I GOT THE JOB!

I am now going to be working for a public school system, but located at a Christian school. :) AWESOME! They need a teacher from the school district because we have to serve every student with disability in our school bounderies. I am so excited to be working at a Christain school. I hope to make a lot of new Christian friends. I'm going to be teaching Math, English, Reading and Study skills. I will be a .8 employee, meaning I work 80% of full time. This means I will have extra time to plan, and I also still get benefits. :) I'm so excited to becoming a bigger contributer to my family. :) Sooooooooo excited!

No news yet!

No news yet from the guy from district who is checking on my references. I'm not surprised though. It is summer and hard to get ahold of principals. I will post on here when I hear more about my job. Then I will be able to start posting about my school adventures! :)

My Job Interview!

I had my first job interview of the summer today, and hopefully my last. This job would be awesome!!!!!!!!!! It is through the school district, but located at a Christian private school. :) How perfect is that! I'm so excited. So here are some details for those of you who want them. :) I wore my dress that I wore to my mom and dad's vow renewal a few years ago. I haven't had too many chances to wear it since then, so it is still like new. I also wore a pink shrug with it, since the dress is sleevless. I go there and waited for a little bit in the lobby. Then the very nice head of special services came to get me. He seems like a nice laid back guy. I hope he is like that all of the time, because he will be my main boss, since I'm hopefully going to be at a private school. He asked me a bunch of questions, which I think I answered intelligently. Then he told me about the position, the school and the staff at the school. He explained the paperwork. One great thing he said was that the kids are very well behaved at this school. That is just fine with me! I don't like being direspected. He explained the salary and how it works since I'll be working 80% of full time. I still get benefits, which I knew since I read the teacher handbook last night. :) That impressed him. He said all that was left was to call my references. Sounds like I got the job! :) I'm so excited. I think my first day of work will be July 23rd. And I don't think I'll be working much for Bricks 4 Kidz after that, since there is low enrollment for the site I was assigned to for July. I'm so excited, did I mention that? :)

I have been so busy this summer working with Bricks 4 Kidz doing summer camps. I love working with kids and Legos. So far we've done an Olympic theme and a space theme. It has been fun, but tiring. I wonder how I'm going to do this for 8+ hours a day when school starts. Speaking of when school starts, please pray that I get a teaching job. I need to work more hours than I'm working now. I only work 10 hours during the week when schools in and 20 hours a week during the summer, and that isn't every week. So I need a teaching job. Plus I miss the classroom so much. I've been on Pinterest going over the educations pins. So many fun things to see and do. I'll keep you updated on the job front. Hopefully I'll have some news soon.

Bricks 4 Kids

After a long summer of trying to get my teaching certificate, I failed. I lived here a few years ago in between a move from Boise to Portland. I never thought we'd move down here, so I didn't take a English as a second language class that I need now to get my certificate. I can't take the class, because I'm considered out of state for 1 year. I can't afford to take it out-of-state because I don't have a job, and I can't get a teaching job because I don't have the class. So, for this school year, I'm teaching kids how to play with LEGOS! It is a great job. I go in after school and teach kids a lesson about space, or transportation and then we make a model that uses gears, and a motor. The kids love it! It is a treat to teach kids that love learning what you are teaching. Fun, Fun, Fun! :) Hopefully next year I'll be able to take the class and get a teaching-in-the-classroom-job. :)

Starting Over

I have to start over in a new state, with a new job, new house, new teacher certification, and new everything. It seems that I have to jump over and through so many hurdles just to get a job. Then there aren't many jobs, even for special education, to look for. I sure hope that I will be able to get a job. Subbing won't be an option because they don't get paid very much down there. Prayers would be appreciated.

Thanks!

You're not my friend!

Sometimes it seems that students want me to be their friend. Sure, I'm the cool sub. I wear vans, and have a pink peekaboo stripe in my hair. Plus I don't yell, too much anyway, and I try to reward students when they behave for me. Even though, I really need them to know that if they cross a line, joking too much, talking to their friends, etc, I'm not their friend. I'm the person there to make sure that they don't lose a day of learning because they're teacher is our sick or learning better ways of teaching them.

