Catching up...

Oops, I haven't posted since the transition two weeks ago, so here goes...

It has definitely been nice to be in a school environment that prizes respectful relationships so highly.  The teacher I am working with is very respectful in her interactions with the students and includes things like brain breaks and cooperative learning strategies.  The students also are given the responsibility of completing their work during reading block themselves.  I love the half hour of independent reading in the morning because it gives everyone a chance to greet and get comfortable as the students filter in. 
My mentor teacher is very proactive in making sure I get a good grasp of teaching second grade, since it is so foreign to me.  That has been one struggle of mine...I feel very confident and kind of "know" the tricks of the trade with preschool/K classes, but those don't translate well to 2nd grade.  So I don't feel as comfortable/confident as a teacher like I did in K.  For example, my second week at Aquarian I took over running the lesson time during Math block and that has been a struggle for me!  I spent the first week trying to make it "more fun" only to find that the time block does not allot for adding anything into the lesson.  So today I aimed more for following the lesson but the timing was still difficult!  Because the class is a mixed class, (we teach the 3rd grade math for those second graders who are ready) it is very important that the last practice worksheet that is done together as a class is finished exactly on time because you can't go over the hour fifteen minute block.  Tomorrow, there are three worksheets we haveto get done in that time, on top of the lesson!  All in all, I am struggling a bit with wanting to make it more meaningful and interesting, which doesn't appear to be an option.  So far, in my week and a half of teaching the math, we haven't used any manipulatives at all :(
Anyway, it is a struggle for me to do the lesson "well" as the curriculum requires and get it all done in the time frame...I am feeling like I really struggle as a teacher of Saxon math.  This is hard for me, because Pre-K and K just come so natural for me and I feel like I really have to struggle with the 2nd grade curriculum.  I was also really surprised how important the final grade is to the teacher, students, and parent...I think I envisioned Aquarian as a more "process, not product" oriented school, but I hope to have a better understanding of all of this next week during porfolio shares and conferences.