Week 3

I cannot believe how fast this week flew by. I was very busy with lesson plans and planning for our weekend trip to Dublin.

I had a great week at school. I am really starting to feel like I fit in. The staff is so wonderful and welcoming. They are always checking up on me to make sure that I am fitting in and enjoying my time. I find the Irish to be very friendly and personable people. They remember small details that I tell them, and always ask about my weekend travels! The staff at my school is excellent with giving travel advice, and helping Sandi and I to book tickets online and such.

Since I am in the three different classes, it has taken me some time to find my place and role, but this week I think I finally figured them out. My Junior Infant girls are absouletly adorable. This week I read them a book and fruits and vegetables. We did an activity with the book and an art project. I also taught them how to write the letter p. The girls struggled at first, but eventually caught on. In my school, they are very precise with the girls writing. Everything is to be perfect; in the lines, not too big, not too small, and evenly spaced. At first I felt bad being so picky about their writing, but I realized that if I want them to master the letter p, I have to be very picky and encourage them to practice it over and over.

My 1st class girls crack me up everyday. They are quite the energetic bunch. But are all wonderful girls. This week we learned about magnets, static electricity, we memorized an Irish poem, and did an art project on pigs. The girls are so willing to learn and very hard workers for their young age. I also did a lesson on the differences between America and Ireland. They were very jealous that American children can decided what they want to wear to school and are able to have some many lovely things to eat for lunch (that is how the girls put it!). I also made them realize that they are lucky for several reasons; school starts later, their school days are shorter, and they do not have to spend 20 minutes deciding what to wear in the morning! They are an awesome group of girls and I really enjoy working with them!

My 1st class has a wide range of learning abilities. I have 3 LD girls who are pulled out for reading class, but are included during the rest of the day. There is also a girl with Cerebal Palsy. She is a very bright girl, but needs a lot of reminding to stay on task and finish what she starts. I also have a another girl who recently moved from Hungary. She speaks barely any English, but is extremely intelligent. I have been working with her a lot while my teacher is teaching Irish to the other girls. We read the books that Junior Infants are reading and play different literacy games on the computer. The girls in my first class are very accepting of everyone. They see oneanother as being exactly like them. They are extremely helpful to their classmates. I will very often see them helping those they sit by stay on task, open their books to the right page, and sharing their utensils. I think this is reflective from the Irish people in general. They are a very caring and helpful culture.

I only was able to do one lesson with my fourth grade class this week. The teacher was gone for two of the three days that I am in their classroom. And at the Primary Convent School they do not get subs. Girls are spread out two by two, and go to other classrooms. They are given a list of work to get done through out the day, and that is what they work on all day long. The lesson that I did with them was on Shops and Shopping in ancient times. The girls enjoyed the lesson I think due to the fact that they LOVE shopping. They mentioned this to me a numerous amount of times during the lesson.

I met a girl from the University of Limerick this week. She is student teaching in the other 1st class at my school. She only has to do 6 weeks of student teaching at one school and one grade level. She could not believe how long we are required to do ours (18-20 weeks).

This week was great and full of many new experiences. I was nervous at first about my teaching experience in Ireland and going to a school with a completely different education system. But I am finding that I am learning so much and it will hopefully it will reflect my teaching when I arrive back home!