celebrating

every wednesday morning at my practicum elementary school, the principal plays a celebration song over the intercom. he instructs the students to get out of their desks to "celebrate and dance, because the week is halfway over!" the kids love it. i love it. i think life would be so boring if we didn't find reasons to celebrate. 

scotty and i celebrated on friday night because *drumroll* ... i was offered a teaching position for next year! i'll be doing an internship teaching fourth grade at falcon ridge elementary (aka, my practicum school!). i am so freaking excited. i can't wait to shape the minds of little fourth graders. i start in august, i'll be paid half salary, and i'll graduate as a second year teacher... we thought this made for a good reason to celebrate!

i asked the waitress to document this special moment in my life, to which she replied, "of course! i've become quite the photographer since working here!" ... then she produced the following two photos: 

how appropriate was my fortune? 

and finally, my "I'M GOING TO BE A TEACHER!!!" face. 

pure happiness.
can't wait to share all of my fourth grade stories with you all. 

now, go out and celebrate something! you deserve it. 

life as mrs. marx

there is no better way to say this other than to quote my dear friend erika: "the kids think i'm a teacher." they really do! i feel like a little insignificant guppy in the sea of educators, and yet the students think the world of me. it's the best feeling ever. i'm slowly getting a glimpse of what life is like as a real elementary school teacher, and i am happy to report that i am so freaking excited.  i can't wait to have a classroom of my own! 

here are a few sneak peeks i've had at teacher life: 

things to hang on my fridge 

(excuse the capital letter g. i hate myself every day because of it.)

 a new pre-bedtime reading routine

weird habits 

instead of saying "my apartment," "my room," or "my home," often times i say "my classroom" on accident. 

i constantly find myself humming tunes like little bunny foo foo or the days of the week song.

sometimes i feel the need to verbally sound out words before i read them (real example: "bl-o-g-g-er ... blogger")

whenever i see a kid, i try to guess what grade he/she is in. (and whenever i see a kid outside during school hours, i feel morally obligated to ask them why they aren't at school and what they are doing.)

i feel the need to repeat everything i say, just to ensure people understand. 

love notes up the ying yang 

hearing funny quotes

"did you know if you touch something black you'll die?"

"mrs. marx, how come you never wear socks?"

"one time, i was eating popcorn really fast and it was so good but then i bit my finger and it hurt sooo bad" 

*student walks up to me* "what sword do you think is the strongest?" "what?" "i bet it's a wooden sword. because wood is pretty weak and it can break easily." *walks away*

"man, this [mechanical pencil] was such a waste of a perfectly good quarter!" 

"you sound just like my mom right now."

kid 1: "did you know that when we eat chicken, someone cut off that chickens head?" kid 2: "NO! they can't do that! that's against mother nature!!!" 

"i wish i could marry my scissors."

"are those crystals on your necklace real?" (on my pink bubble necklace) "no." "oh. they look so real."

"i think my eye is drying out" 

*looking at a peer's drawing of a leprechaun* "that seriously looks like real life. i can't tell if it's a real picture or not."

"have you ever tried putting mustard on an orange?"

"mrs. marx, do you want to know what i'm going to do when i get home? eat five pieces of bread, and go to sleep."

"this skittle tastes like cornbread."

"one day i'll have lots of gold."

i love first grade.  the students are so inspiring. they love to sing. they love to dance. they jump at any opportunity to help others. they are so smart. they are excited about everything, and find joy in the smallest little insignificant things. for example, if we're reading a story about someone named sam, their whole day is completely made because they know someone named sam. while they may not be able to open their own water bottles, these kids have the ability to melt my heart. i love having the opportunity to help them grow and to teach them new things. i am a happier person because of them.

first day of school: practicum style

today was like the christmas morning of school days this semester. 

i could hardly sleep last night; i was so excited. i've had my outfit planned for weeks. today i started my first practicum! basically, this means all of my classes stop (except for two stupid night ones) and rather than being in class on byu campus, i am placed in an elementary classroom for a whole month. A WHOLE MONTH! i'll be in the same classroom for four weeks just observing, learning, teaching occasional lessons, and loving my life. 

this is a beautiful, amazing thing because: 

1. i can finally put all of my knowledge/strategies/techniques/materials/theories to USE! i'm sick of being told what to do, i just want to go do it! you know what i mean? i'm getting antsy.

2. my liaison (boss lady) is also my FAVORITE teacher slash idol. 

3. my morning commute has just been cut down from 35 miles to 9 miles. halle-freaking-lujah. 

4. i can get face-to-face advice from a real-live teacher. 

5. i can ask my mentor teacher the purposes behind her actions. most of the time when we go observe, we're placed in a classroom mid-lesson for 20 minutes, then we leave without saying a word to the teacher. every time, i have so many unanswered questions! 

6. i will only drive to provo a maximum of TWO days a week rather than the usual four or five.
i'm straight up giddy about this one, guys. giddy. 

7. i will become familiar with the elementary school system from a teacher aspect. 

(really that's just code for: i get to go in the teacher's lounge!)

