Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

It is official. 
I will be teaching 5th grade this August! 

I could not be more excited! 

Miss Emert

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Good Evening,
Wonderful,, rainy day. My students always seem to be very calm on days like these. Especially in the morning, no complaints. Anyways, today we worked on more present-tense verb usage and forms of the verb be. We then played a game to practice Alliteration. The students then paired up and are writing a poem using Alphabet Alliteration. They are very....interesting. But, they are having fun doing them, and that's important!

Have a good evening!

-Ms. Emert

Monday, April 18, 2011

Monday, April 18, 2011

Monday, Monday, Monday.
It was indeed a Monday, and it went smoothly. My students were a little wound up but I have a feeling that is just how the last month goes when you are in Elementary school. I am currently teaching Reading/Writing and focusing on present-tense verb usage and Poetry! Taking a break from the curriculum and doing some fun reading, writing, and activities that involve using their imaginations and creativity! I am hoping they will pick up on them quickly and enjoy the break!

My days are becoming short-lived... if I counted right, just now, I have 9 days left in the classroom! Wow! Then I'll begin substituting but completely done with Student Teaching. I am wrapping up my final "to-dos" for my portfolio and I will be turning that in this Friday! Very exciting!

Have a good night!

-Ms. Emert

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Thursday, April 14, 2011

This Thursday was an interesting one, but fully regarding my Student Teaching, it was great! Probably one of the best days so far. I taught the students about intonation when reading, selecting the characters, plot, and setting of a story, and identifying main, helping, action, and linking verbs. And....the best part....THEY GOT IT! They understood it and were able to do well on a practice worksheet. Whew! Our class meeting was also productive, however I wish more students would have opened up a little more. There is some definite apologies pending in the classroom that need to be expressed, so I set an example to see if they would follow, and only 1/22 did. Hmmm. Any ideas? Respect and discipline are two areas of improvement in my classroom (in my opinion). Some days are better/worse than others. Then, we rearranged the desks for some change, and we will see how that works for the next week or two, then, make adjustments.

Great day, ready for Friday! And a fun weekend! :)

Goodnight!
-Ms. Emert

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Signing on and off on a short note.
Major planning collaboration tonight with KSDE.org and (myself).
Got all my plans for next week knocked out. We are going to be poets next week! ALL week.
It should be fun and allow some lenience for the students to use their creativity.
Now, I need to finish the portfolio Entry 3 Pt. 4 and I am COMPLETE!
... then prepare for D.C. trip/presentation....

Graduation here I come! I know you are right around the corner!

-Ms. Emert-

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Crazy, crazy day once again.
I am learning quickly that you can never be too prepared. I should have double checked the clay we were going to use to make our Adobe Houses was ready to be worked with instead of crackled and dry. So, quick errand to Hobby Lobby to buy Model Magic and back to school. The houses turned out nicely though. I stayed at school until 6:00pm working on plans, and grading papers. Got it all done, home for a minute then to the gym.
Thinking an opportunity for me is on the rise...

Have a great evening,
Here is a photo from today:





-Ms. Emert


Monday, April 11, 2011

Monday, April 11, 2011

And good Monday evening,
Crazy, hectic day for some reason.... but, still standing and planning for a great day tomorrow. We can tell it's allergy season because of  all the runny noses, coughing, and sneezing in the classroom... I am sanitizing like no ones business. We also had 3 large, ugly wasp in the room today and then found where they were trying to begin nesting... needless to say that was a huge distraction, and I am hoping that the nest was taken care of ...!

Tonight, my teacher and I went to the Jason Derulo concert... it was a fun time. Nice to do something with my teacher other than school things...

About to plan a fun lesson on South Western culture and lifestyle.... the students will be making adobe huts!

