New Clothes...

So I have decided that I need to update my wardrobe. This decision came after the conversation I had with a second grader as I was walking in to school this morning. This precious little boy in the class next door is really one of my favorites...he is always so happy and he's so cute! Anyway, I met him in the hall this morning as I was walking in. He says, "Mrs. Bell, you put on a black shirt this morning?" I said, "Yeah, I wore a black shirt so it would match my flip flops" (it was Flip Flop Friday at school today). He says, "but I can't believe you put on a black shirt, you usually put on a blue shirt." Apparently I have way too many blue shirts if a 2nd grader thinks that's all I wear!

Another funny comment from today was this...one boy told me that his friend was sad because one of the "big kids" called him a nerd. I said, well that's why you weren't supposed to be playing with those "big kids", they're not very nice sometimes. Then the boy says, "well, being a nerd just means you're really, really smart, and it's good to be really, really smart. So I told my friend that he shouldn't be sad that someone called him a nerd, because a nerd is good." What a great perspective!

On another note, the same boy was telling Mrs. S (the teacher) a very sad story about his mother getting beaten up by her boyfriend. As Mrs. S was listening, she said "now you're never going to hit a girl, are you?" to which the boy replied "heck, I ain't never gonna hit nobody!" We felt better to at least know that maybe this boy hasn't been tainted by the bad influence of his mother's boyfriends. Thankfully, he no longer lives with his mother, since she obviously did not provide a safe environment for her son.

I made it through my 2 weeks of teaching by myself in the 2nd grade! It ended a week ago, and it was actually really fun, and I'm looking forward to having a class of my own (someday...but probably not in Chicago). Before the internship began, I couldn't imagine having to teach by myself, especially with another teacher watching me. But, it really wasn't too bad. Most of the time when Mrs. S was in there, she wasn't really paying attention. The only thing that was tough is I felt like I needed to do things just like she did, instead of like I would do them. Anyway, it was good for the most part! The teacher was gone for 3 days during my 2nd week of teaching, so I really got to see what having a class to myself would be like! There was a sub in there with me, but she stayed busy making copies and doing projects for other teachers. This week was a little less exciting, since I was back to observing and trying to find things to do! The kids had several tests to take this week, so I really didn't have many opportunities to teach. I did get to teach one afternoon because the teacher had to leave. I can't believe I'm almost done with my 1st 8 weeks of my internship! After next week, I'll move to 5th grade. It will be a completely different atmosphere, and I'm interested to see what it will be like. The teacher (I'll call her Mrs. C) I'll be with also has a totally different personality than Mrs. S, so that will be fun to see a different perspective on teaching. I'm looking forward to it...but a little nervous, especially since some of the 5th graders are bigger than me! Well, I better go for now. I need to get back to the homework I've been trying to avoid! Have a great day!