
Mrs. Plum says
July 9, 2012 at 2:42 pmThank you so much!
Amber says
July 6, 2012 at 2:00 pmI'm a first year teacher too and just found your blog! I'm your newest follower! 🙂
✰Amber
Sparkles , Smiles, and Student Teaching
Mrs. Plum says
July 9, 2012 at 2:43 pmAwesome! I'm glad we'll get to share in this journey together!
amy says
July 13, 2012 at 8:43 pmWow!!! 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
Mrs. Plum says
July 16, 2012 at 1:45 amHow exciting! I hope you have a wonderful year this year in 2nd grade!