Finally Have Taken Over My Whole Classroom

I finally took over my whole classroom and it was a great week of teaching! We have assessments every week and almost every student improved in math so I guess I'm doing something right! On Tuesday we went to an Apache dance and concert and it was amazing! 

It was so fun and I have a video but unfortunately I can't upload it on here! The tradition is amazing and I had a blast! Then on Sunday we went to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced like shay) and it was gorgeous 

I'm enjoying all the experiences we have had so far! I have become friends with one of our substitute teachers and she said she will be on the look out for ceremonies that we can attend so I'm hoping that will happen! She also told me that we are not supposed to whistle after the sun goes down because it is like summoning the dead back to life. I'm learning something new everyday! Can't wait to keep sharing all the new things I'm learning and doing!

The Rez Rocks!

Hello world!!! Sorry for the lack of updates!! Our school actually blocks the website we use for our blogs :( ANYWAY..... the first two weeks on the reservation have been incredible on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin...

School:

I am teaching an amazing group of 3rd graders! I have 24 students who have completely different types of personalities, interests, and they are constantly keeping me on my toes. The second week of school I was able to start teaching math lessons! The kids were amazing and grasped a great understanding of all the concepts that were taught! GO ME! My teacher is very sweet, and I'm excited to start taking over more in the classroom this week! 

My class on our Friday walk!

My backyard...yeah!

School playground!

Dorm:

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART! These kids are....hilarious! After the school day, I get to go to the dorm and help students, 1st-6th, with homework and having fun! We typically do the boys homework session and then go to dinner. During the boys homework session I am always entertained and pushed by my 1st and 3rd grade boys. They love to laugh!! They have such personalities that are truly incredible for the lives that they live. Their strength truly inspires me! After dinner, we have "dinner recess!" We run and play outside, and typically I'm pushing kids high on the swings! "MISS KAILEY! MISS KAILEY! PUSH ME HIGHER!!" (It never gets old!) After going inside, we move on to the girl's study time! The girls also have big personalities, and huge hearts! When all the work is over we get to have some fun! This fun typically includes going to basketball games, making signs, playing xbox, playing games and talking about life! This week we are taking a field trip to the swimming pool! Updates on that soon to come! 

Dorm supporting our basketball teams!

My crazy kiddos! 

Basketball team!

Weekend Exploring: 

When we aren't teaching or in the dorm we get to travel and explore the amazing area we are in! The first weekend here we were able to go to the four corners, bluff and monument valley. Words do not even come close to explain the beauty of the area! It is just....WOW! The second weekend explored Hovenweep, a hiking trail filled with ruins, and Abi and I were invited Kinaalda! A Kinaalda is a puberty ceremony for a girl entering woman hood in the Native American culture! We had gotten to the home where the ceremony would take place around 11:30pm and left at 9am!!! It was a night filled with singing, laughing, blessing, and reflecting! The family was very open, and made sure we were involved throughout the night! As a parting gift they had given us each our own blanket, that they had blessed throughout the ceremony! This weekend Abi and I traveled and met up with the four boys in our program, Jake is one of them! hahaha! We met up and went to a high school basketball game. Let me tell you...high school basketball is VERY different from a elementary basketball game! On saturday we spent the day and a spay and neuter clinic. My heart was melting the whole time!! I was specifically in charge of caring for two two-week-old puppies. They had reason to believe that the two dogs had polvo :( It was truly an amazing experience, and we are hoping to do it again in February! Sunday, Abi, Jake, TJ and I took a road trip to Telluride, Colorado! (Or as Jake says Tugaloo!) We spent majority of the day driving through the Rocky Mountains, but got to walk around and enjoy the town. I was very tempted to hit the ski slopes; they looked very inviting! 

Monument Valley

Hovenweep!

As you can see, so much is already going on! I will keep updating whenever I get a chance!!! 

xoxo <3 -Kailey :) 

p.s. missing my friends Kaitlynn and Brooke like crazy!

Long Weekend Time In AZ

The second week went by super fast since we had no school on Friday and Monday. It was an awesome weekend for sure. We went to the basketball game on Friday and basketball on the Rez is huge the picture is of a gym that holds 6,000 people and is individual seats. HUGE! 

You cant see it, but there is also a jumbotron on the ceiling. It was a cool experience. On Saturday we participated in the free spay and neuter clinic from 8 am til 6 pm and it was a long exhausting day but it was so much fun. My job was to lift sedated dogs to the table and play with the puppies! 

