<a href="http://www.screencast.com/t/2MJnZB3wf3K">white horses poem</a>

I am trying to put this video somewhere and save it so that it can be visible. I really hope this works. 

Ridge view tutoring program

Last night, at Ridge View the students were reading alone and a girl asked me to read with her. of course I recieved her gnereous offer. But before you judge me on how I handled the situation I would have handled it differently with any other child and it very much needed reinforcement. I offered to read a couple paragraphs and have her read one. It was a picture book with moderate amount of text. She wanted to read a whole page while I read a whole page. I said, it would be good to do it differently than how she normally does it in reading buddies. she was adimit on doing it HER way and I insisted that we do it differently. She had a great way to try to solve the problem which I was very impressed. ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. I won and she still wanted to do it her way. we went back and forth very respectfully for about 10 min. waiting for the other person to cave and give up. She never did and we both moved on to different partners.
I really hope this was a positive experience for her only because she is a strongwilled person and seemes to always get her way. it was definitely a chosen battle that seemed relevant. I feel confident in the respect we had for one another even though we were disagreeing.

Digital Learning Day

The most I got out of this meeting was the importance of having computers and technology. even though there are many advances and opportunities to have with technology I like the fact that it's only a tool. A tool that I can choose to use and just because it's the next big thing doesn't mean I need to have it in my classroom. A few take away advantages.

• student empowerment
• collaboration with other educators over the states
• education environment exceeds the classroom
• feedback from technology is neutral 
• personal responsibility/self support

I'm a little prejudice against computers and technology because I see how it isolates people and creates such a disconnect in relationships. But I know regardless of the downsides, technology has a purpose and I want to use it for it's purpose and not depend on it fully to accomplish everything.

tech club visit #2

This was our first day of teaching which didn't go too bad considering how confusing it was and how unprepared I felt. a lot of things changed at the last minute but things worked out ok. It was hard to introduce the bully rules since they were already learning about them the last three weeks. One thing I hope to learn with this whole process is to learn to still keep my cool even when things aren't going well. That feeling that comes when you know, as the instructor, you are loosing your classes attention and loosing control over what's going on is something that isn't pleasant but with unpleasant things comes growth and responsibility :) little play on words there.

we showed the whole K-2 class a mgruff video to start off our lesson and then broke off into groups and used computers to play a mcgruff game. After the computer games, I felt we needed to get up and move around but we needed to stay in our groups, so I had my kids play sharads with who's gonna be the bully, the victim, or the standby. some kids didn't want to participate and that's ok. One thing Beth was talking to us about was how to adjust our words so we are not asking the students to do what we want we tell them. I personally don't agree with this philosophy but at the same time I don't have anything to replace it with. Overall it went well and I can't wait to learn and grow from this experience.

tech club visit #1

When I first arrived at Hyalite's after school program, there were students lined up with coats ready to go outside. I was ready to go with them but stayed. next came snack time where I walked around the room helping students if needed and interacted as I felt inclined. One interaction I had with a little boy nearing the end of snack time he was the last to be done and was wanting to lick his bowl out. I told him not to forget his garbage on the table and was consistent in ignoring me. I picked up the garbage and tried to give it to him so I put it in his bowl as he was licking it out and kept repeating to him that it was time to clean up and be done. It was a little challenging for me to know how to respond to kids who just ignore me but I know my responses are not always the best. It is something I need to work on. We also sat with the students for a short reading time and then proceeded to build our own battle ship game boards. I participated in making one which came in handy when a student lost his. My son wanted to challenge me in a game but I tried to get him to play with another student cause he has trouble making new friends. So far I think it went well but maybe something I would try differently is interact more with different students. I want to try to get to know as many kids as I can and as a future teacher that process should start immediately.  

ASP introduction meeting reflection

I know I have mentioned this before but I was a little disappointed in the ASP introductory meeting only because I was prepared to take notes and get a little bit of information about each school. The introductions of the principals was quick and very hard to hear and understand. I can't be too heart broken over it because it is what it is. We went off to our groups and I'm actually really familiar with Beth and Mr. Van Veeran because my son's go to school there. They told us about their expectations of our dress and that the after school program, even though it's an extension of the school day, we can't expect the students to want to sit and learn. It's important to try to teach them without letting them know they are learning. Beth told us she expects us to email her a lesson plan for each week of what we plan to do prior to us coming so she can look it over and approve what we have. Personally I feel I will need to modify my teaching based on the students response to my teaching. If they act like they have to do something they don't want to do than I want to modify it to pique their interest not to drag the day out more. I'm really excited to learn more about how to incorporate technology because I don't know how to use it myself. maybe the students can teach me a thing or two about what they know. My biggest challenge for me is my patience. People tell me all the time not to pray for patience but in my case, I have the ultimate desire to have patience to the fullest. no matter how long or how much I have to endure I want to attain it. In order to attain it I need challenges.