Friday, February 4, 2011

Good Evening,
Talk about an exhausting 2-day week, Never would have thought the act of "getting the students caught up" would be exhausting. But, it was. My science lesson was a bit chaotic but I think the students enjoyed it. I taught them some exercises while we worked on memorization of the major muscles in our bodies. If I had to teach this lesson/activity again I would have set my expectations a bit higher and done the workout in a different space where the kiddos could of had more room. And... yes, I did dress up as an 80's retro aerobics instructor and named myself  "Miss Muscles". It took some mental motivation and confidence to do dress up...

However, it was a successful day and I have plenty to do this weekend in preparation for the weeks to come.
I was walking around today and I found a student reading "Pirates Don't Wear Pink Sunglasses" a book from the Bailey School House chapter book series and it brought back so many good memories of reading when I was younger. I am pretty sure I read every book out of that series along with the other series such as: American Girl, Judy Blume, Judy B Jones by Barbara Parks, and Nancy Drew Mysteries. It made me want to come home and order all those series for my classroom library. But, what stopped me is the fact that I do not know what grade I will be teaching next year (crossing my fingers I'll have an elementary teaching position)! I think I will engage in a new hobby of "garage sale-ing" this summer and buy all the books I can---bargain style of course!
That leads me to my next topic: Not knowing where I will be if I do get a teaching position. I could potentially be in Manhattan, Ogden, Fort Riley, Wamego, Kansas City-areas (Bonner Springs, Lee Summit, Gardner-Edgerton, Eudora), Topeka, and Wichita. In March, there are Education Interviews On-Campus so after that week I will hopefully have a better lookout on where I'll be. I feel I can be content anywhere. I would not mind being in Kansas City or Manhattan since I have a good sense of direction and networking in those areas.
The next 7 weeks are going to be busy, exciting, stressful, yet very important to the future of my career and life! So, I am going to do my best to stay ahead of the game...if that is possible! This weekend could really get me up to par and towards that direction if I stay focused and productive.
On that note, I need to get started.
Dinner- check. Laundry- currently on tumble. And, Recycle- sorted and ready to be delivered. The only obsticle I will have to overcome tonight is my sweet tooth....
Have a wonderful evening. Keep my family in your prayers as we have lost an older relative on Wednesday morning and a family friend from my parents college days this afternoon.
Goodnight and happy weekend.
-Ms. Emert

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wow, what a day back! It was a little tricky for all the teachers to get back into the rotation and schedule but we have one more day to regroup....then.... WEEKEND. Ha, this has been a short week. Anyways, taught the students about the muscles in our bodies today. We are mainly sticking to the skeletal muscles since they have already studied the skeletal system. Tomorrow I am going to do a 20-30 minutes workout with them incorporating the names of the muscles into the exercises. It will be...interesting. I am glad it is Friday because for some reason I am exhausted and a bit overwhelmed. I think what did me in was teaching Zumba tonight at the Rec, and having over 100+ people show up for the class. I was co-teaching which was definitely needed but the microphones went out on us, so that was a strain and frustration. All in all we worked through the difficulties and had a fabulous time, but it just threw me off my wheel for the night. I have so much planning and preparation to do this weekend so you'll most likely find me at the coffee shops and Hale.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and bundle up!
Ms. Emert

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

And.....SNOW DAY once again!

I am currently on campus, working like a mad woman. Preparing for on-campus interviews, updating resume, working on MSLBD Convention forms, DC trip for CEC Convention, and the infamous...LESSON PLANS (that I did not get done Tuesday nor Monday.....).

I am also going to be editing and updating my website. Look for it to be open and accessible by next week! http://www.memert.info

I'll admit...I am ready to be back on a schedule! And see the kiddos! 


-Ms.Emert

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Happy February! And...SNOW DAY!

...Goal....attempting to lesson plan, however relaxing sounds more like it! 

-Ms.Emert

Monday, January 31, 2011

Happy Icey Monday!
Wondering why I am not at school teaching my kiddos? Well, today, due to inclement weather, school was canceled. This was no shock to me because driving to the gym this morning at 5:20am was a very dangerous decision. Fish-tailing like nobody business and having to stop 100 yd before the stop sign to quit skidding was a red flag. So, needless to say, when I got the "No School" text I was not surprised. Therefore, I have decided to use this wonderful day as a lesson planning day! (Since I did none of that this past weekend...) As for the plans for tomorrow, who knows of what's to come...especially since there is a chance for some accumulation of snow.
This morning I have done lots of review and analysis on my Science lessons and assessment from last week. I definitely found some areas of weakness within the preparation for the assessment. They say for the retention of memory, a person has to hear/see the text/content 7 times. My students did not retain the information, probably because of this stated fact.... For the future I will plan to go over information at least 7 times and see if that makes a difference during assessment. It was hard to take in that only 65% met my expectations of the assessment but this has allowed me to reevaluate and better prepare for next time! There is always room for improvement and this is a learning experience.On a better note, my students did express to me that they did enjoy the assessment because of the usage of technology and being able to type their answers instead of write. (Their typing abilities were revealed to me as well....)
Let the lesson planing for this week begin!

-Ms. Emert

Friday, January 28, 2011

TGIF. Happy Friday everyone! First full week of school. Dunzo! All in all, a great week, lots of effort and energy and I am ready for a fun weekend. Today was full of tests, assessments, and normal Friday happenings. The day ended on a good note as I handed candies out to the students on their way home. I am anxious to see how they did on their Science assessments over the past 3 days of my science lessons. They were really disappointed when I announced that we were testing over Sound today because they assumed that there was going to be no more science for awhile. However, they assumed wrong. Next week I will be teaching/finishing a unit on the muscles and bones in our bodies. I am really excited for this because I have A LOT of knowledge behind these concepts. I am thinking I will lead them in group fitness exercise! That would be interactive, engaging, and fun! And, they would get to see another teaching side to me. I am excited for next week needless to say because of that! Have a fantastic weekend, GO CATS!

-Ms.Emert

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Wow! What a great day today was! Work out- 5:30am! School- 8:00am! And teaching an amazing science lesson- 12:30pm-BAM! I could not have done it without the wonderful participation of my students but really, it was a great lesson! It was full of hands-on experimenting, rotating stations, and gave the students the "freedom to explore" on their own. I was really impressed and relieved! ...and.. best part of it, I had a supervisor watching the whole time. I just hope all my other lessons can live up to this ability every time. Probably won't happen just thinking realistically, but hopefully majority of them will. Tomorrow is Friday, TGIF! ! ! ! I am very excited and happy that I have made it threw my first FULL week of 4th grade! I think I can definitely do this! All I need is organization skills, a positive attitude, and a smile on my face! Wa-lah! Piece of cake! -----Although it will be the most energy I have ever put into a piece of cake! Ha! Anyways, I hope everyone else has a great Friday---enjoy the sunshine and nice weather---- and has a great weekend as well! Remember to celebrate Kansas's 150th birthday on Saturday by eating some corn, churning some butter, or taking a walk outside and absorbing the beauty of our State! ...I'll be driving through the Flint Hills.... Woo!
Be productive and eat healthy!

-Ms. Emert-