This is abi and dan taking care of a cute puppy!

This is tj with his favorite dog there, Snoop haha he was 95% close to taking him bc he would've been free and all the shots and neutering would be free as well! 

I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to taking this little guy home but I think my parents would have killed me if I brought home a FIFTH dog! Haha but it was such a great experience that we are going to help with the clinic in Shiprock in February! Finally on Sunday we decided to go to Cortez, Colorado and visit the Rocky Mountains. 

It was beautiful in Colorado. I could've stayed there for a long time! We checked out this ski resort and it was a long and fun day! Oh and the week wasn't too bad either. On Tuesday I fully take over my whole classroom so wish me luck and pray for me! Haha-Jake

My First Week of Student Teaching

I am proud to say that I have survived my first week of student teaching! My cooperating teacher is extremely supportive and positive, and my students are extremely sweet.

Student teaching started a week late because of the polar vortex of 2014. I was initially worried that students would be overly excited on Monday because of this, but luckily, they were on their best behavior.  On Monday morning, I greeted each students by shaking their hand and giving them a paper star that said "Welcome back, ______" that had a pencil attached to it.  After that, several students volunteered to tell me a little something about their classroom, such as the saying, "nothing is more important than relationships," and how they approach their math work (QUISWA: question, information, strategy, work, answer, check). After they came back from specials, we then did snapshot autobiographies! I used this as a way to introduce myself and then allowed students time in class to get started on it.  On the back, I suggested that students write questions for myself and/or comments that they weren't able to share in class.

The rest of the week was a blur! I learned a lot and was able to get to know students more by having recess duty every day.  On Thursday, I taught my first academic lesson.  I found out at the end of the day Wednesday that I was going to teach it, so I only had one night to prepare.  This was a great example of how we're given weeks as students to prepare lessons, but very limited time as student teachers and teachers in general to prepare lessons.  I really like the progression of the lesson that I ended up giving (vocab review, quick quiz, small lesson reminder on circumference, diameter, and radius, small group work, and whole group check over their work and a reminder on translations).  However, this lesson was not appropriate for my kiddos! Although this was supposed to be a review for them, most students had very limited knowledge on the subjects.  For this reason, the small group activity was not appropriate. In addition, these students are really testing me.  For now, they have lost small group work as a privilege because they cannot handle the freedom did not use their skills of being both learners and teachers.

In the upcoming week, my personal goal is to be more of a stickler on disciplining students.  I will be teaching three math lessons this week, and there is a lot to cover in that time!  My goal for my students is for them to be respectful and do their personal best.  Here's to a great 4-day week.  Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!- Kaitlynn

First week

I've made it through my first week. I have 13 5th graders that are the most respectful kids I've ever been around but of course they still like to play around. My favorite parts of the day are serving breakfast to the kids in the morning and running activities in the dorms at night. The kitchen staff are the nicest people I have ever met and they are even teaching me how to say things in Navajo which is pretty cool! I've been playing basketball with the 7th and 8th graders in the dorms which has been a blast. Basketball is the favorite sport here on the Rez by far so that fits me perfectly! I work about 14 hours a day total with lesson planning and stuff. Woof! So far so good here in Many Farms, AZ but I sure do miss my friends and family! I'll take pictures of my class and classroom soon!-Jake

Monument Valley

Before the busy schedule starts tomorrow, the 6 of us participants decided to meet up and take a trip to Monument Valley and it was amazing! It was a full day of sight seeing and the pictures do not do it justice! We even met a cute Rez dog which we named rezy! Haha dogs, horses, and cows just roam free here and it's certainly a different culture but it's amazing! Instead of deer signs we are used to seeing on the road, there are cow signs so that's a new one I have to look out for on the road. Haha loving it here so far! -Jake

I made it!

I have finally made it to Many Farms, AZ where I will be teaching 5th grade at Many Farms Community School, tutoring kids in the dorms after school, serving breakfast, and creating fun activities at night for the kids in the dorms making my days around 14 hours long. Woof! But this view from my backyard sure does make things easier! Nothing but sand and mountains around me! More to come later! - Jake

FIRST DAY ON THE REZ!!

Yá'át'ééh! I have finally arrived in Aneh, Utah!! It is simply gorgeous! Today will be filled with adventure and wondering! Last night, as I was driving up to the dorm, I was able to watch the sunset and snapped a picture that I thought most would enjoy! Updates soon to come! ❤️ -Kailey