Ms. Sanford Got A Job!!!

                                   

Ms. Sanford (my student teacher from the fall) stopped by today!!  She just found out yesterday she was hired for an elementary art position here in Nashville!!!  A December graduate getting a job in January?!  AWESOME!  I am so excited for her....she will be amazing & the students/staff will love her!  I made the sign for outside her new classroom in her favorite colors! She brought me a gift from her mom.....homemade applesauce, crabapple jelly, and maple syrup(made by her grandpa in upstate New York).  Can't say I've ever gotten a present from a student teacher's family!!  A reflection of the amazing family that produced such an amazing young lady!   Emily makes the 5th student teacher of mine hired in my district...and the 7th in middle TN!  I like keepin' my peeps close...so I can keep an eye on 'em! Haha 

    

TAEA TUESDAY: Learning A New Skill

TAEA TUESDAY-  This is a feature I'm adding to my blog to address questions/concerns/situations from my TAEA Elementary Division Peeps!  HOWEVER....EVERYONE CAN READ ON!  It is just good teaching info funness(not a word..I know).  

This is in regards to taking on Practicum & Student Teachers.  In TN we have a TON of universities.  There are many opportunities to mentor if you make the connections to do so.       

 

I think most of us can say that "ON THE JOB TRAINING" has taught us a great deal!  I know that even though my training at Bowling Green State University was AMAZING....there were still some holes in my knowledge base.  Come on...we teach in a HUGE field.  ART!  How can you know it all...EVER?!?!? :) ha ha  So my first year of teaching...I learned circle weaving.  It was in the curriculum...and had to be taught.  Lets just say...it was a rough go!!!  However, over the years I've grown to love this project....and it is one of my favorite times of the year.  So today...as I was talking to my practicum students from MTSU...they told me they had never done circle weaving before!  Well...I didn't want them to have to learn the way I did...so during planning...I taught them a new skill!! If you take on practicum students or student teachers...try to find a media or project they may not know how to do & teach them!!!  Think back to your first year or two...and pull from the many things you didn't know how to do!

Student Teacher #12

This is Emily Sanford, my awesome new student teacher!  This is also the earliest I've ever had a student teacher. I think it is great she's getting to see how it all begins. I've had the privilege of working with her during some practicum experiences as well...and am excited to have her here back at TGE!!!!!  She is a student at Belmont University.   They are pumpin' up their art ed program....and she'll be the first one I've had from there!! (I usually have student teachers from MTSU, but have worked with Lipscomb, TSU, and Travecca as well).  Justin is the name of her prof....and we decided this could count as his unannounced visit!!!! ha ha  

My Student Teacher

Here are Maggie(aka Ms. G) & I sporting our plaid!  

I've had the joy of working with her at different points in her college career.  

She'll be an amazing art teacher for some lucky school!!  

AOE ONLINE CONFERENCE REVIEW

WHAT A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you did not attend the AOE Online Conference...you need to the next time it is offered!

Great conversations, amazing content...and Ridiculously Relevant!!!!!!

( http://www.theartofed.com/aoeconference/ )

I wish that the talks could have been longer than 10 minutes!!!!  Some of the presenters I think I could listen to all day!!!   A big plus to attending the online conference..we'll have access to the talks & the handouts for the next year!  Some were so chalked full of information...I will need to rewatch them over and over to pull out all of the practical information provided.  

I had a part in the conference as well...and it really was a lot of fun to do.  Recording the video was a little stressful.  I'm such a people person...I really feed off of reactions/comments/questions.  So talking to a camera was a new challenge.  

Any of you who were "there"...and are interested in discussing more about hosting a student teachers...please feel free to comment or e-mail me!  I know I kind of just grazed over things to keep in the time frame!  So lets keep the dialog open...and know I'm here if ya wanna chat!!!

Character Day for Read Me Week!

So I decided to carry on the theme of When Pigasso Met Mootisse....so I came as Mootisse!  I'm bull headed(yes..a Taurus)..and large...and have the hair for it!! I used lipstick to make my face look a bit more like Mootisse...and had the outfit down(except black shoes instead of boots).  The kids thought I was a devil...so I carried the book around with me! ha ha ha  

My student teacher makes the perfect Camilla Cream from A Bad Case of Stripes. The stripes on her face didn't show up real well in the picture...and I cut off her legs that were striped knee highs!  So funny.  So glad she wanted to join in the fun!!!!!

Student Teacher

I have a student teacher pretty much every year....but I've never had one this early! As much as I like to have my classes for the first few months to get them into shape, I think it is good for a student teacher to see the start of a school year. I being the control freak that I am...struggle to give up control of my classroom to someone else. HOWEVER...student teachers really bring a new flavor to the classroom.  It allows you to reflect on your teaching practices as you watch them....they bring new project ideas to the room(usually)....and it is almost always nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of that actually knows what you are talking about!!!  If you every have a student teacher...and want to talk things over with me...please drop me a line!!

STUDENT TEACHER

I'd like to introduce my student teacher. Her name is Ms. Luquire. She'll be with us until the end of Feb. fulfilling the elementary portion of her student teaching. Ms. Luquire is a student at Lipscomb University here in Nashville, and will be graduating this May.