Busy Bee

Things are ever changing.

The latest=I am doing another interim at the school I've been working at since November

It is a Comprehensive Development Class and I have about 12 kids throughout the day.

I was a little intimidated when they first asked me to fill in as a sub (before they offered me the interim), only because I've never observed or worked in that kind of classroom setting.

But now, after being there for a few weeks, I've figured out the flow of the class and am really enjoying it.

Plus, there are 3 assistants in the classroom and they have been helpful letting me know their typical routine.

Last week, we studied the 3 layers of the Earth (core, mantle, and crust) and learned about fossils and how they are formed.

After completing the lesson, I thought there must be some fun enrichment activities I could do with them to go along with the lesson.

So where did I turn?

The Internet. Duh.

I had the students create their own fossils using modeling clay, Plaster of Paris, and plastic bugs, bones and leaves to make imprints for the fossils.

This is the site that I used.

I also purchased the supplies to have the students "Go on a Cookie Fossil Dig", using chocolate chip cookies and toothpicks.

I got the idea here.

I had the students identify what each part of the cookie stood for: chocolate chips were the preserved remains of plants or animals (fossils), the "holes" in the cookies were the imprints left by the remains, and the rest of the cookie stood for sedimentary rock because that's where most fossils are found.

Another thing I'm doing is Unity Outlet.

Unity provides after-school enrichment activities and supervision for students in a way that will improve their attitudes, grades, and behavior so they may be positive members of the school and the community.

It provides an affordable after-school program with both academic and enrichment components initiated on the student’s home campus. 

The lady who is the site manager just had a baby, so I'm taking her place for the rest of the year.

Basically, students get an after-school snack, we do an hour of homework/tutoring, then an enrichment activity.

Its a really neat program and I've really enjoyed doing it the last several weeks.

It's even more fun because I had many of the students when I did the TL interim and I enjoy being with them again.

There are 21 students enrolled in the program, but our numbers fluctuate with spring sports going on.

The ONLY thing is... doing a teaching interim + being the Unity site manager means I AM SPENT. 

I'm at school from about 7:20am to 6pm. Yeah.

Some of my Unity girls with emi-jays.

They were going on and on about the ones one of the assistants and I wear--so we brought them their own.

Its the little things :)

Middle school rocks.