Have a good week,

Ms. Emert

Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday, April 8, 2011

It's Friday!
Keeping it short and sweet because I have to be back at school for Family Fun Night in 15 mins!
1. Great day
2. Interview went well.
3. I think I got all my plans done for next week!
4. I get to "man" the Wii Dance and Cotton Candy tonight at Family Fun Night.
5. ....and play students in a 3 on 3 basketball competition. They are going down....;)

Have a great weekend!

-Ms.Emert

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Good evening,
As I tackled today with a WIN some positive things happened.
1. The students were 110% attentive this morning for 2 straight hours! It was remarkable.
2. They loved the United Streaming videos I showed them about the Southwest Region and the Grand Canyon.
3. We finished the story Firegirl.
4. Two students told me that I was the best Student Teacher they have ever had because I am nice and do a lot with them.
5. They earned 4 bells (a positive reinforcement system I have set up). On a normal day, they MIGHT earn one...

I was driving tonight thinking about some of the challenges that are presented to me in my classroom and narrowed it down to behavior discipline. Gah! It is hard to tackle that one because I like to have fun with my students but sometimes, specific individuals take it one step further and can ruin it for the entire class. What do you do then?

Also, I began thinking of my teaching pedagogy regarding classroom management and I realized I have learned a lot from my cooperating teacher. My cooperating teacher is very good about the approach to problems and issues. I feel majority of teachers would be harsh in a negative way,raise their voices, and carry the anger from the misbehaving child to the rest of the class, which my teacher does not. I have learned that as a teacher sometimes the little things can fly.

Have a great Friday! :)

-Ms. Emert

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Good Evening,
Another day down, 2 more to go until the weekend and 7 more to go until I can relax, just a little. Not much. Today was a challenging day with assessments being in the afternoon. It was a consensus among all teachers and staff involved, that having them in the afternoon made the day longer and the students had less patience and attention. One more day left for assessments. Tomorrow should be a pretty smooth day, minus the fact that I will be working with a substitute rather than my cooperating teacher, as she will be absent. I am excited to see the students plant vegetables tomorrow for a project through K-State's Extension Office. I think they will really enjoy that activity and learn from it. Today we began studying the Southwest Region of the United States. I have to remind myself all the time that back in elementary school I did not find many things all that interesting  especially the stories we read in English, History, and Geography. But now, I love studying all of those things! In fact, I would say those are my top 3 interests when picking something to read. And, I like to get the point across to people about my liking for geography by telling them I could stare at a map of the world for hours, even days and not get bored. It is just so different when you are a kid and the importance of things like this just do not "click". It takes time, experiences, and important events in your life to make you appreciate something.
As I was working tonight on my Student Teaching portfolio and planning, I sniffed my nose and looked down at my desk to notice that I had, once again, a bloody nose. I have never been a person to get them often, if ever. But, in the past 6 months I have had one about every 3-4 weeks. I am relating this health concern to stress. Even though, I am not completely "stressed out" I am just on-the-go and extremely busy/on my feet all day.  Hopefully, this habit of my body will not continue into summer. And boy, am I looking forward to some time off and relaxation! My body is telling me it's time to settle down and take some time to relax, for sure.

Good news does keep coming though, I have 2 interviews very soon! But I will not say where at...just to protect my options, and privacy. :) Wish me luck.

Have a great night!

-Ms.Emert

Monday, April 4, 2011

Monday, April 4, 2011

Good Evening Blog Readers,
Today was my first FULL day of teaching the kiddos and I am still standing tall. They did not eat me alive, but I did put a lot of effort and planning into this weeks doings. I am thinking all of that work will pay off by the week going smoothly. Since the weather has been a lot nicer, recess has become more fun... for me and the students, ha! Last week Friday, we stayed outside for twenty extra minutes and I was "all-time pitcher" for kick ball and today, before the recess equipment was outside, I made the students line up for some  races. I smoked them... they were impressed to say the least. And yes, I was still in my work slacks... and tennis shoes. I decided I am going to keep tennis shoes at school so I can be active with them outside at recess. Great day all in all!
Tomorrow they take on the State Math Assessments! Woo!

