My Calling in Life

Today I taught again! And again it was so much fun. This time I taught 5th grade science. We had them make ice cream in plastic bags and then taught them about the three different phases of matter. I was a little nervous at first but that only lasted 5 mins into the lesson. I loved being around the kids, having them ask me questions and actually knowing the answers! One student asked me if I could spell some words for him...that put me on the spot! Luckily all he asked was liquid and chocolate, I think I got those two down. It is such a neat experience to have children look up to you in that way. I don't think I have ever been in a situation like that where children have so much respect for me. Anyways, it was so wonderful to see my hard work come together into a beautiful, well carried out lesson where the students actually learned something and had a good time doing it!! AND I WAS THEIR TEACHER! It was really weird being called Miss Turley but I would do it again in a heart beat...and I am going to!
The next lesson I will be teaching will be to the 7th graders and we will be talking about Volume. The next time I teach the 5th graders we are going to be taking about Force and Motion.

This is all made possible by the NAUTeach program up here at NAU. This program started in Texas (as UTeach) and is now starting to wriggle its way into the rest of the United States. This program is amazing! The first two classes get you into the class room so that you can know right away if teaching is right for you, and they even give you a stipend for taking the class. So at the end of this semester I will get $250 for taking a class I love. Our teacher was telling us the other day that tons and tons of schools applied to have the program come to their Universities...they only picked 12! So out of all the Universities country wide the one that was chosen just so happened to be in Arizona so I could still get my tuition waver and be close to home. I am so excited to be going to school to be a teacher!
Oh and a little side note for Diane(and anyone else who was wondering)...The job I had an interview for was a Summer Enrichment Program. If I get it I will be a TA for a science class. There will be three one week sessions were kids will come up and take the class. The best part is that at the end of each week I get to go on a field trip with the students. I am really excited for it but I don't know if I will get it or not. They told me as I was walking out of the interview that they would get back to me by the end of the week. That was a week ago! I am really worried that I won't get it but I am holding on to the hope that they are just behind and haven't gotten around to calling me back. :/
OH! Did I mention that I LOVE TEACHING!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! :D

Catching up

I guess I am over due for a post, it has almost been a month. Life right now is just peachy. I am only taking 11 credits so I have a lot of time on my hands. I did have 14 but last week I withdrew from my Elementary Number Theory class. It was a nightmare and I am sad to say I was not quite ready for it. So I will take it again in a year and hopefully by then I will have enough math background for everything to make sense. So with my new found free time I cook more, I am typing my journal, I started reading the third Eragon book, and I don't do my HW! :)
My goal for tomorrow is to actually get out of bed at 6:30 (or 7) and go running. I miss being able to sleep well and the solution to that problem it to exhaust myself and I have full confidence that getting up early and running will do just that.
This past week was amazing! I taught my first math lesson to REAL Jr High kids, I had my first job interview, and I planed out the classes I need to take for the next three semesters and now I know for sure that I will be able to get my teaching degree in three years! If everything works out the way I have planed I will graduate in May of 2011! :D That makes me really happy
I cannot wait for spring break and I am so excited to go home and see my family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that is about it...