I'm Starting To Become a Grown-up

I put off getting my teaching credential for 2 years after I graduated from undergrad. There were a couple of reasons for this decision. One, I knew I was going to have my job in my favorite classroom for those two years (well, almost). And two, I just didn't feel like I was a responsible enough adult to have my own classroom.

I'm obviously mature.

Don't get me wrong, I am one of the most responsible people I know. I had the option of going with boyfriend tonight to his friend's house to watch them play music and be social. I didn't know what time we would be home, so I opted out in order to get to bed on time. Having your own classroom is a huge and scary responsibility.

Since I will be 26 in December, I decided I should probably get my credential so that I can be a real grown up with a real salary some day.

Once again, obviously mature.

Today, I embarked on the journey to become a teacher. We had our "base camp" today where we had an overview of the course and got to meet our mentor teachers. We have 3 placements, 12 weeks each during the course of the year. We are having a little snafu with where my first placement will be and I am having a miniature freak out since I am supposed to be there on Monday. But my other two mentor teachers seem incredibly nice. My favorite part of the day was the free Mexican food they fed us for lunch.

It was all local meat and vegetables. I love my town so much. The fact that this is really happening hasn't really hit me. Apparently we start applying for jobs in January. To say I am terrified is an understatement. I just have to believe in myself. I am a firm believer in positive energy. If we think we can do it, we can do it.

It is exactly the same situation as running. When times get hard, just keep pushing through and telling yourself you can do it. I have a lot of self doubt, but I always make it through my hard runs with positive thinking, so I know I can make it through this hard program the same way. I also know I will make a great teacher. I've already seen enormous growth in the students that I have taught. I just have to trust in myself. We all need to trust in ourselves.

I taught one of my students addition with carrying.  So that's something.

Teaching is a huge, scary grown up job, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. The reward of seeing a student's face light up when you enter the room and knowing that you have been a positive influence on them in some way is better than gift anyone would give me. Time for me to be a grown up.

What's your job? 

Do you love it?

A Story and Accidental Hill Work

Today at work, one of my students called me over because she wanted to read me a story that she had written about me.

This pretty much melted my heart for several reasons. 1. She cared enough about me to write about me in her notebook. 2. She remembered a story I told her a few weeks ago about the time I played Templeton the rat in Charlotte's Web. And 3. Her handwriting and spelling is amazing for a student with her disability. My students amaze me every single day. And I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. We also walked to the park to watch the junior rodeo.

It's rodeo week in the town I work in and it's a really big deal. The kids put together goody bags to hand out at the parade on Saturday and really enjoyed watching the little kids ride horses. And, of course, there were cows too.

I decided to come home to work out today. I feel as though I haven't spent enough time at home lately since I've been going, going, going. I also house sat the other night, so I literally wasn't home at all that day. For a huge homebody, this is way out of my element.

I came upon this huge line of bikers on my way home.

So I headed out around my neighborhood for a 4 mile run. I have been really bored with my usual route which really keeps me from running outside. So, I went a different way. Which was fantastic, except there are A LOT more hills on this route, so what was supposed to be a slow and easy run turned into hill work. This is okay because I need hill work, but my legs were so tired after yesterday's workout that I thought they might fall off during some of those climbs.

I wanted to run purely on feeling and I did. I only looked at my Garmin to check mileage. I slowed down when I needed to. I had absolutely no idea how fast or slow I was going. It felt really freeing, since I am usually obsessed about my pace. I felt like a beast after I finished.

I did my shoulder routine while watching Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition and then had to rush out the door to meet my family for dinner. My other step sister is in town from Arizona, so almost the entire family is here, which is very rare. We went to our local BBQ place where I got the Tri-tip.

You better believe that after all that hill climbing I ate every last bite. I also ran into my running partner who I haven't seen in MONTHS because she is pregnant, and while she is definitely still kicking butt at working out, our fitness levels are different and she said she doesn't want to slow me down. She had just found out that she is having a girl, which I completely guessed correctly!! It was so so nice to run into her because I have been missing her a lot.

How often do you do hill work?

Are you as obsessed with pace as I am?

Active Job

One of the things that makes me so happy is that while I am technically student teaching, I am also an aide in the classroom, so I am getting paid. Since I can't be in my first home, this placement is a close second. I LOVE my mentor teacher. She's just the sweetest and so helpful. The teacher next door has also taken me under her wing and has shared stories and curriculum. I feel so lucky.

Another thing that makes me happy is how active the classroom is. I am hardly ever sitting down at work. We are always going for walks, hikes, playing a sport, or just moving our bodies. Yesterday we went to the botanical gardens at our local community college.

This was a wonderful, long walk through some of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. The students learned a lot about plants but also got a lot of exercise in.

Since fitness is a passion of mine, I firmly believe that all students can benefit from daily activity. I don't think we are meant to be sitting in desks and I wholeheartedly believe students learn much better if they have the chance to move around.

Today we played tennis. We had the wrong code to the tennis courts, so my mentor teacher had the students play in the hall. Our students need a lot of work on gross and fine motor skills, so tennis was a great way to get their heart rate up and work on these skills. Plus I got to play right along with them. I also learned that I need to brush up on my tennis skills.

I cannot wait to bring some of my exercise experience into my own classroom some day. I want to get my students excited about moving their bodies while learning practical skills at the same time. We have taken a number of walks around town to do Community Based Instruction. I am so glad that I get to mix my two passions (education and exercise) together. This is going to be such an exciting journey.