-Ms. Emert

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Good Afternoon!
Seminar got done early! Yay! Time for an afternoon nap!  Finally!! AND..... DRUMROLL please...

My students rocked reading state assessments!!!! YAAAAAAAAAA! Congrats to them!

Great day! Lots of planning to do! Going to the library tonight for the first time this semester! 

-Ms. Emert

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Happy Mid-Week Everyone,
Assessments were completed once again today. I am not so sure that yesterday's went a little smoother than today. It is so frustrating that we (as teachers) cannot give any assistance to the students, let alone, remind them of quality test-taking strategies that we have been practicing for months One more day of reading assessments. Anyways, at least they are making great progress on their stories that will be sent to the publishers on Friday!  I am continuing my planning process for the next two weeks so they can be less stressful days. I counted up tonight that I have 3 more weeks of Student Teaching (because 1 week I'll be in DC for the CEC National Convention!!!)..... and two of those weeks I am teaching full days! It is going to FLY BYE. Also, I am looking forward to the Jason Derulo concert next week with some of the teachers! Ha! Front row.... it will be a blast.... and interesting.
Friday and the weekend could not come sooner!
WOo!
-Ms. Emert

Tuesday, March 30, 2011

Oh Blog, I forgot about you last night.
My day went like this:
Shower: 6:30
School: 8:00
Assessments: 9-11am! And they went VERY well (so we think)!
Taught: 12:30-4:04pm -Read-a-loud, math, recess, library, and writing....!
Organized and went home: 4:04-5:00
Dinner at Panera: 5:15-5:30
Babysat: 5:30-9:15pm--- 7 month old, 3 year old, and 5 year old.

Then, my favorite part of the day.... BED! (Unfortunately...)
Day 1 of State Assessment down, 2 more to go!
Productive day. Can't complain.

-Ms.Emert

Monday, March 28, 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

Evening All,

Hope everyone had a good start to their weeks this Monday. Amazingly, today was not completely chaotic but, it was a little crazy getting the students back on the routine and what not. I began planning for my two weeks of full day teaching. As long as I stay ahead of the game, I'll be set to go and organized. I am looking forward to it! Tomorrow is a big day for my students because they begin their state assessments. They will the reading assessments tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. And next week will be Math. The students are working extremely hard on their stories they have been writing for the past few weeks. The stories will be turned in Friday and sent to a publisher! This is a project I have been in charge of so it will be exciting to see the finished products.
Student teaching has gone by so quickly! I cannot believe I have been teaching and in the classroom for 3 full months. Time is flying and graduation is right around the corner! Yay!

Have a great week!

-Ms.Emert

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Yup, it's St. Patrick's Day. And, yup, the students totally passed me this lovely sickness. However, immediately after my Reading/History lesson, I went straight to Lafene begged for a Z Pack then went home and slept until I taught Abs (verbally) and Zumba... (non-verbally) and still got a great workout. I am currently making myself eat an orange, apple, piece of bread, and sipping on some lemon/honey tea to boost my immune system. Geeeze, could this come at a more inconvenient time? On a better note....
My lesson was awesome... I'll post a picture of the final K,W,L Chart that they made. Did you know that St. Pat's preaching robe was actually blue? And that because of Ireland's lush landscape and clovers the color green is associated with the celebration. The HistoryChannel.com has some great, short videos all about the day! So, like I said yesterday, my principal was to observe me today....well, well, well,.... a younger student ending up needing some mild-medical attention and so she was pulled out of my lesson to tend to that issue. It was a bummer because the lesson nailed lots of different objectives and integrated multiple subjects. But, that is life, and we move on. Speaking of moving on, I am hitting the sheets and sleeping in! I don't think my body could handle those kiddos again! Bummer! Have a great Spring Break everyone! I'll check back in on Monday, March 28th!

See ya!

