Miz Beth's First Day Adventures!

So, it was the official first day! And at the end of the day,I can honestly say...that I'm very happy with the new job! It was simple, yet challenging. Demanding, but not quite taxing. Slow paced, but not dragging. Here's the pic of the outfit I wore for my "First Day of School" (this is especially for my mom's benefit, as the top was a Xmas present from her! Thanks Mom!! :)


Highlights of the day:

1) Memorizing 25 names by the 2nd hour (of the kids...of all the other teachers, I'm lost!) AND I've never seen a class with such "normal" name before. Besides two Indian girls with foreign (although very cool) names, I have Tommy, Alex, Daniel, Phillip, Julia, Nicole, Megan...the list goes on and on. But...in this day and age, most classes are filled with odd names and even odder spellings. Not a one in this class!!:)

2) Reccess time...usually a boring duty to stand there and watch them play, but 2 other teachers had duty with me. Everyone was so friendly! I have honestly never worked somewhere with co-workers so welcoming the 1st day!

3)Having the head teacher ask me to teach a lesson, and only giving me 20 minutes to prepare...and yet pulling it off successfully (and having fun!). [Gaby approached me saying, "You know about the French-Indian War don't you?" me: "Uh....I've head of it." Gaby: "Great! Here's some library books. You can teach it to the kids. Make it sound fun and exciting. We start in 20 minutes!" ahhhhhh! I went through the textbook and thought "How on earth is this going to be "fun". I could already picture the kid's eyes glazing over! But then I found some cool facts, and when 2 and 2 came together...even I was excited about the French-Indian War! The kids actually listned, commented, asked questions, and thought it was a "cool story". It made me think by to Mrs. Savel in 6th grade, who brought History alive for me. She use to tell history like a storytellr, completely captivating us. I wasn't quite THAT good (the woman was a story-telling genius!), but I looked at all their bright, interested eyes and thought, "Oh my gosh, I'm being a Mrs. Savel! I'm talking about a time period of history I love...and kids are actually listening, and liking it! Is this my dream job or what?!" And side note, the War reallyis pretty cool (and bless Lynn's heart for listening to me retell the tail when I got home!) More on that later..so that YOUR eyes don't glaze over :) ]

4)The Chocolate/peanut thing the lady from Spain made and shared. Divino!!

5)Being able to give tons of one-on-one attention to the kids who needed it in class.

6) Being asked to develop a 4 month long writing program...starting the 1st lesson tomorrow. (Okay, the tomorrow business is kinda stressfull, but it's still cool to be entrusted with some actual teaching the first day).

7) The fact that the KIDS cleaned up the classroom the end of the day, instead of me! :)

8) Driving home towards distant clouds, so billowing & huge, that I thought they were the mountains! (hmm...maybe this means more rain?

And that was my day! There's was always something I could find to do, but nothing that ever really stressed me out during the day (except for maybe 20 minutes of prep time). And a "boss" that was so easy-going, and yet thorough in her support. I think this is going to be something pretty fulfilling, challenging,and enjoyable! :)

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Now, for all those that can take it...Why the French and Indian War is so cool:

-The French and Britians were racing to be the first to build a fort on common ground (moddern day Pittsburg)
-150 soldiers, led by a young Leuitenant named George Washington, raced to the Forks of the Ohio to secure the area. Once there, the Indians told them of a French Camp. Washington attacked, taking POW's with him...thus starting the war.
-The French Retaliated, capturing Washington. They let him go, telling him to go home, and leave them alone. Washington said, "Sure....:)"
-A Man named Benajamin Franklin wanted the colonies to unite, and have one president. They didn't feel ready for that, so...
-Red Coats came over to help colonists fight the war. They fought in strait line formations, thus being slaughtered by the Gorilla warfare tactics of the French & Indians. This, however, taught the Americans a useful tactic the milita would later use during the Revolutionary War.
--The British eventually won (with the help of the Iroquois), gaining American territory, as well as Canada & India. however they helped create some nice resentment from the French (which really helped us out later when the Colonies turned against the French. If not for the French help, we could not have won the Revolution).
-Londoners didn't like paying extra taxes to support troops protecting random colonists thousands of miles away, so King George III started taxing the Colonists instead. Which makes sense...except that they were already being taxed from their own legislators. AND they had no say.
--King George III forbid the colonists from colonizing the new land (Appalacian Mts. to the Mississippi River), so that the Indians could have more hunting ground..thus hoping to decrease tension. This only ticked the Colonists off.
--The aftermath of taxes & being told they couldn't spread their wings, really ticked the coloists off, thus leading to the Boston Tea Party...
--The French & Indian War trained made George Washington, while putting Ben Franklins "United States" idea into everyone's head.

And THUS, the War of Independance came about 20 years later...thus gaining us our freedoms, and creating the amazing Nation we call home today :) *Sigh*, isn't that cool? I was fascinated by the story! This is why I'm a history nerd :)