Thanksgiving Break

Being a teacher on Thanksgiving Break is pretty much one of the greatest things ever. I've been relaxing since last Tuesday night. It's so nice not having to do anything at all. I told my boyfriend, Scott recently that I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to work year-round. I just can't fathom it because I've been around teachers my whole life and they've always had summers off unless they chose to teach summer school. This break couldn't have come at a better time. October was kinda hard for me in the classroom. I was getting to school really early and staying really late. I was taking a lot of work home. I never felt caught up and I didn't feel like my kids were getting the best instructional time. Because of this I decided to make a lot of changes. I changed their homework. I'm not team teaching anymore. Everything is whole group, as it should be. I've talked to several experienced teachers (my Mom and her best friend Sharon) and they helped me improve everything. So now, I feel good. I'm not stressed. I feel caught up and I feel like the kids are responding better to whole group instruction. So, this break was really nice because I don't feel like I have so much work to do at home anymore, and as a result, I was actually able to relax. In fact, I didn't do any work at all this break. IT WAS SO NICE! I feel ready for this week too.

Anywho, what did I do this break since I didn't do any schoolwork? I watched a lot of Netflixed Entourage, watched more TV altogether than I've watched in the past month probably (I don't watch much TV), bought and decorated my Christmas tree, cooked a meal and some breakfastes(quite an accomplishment for me), shopped, cleaned, watched Role Models (hilarious, by the way) and RELAXED! Did I mention it was nice?

CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK!

Oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUT! LOVE YOU!

Oops.

I forgot the "before" picture of my classroom and I'm too lazy to edit the last post. The coloring is kinda weird because it was taken with the panorama setting on my phone. Anyway, it's 11:37pm, school starts tomorrow and I'm still up. Gotta get to bed- not that I'll sleep, anyway. Night!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I got a job! I'm teaching kindergarten at Joseph Bonnheim (my student teaching placement). The kids start tomorrow, but I was there all last week setting up my room. I interviewed last Monday and they told me I got the job Monday evening. Tuesday morning, I went in to start setting up/cleaning, and I had no idea how to get started! So, my mom and sister (who are both teachers, too) came to help me out. I'm so lucky to have them. My mom's also been helping me out a lot, financially. She's been buying me a ton of supplies for the classroom. It's coming along nicely. Check out my pictures.

I'm going to measure the kids at both the beginning and end of the year.

My classroom library is pretty bare. That's what happens when you're a beginning teacher. :(

That's Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas in the background. She's a puppet I made.

Our first reading unit is School.

Star Student of the Week!


The kids start tomorrow and I still have a lot of work to do. I had a lot of work to bring home with me this weekend and haven't been able to get to it until today because I've had a busy weekend. I worked my last serving shift at the restaurant Saturday and then they gave me a going away party that night. It was so sweet. They gave me cake, balloons, roses, See's chocolates and gifts. Here's a picture from that.

Since we're talking about the restaurant where I worked (which is called 524 Mexican Restaurant), I'm going to share two stories that happened on my last day. This woman came in alone and ordered lasagne. I said very nicely, "Oh. This is a Mexican restaurant. We only have Mexican food." Then she says, "Well, lasagne is Mexican." So I say (again, very nicely), "No. lasagne is Italian food." She gets this confused look on her face, grabs the menu and says, "Oh! I mean an enchilada." Weird! How do you get those two confused? Also on my last day, this other older woman tried to convince me that tortillas were just a form of Mexican toast because they're made with flour. I just kept thinking to myself, "Is this lady for real?"

Anyway, on another note, another reason why I was busy this weekend was because we gave my soon-to-be sister-in-law her bridal shower. It was beautiful and everyone had a great time. Here are some pictures from that.

The bride-to-be and her mom.

Shelly's bridesmaids

Cupcakes, courtesy of Cupcake Craving.

Well, that's all for now! Wish me luck on my first week of teaching!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

It was supposed to come out in November, but it's been pushed back to July 2009! Sucks! Here's the link to the trailer (which still says it's coming out in November). It's looks so good!!

Waiting to begin my teaching career...

I've applied to several Sac City Unified teaching positions within the past two weeks and I'm waiting for an interview! Some of the postings just closed, so hopefully, I'll get some calls this week. I just want to start teaching the little darlings. I've heard good news about the school where I had my last student teaching placement. The kindergarten position is re-open and the principal called my cooperative teacher (C.T.) to make sure I was in town so I could apply! I'd be so happy to get a job at Joseph Bonnheim. I'd feel comfortable there because I'd be working with my C.T. I'm a little nervous about kindergarten, though. I never worked with the kids at the beginning of the year when they hadn't learned anything yet. On the other hand, it'd be nice being a child's first teacher and hopefully giving them a positive outlook on their schooling years to come. Anyway, I've also applied to postings for 1st-4th. There are good things about all grades. I really miss 3rd grade and the hour-long math lessons. I also liked teaching social studies, which is funny because I hated learning it when I was in school. Also, the kids are old enough to be silly and sarcastic with. I've told some jokes in our kindergarten class and I swear, all you could hear were crickets. :) On the other hand, the younger kids are fun because they're so cute and say fun and innocent things. Also, there's more time for music and art in the younger grades. I don't really mind what grade I get, I just want a job! It's like, you go to school for so long, and then when you're finally finished, there are little or no jobs available. It's okay though. I'm getting my optimism back, since I've seen more and more jobs posted on Sac City's website. We'll see what happens in these next two weeks (school starts September 2nd). Hopefully, I'll get some interviews and a job! WISH ME LUCK!