-Ms. Emert-

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Well... I just took my inhaler because I have had the tickle-cough all afternoon. OH NO. Please. No. I cannot go down with what is being passed around the students AND teachers! Ahh. Anyways, feeling fine other than the small cough but I'll attack it quickly with my Xopenex! Today was just another great day. The time is ticking to when I will be teaching full days for two weeks! I have a feeling those days will fly by but they are coming quick. As is Spring Break. I have begun to realize throughout this entire experience how fortunate I was growing up. Being able to participate in extra outside sports and activities that cost money, order books from Scholastic book orders, bringing snacks to school, going on all the field trips, and being excited to go somewhere fun for Spring Break. That is not the norm I have come to discover. I have only heard one student speak of going somewhere for Spring Break...and I think it was still in Kansas... I find this all interesting as I keep learning about the challenges each child may face that I did not. I walk out of the school building everyday realizing how lucky I was to have has such a relished childhood. The students are slowly finishing up their stories to be published....man, do 4th graders really have imaginations! WOW. But it is neat that they get this opportunity to show their creativity and works of art! Hopefully, I'll be able to share some of their stories on the blog!
For tomorrow the students have a fun, technology enhanced reading lesson on St. Patrick's Day and what it is all about.
Don't forget to wear green tomorrow! (And capris or shorts! :) It's going to be nice out!) Bring on SUMMER and SUNSHINE!

Ms. Emert



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Good Evening,
Why can I not seem to get anything done regarding lessons, and my portfolio this week? I need to find the motivation! I think it is the time change honestly, because it says light out until 7:30pm and fools me into thinking I have lots of hours left in the day to work. So untrue! Because it is now 8:30pm, I have accomplished nothing pertaining to Student Teaching, and I am wanting to be in bed by 9:30.... Probably not going to happen. But I could work in bed. Did I mention that last week, I had a "true teacher moment"? I was grading a huge stack of papers in bed, with my RED grading pen, glasses on, and dozing off! I woke up in the morning with the completed graded papers next to me in a messy pile and my red grading pen still in bed. Ha! Many more nights like that to come I am sure. I am thinking I might have to do that again tonight, but this time type up my lesson plans for a St. Patrick's reading lesson Thursday! I will be observed for the second time by my principal! Very exciting, yet nerve racking at the same time.
On that note, I need to get to work!
Have a great evening,

Ms. Emert

Monday, March 14, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

Hola!
I can easily say that today was a great day to start off the week. Minus the 6 in. of snow that was on my blazer this morning, I still made it to the gym at 5:30am and got my day started! From there it was to the shower and then school. The students were in great moods to begin and the day just took off and flew by! I gave the students their spelling pre-tests, got lots of grades entered into the book, did Calendar Math, and worked on their story book publishing. After school we had some professional development on technology that can be integrated into the classroom and lessons. I think my goal this summer will be to work on writing a grant for a class set of  iTouch devices or iPad--- a little more ambitious.
I am looking forward to the rest of the week mainly because it results in Spring Break! I am also looking forward to the nice weather and test driving some new vehicles on Thursday!
I hope everyone has a great week!
Ms. Emert

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Friday, March 11, 2011

Good Evening Blog Followers,
What a great way to start the weekend. Early Release at 1:30pm and then planning time until 4pm, company arrived at 6:30pm, and the weekend flew by from there. As promised, here are some pictures from Symmetry City! It was a huge success and a lot of the faculty have complimented me on my efforts and application of Symmetry! I could not have done it though without the teacher support, hard work ethic of my students, and pure motivation and confidence.
Have a great night and week!


Friday, March 11, 2011

Thursday, March 10

Crazy, crazy fun day!
Last day of construction for Symmetry City. We'll be putting them together Friday (today). The students had a busy day yet it was very fun beginning with Math Enrichment, then Art, Gardening Committee, THEN.... since my teacher was nominated and won Teacher of the Month for Manhattan, we were brought pizza and Freddy's Frozen Custard! I will post pictures from that soon! Then I had seminar and we discussed interviews, events, and listened to the K-State game. That was a bummer we lost, but someone has to. Just wish we could have finished stronger. Have a wonderful week!

