Christmas Carol!!!

Last Thursday I was able to see the theatrical performance of " The Christmas Carol." My former master teacher takes her students every year, and this year she took me too!!! I was really excited to go because I missed my former students. We all went out for pizza, and then we met at the theater to see the show.

The show was REALLY good! I was VERY impressed!!! I have seen the movie, but seeing it live was SO much better!!!

Miss Harter and I at dinner!

Our former master teacher and us...Now we're ALL REAL TEACHERS!!!

Two of my former students and I.

They all looked so cute!!!

Where is Mrs. O? (Some of them wanted to know if they could call me Samantha since I wasn't their teacher anymore...haha...not so much!!!)

:( The End of a Touching Chapter...

Friday was the last day of my student teaching. While most would be relieved, I find myself extremely saddened by the situation. I had one of the most memorable experiences. I feel so fortunate to have been apart of the Linda Vista staff, even if it was for a mere 8 weeks.

When I finished my student teaching last semester, I was nervous because I wasn't sure if teaching is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Of course, since I had spent almost 5 years of my life working toward this goal, I wasn't about to turn back, but I honestly had lost the passion I had once felt.

After my time at Linda Vista, I have no doubt that teaching is my calling AND, more importantly, what I want to do. So, thank you to an AMAZING school, staff, students and master teacher... You have all made me remember why I have worked so hard to get where I am now...

I went ahead and posted some pictures of my last week at Linda Vista. You'll be able to see just why I loved it so much.

These kids are AWESOME! Can you see why I had so much fun!

My partner in crime, Lauren. By the end of our student teaching, we were finishing each others sentences... I'll miss you Miss Harter...

Reading groups with Mrs. Ostapeck. This was my last day, and a difficult one, at that.

Working hard...OR hardly working? It just depended on if there was anything good to talk about! Haha...Noooo...we worked hard!

Me, and the woman that put up with all of my crap...Sure gonna miss you all too...

...Oobleck...

Heard of Oobleck? Naw, you probably haven't... If I could describe it in 3 words I would use: messy, fun and messy. Yes, I am aware I used "messy" twice, but that is because it ended up being twice the mess I planned on. So, here's my story...

In our science books, they have a fun extension lesson called Oobleck. So, Lauren, (the other fifth grade student teacher) myself, and our master teachers, Linda and Susie decided to do it. Lauren and I prepared the lesson the night before and realized that it was going to be messy, but we still decided it would be fun.

You should have seen us. We got so dirty just trying it, and we are adults. I got in a fight with the corn starch, and, well...lets just say the corn starch won :)

Here are some pictures of our lesson. It went REALLY well. I usually don't enjoy being messy or enduring loud noise, but I decided to loosen up for the day and have fun with it...

Mrs. Ostapeck and Miss Harter take on Oobleck...Making Oobleck...Some of my students and I...boy, I'll miss them...Lauren and I trying to manage the mess... I got so lucky this semester...look at these wonderful students...

Working hard...AND learning...

THIS is Oobleck...Look how messy I was!!! I played it cool too...See...LEARNING CAN BE FUN!!!

Miss Harter in the middle of it all...

Trying to explain to them that the substance is going through a chemical change. You see, the lesson WAS educational too...This is what happens when two students teachers take on Oobleck....A BIG, FAT MESS!!!

Teaching with Trash :)

Yes, it's true... I taught with trash. And have I told you what an amazing experience it was? Perhaps one of my favorites...

Last Tuesday I had to teach a science lesson. I have been following the teachers manual like a bible...it tends to make things MUCH easier. So, the manual informed me to send a letter home asking parents and students to keep the packaging from some of their household products, and bring them into class. At the time, I didn't really care why, I just did what it told me to do.

So, on Tuesday the kids got to take all of the different packages and look at the labels. They were searching for all of the different elements they could find. Now, I know this doesn't sound that exciting to you, but it was AMAZING for me. It was so neat to see ALL of the students actively engaged in the lesson. It's one of those "I'm glad I chose this as my profession," moments. I saw the light bulb...

I had to share...and NONE of these photos were staged...they were having THAT much fun!!!

!!!StUdEnT TeAcHiNg!!!

So, I know you are all wondering how my student teaching is going. I know I have been a bad blogger lately and have neglected keeping everyone updated. For those of you who were wondering, I am in a fifth grade class and am REALLY enjoying it. It took me a few weeks to get used to the classroom, but now I really feel comfortable and am loving my students, master teacher and the school itself... It has been such a wonderful experience thus far (fingers crossed :).

I am actually extremely sad that in a mere 4 weeks I will have to leave it all behind and be out on my own. With jobs so scarce, I think it may take awhile for me to land one, but I have been praying about it...so we'll see. (Staying Optimistic!!!)

I have gathered a bunch of pictures over the past few weeks. ENJOY!!!

This is my master teacher Linda Mason.

She's an amazing teacher, but more importantly an awesome person... It's so easy to see how much she loves her students...she's one of the teachers that doesn't get paid enough :) The type EVERY teacher aspires to be. (If you read this Linda, NO, I am not just saying these things to pass...just kidding, I am...just kidding, I'm not...NOT KIDDING!)

Here are some of the pictures I took on crazy hat day:

Science (mixtures and solutions): Presented by Ms. Mason and Mrs. Ostapeck-

Halloween at Linda Vista Elementary:

This is a really cute video of the boys in my class. They were dancing to the song "Ghost Busters." :) Linda called it their own little "mosh pit." They're HILARIOUS!

Yes!!! Teachers dress up too!!!Miss Harter, another student teacher, and I dressed up as Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus. I had the kids call me Mrs. Montana for the day...they got a kick out if it!!!Ms. Mason as a Pirate...she looks cute here though, I guess she's a pretty pirate and not a scary one.

I thought this was funny. One of the aides dressed up as Winnie the Pooh...haha

Just 3 days ago, I taught a lesson about Vikings. I was getting a headache and my students kept asking me if they needed to put their name on it, or if they needed to use complete sentences, etc.

I decided that since we sometimes have a problem with the students remembering to put their name, number and date on everything, AND I wanted the students to use complete sentences and restate the question, I would do this:

Linda and I were laughing because the kids got a kick out of it. I would say things like "what should you remember to do before you turn in your paper to me?" Then Linda would say things like "Uh...I wonder where I could look," or something like that. It was pretty funny. Needless to say there should be no excuse for not having their name, number, date, complete sentences and the restating of the question. :)