Babies

So there are pictures of two different kinds of babies in this blog. The first is a picture of my future niece or nephew! My brother, Marco and his fiance, Shelly are having a baby! It's due in January. I can't wait!




Here is a picture of the other kind of baby. They're baby foxes! This guy who was parked next to me at work had them in the back of his truck. Apparently, he rescues wild animals and takes them to an animal services shelter. They were so cute!

Movie Update

I saw two more movies this week. The first was Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Movie (I saw it with my niece). It was super cute and historical. It was about a young girl living during the Great Depression era. It stars Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin. She looks so old in this movie! Anywho, it's a good one for any of the little darlings in your life.

The second movie I saw was The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale. He is super hot, too! Oh yeah, and this time, Rachel Dawes (Bruce Wayne's love interest) is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I think she did a better job than Katie Holmes. OH! I'm missing one of the best things about this film! Heath Ledger as the Joker!! He was so good and creepy. I was sad watching him, thinking it's such a shame he won't get to make great movies anymore. Yes, I loved him in Brokeback Mountain. :) Anywho again...Go see The Dark Knight! You won't be disappointed!

I'll keep you updated on anymore movies I see!
P.S. When did I become such a late night blogger???

Blowing Off Some Steam

So, I just had an annoying conversation with someone and I figured blogging might make me feel better (it's like writing in a journal) and since it's also been so long since I last posted, I thought it'd be a good idea. Although, what to write about, I'm not so sure.

Well, I guess I'll start by writing about some movies I've seen recently. Two of them are really good and one was horrible- almost as bad as when I saw Jeepers Creepers. I'll begin with the bad one. It's M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. By the way, if you ever go see a movie with my friend Catherine, don't let her pick it (she picked this one and Cloverfield...enough said). Anywho, whatever you do, DON'T spend money on this movie. It sucks! I was warned, but I went anyway. It's pretty bad. We were laughing at how dumb it was...not getting scared.

Ok, on to the two good movies. The first is, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class). I don't care how old you are, this movie really is perfect for all ages. WALL-E is just so lovable. He just wanders the Earth alone everyday, doing his job, which is compacting the trash on Earth. Sometimes he finds things that are interesting to him, like a Rubik's Cube. Just go see this movie. My writing doesn't do it justice. You'll heart it!

The third and final movie I'll be writing about tonight is Wanted. It stars Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and the guy from The Last King of Scotland (I could easily look his name up, but I'm not since I provided you with the link). The story line is great and the acting is great. The Last King of Scotland guy (ok, I did it, his name is James McAvoy) plays his part so well. The movie really had me all anxious and on the edge of my seat the whole time. Go see it!

Oh wait! There's another movie I've seen fairly recently. Kung Fu Panda. I won't go into too much detail about this one. Just that Jack Black is so cute as pudgy panda bear, Po. There's a quote from this movie that I love. It's, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." I loved it so much, I made it my MySpace headline (dumb, I know).

So, obviously I've been on a movie kick lately. It's only going to get worse too, since I've recently become a member of Netflix again. They now let you watch movies instantly. How cool is that?!

So, thanks for letting me blow off my steam. It helped! :) Good night!

Another Hodgepodge of Sorts

Last week, Annah had a jewelry party so I got to hang out with my niece, Karlee. Look at her lips! She takes after her Aunt Lotty. :) You can't really tell in this picture, but she has her ears pierced too! I love it!

Ok, next, here's me on my last day of kindergarten. :( I'm reading a card from the kids and opening a gift from my cooperative teacher. I already miss the little darlings! That was last Friday though and I already got to see them today for a field trip to Capitol Aquarium. I forgot my camera, though. :( I'll see them in another two weeks too, for their kindergarten graduation. Can't wait!

Next day, Saturday, I had my credential program graduation. Here are some pictures. It was so much fun! Graduation was at Arco in the evening, then I went to Leatherby's for dinner, then downtown to celebrate.

Sunday night, I had a dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. After that, my friends and I went to R15 and Whiskey Wild to continue my graduation celebration.

Finally, here is Trevor giving his Akita, Chivas a bath. It was cute! Chivas is named after the alcohol, Chivas Regal, not the soccer team. (Trevor always tells people that, so I thought I'd share it too.)

On another note, I got "Carried away" last night and saw Sex and the City. I kinda had a love/hate relationship with it. (SMALL SPOILER ALERT!) I thought it showed Carrie and Miranda as way too forgiving. At the same time, I am happy with the ending. I don't know. If you're a die-hard SATC fan like me, you'll have to let me know what you think about it.