Ms. Emert

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

March 9, 2011

Good Evening Blog Followers!
I have a large/massive stack of papers, homework, and tests to grade. Yikes! But the students took their final assessment today in math and I am anxious to get to grading!
Here are some pictures from the construction of Symmetry City!
Enjoy! Be looking for the final pictures Friday! 
Tomorrow and Friday will be easy going days and lots of fun! My teacher was nominated by a few of our students for the Teacher of the Month sponsored by a local radio station in town so, we will be having a pizza party and celebration tomorrow! 
YAY!
Have a good night!
Ms.Emert








Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Dear Blog and Blog Followers,
I am sorry I have abandoned you for the past four days. Life has been very busy and my blog was not put on the priority list. But, as of today....you are!
Lets go back to March 4th, Friday... Friday was a great day once again, minimal behavior issues at school and the students were able to make more components for their Symmetry Cities. Unfortunately, I did have to remove one student from the project because of behavior and not meeting my expectations. Sometimes, students have to learn the hard way. I will say, I gave the student plenty of warnings and gave the student a final chance to make a change and they decided not to make the necessary changes. I quietly informed him that his decisions Friday have impacted his participation in Symmetry City on Monday. I am going to assume the student felt the effects of their decision on Friday yesterday during math. They were given a different assignment independently.
Yesterday, March 7th, was the On-Campus Interviews. I interviewed with six school districts and I felt fairly confident about 4/6 of them. Here is a list of the districts I had a screening with:
-Geary County
-Olathe
-De Soto
-Manhattan-Ogden
-Shawnee Mission
-Kansas City, Kansas
It was an exhausting day! I came home and slept for 3 hours! When I woke up I thought it was Tuesday morning! Ah! But, luckily the Bachelor was just about to begin and life was still rollin.
On that note, I prepared for an observation today that will happen at 12:30 during the review class period for Symmetry. The students will be assessed tomorrow and then will continue working on their cities until Friday!
I have less than 6 weeks left of Student Teaching. WOW. It has gone by so incredibly fast. But, I need to continue my hard work and push through. Finish strong, and be one step closer to the feeling of 4 Years Success!
Have a wonderful week!
I'll be posting soon again with pictures from Symm. City!

-Ms.Emert

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Thursday,March 3,2011

Today was a great day. Taught Symmetry City- it was more challenging that I  thought and than what the students thought.... I played basketball with my kiddos then taught symmetry city again.Hopefully the students will progress more today on their Cities! :)
Goodnight!

Ms.Emert

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Tuesday, March 2, 2011

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

I began the day by taking 4 deep breathes because I could feel the stress grow while I sat up out of bed. I made a point today not to make any noises of exhaustion or to rush to do anything, and I think doing those 2 things kept me sane. I graded papers and prepared for tomorrow until 5:45pm tonight, so I easily put in a 10 hour day. I am starting to miss my social time with friends, so my time management is going to need a change here pretty soon. The students were great today. I think they earned 2 bells from me today! Way to go, they are on their way to earning a popcorn and movie party really soon! That will be a fun time to relax and enjoy...and snack! I taught 2 lesson of symmetry today, graded SO many papers, and taught Writing. The students are brainstorming ideas for their short story they are going to write and illustrate, then the text and illustrations will be send off to be published! Really cool! Tomorrow is going to be a fun day because the students get to begin Symmetry City! I have made a powerpoint presentation for my expectations and rules and I am hoping that it will help with the organization and success of this project. I would be lying if I said I was not a little nervous about this. But, if I would never give it a go, I would never know...so, here we go!

Have a great humpday evening.

Ms. Emert