Survival 101

Well I survived my first day as a K-5 PE teacher... barely!

When working with lesson plans with the teacher that is my mentor for the year she said, "if everything goes perfectly during your first class you're doing it wrong."  Well under that manner of thinking I did wonderful!

Here's how the first class went... My first class was a group of 3rd and 4th grade students, 19 in total.  We were supposed to be swimming.  All of my high school lifeguards left their suits at home though so I had to implement lesson plan B right away.  No problem there, except that plan B looked like this.......

While sitting in group going over rules and expectations I was stung by a bee, I didn't flinch or say a word, I just kept talking.  We started in on the lesson plan.  While playing scoop ball which focuses on hand-eye coordination and catching and tossing one girl got hit in the nose with a whiffle ball, hard enough that it gave her a bloody nose!   Well one of my rules for class is that my whistle is an emergency situation and when students hear it they are to freeze in their spots immediately.  So the blood is flowing out of this poor girls nose and I blow my whistle.  Give the kids credit they all immediately FROZE!  Yeah!! :)  We got her bloody nose under control and we carried on with the lesson.

By the end of the 45 minute class my wrist was so swollen from the bee sting that I could barely move my hand.  Later however, when the kids found out I was stung they were shocked.  They had no idea.

My mentor had this to say after hearing about my day:  "Congratulations on survival training 101.  You made it through the first day.  Now you need to learn which kids get hit with the ball and get a bloody nose.  It shouldn't be the one that is listening and doing what is asked.  And the good thing is the bee chose you and not a kid.  Then you would have the tears and sting to deal with in a different way.  And the up side is tomorrow should be better, but don't count on it."

The next day was better.  And I'm already laughing about my first class so I think I'm doing okay!

Sunday Organization.... Smoothies!

So on Sundays I like to dedicate part of my day to getting a little organizing done.  Whether its paper work, cleaning, laundry or food organizing is what keeps me mobile.  If I didn't have organization then I'd be lost and way may stressed.   So today I put together some smoothie bags.  I love to have a good fruit smoothie for breakfast, but some mornings there literally isn't time to gather all the dozen fruit and other needed supplies.  Today I tackled that issue by gathering all my frozen fruit and creating individual smoothie bags.  I just simply added about one cup of mixed frozen fruit to each bag.  Now all I have todo is pour that one bag into the blender, add a dollop of Greek yogurt and some juice or water and breakfast is done.  In the long run it probably only saves me about 5 minutes per smoothie, but hey 5 minutes is 5 minutes.  I made 20 smoothie bags in about 10 minutes.

5 minutes per bag * 20 bags = 100 minutes of extra time..... What could you do with 100 extra minutes?

Fall Semester, 7 Days and counting......

Well Fall Semester is just around the corner for me, 7 days and counting.  With 12 credits it's sure to be a busy one.  Although I'm very excited about my Math for Elementary Teachers course!  It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.  Also, taking Children's Literature which should be a great time.  I mean who doesn't like reading to kids?  Then I have health which will come in great use for teaching K-5 PE this year, and the Fuel Up to Play 60 Program.  And finishing out the course load is my Intro to Literature course.  Lots of reading involved with this one from what I've heard so far, good thing I like to read!

All in all I'm pretty excited.  Although I'm a little worried that I may be taking too much on, I mean working full time, 12 credits, 2 kids, one of which will be a crazy little pee-wee football player again here soon, harvest is in full swing so I don't get much help from the husband right now.... I wonder if I'll survive!

I am....

So in the thought that others who do not know me may actually visit this blog here's a little big about who I am....

I am Mrs. Z!

I am a farmer's daughter who grew up in a small town and then subsequently married a farmer, can't seem to get away from the lifestyle!  My husband and I live in my hometown with our two children.  To keep a bit of their privacy I'll call my son the Quarterback, QB for short, and my daughter the Little Princess.  QB will be a third grader this year, and it just so happens that his teacher will be my Third Grade teacher!  And the Princess will be a 1st grader.

I am a Special Education aide at our school district.  I work with primarily 6 different students aged 3rd grade to Freshmen in high school this year.  I will also be teaching K-5 PE this year.  I get the wonderful opportunity to have Mrs. R, who was my PE teacher and coach as my mentor.  I'm really excited about this opportunity.

The QB and the Princess

I am also the Fuel Up to Play 60 Advisor for our School District.  I was recently named as the Idaho Fuel Up Advisor of the Year and because of that honor our small little school was blessed with a visit from an NFL Alumni player.  Talk about BIG excited for our small town kids.

QB getting an autograph from Chicago Bears player Bryan Johnson

I am also a student at LCSC trying to finish my Elementary Teaching Degree with a Math Endorsement.  I'm taking classes full time online and attend on campus during the summers. My goal is to be done within the next year and a half, but it will totally depend on the schedules and such.

I am a Boise State Bronco's fan who lives in the heart of Idaho Vandal territory.  I take a lot of guff for this, but it's all in good fun.  I love football and all that comes with it, as does the rest of my family.  The QB is starting pee-wee football here in the next week or so which will take us out of the house a minimum of four nights a week... yep, add that to the chaos I call life!

I am an outdoor enthusiast.  I love to go camping with my family and friends.  I also enjoy hunting and fishing.  Hiking is a good time.  I'm at home on a four wheeler riding through the woods.   I love to garden and work in the yard as well.

I am a fun person who has a dream to teach and I look forward to meeting and learning from several other teachers.