A day in the life of a student teacher

7:30 Arrive at school
7:31 First sip of coffee
7:32 Finish grading/post grades/prepare for days lessons
8:00 Students arrive
8:01-3:19 Blur of activity, talking, collecting/passing out papers, talking, answering random questions, talking, reminding students of homework to be turned in, talking, more questions "Yes, you may go to the bathroom, No, you may not go to your homeroom, Yes, that is the right answer, No look at it again, Stop (Pick one) talking, cheating, talking, hitting your neighbor, talking, poking the balloon (long story), talking, grossing out your neighbor, talking, eating paste, etc."
3:20 Sit down and try to remember what happened but mind is oozing out of ears

I really enjoy student teaching but it is exhausting! Occasionally I have moments where I think, "Yep, this is right for me." Yesterday we were discussing Native Americans in Illinois history and one of my students came up to be later and pointed out in a book that she was reading that the book talked about Native Americans too. Now this might not sound like a huge connection to make but she's 10. To be able to connect something that she is reading for fun with something we are studying is great! It made me smile.

Monday I start teaching math. Luckily for me, we're doing rounding decimals. I think that I can handle that!!!

As for my window project, I have: (drum roll) 2 left!!!!! Yep, 2!!!!!!!!! Out of 24! I've done 22 windows so far!!!!!!!

Student teaching

This week is week 3 of my student teaching and so far, so good. The students (fifth graders) are pretty good and I know all 60 of their names! Yay!! I've only had two snarky comment to me, which must be some sort of record. So far I'm kinda working into the classroom and taking more responsiblity. I like it. Hopefully it continues to go well.

Last weekend, Matt and I went to the Madison Zoo and had so much fun!!!! We forgot our camera so we don't have any pictures but it was fun. We got so close to a tiger I could have touched it (but I didn't). And the Madison Zoo was free, even better!!! We needed a fun day out and we got it!!

A good weekend!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend. Matt and I did. Part of my window project this summer has been to replace broken glass. Now, I can do this in theory but then, I can also do a back handspring in theory too, (meaning I know what I need to do but the true question is: Can I do it?) I had been putting it of and putting it off until I just had to do it. So I went to our local lumber yard and told them the size of glass I needed, they cut it, I came home, removed the broken glass, glazing and old points from the window, and replaced the glass with new, uncracked glass. I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself. I replaced three windows and Matt and I worked on replacing the fourth. That one was a bit of a struggle but we got it replaced. The new windows look pretty good and you can't tell the difference! The only problem is that I can't wear gloves and handle glass, even broken glass. For the first three windows I didn't have a problem but with the last window, I sliced my middle finger which began to bleed profusely. Now parts of our new glazing have little bits of red in them from my blood. Blood, sweat and tears. (I haven't actually cried over this project yet but I have definitely sweated and now bled.)

Saturday evening Matt and I went to go see "The Proposal." It's a very funny movie with a happy ending. I like that. Do all movies have to be thought-provoking or awe-inspiring? Sometimes, I just like a few laughs. Anyhow, this one is good. A little risque in parts, but still funny. Both Matt and I are Sandra Bullock fans which made us like it even more.

Before the movie, we had about 45 minutes to kill so after we purchased our tickets, we headed over to the mall from the movie theater (about 100 feet). Now, the best part of this mall is the humane society adoption center. They always have cute cats and dogs in there. As always, we headed for the shop to say hello to the animals. In the front window they had two kittens who were just going nuts with playing. They were very cute and one of them looked like Gus when he was a kitten, about 35 pounds ago (ok, not that many, more like 12) They had supercute dogs, rats, and even more cats. For each animal, they have a card next to it with the reason the previous owners brought it in and generally it's something like: couldn't care for, moving, too many pets, new baby, etc. One of the cats, a longhair domino cat, according to it's card, was brought in because of "unrealistic expectations." Now, this made Matt and I wonder what sort of unrealistic expectations might an owner have for a cat? Did they expect the cat to feed itself? Scoop it's own litter box? Maybe balance the owner's checkbook? "I thought this cat would know nuclear physics but I don't think it knows where it's tail is!" "You told me that this cat would change my life but I still have trouble with the can opener!!! Take it back!!" And so on. I had to leave the shop because I was giggling so much at the idea of "unrealistic expectations" and how Matt and I perceived it. It probably means that the owner thought the cat would get along with other animals and didn't or something like that. But the phrase "unrealistic expectations" could mean so much more....

