Student Teaching

Another project off my “to-do” list! I’m steadily making some progress, which is good, because I have less than a month to go!

I had pinned this a million years ago from Mel D. at Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations and kept coming back to it. As I would go on my “errands” and see things that would be perfect for a traditional treasure box in the Dollar Spot or bargain aisle, I kept trying to decide what I wanted to do in terms of rewards in my classroom.

During my student teaching, I tried both approaches. I used a treasure box in one placement, and rewards like these in the other. The kids responded the most positively to the rewards that, I felt, meant something. That’s not to say treasure boxes aren’t valuable or important if that’s what works for your classroom — I think it’s important to do what works for you and your students! These kiddos, however, really liked the additional classroom privileges and duties that they could earn.

I’ve been brainstorming for a few weeks now — off and on — what rewards I could possibly implement. I came up with 12 to start with, knowing that I’ll likely tweak them once I get to know my kiddos and what they value the most:

The reward I’m most excited about my students earning and redeeming is definitely the “be an expert” reward. I look forward to collaborating with students on a mini-lesson that they’ll teach to their peers… I definitely think that will be a big hit and something valued by all my kiddos!

This system is within my “Be Oz-Some” behavior plan, so of course I had to make a label to that effect! I’m planning on creating a quick log for me to check off what reward a student chooses, and then write when they redeem it — that way I have some data about what’s working and what isn’t.

I would love for you to head on over and pick these up for FREE in my TPT store if you think they would be useful in your classroom! Not every reward will fit your style or classroom system, but I hope that a few will — and of course, there’s two labels to choose from too. (When I create my reward log, I’ll post that as a Google Doc freebie as well.)

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!

Check!

My Ruby Red Danskos + A Freebie!