Camera Fun Part 2

I told you to frequent my blog to see more "camera fun" and I've pulled through. Here are two pictures and one video for you to enjoy (most of you will be creeped out by the last two "camera fun" items). I might be taking this camera stuff too far. You'll soon see why.

My little darlings and me.


This cockroach (or whatever it is) was getting eaten alive by ants! Trevor took this picture and it's like, the best picture ever. You can see all the individual legs of the ants!


Video of Trevor trying to put the cockroach out of its misery, complete with music and dialogue. The name of this video is, "Poor Lil' Bugga". Get it? :) Yes, one cockroach was harmed in the making of this video.


We'll soon see what the camera captures next!

Camera fun

I have a new camera. Well, I don't. But my Mom does. She's letting me use it though and I love it! I want one just like it. It's a Sony Cyber-shot, just like my old one, only this one is way better because it's 8.1 mega pixels. I've been playing with it a lot this past week, taking pictures and recording random video. Here are some of the pictures/video I've taken.

My decorated graduation cap. UTEC stands for Urban Teacher Education Center.

Our kindergarten classroom pets- silkworms.

Yes, those black things are silkworm poopies.

Silkworm video (I just had to.)

Our Ocean Life wall (The rainbow fish was my own lesson and the fish turned out great!)

There will definitely be more random pictures/video to come so come visit my blog more often. I'll probably post some pictures of my credential graduation coming up this Saturday.

Oh yeah, on another note...Nia, I just want to tell you how proud of you I am. Everytime I visit your class, I feel so proud. I really admire all you do in your teaching. Keep up the good work and please help me out when I get a job! :)

I'm done

Yay! My 2-week solo is finished! Only one week left until I'm a fully credentialed elementary teacher. Next week will be easy though because I don't have to teach much...Only about an hour each day. Also, it should be fun because I'm going to be observing other grades. I'm excited because I'll be observing another kindergarten and since I've been teaching this grade all semester, it'll be interesting to see how another teacher does it.

So, all in all, I'd say my solo went pretty well. However, there was only one really stressful day and it just happened to be today, my last day. It was not only the hardest day of my solo, but maybe the hardest all semester. The kids were crazy and because I had to stop and manage them so often throughout the day, I didn't finish all of what I had planned for the day. This was also the first time that happened. I felt like I was being so mean to them because they were acting so wild. We have story time each day, but that was one of the things we didn't get to today. One of my students asked, "Ms. Bautista, why didn't we read that book?" I said, "Because we were crazy today and we had to stop too many times so we didn't have enough time." I felt bad about this, but they were driving me crazy!

Anyway, I feel that my teaching career is off to a good start! I'm planning on applying to my school this fall because we have a kindergarten and first grade position opening up. There is also a long-term sub position because a teacher will be going on maternity leave. Wish me luck on getting a job!

A Good Day

To begin with, what made this day so good was that I found out I passed the RICA!!!! The RICA is this huge test that all new teachers must pass in order to get their credential. I was so scared I wasn't going to pass this test and I really didn't want to take it again for two reasons. A) it's super hard and B) it costs $130! Well, I don't have to worry about it anymore- I passed!!

Next, the other reason it was a good day today is because it was my first official (but I've really been doing all the teaching for over a month now) solo day and it went well. Part of what makes it "official" is that everything I'm teaching now, I actually planned. Before, I was teaching all of my cooperative teacher's lesson plans.

So, today was great. We made pinatas and ate pandulce to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the kids were well-behaved and my supervisor came in and gave me great feedback. We also acted out The Little Red Hen. Here are some pictures from class today. As you can see, I was dressed up for Cinco de Mayo.




So, I've had a great start to my two weeks of soloing. I have great confidence that the rest of the two weeks will go well. Wish me luck!

Re: The Sopranos Season Finale

WARNING! ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT!

Apparently, I'm not that clever. In one of the last episodes of The Sopranos, Tony talks to Bobby about what he thinks may happen right before you die. He says, "I bet it just goes black." Then he remembers (or they just say it again) it in that last scene I describe in my other post. Duh! Am I that dense?! I even wrote "The screen went black..." Someone had to explain it to me. Tony got shot! I was so mad at myself. I wish I had caught that because then my last Sopranos experience would've been a pleasant one. My complete opinion of the finale has since changed. It's good. Disregard my entire previous Sopranos post.

Oh yeah, one more thing.

Here are some random pictures I wanted to post. They're completely unrelated to each other, too.

I took this first picture in Old Sac today. I thought it turned out nice.

The next three are pictures of these giant crayon boxes and crayons I made for my kindergarten class. I was so proud of them and they took me forever to make.

Each crayon is 28.5 inches long and 5 inches wide. (Just to give you an idea of how big they are.)

Wow. How random is my blogging for tonight? I went from The Sopranos, to Old Sac, to cutesy handmade crayon boxes. The funny thing is, I think these three things sum me up perfectly. :)