I have unrealistic expectations for our cats: that Mac won't jump on the bed when I'm trying to make it and that Gus will realize that there are more comfortable places to sleep besides purring loudly between our heads while we're trying to sleep. Or there is his litter box issue, namely his misuse of the box. Yes, very unrealistic....

More Random!!!

Apparently, my life is random. I'm certain that others reading this would agree that their lives are also random but since this is my blog, I'll discuss my randomness. Feel free to post your random in the comments (must contain PG-13-rated randomness because occasionally my grandmother reads this blog (when I remember to print it off and send it to her:))

Random update: Fairs: We didn't go to the Great Jones County Fair because it was a great 75 miles away. I mean, I like elephant ears but I'm far too practical/cheap to justify that much gas/time/energy just to reward myself with yummy gooey dough coated in cinnamon sugar, all dripping and warm..... Oh sorry, where was I? Right, the fair. So instead Matt and I went to the Dubuque County Fair which does not have a descriptive adjective in front of it so we didn't know what to expect. It was ok. I did have some complaints thought. First off, not enough cows and mostly Holsteins, no goats, and only a few rabbits. Come on people, where are the farm animals??!? Second, NO ELEPHANT EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was dismayed, to say the least but I managed to keep my despair to a quiet howl on the midway, "Where are the ELEPHANT EARS!!!?!? I WANT AN EAR!!!!!!" while Matt quickly steered away from his deranged, somewhat psychotic, fair-food demanding wife. (This incident may or may not have happened. I leave you to judge) However, I have found that funnel cakes make an acceptable though not equal substitution. We did enjoy the pig racing and the BMX trick bikes doing flips in the air. Only at a Midwest fair would you have pig, actually piglet racing, and bike tricks about 20 feet away. FYI: the pigs were not greased. I checked.

Kitty randomness: Some of you might be tired of reading about our cats but they are funny and keep Matt and I giggling. Pets of all kinds bring so much joy to a house that I like to share it. Our cats bring a particular type of joy, namely, weird because that's how our cats act. The other night we had cantaloupe. It was delicious. Matt cut it up and we partook. About a hour later, I noticed Gus (you knew Gus was coming into this story, didn't you?) acting oddly, even for him. He was shaking and pawing at his head. I tried to grab him but he ran away from me. Eventually I tracked him to his kitty hide-out (a cat cube) and grabbed him out of it. He still wouldn't let me look at his head so I had to forcibly turn his face towards me. According to the sticker stuck on the corner of his mouth and whiskers, he is a delicious home-grown cantaloupe. While his belly is the size and color of a cantaloupe, I can't tell if he's ripe or not. And apparently when Matt threw the rind in the trash, he missed one part. Ahh, Gus, our special kitty....

It's time for Random time!

#1. Yesterday was the first Annual "Normal Gus" day. Actually we don't know if it was the first Annual but we certainly hope so!! As we all know, Gus is normally not normal. But yesterday, we had a breakthrough. First sign of normality: Normally at treat time, if 5 cat treats are given out, 4 are quickly eaten by Mac, the treat addict, and one sits in front of Gus while he thinks about whether or not he wants the treat. By the time he has come to the conclusion that yes, he wants the treat, it has been snarfed by Mac "Give me treats or I'll give you death" Lee. Yesterday, the total treat count: Mac 2, Gus 3!!! Gus ate more treats yesterday than he has all year. Matt said that Gus just went cat-wild over the treats! Good for Gus. Second sign of normality: Gus wasn't afraid of the plastic bag when I put it away. Normally, he runs in terror from the sound of lightly crinkling plastic. Not yesterday. Third sign of normality: He sat like a cat, tummy tucked in, paws parallel to each other and not like an old man, paunch hanging out, legs all askew. For one day, we had two normal cats. It was bliss......