Sometimes it is hard for teachers to not feel a connection with students. Especially when you are a wandering teacher, like I am right now. Students who are friendly are a welcome from students who just try to push your buttons and see "how miserable we can make the sub."

Don't take it personally

Being a substitute teacher is one of the hardest jobs I've ever had. It is so hard for me not to take things personally, even though what is going on is not meant for me to take it as personal, know what I mean? Students really want to give their stubstitutes a hard time. It isn't me, it is the idea that I'm not their teacher, they probably won't see me again, at least for a while, and they can get away with what they normally wouldn't get away with.

Normally this it is easy to deal with, but there are those days when I'm tired and the students are particularly annoying. The more I sub though, the fewer days I have where they annoy me. I'm really going to love my classroom when I get my own. I think that is the purpose of all of this. Having to go through this, means I will enjoy my future classroom even more! God works in mysterious ways!

Passed the PRAXIS and Special Ed assessment

When I get my next certificate later this month, I will be highly qualified in special education! Wahoo! I passed my PRAXIS I and The PRAXIS II Special Education assessment. I have one more assessment to take, but that one should be pretty easy. It is for child abuse awareness and anti-discrimination. Unfortunately this test won't be made computerized until March, so I have to take it now on paper. Probably the good old fill in the bubble type test. JOY! NOT!

Then I move on to whatever assessments Arizona wants me to take to qualify for their certification. There is a SIOP method class that I know of and I want to be highly qualified as a Reading Specialist before I get my AZ cert. Whew! These assessments are expensive too. OI!

Happy testing!

Special Ed Exam

I took my special ed exam this week to get my certificaiton in Oregon. I passed! Wahoo! Next week I take the PRAXIS I, for the same reason. OI! The one good thing about taking these exams is that they work for when we move to Arizona this summer. Whew! I won't have to take similar assessments again. :)

Wow! Who would have thought?

When I first started subbing, I was miserable! I had a hard time getting control of the classrooms, talking to teachers I didn't know, and I just plain longed for my own classroom! Whenever something happened that was uncomfortable, I would break down. Last year at this time I wasn't enjoying subbing at all!

After a year and a half, I have learned so much! I am getting a lot of good ideas on that I can use in my own classroom. I've become better at communicating with new people. And one of the most important things I've learned it how to deal with students in a more positive way. I've learned that you treat them with respect and expect good behavior. This usually works. Sometimes it doesn't and it makes for a long day. I don't fret over these days though. It doesn't have much to do with me, those students don't really want to be there, and there isn't much I can do to change their minds in one day. What a load off of my mind!

I still look forward to the day when I have my own classroom again. Which will hopefully have next fall when we move to Phoenix. But now I have a bunch of ideas of what I can do in my classroom, and a renewed confidence in myself. :)

Enjoying Subbing

Last year at this time I was miserable subbing. I longed for my own classroom, and hated being at different schools everyday. I still don't really like being at different schools everyday, but I have grown to like subbing. I think knowing that kids are going to be thrown off by having a sub, and not letting them get away with things has helped. I have also learned that I like high school kids. I used to be scared of them. They are as big, or bigger than me after all! But I have learned that I really like teaching them. :)

No subbing jobs yet

No subbing jobs yet for me. We've only had one week of school though.

It was a great summer here. We went to Seattle a couple of times to see a friend there. We shopped at Pike's Market, and spent 4th of July there as well. It was rainy and wet on the 4th. We watched fireworks covered in blankets from the garage. The kids had a ton of fun, which made it all worth it.

We also went to Idaho a couple of times to visit friends there. We went to Wallace, Idaho, way up north, to see my friend Melissa. She's a music teacher and teaches piano from home. We also went to Boise to enjoy the water park and visit my best friend Kristi and her family. Our daughters have grown up together and are going to miss each other terribly when we move to Arizona.