8.  this will confirm that teaching is my calling in life. 

9. minimal homework assignments for the next month! 

10. i get to plan, prepare for, and execute my very own lesson plans. hooray! 

i feel like the past three years have all led up to this moment! i will do an early childhood practicum now (1st grade), an older one during the summer (3rd, 4th, or 5th grade), and start my internship in the fall. i can see the light at the end of the tunnel! i am so ready for this. the next four weeks should be an interesting roller coaster of emotions. i am so happy and excited but i'm also slightly nervous, intimidated, confused, and inadequate.  i'm sure as the days go by i will feel more and more comfortable.  at least i had a few students welcome me with love notes today!

wish me luck! 

hefty homework assignments

sometimes school is so incredibly difficult. with 18 credits this semester, i can't say i wasn't expecting chaos. most nights i'm up until the wee hours of morning finishing papers, solving math problems, or researching information. it is very overwhelming and stressful. and then, on rare occasions, i am assigned a task that brings happiness and serenity back into my life.  

this week, i practiced my handwriting.

i hope my professor is proud of my hard work.

HA!

i love my major!

the first of many

most of you know that i am studying elementary education.
why do i want to be a teacher, you ask?

well. shall we start a list? 

1. i connect with elementary-aged people

2. i am patient

3. children make me happy
4. i have a weird fetish with grading papers 

5. i feel comfortable in front of big groups of people

6. i want to pass on my love of learning

7. i want to make a positive difference in children's lives

8. summers off

9. teaching is rewarding- and i'm not talking about the dollars

10. i love writing on a whiteboard 

and, as an added bonus, i am itching to decorate a classroom and call it mine.  

so to no surprise, the shopping has already begun.
a few days ago i bought my first piece of classroom decor: 

what could be more fitting for a classroom than a lovely wooden apple?

i'm pretty excited about it. 

and please excuse the self-taken pictures, 

this is what happens when scotty is my only option as a photographer: 

-mrs. marx

my light at the end of the tunnel

i've decided over the past few months that the law and legal work is not my favorite.

don't get me wrong, i am really enjoying my new job. it's busy, i feel important, and i love the people i work with.

however, it can get really frustrating and overwhelming. every court in every county has a specific way of assembling papers- and they're all different. some things need to get filed electronically, some things get hand stamped. some packets need to be mailed certified, some need to be delivered in person. and all of these rules can change at any given time.

there's a lot to keep up with.

and since our firm deals mostly with debt collection, we do a lot of dirty work. we garnish a lot of people's bank accounts. mind you, they are the ones who put themselves in debt in the first place, but it still makes me uneasy. it breaks my heart when i'm receptioning and i get a call from a crying father asking how he is supposed to pay his rent, or from a mother telling me she won't be able to purchase food for her family this week because we've taken money out of her account. calls like these really get to me. its hard to keep my composure and sound professional when i'm answering "mam/sir, i can't do anything for you- let me transfer you to someone in our collection department."

so this morning i was running around like a chicken with its head cut off- going to court, delivering something, then back to the office, picking something else up and delivering it back to court. i was really stressed. i had lots of different packets to deliver all over the court house- one in particular needed to go in a box on the 16th floor. in the mornings the elevators are crazy busy. traveling from the 1st to the 16th floor without at least 5 or 6 stops is out of the question. so i speed walked to the elevators while dreading the thought of wasting my precious time taking an elevator up 15 floors and back down again just to put a stupid packet in a stupid box. the whole situation put me in a bad mood. i got inside the elevator, and in annoyance wondered how many times i would be stopping before i reached my destination. and then, at that very moment, something great happened.

on the 3rd floor the elevator made its first stop to pick people up, and when i saw who would be accompanying me my entire face lit up. it was a whole group of elementary school students on a field trip! i know this is ridiculous, but i was giddy. we immediately began conversing and they were so interested in every little detail. "why isn't there a 13th floor?" "what papers are in your bag?" "have you ever met a judge?" in return, i was equally curious about them. "you guys are on a field trip!?" "what grade are you in?" "what have you learned today?" sadly, they parted with me on the 11th floor. but somehow the 8-floor-long ride that i had with them completely turned my day around.

seeing those 15 (give or take) kids in that elevator totally motivated me. i was all pumped up and ready to deliver my stupid packet, because that's what i needed to do! i need my job so i can have money for tuition, and if i have money for tuition, that means i will most likely graduate. and that my friends, is exactly what i thought of when i saw those little field trippers.

i want to be a teacher so bad.

for as long as i can remember, i've wanted to teach in elementary school. i love teaching. i love being in front of a group and sharing with them. i love writing on whiteboards. i love the tiny desks. i love pencils and paper. i love helping people understand things. i know i'll regret saying this later, but i am secretly really excited to spend hours upon hours grading papers. i love grading papers. it honestly is a hobby. i used to beg friends to let me proofread their papers. i love lesson planning.

so even though i suck at law and i would make a horrible lawyer, this is what my job is for the time being. and in approximately 2.5 years, i'll be sitting in a room full of 8 year olds and loving every second of it.

i can't wait.