I've been very busy lately. I had a 5-week-long break in December from school, and took a nice relaxing trip to California. Now I'm definitely back to the same old busyness of a full time college student, studying to be a teacher (one of the hardest professions, I swear), and still working 20 hours a week.
School has been going great so far, but I am still in the first week. As someone studying to be a teacher, this quarter I am beginning my practica. A practicum (plural: practica), is when I'm in a school observing and assisting the teacher. This quarter I will be teaching at least one lesson in the 1st grade classroom I'm observing, and I'll need to plan this lesson ahead of time to be reviewed and graded by my instructors and practicum supervisor. I'll be in Cedar Wood elementary once a week from 12:00 - 3:30pm, so only a few hours. I'm really looking forward to what this quarter brings. LOTS of homework, but I'm ready! I have an Educational Psychology class, an IT class that only meets once a month, and the Foundations of Education class.
Work has been busy as well. I've been working under 20 hours most weeks but the days I work are long. If I work the morning shift, then I'm out of the house from 6:30am until 9:30 at night. At least with these shifts, I get several hours to relax at school and get homework done or put some makeup on before class. When I work the noon shift, I'm out of the house from 11:30am until 9:30pm, but with this shift, I have to rush from work (I get off at 4:15), to the bus to get to school on time (which starts at 5). Thankfully I'm getting my license and my own car soon, so this rushing to catch the bus will change!
I'm also getting a new job soon. I've decided to become a paraeducator with the Everett School District, for better hours; more pay; and most of all, to start working with kids and gaining new experience that will someday aid me as a teacher. I had been working on my applications for some time. The initial application I had finished and submitted by mid December, but I needed to write a resume and letter of introduction (I didn't have those or need them when I applied at DB), I needed to get 3 letters of recommendation, and submit pictures of my AA degree and transcripts. After those were turned in, I had an assessment with "what would you do" scenarios to complete. I finally completed all of that on Sunday night (1/7), and the next day I received an email asking if I was still interested in one of the jobs (life skills at Lowell Elementary), that I had applied to. Of course I said yes, and an interview has been scheduled for next Friday. Today (1/12), I got a phone call and another interview set up on Thursday for Lowell Elementary's preschool assistant teacher position. When the interviews come closer, maybe I'll make a post explaining what these positions mean, their hours, and pay, and which ones I'm leaning more towards. I may also get more interviews set up after the holiday. It's funny to me that they're both in the same school. Lowell Elem is 6 minutes for my house, so it's very ideal. I was hoping for Madison Elem, which is within walking distance, but I'm not picky!
I had no idea that this would move so fast. Because a paraeducator position is 30+ hours, Monday through Friday, I will not be able to work at DB anymore. However, I haven't put in my 2 weeks yet because I don't know the outcomes of the interviews, and I will keep working at the great job I have until the even greater one starts.
Something else fun that is going on this winter is Lakeside Bible Camp! Last year I cabin led senior girls (10-12 year olds), for a week during the summer, and this weekend I'm cabin leading jr. high. Next month I'm cabin leading girls camp, and the weekend after that I'm a gopher for high school camp! I'm really excited. Since I have summer quarter at school, I may not be able to cabin lead summer camp for a couple years. However, I want to do as much stuff during the winter as a can!
Thanks for reading my ramblings and I hope you guys learned a little bit more about what's going on with me! Maybe you cared, maybe you didn't. But now you know, haha!
H.L.W.
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