#2. After much consideration, I believe that Belted Galways replaced Jerseys in the coveted spot of "Merrilee's Favorite Cow." While I will always have a soft spot for Jerseys in my heart, Belted Galways are funnier. (And yes, dear readers, that was the sole criterion) Not that I have actually met a Belted Galway but there is a herd near us. These are black with a broad white "belt" that goes around their middle. And I'm assuming they are from Galway. Many of the cows near us have the belt in the middle. Some, however, have the belt closer to their hind end, reminding me of boys who wear their baggy pants much lower than they should. These are the gangster rappers of the herd, the nonconformists, the hip, and the "cool ." They make me chuckle because I always tell them "Pull your belt up" again proving my oddity in talking to cows. However, since we're are driving by these cows and Matt already knows I'm strange BUT still consented to marry me, I feel safe in saying it. And I laugh at my horrible joke at the cows' expense. Also, about 2 miles down the road is a small herd with 2 Belted in it. We (Matt and I) have decided that these are the rogue spies of the bovine world, the "Beef, James Beef." (Portrayed by Roger MOOOre)(sorry, couldn't resist) Cows are funny....

#3. Our tomatoes have blight. Again. Stupid rain. It's been so wet they haven't had the chance to dry out. Stupid rain. I haven't been able to work outside because of the, well, you know.

#4. We might go to the Great Jones County Fair this weekend. It's in um, Jones County, in case you weren't certain. And I'll let you know if it is truly "Great," "Good," or just "Okey-dokey."


Well, I think that's all my random thoughts for today.

Updates, updates, updates

This weekend my dad finally had knee replacement surgery. It only took Mom years of nagging for it to happen. No one in my family is stubborn! Anyhow, Dad is doing well and at home, enjoying his new armchair (which I also enjoyed and must admit that it is quite comfy) Dad, I'm glad you had the surgery and I know that in time, you'll be glad too.

Also, as for my classroom vents, we changed rooms and now I (along with most of the class) sit on the opposite side of the room from the annoying girls. The professor is doing what he can to get them to keep up but they need to learn that this isn't high school; no one is going to hold your hand. One of the girls has now missed two days of class, which is equivalent to 2 weeks of a normal-schedule class. So I sit next to three other girls and we help each other work out problems and discuss topics. Ahh, productive students....

I'm less annoyed with the world now and feel better about things (i.e. I'm not going to start yelling in the grocery store about the quality of crackers available.)

And, I think that this weekend, I might get another elephant ear!!! I'll keep you posted!

I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore!! No, not really...

Recently I've been getting annoyed with the world. I don't have a clear reason why, just a general "ticked" feeling. Here are my current top three pet peeves: (I'm glad that I'm typing that because I'm not so certain I could say it. Just tried and nope, can't)

Anyhow,
Issue #1. Our neighbors left for several days. From Saturday until Monday evening, their cat was in an open upstairs window yowling nearly constantly. It broke my heart. Their cat is kinda "borderline" domesticated and feral. He'll let you pet him and then hiss at you. Keeping him locked up doesn't help much with the "feral" issue.
Potential Solution: Tell them the next time I see them that Paws really missed them and that he was yowling for nearly 3 days straight in the open window. Offer to go over and check on the cats since their cats can't do anything differently than ours. If it happens again, call animal control (too harsh??)

Issue #2. The girl behind me in class back talks to the professor who doesn't do anything about it but it annoys me for him. Greatly. (Am I getting old?? Or just wise enough to know not to back talk professors. It's not cute or clever.) She is also very immature, which shows through almost every day. Uggh, I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it.
Potential Solution: Tell her to be quiet!!! No, that's what I WANT to do. I don't have any but does anyone have any thoughts.

Issue #3. Annoying lady at church. I won't go into too much but let's just say that she's THAT lady, the one who looks/sneers at you when you come to church 5 minutes late.
Potential Solution: Avoidance has worked thus far, why change? Also, wake up 5 minutes earlier.

So all of these petty annoyances have made me wonder what is going on. Is the world changing or am I? Does anyone else ever feel this way? This morning on my way to school, a car turned left right in front of another car who had to stop to let the first car go by so it wouldn't hit it. The second car beeped it's horn at the first car who flipped off the second car. Why? For not hitting it?? For letting them know that they almost caused an accident??

Sorry this post is a downer. But, since life is a constant process to improve, I have decided what to do to counter-act all these annoyances: something unexpectedly nice. Hold doors for people. Let them go first. Do what I can to help them. I know that I'm not the first to think of this but I do feel that if by making my world a little better, then I help the entire world. Pass it on!!!!