I've started prepping for the PRAXIS. I looked up the requirements for AZ and I need to take an AZ teacher assessment there. I wish they'd just accept the PRAXIS. OI! I am also going to take the assessments to qualify for highly qualified special education and reading. We aren't sure when we are moving yet, so I need to renew my certificate here and get a new certificate in AZ. Paper work, paper work! OI!

Oh, and if we move within the school year, I'll be making 1/2 of what I make here as a substitute teacher in AZ! Great. That is just a good incentive to get a job and not just sub when we move.

I'll post more when I get some sub jobs. Until then, not much else to say! Thanks for reading. :)

Long time, no post!

I've been subbing and subbing and subbing. Not much else. We are finally getting some sunny days in Oregon, so at least the weather is improving. Since I last posted, I have learned that we are moving to Arizona at the end of the year. So that means another year of subbing! I can't take a job knowing that I am going to quit 1/2 way through the year. Well, I could take a job, but it wouldn't feel right knowing that I'm going to be quitting 1/2 way through the year. In the meantime, I will start working on my permanent certification for Oregon and Arizona, at the same time. Can we say PRAXIS? URG! And I will take all the assessments I need to become highly qualified for special education. Fun, fun! NOT!

I have subbed in special education classes and have realized that I really want to stay in special education. I also have found that I like high school. I didn't think I'd like it, but I have discovered that they aren't so scary. :) That being said, I like elementary and high school, but not middle school. Middle school kids just like to push buttons and don't really have much respect for adults. Puberty is not my friend, nor theirs.

A subbing we will go...

Subbing has been going pretty well since I got back from winter break. Well, the two jobs I've gotten anyway. I think if I can just stay away from Middle school, at least everything but PE, then I'll be good. I love subbing for PE for any grade. When the kids are running around they don't have time to be snotty! :) I subbed for high school the other day for the resource room and it was fantastic! The kids were great, and not mean at all. I talked to another teacher about it. He had previously worked at a middle school and said that he prefers high school too. :)

On a break!

I'm on a break from school so that I can spend the week finishing up my Master's work. That is one of the perks of being a substitute teacher! Wahoo! Love it! :)

I applied for three more jobs, but didn't get them. So I guess I'll just have to try to get highly qualified for at least reading this spring and maybe for Math and Language Arts as well. What a pain, but seems to be necessary. Thoughts?

Staying busy subbing

I am staying busy subbing. I've been to a little over half of all of the elementary schools in our district, as well as all but one of our middle school and one high school.

Yesterday I subbed in a self contained special education room and it made me miss working with those kids. I love how the teacher had the classroom and paraprofessionals all set up. I'm going to have to remember it so I can do something similar when I get a job again. I've applied for a couple of temp special ed jobs, but haven't heard anything yet.

High school isn't so bad!

My day at the big school wasn't so bad! :) The kids weren't snotty, and the day was easy. It was choice day, so the kids could choose between basketball, volleyball, walking or the weight room. I supervised the kids playing basketball. I walked around the gym while I watched them, so that was good exercise. It was a good day. :)

Adventures in Subbing!

Let me just say that I'm not fond of subbing in middle school. There are some kids who just want to make my life as a sub miserable! GRRRRR!!!! There are some very sweet kids in middle school, but the few that make life miserable make me not want to sub in middle school. Lately that seems to be the calls I've been getting though. I'd rather sub in Elementary. Ultimately, I'd rather have my own job, but that isn't going to happen until next year, hopefully.

Monday I have a job subbing in high school! YIKES! It is for a PE/Health teacher. We'll see how it goes. I'm a little scared, and there is locker rooms involved. YIKES! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Music, PE, and a Math teacher

I've been a busy little Jack-of-all-trades. :) Last week I was at an elementary school as a PE and music teacher. Today I was a math teacher in Middle school. The best thing about today was that I got to teach the same lesson all day! :) That makes it a little easier. This is kind of fun. I don't have to deal with any politics. Which I needed a break from.

Speaking of politics, I guess I'm going to take the language arts math competency assessments. That way I'll be covered, unless some day I need to teach science or social studies. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. But I want to be highly qualified by next year. I don't want to spend another year subbing. I want my own classroom.