What's My Name?

Trying to teach students how to pronounce Hedin (Hedeen) is always an adventure. I've been called Mrs. Hoodeen, Mrs. Houdini, Mrs. Cindy, and Mrs. Wendy to name a few.

A boy in one of my seventh grade classes seemed to give up trying all together and  finds it amusing to just say, "Hey, Student Teach.." So I was amazed yesterday when I heard the words  "Hey, Mrs. Hedin" coming from his mouth. As I was talking to him, he turned to ask my cooperating teacher a question. In his effort to get her attention he said "Hey, Mrs... What's her name?". Ha ha I was so proud. You know it's a good day when your name is remembered before the real teacher's.

In the Dark

As you may notice, this is my first post regarding my experience student teaching in a middle school. It's not that I don't like middle school enough to blog about it, I actually really enjoy it. The every day happenings just aren't providing as many blog worthy experiences...until today.

During 3rd hour (Pre-Algebra) the lights suddenly went out....and they stayed out for the entire hour. Well, that is not entirely true, they would flicker on every once in a while (picture a class full of groaning 7th graders)  and then go back off after about 5 seconds (excited cheers all around). This happened about 6 times during the period.  Apparently the problem was caused by the wind, but in their attempts to fix the problem, the repair people decided they needed to turn on and off all the breakers in the entire school.

Today was a fabulous day for the this to happen because of course they were taking their end of the unit test. There is only one window in the room, so half of the class could barely see their calculators (their faces were about an inch away from the screen). It was pretty funny. Amazingly they all got their tests done (with decent scores) and were wonderfully behaved. The only kids who struggled were the ones who had to find their way to the bathroom in the dark ha ha. I couldn't help but be grateful that I was in a 7th grade class instead of a first grade--boy that would have been an adventure!

Pumpkin Walk

In North Logan there is a pumpkin walk open to the public (for free) each year. It has been going on for over twenty years now. My first grade class created their own display this year. The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. 

Each student took turns being recorded so their voices told the story (cutest thing I've ever heard). They painted pumpkins and the whole backdrop with help from the art teacher. My first half of my last day we went on a field trip to the pumpkin walk to see the finished product.

pumpkins and hair were equally painted, luckily the paint in their hair washed out

working on one section of the backdrop

my lovely class and their silly faces
(Don't look too closely..I hesitated to include a picture where you could see their faces, but maybe the silly faces will mask their true identity :) )

I went with Ammon tonight for the final night to show him our class display. It was a really fun date night. Seeing the displays in a snow blizzard made the lines short and we got some rock star parking. There were some impressive scenes...everything from Dr. Seuss stories and the Polar Express to Spongebob Squarepants and Up--all made from painted pumpkins and gourds. We have some seriously talented people in the area.

Farewell to Fall

I walked out of school this afternoon only to find myself in a blizzard of snowflakes, the first of the season. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Sometimes I wish that snowflakes were warm. That way I could feel like I was in a hot tub rather than a freezer. :)

As a tribute to the beautiful, short fall we enjoyed, here are some pictures we took driving up to the top of Mt. Logan. This drive has turned into a yearly tradition for us. I usually use the opportunity to collect leaves, but I was too distracted by taking pictures to gather any this year. I am so grateful for the beautiful world that we live in!

On the way up

First picture of the day, I was disappointed that no matter how many pictures I took, I couldn't capture how beautiful it was in real life. This world was created by a master artist.

View of the valley below. We could see  Old Main and the Logan Temple in the distance.

Ammon's pride and joy at the top of the mountain

Looking back at the road we came up on

Our experiment: creating a panoramic view at the top

Lessons I have learned in First Grade ;)

1)    1) Don’t throw rocks at balls…they could bounce back and hit you in the eye (in case this warning isn't heeded, see #5)

2)   2) Join a teacher’s union!! Then if you are told that staying at school until nine at night each night and twelve hours minimum on the weekend is just part of the job you can have something to say about it.

3)   3)Avoid European/Australian? lunch programs that bribe students to eat fruit and vegetables with daily plastic prizes and cause heartbreak and drama for teachers, parents, and first graders who refuse to eat tomatoes and red peppers.

4)   4)Don’t be surprised by spontaneous dance parties 

        some of the kids' favorite songs are Fruit Salad by The Wiggles, Caterpillar Caterpillar by Kira Willey, and The Water Cycle Song by ??? (You should see the moves these first graders have!)

D   5)  Ice fixes EVERY injury no matter how serious it is

6)   6) Trololololo…  (my cooperating teacher's ring tone)  just threw it in because it makes my day every time I hear it.

       Thanks to my cooperating teacher and wonderful 1st graders!!! Tomorrow is my last day. I will miss you!!

Need a Book?

Jenson Books in Providence, Utah is definitely my new addiction. It is a huge warehouse full of piles and piles of used books. I spent two and a half glorious hours digging through those piles. Most aren't organized with any rhyme or reason, but it is so worth it. Any single book is for sale for one or two dollars or you can fill a plastic grocery bag with any amount of books you can stuff in it for $7.40. I went the the second option and fit 58 books in my little bag. This means each book cost about thirteen cents.

Am I proud?
VERY :)
Did I even look at the adult section?
Yes, as I walked past it to find more kids books.

Total children's books I own: 119 and counting

The Calm before the Storm

I began student teaching on the 1st of September. This means that today, I have officially survived one month! This month has been full of memorable moments, learning experiences, stress, and less sleep than I'd like.

Finally, I have a chance to catch my breath. Today and Friday are days off because of parent-teacher conferences. I still go in part of the day to participate in the conferences, but overall it is going to be a very nice break.

These are some things that will hopefully happen this long weekend:
1) SLEEP
2) lots and lots of planning for school so that I can feel more organized
3)spiritual rejuvenation from general conference (I'm soo excited!)
4) time with Ammon (it's scarce these days)
5) watching USU beat BYU in football---I can dream right?

I officially take over my class this next Wednesday (October 6th-21). Which I am extremely nervous about. If I think I'm sleep deprived now, I'm sure it will be worse during the upcoming weeks. Most of the problem is that I create my own stress even when there is no valid reason for it. According  to my dad this is an inherited trait..my mom has the same problem. :)

One thing that I have learned about human nature is that no matter what challenges arise, we can generally take that challenge on and handle it better than we ever expected. I'm grateful for the break that this weekend will give me to calm down and prepare myself for this next challenge in my student teaching experience.