Life's Just Fab: July 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

becoming a Montessorian pt. 2

it's nearing the end of my summer training and i will admit that it has been as intense as everyone had told me; thankfully, it was mostly due to having so much information given to me in such a condensed period of time (granted, there was some regular homework stress thrown in every once and while).

The summer journey has been amazing, to say the least.

To say the most, well, i'll tell you.

The last eight weeks have been filled with arithmetic, botany, zoology, language arts, music, history, geography, and the Great Lessons. The vast majority of those content areas are commonly taught in the traditional school system. However, the Montessori method utilizes materials that take children from the concrete concept to the abstract. A lot of it is even foundational work for what they'll be learning down the road in middle and high school. These materials (like the golden beads, nomenclature cards, and puzzle maps) have helped me and my colleagues to even understand these contents to a greater degree.

it's kind of humbling to see just how much even we, as teachers, still have to learn in life. We certainly don't know everything because we are lifelong learners; yet, the amounts of extra knowledge (some of it review and some of it new) is essential to be able to provide those same experiences for my students.

it's also astounding to see how close i've come to my new colleagues. Eight weeks is a short amount of time, but spend eight hours a day with them and they've become great friends. Everyone comes from a different background and has been drawn to a Montessori school for a different reason. But we all ended up here in this training program together and i've come to appreciate everything that they have to offer. We've all come to work together as a team over this short period of time and i am sad to say that i won't be seeing them everyday after this week. However, i am happy to say that they are all going to be amazing Montessori teachers in their new classrooms (plus, we still have our Tuesday night classes to look forward to).

This week has also brought with it the great reality of becoming a teacher. Emailing parents, putting together testing schedules, checking curriculum maps, updating my planner with all of the school dates...it's all coming together. i just about panicked Monday morning when i wasn't exactly sure what i needed to be sending to my class parents and how do i word the email and how much do i say about myself just yet? Thankfully, i have an amazing staff and director to work with who were able to answer all of my questions and the emails were sent without fear (well, without MUCH fear). i have received some fantastic responses and i can honestly say from those replies that i could not have asked for a better group of parents and students to work with this next year. it's helped to begin calming my own nerves as a first-year teacher.

The nerves will come and go (as they always do) but i'm confident that i'll be able to make it through. it's all a part of the journey to becoming a Montessorian and i am still very near the beginning of that.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

weekly doodles pt. 7

Your weekly doodles from week 7.

PS that means that there is only ONE WEEK LEFT!

indiana jones (as requested by Mattycakes)

Godzilla attacking the Eiffel Tower (as requested by Mattycakes)

tower of fruits and vegetables (as requested by Mattycakes)

Star Wars (as requested by the Lawyer)

Chewie for President poster (as requested by the Lawyer)

ghosts and hauntedness (as requested by Mattycakes)

hauntedness continued

dinosaur bachelorette (from Miss Alyss's funny dream)

awkward proposal date (from Miss Alyss's funny dream)

Twilight (in honor of Mattycakes' first viewing of the film)

Happy Endings

"how do i love thee? let me show the ways"

"may angels lead you in"

stargazer lilies (my absolute favorite)

i love cupcakes!

tasteybevs aka fountain drinks

"i believe in Christ, so come what may"

"i wonder when he comes again..."

"Heavenly Father, are you really there?"

witches brewing potions (as requested by Mattycakes)

a kangaroo being interesting (as requested by Mattycakes)

my favorite memory from an amusement park (as requested by Mattycakes)

Mattycakes having fun at Lake Powell (as requested by Mattycakes)

Also, i didn't realize Lake Powell does not have trees. Whatever.

things that are purple (as requested by Mattycakes)

animals flying that don't normally fly (as requested by Mattycakes)

cottage on the shore with fields of heather

Sunday, July 20, 2014

weekly doodles pt. 6

This week included a lot of countries, FRIENDS, and a variety of adorable turtles.

Canada (as requested by The Lawyer)

Australia (as requested by Mattycakes)

epic battle scene (as requested by Mattycakes)

Haiku written in class

"i love the mountains..."

"Today was a fairytale"

"i was enchanted to meet you"

America

FRIENDS

chimera (as requested by Mattycakes)

space scene (as requested by Mattycakes)

Koopa & Troopa - sung to the tune of Super Trouper by ABBA (as requested by Mattycakes)

Michaelangelo (as requested by Mattycakes)

Filbert - not the one from Rocko's Modern Life (as requested by Mattycakes)

Harold Hippo

North Pole & South Pole (as requested by Mattycakes)

scene from Jurassic Park (as requested by Mattycakes)

This is..Arrested Development

music

"she loved the heather on the hills,

the fire in her hearth,

and the rain drizzling on her roof"

Space Jam

soccer (as requested by Mattycakes)

ice age (as requested by Mattycakes)

Sunday, July 13, 2014

weekly doodles pt. 5

Prepare for an overload of doodles. You have been warned!

This week consisted of a lot of mini-doodles, lyrics, and lists as i began to practice my cursive (apparently Montessorians begin their cursive in the wee ages and i need to make sure i'm proficient in this aspect). i began depleting my creativity early in the week and enlisted the help of sirs Mattycakes and The Lawyer (and occasionally Batman) for ideas. They did not disappoint.