And so it Begins...

I am going to be student teaching tomorrow.

As I type that sentence, my brain is looking at it saying "What? No you are not! You still have years til that, what are you talking about?" But no, its not years or months from now. It's here, now! I have been preparing for what seems like forever for this, but at the same time I feel that I am not yet ready.  Where have these last 3 1/2 years of college gone? Wasn't I getting ready for prom just last week? It just doesn't seem like a reality to me.

But it is a reality. Tomorrow morning, I will be walking into a first grade classroom as their student teacher for the next 7 weeks. And boy what a crazy 7 weeks it will be: Learning all of their names and traits, slowly teaching all of the lessons, making plans, putting up bulletin boards, grading homeworks and tests.

It's not fear that I am feeling; I feel prepared from my classes and I will know how to teach these kids.  I have worked in a classroom before, many times, but I guess it just wasn't under as much pressure as this is. Maybe it is just a mix of nervous and excitedness, finally being where I have been working towards for years now.  I am really not sure how I am going to feel walking in there, but I will walk in with confidence and ready to begin this semester!

Let me end this post with the beginnings of what will be my Student Teaching Shenanigans postings.  These will be the little stories I have from my time student teaching.  This first story is from the first grade room that I am beginning in tomorrow.


My first day in the classroom, I was standing in the classroom with the Paraprofessional waiting for the children to come in.  The teacher, Maria Natalie, was running late, so we were going to greet the children and have them unpack as we waited for her to arrive.

The students started coming in, including this adorable little curley-haired girl.  She stopped at the door and looked at me with a very puzzled face.  She then immediately walked to the para, Ms. Fio's desk and began to cry.

"I do not like substitute teachers" she said through tears.  My heart broke for the girl and Fio and I could only look at each other and laugh. She gave the girl a hug and assured her that I was not a substitute and that Ms. Natalie would be arriving soon. I walked over to her and bent down to say Hi and told her I was just visiting and that after Christmas, I would be helping Ms. Natalie teach so that I could learn to be a teacher like her. Once she heard this, she immediately calmed down and proceeded to be my shadow all day, wanting to hold my hand in the hallway and help me with anything that I needed. She even gave me a hug as I left the classroom that day.

Wasn't even in the classroom for five minutes, didn't even say a word and I made someone cry, that must be a Student Teaching record of some kind!  Well my little shadow will definitely be welcoming when I walk in tomorrow morning!

As often as I can, I will be posting stories about my experiences in the classroom, as well as keeping up on my Disney news.  With some good planning, I am hoping to keep on top of my updates and not fall in to the unorganized trap I have seen other student teachers fall into!


Send your Pixie Dust, this is the beginning of my entrance into the real world!!