Three for Thursday? Why Not!

I warned you this week was odd. It's my final week of student teaching which means I am not technically teaching any lessons. I am in the "phase out" portion of my journey when I relinquish my duties back to the mentor teacher. It feels weird. Here are three random things I wanted to share!

1: A Day In Kinder

Yesterday I was a kindergarten teacher. I guess you could say today was my first full day as a substitute teacher. Our school district is painfully short on substitute teachers for some reason. Although I graduated on Saturday, I technically haven't received my certification yet but thanks to loopholes and whatnot I was able to help out for the day. 

I won't lie, there were some tears during the day (from students, not me!). Overall though, I had a blast with the kinders! The teacher left great notes with plenty of tips throughout and she even had everything I needed out and labled. Talk about setting the bar high! 

2: Gifts from the Student Teacher 

Student Gifts: 

Buying student gifts was a but daughter because, let's be honest, I'm a student teacher so I don't get paid. I found 3 packs of cute snowflake-shaped crayons in the dollar spot at Target and had to use them. Snowflakes are one of my favorite things and I love crayons. For the presentation I used the cutter at the school to make paper snowflakes and then glued this cute (and sorta) little note on each of them. 

I also wanted to give my students a gift as a farewell for the end of my student teaching. I printed a picture of each of them wearing my graduation gown. Those got mounted on some yellow paper and I attached a short note on the back thanking them.

Mentor Teacher Presents: 

For both of my mentor teachers, I got them these adorable apple shaped Post-it note dispensers. I used puffy paint to add their name and a short note on the back.

I purchased some mini frames from Target a while back with the intent of using them for a future crafting project. I decided to use one of Nelson Mandela's famous quotes to fill the frame. (If you like it, feel free to snag it here!) With a little ribbon, I added a bow to hang the frame. On the back of each frame I included a seal from the University of Idaho. I made one for each of my mentor teachers and also for the vice principal of the elementary school I am at. She has worked very closely with me throughout my student teaching and been really supportive. I'm also including a personal letter to each of them and to the principal as well, thanking them for the experience.

3: #LaterBlog - A Look At Last Week

How do you get desks clean and teach fractions? Shaving cream! Fridays in the Resource Room we usually do things a little different because of late start. All kiddos with IEP's in each grade come at one time. We typically try to do something a little more hands on an different to engage students, especially those who may not need support in a specific area (ie we might do a math lesson but have some kids who usually only get services for reading and writing). 

Last Friday we had fun with both our fifth grade and fourth grade groups. We covered desks in shaving cream and practiced drawing, comparing, and writing fractions. It smelled amazing and I couldn't believe how focused some of our squirrels were! I don't think I have out any reminders to stay on topic or complete the problems. They were rewarded with a few minutes of free time drawing. Suddenly my fifth/forth graders were as giggly and smiley as a bunch of kinders! 

P.S. Oh man, did I forget to mention that tomorrow is my last day of student teaching? Umm, what!? I can't even processing it just yet.