One of the best parts of my job is that I get to observe practicum placements in elementary schools. This gets me in 10 classrooms grades K-6, and I get to see what great teachers do with these awesome kiddos. And it is so fun to get to observe and provide feedback to those just learning.
Yesterday I was sitting in a Montessori classroom with first, second, and third graders. One of the children turned around to me, sitting in the back, and tapped my leg several times. "Excuse me. Excuse me." I asked her what I could help her with. "I don't know this word. It's hard. Can you help me?" I asked her to identify the first letter, and from there, with the help of the corresponding picture, she figured it out. Exasperated, she threw up her hands, "Oh! Blueberries! Of course. I love blueberries." And she grabbed her blue crayon and happily continued her work.
So cute. I miss the kids, but love what I'm doing.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
thank goodness for dvr
My tizzy state started yesterday at some point and continued on through today, though tonight it was with (somewhat) good reason in excitement for Talking Volumes. In my excitement, I forgot about the season premiere of Glee. I am not sad I missed it for Talking Volumes, but yay for dvr!
Tonight was Jonathon Franzen speaking with Kerry Miller (love her!) about his new novel, Freedom. I frittered away a weekend sucked into the book, and though I have mixed feelings about it, my friend and I agreed that it ended in a satisfying and beautiful way, and we were glad for that. The characters were interestingly complex (at least most of them), and though there were moments that felt a little contrived, and seriously Jonathon, get off your soapbox, I am glad I read it. Might not buy into it being "novel of the century," but as family sagas go, it's a pretty damn interesting one. And only glimpse of the creepy weird stuff from The Corrections.
We waited around to have our books signed, which is a weird thing, signing books, but I like it. In line, we discussed how we have now in recent past been in close presence of Jane Hamilton and Jonathon Franzen. Not bad literary presence to be in, whether or not you like their stuff.
Anyway, I'm hoping for a better night's sleep tonight. I struggled to calm down after last night's class and kept working myself up over it, blowing it hugely out of proportion. My class this morning went great. They can't all be life-changing, these classes in my first year. I need to give myself that permission.
Tonight was Jonathon Franzen speaking with Kerry Miller (love her!) about his new novel, Freedom. I frittered away a weekend sucked into the book, and though I have mixed feelings about it, my friend and I agreed that it ended in a satisfying and beautiful way, and we were glad for that. The characters were interestingly complex (at least most of them), and though there were moments that felt a little contrived, and seriously Jonathon, get off your soapbox, I am glad I read it. Might not buy into it being "novel of the century," but as family sagas go, it's a pretty damn interesting one. And only glimpse of the creepy weird stuff from The Corrections.
We waited around to have our books signed, which is a weird thing, signing books, but I like it. In line, we discussed how we have now in recent past been in close presence of Jane Hamilton and Jonathon Franzen. Not bad literary presence to be in, whether or not you like their stuff.
Anyway, I'm hoping for a better night's sleep tonight. I struggled to calm down after last night's class and kept working myself up over it, blowing it hugely out of proportion. My class this morning went great. They can't all be life-changing, these classes in my first year. I need to give myself that permission.
Friday, September 17, 2010
friday book review: uglies
Westerfeld, S. (2005). Uglies. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Another YA series, this one with 4 books in the series. What does that make it, a quartet?
I heard a lot of buzz about this one, but never anything tangible about the plot. The storyline wasn't particularly original, but it was a somewhat engaging story. Another post-apocalyptic society. This one puts all sixteen-year-olds under the knife to make them "pretty," after which they get to move to a new town and party 24 hours a day. A few rogue citizens decide this isn't for them, and they have created a new place to live, called The Smoke. But the goverment doesn't like this, and are going to great leangths to find this hidden society, with the help of the main character, an almost 16-year old Tally.
I couldn't help but compare this one to The Hunger Games and Katniss, the main character in that trilogy. The main character in Uglies, Tally, is pretty one-dimensional, especially when compared to Katniss. I just wasn't really rooting for anyone in this book, and ultimately didn't care what happened in the end. It is doubtful that I'll read the other three. Maybe I'll get really bored at some point. We'll see.
Another YA series, this one with 4 books in the series. What does that make it, a quartet?
I heard a lot of buzz about this one, but never anything tangible about the plot. The storyline wasn't particularly original, but it was a somewhat engaging story. Another post-apocalyptic society. This one puts all sixteen-year-olds under the knife to make them "pretty," after which they get to move to a new town and party 24 hours a day. A few rogue citizens decide this isn't for them, and they have created a new place to live, called The Smoke. But the goverment doesn't like this, and are going to great leangths to find this hidden society, with the help of the main character, an almost 16-year old Tally.
I couldn't help but compare this one to The Hunger Games and Katniss, the main character in that trilogy. The main character in Uglies, Tally, is pretty one-dimensional, especially when compared to Katniss. I just wasn't really rooting for anyone in this book, and ultimately didn't care what happened in the end. It is doubtful that I'll read the other three. Maybe I'll get really bored at some point. We'll see.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
under piles
This new job thing is kicking my butt.
So exciting and wonderful, but so much to do.
I was going to write last night, but decided to spend an hour at pilates instead. I realized I haven't taken a breath in a week or so. I still haven't even written about my fantastic party yet. It was only a week and a half ago, but it seems like ages have passed in the interim.
I'll have a better handle soon. Soon. I keep saying that, but this time I really believe it.
So exciting and wonderful, but so much to do.
I was going to write last night, but decided to spend an hour at pilates instead. I realized I haven't taken a breath in a week or so. I still haven't even written about my fantastic party yet. It was only a week and a half ago, but it seems like ages have passed in the interim.
I'll have a better handle soon. Soon. I keep saying that, but this time I really believe it.
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