Progress Reports and other fun

The first set of progress reports have gone out in the Chicago Public Schools. Parents will now know how well their child is doing. I am proud of my children. They seem to have started out the year well. I hope they can keep it up the rest of the quarter.

My daughter's teacher did something neat. She set up individual meetings with all the parents. She called it an informal "Getting to know you". I really liked that I was able to sit down with her teacher and ask her anything I wanted to. With 30+ kids in a class it is really hard to get one on one time with your child's teacher. Report card pick-up should not be the first time you meet your child's teacher. I know that I will try to do this type of parent meeting when I have my own classroom.

A Fun Survey that has nothing to do with Education

This I believe.....

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/39780/

This is an essay written by Martha Leath. She wrote it for the website thisibelieve.org . It is about how telling kids the truth is beneficial. I think we often under estimate the minds of children. In some ways they are capable of complex thoughts and ideas. We tend to sugar coat the truth so that kids can "understand" it better. I really think we do it to help us avoid explaining things. I know I am guilty of this when it comes to my own children.

Getting Involved During Observations

Well the time has come for me to step it up during my observations. The teacher has me doing all sorts of stuff. I have graded papers, gave children assessments, and wrote an outline on the blackboard. I have learned that I need to work on my handwriting. How the heck do you do that at 32 years old? My observation time is flying by. I am going to miss the children after I leave next month.

I am also pleased to announce that I received my letter telling me where I will be placed for the winter and spring quarters. It is a school ten minutes away from my house. I can't beleive my luck. I have to contact the principal Friday to set up a meeting. I am so excited!

Its week 4 already?

This quarter is going by so fast. I say that every quarter. If this is you first year at NLU, get used to that sentence. You will be saying often. The thought of ten week classes sound cool. Then you are in them and you are probably losing your mind about now. How will I get it all done in time?

Education students are doing observations, logs, blogs, reflections, lesson plans, power points, and any other fun stuff you can think of. It is crazy!

You will get it done and you will be relieved when you get your A.

Just remember it is week four and there is still a lot to do in all of your classes. Lets all buckle down and finish this quarter!

Any thoughts on good ways to finish the quarter stress free? Please let me know.

This is just an old Reading Rainbow video that I thought was cool. Reading Rainbow was absolutly my favorite show when I was a kid.