Great news!!

Guess who is now employed?..

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this girl!!!

I know, I couldn't believe it myself. After months and months of applying online and taking my resume school to school without ever hearing anything back, I got a job. How... you ask?.. Well it wasn't anything special that I did, it was God answering my prayers. I finally learned to sit patiently and wait on the Lord (very tough for me to learn, might I add). God worked out every little detail and found me a job that is going to be a perfect learning experience for me. Jordan and I almost couldn't believe the great news.

 I am a reading interventionist. If you are like almost every one of my "non-education major" friends, you are probably wondering what in the world is a reading interventionist??

Just for the record, it is a teaching position (I have my own classroom and everything!!). I am the one who collaborates with the teachers and reading coach to find those students who struggle in certain areas of reading (and if you are an educator who has had ARI training, you know there are only 6 reasons why someone would struggle in reading). After pinpointing the interference and finding the right lessons and materials to help each student, I pull those students, either in very small groups or one-on-one, and work with them until they are able to master a new skill... I'm sure you would LOVE to hear alll about it, but I wont bore you with the details. I have been at this job or 3 weeks, and I will tell you there is no better feeling than seeing a student that you worked with make progress. I have a feeling I will grow more this year than in all four years of college.

Other than my job description being perfect for me, I am loving the school, students and faculty as well.

Get this, I could wear jeans and a T-shirt to work any day of the week! Now, you wont see me wearing jeans and a T-shirt  except on Fridays. Part of the fun of being a new teacher is getting to buy and wear cute teacher clothes. Silly...I know, but I'm sure after 15 years or so of teaching that wont be so important to me, but it sure is now!

Oh and did I mention, I have my own classroom?! You can't imagine all the fun I've been having with that.

Now, that deserves its very own blog.. haha!

I love my job. Thank you Jesus!

The Substitute

Although there is still some hope of finding a job, I have decided to prepare my self for a fun-filled year of substituting. Hopefully, this will give me some great experiences and help to get my foot in the door. For those of you who have never substituted before, just know that it can be a challenge. When the teacher is gone and someone "new" enters the classroom, children will test the rules. A substitute has to have the ability to gain the students' respect quickly. Although the teacher usually leaves lesson plans and a schedule, it is impossible to know the exact classroom routine. This often leads to chaos, with 10-20 children trying to tell you what to do; "Mrs. So-and-so always does it this way!" I'm sure I will have plenty to blog about once my substituting adventures begin!

I have decided that if substituting is going to be my full-time job, then I am going to give it every bit of effort I would a teaching position. I am going to be the best substitute ever! :) I came across a very helpful website, Teaching Heart, that has an entire section devoted to substitutes. There are some great tips there to help prevent chaos, even when the teacher forgets to leave plans!

To get my name out to the teachers and principals, I have decided to order business cards (FREE from vistaprint.com). I would love to say this was my idea, but a substitute I met during my internship had made some and they looked great! The teachers seemed to be impressed and it got her a lot of substituting jobs!

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I haven't given any out yet, but I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes! The school year has begun and my first substituting job is Monday! I'll be subbing for my sister-in-law's Kindergarten class. 

I will appreciate all prayers as I embark on this new adventure! I'm a working woman!  :)

Auburn Graduate! :) May 14, 2010

         I am finally finished with school! I really cannot believe it, in fact, I don't feel any different at all. I think it's because I felt as if I were finished with school in December when I no longer had to attend classes. Interning just felt like work (work with no pay, that is). But I loved it so very much!! I miss my sweet 2nd grade class! They were the best and furthered my desire to teach, I just loooooved them!
         My last day of interning, my sweet students surprised me with a party (they even turned out the lights and yelled "Surprise!" when I walked in, it was too cute!). I was showered with gifts for my future classroom, including two big crates full of teaching supplies (this might be corny, but I was so excited to get my first grade book) and over $200 worth of gift cards to teacher stores!  I also received an adorable video montage of all the class happenings that year. Needless to say, I was so blessed to be a part of that classroom! The parents were so very generous, and my cooperating teacher was Godsent!

On May 14, 2010, four years of hard work paid off when I graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education! Thank you Lord for allowing me this opportunity to pursue something that is so perfect for me! I can't wait to see where this field leads me, whether it be teaching 2nd grade for the next 25 years or furthering my degree and helping children in another way. Lord, may Your will be done as it is in heaven!

Next step: Someone hire me, please? :)