Back to School - 7 Weeks Left!

So being back at school has been really fun. I didn't realize how much I missed some of the kids. They were all excited to see me and tell me about their holidays. It was priceless! Yesterday I spent the day observing a split Year 5 and 6 class. It was completely different from anything I have experienced before. In all of my practicums in college, I have only been placed in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classrooms. I haven't really gotten to experience the hormonal side of elementary school. This class was not bad, I just felt myself getting a bit bored at times. There were no "cute" answers to any questions asked and they didn't run up to hug you the minute you walked in the door. It was not my cup of tea! However, today I got to observe baby land. I watched two teachers team-teach a Year 1 class. It was very interesting and moved so smoothly. They decided to combine their classrooms so there are double the kids for the class size, but it actually works well. Today the kids were learning about Australia. I was pretty excited about this topic because it seems I don't know as much as there is to know. When the teacher began using the interactive whiteboard (such a cool thing!) and brainstorming ideas about Australia, I decided to pull out pen and paper and take notes. I got so much out of that Year 1 lesson. I learned what everything on the Australian flag stands for and that there are 6 states and 2 territories and the capitol is Canberra. I felt like I should've been given a gold star at the end of the day for my openness to learning.

Friday I will actually begin with my Year 4s and I'm really excited about it. Right now they are studying Australian settlement (which I know nothing about), but maybe I can pull some pen and paper out then, too. It looks as though I will be teaching them measurement in maths (inches are not found on their rulers - only centimeters), narrative story writing in literacy, and kitchen experiments in science. If anybody has any creative ideas for lessons, let me know!