Serendipity

I love my new class! It is 6 weeks long and all about lesson planning (set and closure, anyone??). I have been introduced to this new part of a system called TaskStream and it is fantastic. It has unit, theme, lesson plan, and rubric builders. We explored the lesson plan builder tonight. It has all sorts of areas like...topic, subject, expectations, objectives, rationale, contents, procedures, materials you need, assessment, and differentiated instruction. It has all the state standards (even DODEA!!), so you can click and align your lesson with the standards...no more shuffling through a huge binder. You can upload all of your printed materials (worksheets, handouts, test, etc.) and ideas! It is all stored for you in one neat place. Need a copy of your lesson plans for a principal or sub?? Click "print" and it is all neatly and clearly laid out...standards, rational, and all! No more trying to fit all of that into a tiny square in your gradebook planner. If I would have had this tool last year, I wouldn't have spent early AM hours writing pages and pages of sub-notes. It is so easy to pull and store things. Love it! I can go back and change things that didn't work so well or add new ideas to old lessons.... the possiblities are endless. We get a free subscription (I believe it is around $30 a year after we leave the program) through UofP because it is what we upload all of our degree requirements(ie. Praxis scores, letters of recommendation, fingerprint clearance) and selected assignments (ie your Educational Philosophy paper, etc). In the end you have a killer e-folio to take to interviews. I can even upload pictures and videos of lessons, working with kids, etc. Now I have discovered that it has all these lesson planning tools. I am a happy camper.

My instructor is great. He is a fifth grade teacher at a school here on Foster. He is about 10 years from retiring and has taught all over the world (Alaska, Bahrain...you name it). He's taught K-8. He said he did one summer school of Kindergarten and would never do it again...Amen. Kindergarten teachers are a special breed. Those that have the talent are fantastic, but you have to have a talent for it. I do not have that gift. He was a principal in Idaho for 12 years (over on the east side..way east). He owns a ranch in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Here is the best part...he is a Love and Logic trainer!!! For those of you who don't know what Love and Logic is, it is a discipline system that I was introduced to in Mt. Home. Look it up online. Fascinating, logical, natural, and it works. I love it. I have all the books, both for teaching and parenting, and I swear by it. This guy was trained by Jim Fay himself. You can bet I am going to pick his brain.

Oh, here is another neat coincidence. McKenzie was selected to go in March on a fabulous cultural immersion trip for fifth graders. There are only about 5 from each DODDS school that get to go! She will spend a week on an island near here with Japanese and Korean students. She is totally immersed in the culture (including the food...ha, ha...I would pay to be a fly on the wall for that). I will have more info later after the next parent meeting. Anyway, guess who the principal for the DODDS students is going to be?? My instructor!!! McKenzie will do so well with him. She will see that Mommy and Daddy aren't crazy people when she hears, "I am sorry you don't like what is for dinner. Please feel free to join us for breakfast." No, I am kidding. She is a great kid and her personality will mesh very well with his. That is reassuring to a parent who is waving goodbye from the boat dock to their firstborn for her first lengthy stay away from home.