Just when I thought I was done with school...

So it turns out that 19 kids was quite the mental and emotional challenge. With some help I managed to get through some boys trashing the bathroom and hallway with toilet paper, fist fights, yelling, tummy aches, fevers, wandering kids at wonderland, lost hats, tears and the indescribable sound of 19 whining voices but all in all I survived!!

I think the thing that really worked was having a sit down talk with the whole class. We went over things that they thought were good and bad behaviour and then we brainstormed ways to improve for the next few days of the week. Then we went over why it was important to listen to the teacher, have an indoor voice and play fairly with your friends and I was happy to see that they understood and were eager to brainstorm how to be good versus misbehaving grade ones.

Later we went some little games and activities like red light green light, and another game to practice how to behave in different situations, classes or field trips. One of them was movie theater, so I'd say "It's a sad movie!" and they'd all pretend to cry and then "It's a funny movie" and they would all laugh. But when the noise got too out of a hand, I'd walk around the classroom pretending to be an usher ready to kick them out. If they raised their hand and had a finger to their lips when I did, they were safe, otherwise they got kicked out of the "theater".

It made a world of difference for the rest of the week even though we did have incidences throughout. I don't think having complete control is totally possible but I'm glad I got through it and I've learned valuable lessons because of it.

So now camp is done and school begins in about a week. It's surreal walking through the mall and shopping for school supplies among all the elementary school kids and their parents. Looking at my shopping cart I realized the drastic change in school supplies from elementary to university life.

Elementary/ High School:
pencils
erasers
pencil crayons
rulers
pencil case
sharpener
markers
highlighters
notebooks
duotangs
lined paper
binders
tabs
pens
whiteout
knapsack
(colourfulness and patterns are inferred in all accessories lol)

Now:
Clipboard
Lined Paper
Pens
Mechanical Pencil and Lead
Eraser
Big binders
Tabs
Sticky Notes/ Tabs
Highlighters
Stapler
Hole Puncher
Ink

I remember needing to bring everything in my huge colourful spacemaker pencil box to class everyday and having the latest school supplies haha...fortunately all I need now is a clipboard with some paper and a basic blue pen in my shoulder bag. Nice and simple and easier on my wallet (well except maybe the ink).

Parents must be happy sending their kids back to school but what a headache you have to go through just before they're sent off! In the meantime, I will keep looking around and taking advantage of sales to get myself ready for a year at teacher's college. Something tells me I might have to stock up on crafty items for possible class projects :P

Oh and reading the textbook has been equivalent to pulling teeth. I need to dedicate an entire day with a coffee in one hand in order to get through such a meaty book. It is definitely packed to the brim with studies, research, theories on pedagogy and often gives warnings to read certain pages only when you're alert. Sadly, if you give me a warning to avoid unless you're mentally alert, I tend to delay returning back to that book. I have a week left so I hope that the time limit will force me to finish it up!