Reasons to Celebrate

Well, it happened. I graduated! Finally! Woot! Woot! Student teaching was amazing. I loved me cooperating teacher, Patti. She taught me so much! I will forever be in her debt. I was given a baptism by fire when I entered her classroom. We had a constant referral load of 7 from the week I got there until the day I left. During this time we held numerous IEPs and got kids through the process, but we still kept getting more and more referrals. It was a good chance for me to really see how to process works from start to finish. I had the opportunity to conduct several IEPs, as well as writing the goals.
I love my students so much! We taught K-2, and just like every other SpEd room, their abilities had a wide range. They kept me on my toes and I had the opportunity to learn how to really differentiate my instruction to best suit all students. They were the sweetest students a teacher can ask for. Some of my favorite memories:
*Constantly being caught by surprise and scared when they would hide and jump out at me.
*Students fighting over who got to sit in my seat so they could steal my brain power, then me having to get out my brain sucker to get it back from them.
*My first graders reading their words so well that they would "blow" me away and I would fall down (they loved that!)
*Learning how to survive my first grade tsunami
*Helping students feed their sight words to the shark
*Hugs and being told I was the best teacher ever
*Seeing the progress that students made through the data I collected
*All of the laughing and smiling with my students

I was so blessed to have the best student teaching experience ever. I can't praise Patti or my students enough. I have to share with you the very best, tops-all, capstone experience of my student teaching. The day before my graduation Patti had worked hard to make the day special, even if she wasn't there to celebrate it with me. I got to school to find a nice sign on the door congratulating me on my graduation. That afternoon, after Patti got back to school, we worked on various projects around the classroom. As I was teaching my Kindergarten class Patti got really anxious for me to finish. We were taking a few extra minutes for a Friday Fun activity, but I didn't think there was that much of a rush. Two different times Patti asked how much longer I would be, and said she really needed me to take a testing book to another teacher. I rushed the kiddos through their project, got them to class, and rushed the book to the other teacher. While I was talking to that teacher one of the paras came in and said that I was needed in the Speech teacher's room. I rushed over there only to find the door shut and the lights off. I opened the door and the lights flipped on, and a chorus of 30 little voices shouting "SURPRISE!" greeted me. Suddenly I was swarmed by all of these little kids trying to hug me at the same time. It brought tears to my eyes. I love those kids! Patti got them all to give me some space by telling them that we would have cookies and punch while I opened my present. Inside the bag were the cutest notes and gifts:
*Flip-flops, "We flipped over having you here!"
*Calculator, "We calculate you will be a total success in all you do!"
*Whoppers, "You've been a whopper of a great teacher"
*Extra (gum), "You are extra special!"
*King size Reese's, "A king-size hug to you from us!"
*Post-it notes, "A note of appreciation"
*Whistle, "Thanks for the company at all the receeses!"
*#1 Teacher key chain, "You are and will be a #1 teacher!"
*A card signed by all of my students
*A beautiful vase of flowers
It was one of the best moments of my life. I was sick on graduation day and barely made it through the ceremony, but this little party was the best! I am the luckiest girl!
Now I am in the process of looking for my dream job. I love elementary aged kids, and that is where I want to be. Finding a position in this setting is proving to be a little difficult. There are plenty of secondary positions available, but not many elementary. I have had one interview, so we'll see what happens. Here's to moving on to the next dream!