Multicultural Week

This has been such a wonderful week at my school. It is multicultural week, where families come in to every classroom and share their cultural traditions (not just Christmas or Hanukkah). The week was kicked off with a wonderful Bollywood dance by a few of the moms, as well as the Fifth Graders sharing a song they wrote. Being in the area of Los Angeles we are, our school is so incredibly diverse. In my second grade alone, there are 20 different cultures represented- Israel, Palestine, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mozambique, Egypt, Canada, Honduras, Mexico, South Africa, Russia, Latvia, Iran, Brazil, Philippines, Laos and Lebanon.

Before Break Craziness

It is crazy to me how quickly the weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break go. As soon as we got back from the week we got off for Thanksgiving, we have three weeks to make holiday crafts and gifts, give assessments, and jam as much actual teaching as is humanly possible before the three weeks of winter break wipe out a good chunk of the learning they've done so far. 

The Phonics Debate

Before I get too deep into this post, I wanted to share some good news!! Without going into all the drama and details, I have had some trouble with getting student teaching set up. First, I started student teaching in September but had to get pulled from that due to inappropriate behavior by my mentor teacher. Since then, I have been waiting for another placement to come through, but have not had any luck (that is one of the hard parts of doing an online program based on the East Coast while I live on the West Coast). Today, drum roll please, I got news from a teacher at the school I have been volunteering at that she would like to have me in her classroom!! More details once everything has been confirmed.

Thanksgiving in First

Like I said, I start my student teaching in January, so for now I am spending my time getting some extra classroom experience by volunteering in a first grade and third grade classroom every day. Most of my classroom experience has been in the younger grades- kinder and first- so it is really interesting for me to work with the third graders and see all that they can do. The teacher for that class, Mrs. C, is AH-MAZING, truly one of the best teachers I have ever seen in action, and I will have to dedicate at least one post to all that I have learned there. My first grade class is adorable and taught by Ms. S, who I was shocked to learn is a first year teacher this year- I never would have guessed, as she is so effective and engaging!