What now?

Today marks the 84th day that I have lived in Utah. It is so hard to believe that just a few months ago, I was getting lost every turn that I made, calling home crying every single day, and threatening to quit college and become a plumber. I feel like I have accomplished so much, with the help of so many people of course. What a wonderful experience Student Teaching has been though. I can honestly say, there have only been two or four days that I have really dreaded going to school this whole semester, which in my book is pretty amazing.

I was lucky enough to have two incredibly talented cooperating teachers this semester. We had my final evaluation on Wednesday morning. To sit down and have them talk about all of my strengths and how much growth and progress that they have seen in me in the past couple of months was kind of overwhelming. Having them tell me that I would fit in anywhere on any team because I have an incredible personality that meshes well with everyone around me was something that made me just want to burst. I am pretty sure I was smiling from ear to ear all day on Wednesday. What a beautiful day.

Then yesterday, I had my work sample review, where I presented my work sample from my math unit to a committee. I got to show them all the lessons that I had taught and the growth that my students made over the course of my unit. I just love teaching. It is one of the most rewarding jobs in the whole world. My students did incredible on their tests, and it was all because of me. Haha. Just kidding. They worked really hard actually. And they are just smart. And adorable. Now if only I can get a job...

Speaking of adorable...My sixth graders are hilarious. They threw me a surprise birthday party this afternoon. (It wasn't actually a surprise, however, because I knew about it). Apparently they have been planning it for weeks. They wanted to do this for me, probably to get out of doing regular work, but also because I am not going to be here for my birthday (which is also my 5th grade teacher's birthday as well..what a coincidence). They had written a note for me on the whiteboard when I walked into my classroom, instructing me that the sixth grade needed me for something. I saw one of my sixth graders hiding behind the corner as I walked out of my classroom. As I was walking toward their classroom, I noticed that the lights were off. Hmm. Suspicious. I walked in and they bombarded me with balloons and singing and candy and treats. It was a-ma-zing! They wrote me a rap to the tune of "We will, we will, rock you" and break-danced for me. Love it! And bless Mrs. Brecht's soul...what a lady. They finished my party by giving me two gigantic homemade cards that everyone in the class signed, homemade paper flowers, and chocolate. What better birthday could I have asked for. Love it!

84 days down...3 to go. I can't actually believe it. What a miracle of an experience. I don't actually want to be finished. I would like to stay there forever actually. There is just a joy that I get from seeing those students learn that I don't get anywhere else. It's magical really. And I don't really feel like it is my teaching. It is just their eagerness to learn. It's so awesome. But for now, I shall go home. I shall celebrate Easter with mi familia. I shall love it. It will all work out. I will go where I am supposed to go, I will do what I am supposed to do, and I will hopefully not get too stressed out in the process.

And by the way...I love all of my parents. Yes, all four of them. My mommy and my little sister came to see me this past weekend and we had so much fun together. We went shopping and swimming. My mother is also one person that I laugh with the most. She is hilarious and I love her more than life itself. And to top it all off, my dad and my step-mom came to Utah for some basketball games, and in between, took me out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (Yum) and bought me some books that I have been really wanting to read. Those wonderful parents of mine. They really do love me. And really, if you think about it, who couldn't? :)

My Little Sister is a teenager...

Scary. My little baby sister Emiliana is now officially 13. If I am overwhelmed with this fact, I can't imagine how my mother must be feeling. Old probably...:) Just kidding Mom. And another thing that I find unusually disturbing is that my mother allowed my little sister to have a slumber party where she invited 8 other little girls over to spend the night. I tried to do the very same thing when I was that age and my mother threw a fit. She kept having to come downstairs every five minutes and tell us to be more quiet, and she definitely did not support this event. However, now apparently it is okay for 8 little girls to spend the night, where my mother will probably just let the little girls do whatever they want and not even bother them at all. Hmm. I don't actually understand. But whatever. It's probably because she is spoiled. Don't get me wrong, I love her to pieces, but she gets to do a lot more than I got to do when I was her age.

And on another note, I have exactly 13 days until I am finished with my student teaching, and 20 days, probably, until I go home. However, I have been feeling a little bit wishy-washy about going back to Wyoming for the summer. I don't really want to. Not that I don't love my family there, but I am really enjoying living in Utah. I really like my singles ward and the friends that I have made already. When I go home, I will have absolutely no friends, except for Keith who is amazing by the way, but I just really want to stay here. At least for the summer. So, if wishes do come true, my wish is to stay here in Utah for the summer and have something magical happen. I do believe in fairies, I do, I do. :)

Speaking of fairies...I went to Disney On Ice on Thursday night! It was so much fun! Also, I went to a career fair and saw some friends! We ended up getting some delicious ice cream from the BYU eating place..haha...whatever they call it. It was yummy though. Here are a few pictures.

Tinkerbell and the other fairies!

Yummy Ice Cream!

Just an Update

I haven't posted anything for a while, so I just decided that I would really quick while I have a minute. I am still enjoying student teaching so much. I love love love it. It is probably one of the most amazing things that I have ever done. Ok, maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I do really like it. Definitely a great experience. I just started a new math unit with my students on graphing, data analysis, and probability. It should be really fun, but I was kind of nervous to start it. Let me tell you why. I have to do this thing called a work sample for student teaching, where I put together a portfolio of a pre-test, lessons I taught, student samples, and a post-test, showing that I taught the students something. I looked at the pre-test before I gave it today, and it looked super easy. That is why I was nervous: I thought the students would already know everything on the test, and I wouldn't have anything to teach them. But don't worry, most of them bombed the test! Hooray for bombing tests! Yay! (Hilarious that I am excited about them failing something, but it was quite a relief) So, in other words, I am excited to be able to teach them something that they don't know, and see their progress and growth at the end of the unit.

And exciting of all exciting news!! I am going skiing tomorrow!!! Earlier this week, my cooperating teaching told me that her husband was going to be out of town this weekend, and she invited me to go shopping with her. As you know, I am addicted to shopping, but I don't really have the money for that right now. I think she could kind of tell that I wasn't super excited about that, and so she said that she had another idea. She said that she remembered that I loved to ski, and she said that I hadn't said anything about going skiing yet this season. So she thought that maybe it would be fun if we went. I practically jumped for joy. I am so excited. We are going to the Solitude ski resort at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Love it! And if you are wondering, yes, my cooperating teacher and I are on this level. She is super nice, we get along really well and I can't wait for tomorrow! Partly because it snowed a lot today, the weather is supposed to be really good tomorrow, and this will probably be one of the only times that I get to go skiing this year! Woo Woo!