Teaching Tidbits

So, I've had 2 full days of teaching so far (plus one day of observation). I work with Kindergarten children in the mornings and elementary aged children in the afternoons. The school has the kids broken up into several classes, with 2 teachers working as a team to cover 2 classes. So, I have one group of kids for 2 periods and then switch to another group. It's quite nice, for my first group has a much lower ability level, and I get to have great conversations and participation with the second group. I teach Reading and Phonics to the first group, and I teach Reading and Writing to the second group. I also get to take the second group to gym, computers, and library. They're a pretty interesting bunch of kids, that's for sure. I've had to lay down the law on a couple points, as the man who taught before me was quite a bit more relaxed about classroom management - those of you who know me know that I'm a stickler for making sure my classroom runs smoothly (with as little disruption as possible). It's going to take a while to get them under my control... heh heh heh!

My schedule is as follows:
M, W, and F
9:00-9:50 prep
9:50-12:10 teach 3 40-minute periods with 10 minute breaks in between
1:30-3:00 prep (it seems like I can leave and run errands here as long as everything's planned)
3:00-7:25 teach 6 40-minute elementary classes with 5 minute breaks in between


Tues. and Thurs.
everything's the same until 3
3:00-6:40 teach 5 40-minute periods with 5 minute breaks in between

It's a long day, though the massive prep time in the middle of the day make it not too rough. To top it all off, everything is basically all planned out for me (which is good and bad). There is a system-wide curriculum calendar for each level of classes that dictates exactly which pages of which books need to be completed on which days. It's a bit much, but I understand the need for uniformity and to be sure people with no teaching experience help to maintain standards. The area that will allow me the most creativity is Kindergarten, which will be fun.... once I am able to wrap my mind around the schedules, kids, and books. Actually, the fact that everything is pre-planned makes this transition period quite manageable. Once I'm comfortable with it all, I can start adding Jenn-twists!