I'll teach monkeys to swim!

            Today I taught two lessons, both of which I wrote.  The first went off without a glitch. The students got to work in groups, brainstorm ideas for writing prompts, combine all their ideas on a large piece of poster, and present them to the class.  Some of their ideas were off the wall.  One prompt they had to brainstorm was: If you were an animal trainer, what would you teach your animal to do?  Answers were all over the place – Monkeys to swim and dance, Horses to do flips, Cats to do the worm, etc.  I think they really enjoyed it.  I know I did. Mrs. Cade said I did great, looked like a pro! J

             This afternoon I taught a social studies lesson.  My supervisor was there to grade me. While I was nervous, I knew the lesson would be fairly easy to conduct.  As I sat on the couch at the back of the classroom, the students gathered on the floor to listen to me read the chapter aloud.  After, I handed out a crossword puzzle for them to complete.  My supervisor gave me a good review. Her only critique was my voice.  Now either I was just nervous or she just isn’t used to my Minnie Mouse voice, because normally I feel like I am too loud. Mrs. Cade has never mentioned my voice being too soft. 

             My stress level has diminished a bit.  I might not have a life every evening for the next few months, but I’ll be okay….Hmm.  I just need to be ahead….I simply must know exactly what I am doing the following week so I can prepare.  If everything flows that way I will be fine.      

             Tomorrow I will be teaching, rather conducting, a science investigation.  Hopefully the kiddos can calm themselves…..they hear the word experiment and chatting immediately proceeds.