A Day in the Life of a 4th Grade Teacher

I've been having a blast in the 4th grade. Each day I feel a little bit more confident in the classroom, and I've taken over the subjects of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies so far. I'm teaching Science and Math every now and then when my teacher has a meeting or something, and I'll probably take those subjects over after the holiday. I can't believe we only have a half a week until we get 2 weeks off for Christmas!! I could get used to this... :)

Last week, our class joined other 4th graders from all over San Diego on a week-long field trip to Old Town State Park. They have certified teachers there who lead the kids in small groups and teach them about different time periods in California history. Then the groups get to tour the buildings and museums in Old Town that are associated with that time period. It's a very cool experience.

Here are a couple of pictures I have of me "in action." I'm looking forward to the holiday break, but I'll miss those little rascals!

Here's a photo of me teaching the kids in Presidio Park during our Old Town field trip (you can click on the photo to enlarge it). The lady to the right in the photo is my teacher, Jackie O'Donovan. The man to the left is the other 4th grade teacher at our school. I think I was actually in the middle of teaching the kids about how many of the immigrants to California were stricken with scurvy because of a vitamin C deficiency in their diets while they were sailing. Nice, I know...

This photo was taken on Halloween - obviously. My favorite costume was the kid in the middle of the back row...Steve Urkel. He really got into character that day, too! :)

The two most important things in the world...

Hockey and family. (Not in that particular order.)

We got a little of both last weekend when we decided to drive to Phoenix on Saturday to see the Coyotes play the Detroit Red Wings that night. I guess we're getting antsy about getting away for the holidays because we both just wanted to hit the road and go somewhere for a couple of days. A huge bonus is that my Aunt Wanda and Uncle Larry live in Phoenix and we got to go to their church, First Baptist in Sun City West, on Sunday morning and eat lunch with them afterwards. They're the closest family we have, geographically, and it's always a treat to spend time with them.

Then we had to get back to the real world again on Monday, but it was fun while it lasted!