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Upon meeting my Cooperating Teacher (CT) for the first time, I knew that I wanted to discuss when the appropriate time for me to do my first observation would be. With the beginning of the school year coming, both of us filled with uncertainty, we added an extra layer to the unknown.... The Student Teaching Schedule. On a hot afternoon at the end of August, we sat around the table with papers spread out everywhere. I looked around at the unfamiliar classroom that would soon be filled with a bunch of second graders. I thought to myself, "How in the world am I going to manage all this?" It is hard to imagine what to teach the students and how to teach them without knowing them yet. Once I broke out of my daydream, we analyzed the schedule together to get a glimpse into what the next 8 weeks would look like. It was an overwhelming experience for the both of us, filled with eye rubs and furrowed eyebrows. Finally, we decided the week of September 20th would be ideal. During this time, I learned that the communication and cooperation between my CT and I were going to be a driving force throughout this experience.

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When I got home after discussing with my CT that the week of September 20th would work for us, I sat down to write an email to my supervisor. My brain was completely scattered and felt like a dish of scrambled eggs. There were so many questions racing through my mind. "Where will the students be in terms of their social, emotional, and intellectual needs?" "What is the curriculum going to look like?" "What lesson will my observation fall on in terms of our learning plans?" "What if this week doesn't work for my supervisor? I know she has other people in the cohort, what if they need to be observed the same time as me?" I looked down at my laptop and decided I needed a moment to breathe and remind myself to be flexible. I looked across my desk, through my window to my backyard, and watched the leaves ruffle on the branches as the wind blew. A sunbeam came through my window and I thought to myself, "I got this." I opened my laptop and began to write out the email to my supervisor. She responded and reassured me that if anything needs to be switched around it can be and not to worry about the small things. I learned in this moment that I did not need to have everything completely figured out at every step of the way as soon as the issue arises. She always helps me feel better! After some time going back and forth, we decided around 2pm on Wednesday, September 22 would be the ideal time for all parties involved.

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Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I spent lots of time getting to know my students. My CT and I quickly realized that second graders are not how they "used to be". COVID has taken quite a toll on all of us, but especially our students. Their reading and writing skills are not as developed as they would have been. Their social skills are not at grade level. Their schedules have been completely flipped around, turned upside down, and flipped sideways, but yet they are trying their best. They seem stressed, confused, and overwhelmed, just like us. To be fair, they were in the middle of kindergarten when we first went into quarantine. All of these obstacles are washed away by teachers who put their all into their planning, affection, and desire to turn these students into lifelong learners. I spent a lot of my time making sure that my students feel loved, a part of a community, and excited to learn each day.

As I took the time to get acquainted with the Social Studies curriculum and the classroom, I noticed the students were excited to learn each day, but often bored with worksheets and being lectured. I knew for my observation and all the times in between that I wanted my lessons to be engaging. I spent each day, each Social Studies lesson, developing my craft for making Social Studies a fun experience. As I got more efficient with making lessons engaging, I noticed many of the students mentioning that Social Studies is their favorite time of the day. It's the moments like those that make all the stress of being an educator worth it.

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Just as I started to feel entirely overwhelmed with picking up more subjects, managing behavioral issues, understanding new curricula, and writing the SOLAMP Long, I was reminded that our lovely supervisor, Irene Watts-Politza, uploaded a wide range of resources to help support planning. As I moved through each piece of the planning resources on the Blackboard course, I felt more and more relieved. It was such a weight off my shoulders to understand how much support I truly have. After reviewing these resources, I felt filled with gratitude to have a set of tools to help guide my planning and such supportive people around me. In this moment I learned that there are so many resources to help me and that it is not necessary to try and reinvent the wheel!

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Over the course of the first few weeks, I slowly worked on my observation lesson. Since we do one Social Studies lesson per day, I wrote all of the lessons into my planner in order to figure out which lesson would fall on observation day. I noticed that the observation lesson would be on the third day of a unit about maps. I planned for the first two days, Monday and Tuesday, to be about map terminology, concepts, and reading a Grid Map. I decided that on observation day, that Wednesday, I wanted students to either make a map using coordinates or answer questions about a map using coordinates. I gathered my loose plans and discussed with my CT during our prep period. I was uncertain as to whether I wanted to use an online resource to build the maps, keep it simple by using a worksheet with questions and a pre-made map, or have the students cut and glue. My CT quickly advised me against cutting and gluing and pointed me in the direction of a website called Seesaw. The students in my class are familiar with Seesaw because they used it all throughout remote learning, so she thought it could be a good option. Still filled with uncertainty, it was time to have a meeting with my supervisor to discuss plans. At this step, I learned that planning can take days on end in order to feel satisfied with what you will teach.

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At 5pm after a long day at school, I opened my iPad to get on a zoom call with my supervisor. As always, I was greeted with a bright smile and a "How are you?!" After some time debriefing and many sips of coffee, we got down to business. "How's your planning going?" my supervisor asked. We began  discussing my plans in depth, moving through my uncertainties and worries, while replacing them with a sense of security. She reassured me that a Seesaw activity could definitely work and reminded me to make sure my lesson is concise with a very clear objective. We worked through narrowing the plans down by removing the read aloud and working pre-learning into the previous days. After about an hour on zoom, I felt ready to begin finalizing my plans into SOLAMP Long Format.

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Over the course of a few days, I wrote out my SOLAMP Long Plans. I worked with the checklist to make sure I had everything included. The sample lessons were very helpful and I used them as a guide. One of my main issues was figuring out how to include differentiation at each step of my lesson, but my CT had lots of very helpful advice. With my SOLAMP Long written and sent to my supervisor the night before, my Seesaw activity completed and saved, I felt ready to add a new member to my classroom, my supervisor.

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On Wednesday, September, 22, 2021, I woke up at the early hours of the morning to get ready for school. I said my affirmations in the mirror, took my deep breaths, put on a cute dress, grabbed my bag, and hit the road. Upon walking into the classroom, my CT told me she had a meeting in the morning that she had forgotten about and would be gone most of the morning. That meant that a Substitute Teacher and myself would be taking on the morning teaching. Since I am in the room most of the time, I decided it would be best for me to teach the lessons in the morning instead of the Substitute. While it was quite overwhelming, it was a great lesson on staying adaptable.

At approximately 2pm while I was teaching Math, I saw my supervisor smile in the doorway. I quickly wrapped up the Math lesson and introduced my supervisor to the class. I led her to her desk where I had an evaluation sheet, a copy of my lesson, a pen, and a welcome note to start her off. As I moved through the lesson, the students were enthusiastic, on task, and taking well to the new concepts. While modeling the Seesaw activity, I noticed that one of my students fell asleep. This student is almost a full year younger than the other students, recently had their dog passed away, and recently moved to a new home. I knew she needed a moment, so I let her sleep until I was done modeling. As the other students opened their Chromebooks to get started, I made my way over to my the little sleepy head. I nudged her softly and asked if she was okay. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't keep my eyes open because I didn't sleep good last night!" she said. I reassured her that I was not angry and understood while quickly explaining the directions to her. As I moved around the room, I noticed many of the students placing the map pieces onto the correct coordinates while using the legend appropriately to answer the questions. I felt overwhelmed with excitement. My supervisor waved me over and told me I did great. She waved goodbye as we exchanged an "I'll talk to you later!"

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At approximately 4:30pm with a large coffee in hand, I logged into zoom to meet with my supervisor. Excited to discuss, we both joined the call with smiles and anticipation. We went through each piece of the evaluation sheet while discussing what went well and what could use some work. I felt reassured to get mostly 3's, but eager to understand how I could bring my few 2's up in the future. My main points I need to work on are more specific differentiation, more connection to the real world and their lives, implementing multiple evidence-based strategies, and encouraging higher order thought processes. After my meeting, I felt ready and encouraged to take on the next few weeks with more responsibilities. As we logged off, I couldn't help but feel so grateful to have an amazing support system! I learned that I am capable, resilient, and quite a good educator, but there is still growth to happen and that is okay.