Summer School's in Session

As my title suggests, we're back in school! Honestly though, after spending a year in a big, crazy, school, this feels more like camp. There aren't many kids (about one class per grade) and we do an hour of community building, almost 3 hours of instruction, lunch, then almost 2 hours of instruction. It's a lot for the little ones, but it's only 4 weeks and you know they're bored after hanging outside in the heat for a couple of days of summer break!

Preach

So this week we are just observing other teachers, getting together our vision of our classroom and a classroom management plan, and having courses at the school about a variety of things. Monday, we officially start teaching with pre-made lesson plans. We're using these for a week and a half or so before we start writing our owns. They also give us a unit overview so our lessons aren't completely random!

After 11 days at Institute, I'm feeling tired, but not overwhelmed...yet. I had a heck of a day though. Our dorm fire alarm went off at 5:45, which coincides exactly when I was going to get up and get ready. I sat outside in our pajamas for a bit, but they pushed back our bus departure time, so that was good! Then after being at school for 7 hours, we had 3 hours of class. In the last hour, the power went out and we had to go to a different dining hall for dinner. Mixed blessing because the walk was further but the food was great ;)

Me this morning, BEFORE the fire alarm

NOW I'm trying to figure out this whole "finish my masters degree and actually graduate and get certified" thing. I have a little over a week left of my online class and then I. AM. DONE. FOREVER. (or at least until I get the notion that I want a PhD hah!) It's just a pain trying to navigate how to apply for a Florida license and then transfer it to Tennessee by the time I start on August 5. Time is creeping up on me! Well, wish me luck for Monday. That's when my collaborative group of 3 starts teaching a small group of first graders and we hit the ground running. But first: the weekend. Hooray!

Spring (Break) Fever

Two more days! Two more days! Not sure who's more excited about spring break- me or the kids?! Hehe I'm so used to having spring break the first week of March at UF so I'm a bit overdue for a break. At least it'll be warmer this year =]

Today was class picture day and I got to be in it! This class is so special to me and I hope I can get a copy of the picture to take with me to Memphis! Speaking of Memphis, I passed both of my praxis tests (one middle school and one elementary), had a phone interview with Gestalt and a phone interview with KIPP, was turned down by KIPP (sad), and had a video interview with Achievement School District. So now I'm waiting to hear back from the other two interviews. That's the latest update.

You know how we've been focusing on leadership and the 7 Habits by Covey? Well we had this great big Leadership Expo a couple weeks ago and it was so fun! We stayed after school and the kids and parents came in around 6. They had a tour (led by the 5th graders) of the different habits in different rooms and then came into our classroom to check out their science projects and talk with us. I love getting to talk with their parents and getting to know them all better. They've all been so sweet and welcoming to me! I have been so incredibly lucky this year =]

Look how cute these are! 7 Habits-themed-snacks! The administration made them for our last faculty meeting. 7 Habits are everywhere =]

7 Habits snack pack explanation

Yum!

This weekend, I'll be heading to Tampa to celebrate a friend's wedding with some of my cohort girls, and then I'll have a couple days at home before (attempting) to go to New Orleans to visit my high school bestie. This is my THIRD attempt since September to get out there. So please ward off any hurricanes or flu virus' that look like they're coming my way!

And Now For Some Good News

You made it through Wednesday! Congratulations, just 2 days left until the weekend. How am I doing, you ask? Y'all are so sweet. I'm doing GREAT actually. Let me show you in pictures how everything's been lining up juuuuuuuust right.

Yay!

Got an email for a phone interview with Gestalt Community Schools (a charter school in Memphis). I actually had that interview today and I think it went well! I was cool, calm and collected. This would be for elementary, so K or 1st. The tiny ones scare me, but they make up for it in precious things they say. On to the next picture:

Yay!

Got an email for a phone interview with KIPP (another charter school in Memphis!) This interview is Friday afternoon. Again, their elementary is just K and 1st, but there's also their middle school, which has 5th and 6th. Maybe? Who knows. Next picture!

Yay!

I passed all of my Florida Certification exams. Now I just have to finish these pesky classes UF wants me to take. Two more classes and three more months of an internship before I can apply for certification (which will promptly be transferred to Tennessee, thank you very much).

And finally, though I don't have a picture to go with it, my mentor teacher said I could take over the classroom for the month of May- basically the last 4 weeks I'm there! It'll be after FCAT so pressure is off and we can experiment with some new lesson ideas. I'm just excited to completely take over! It was one part of the old style of interning I regretted not having.

Sigh. So yes, it's all coming together. Remind me of this when it inevitably all feels like it's falling apart ;)

Chicken Gyro Recipe

Last night was one of those perfect nights with friends- complete with bonfire, acoustic guitar, nostalgic story telling, crazy dancing, and burgers at 2am. It was also a little celebration for taking my final FTCE (Florida Teacher Certification Exam). I'm SO glad to be done with those exams. They aren't too hard, but pretty pricey and way too long. Bad news is I have to take two Tennessee ones now [sigh]. Hopefully these won't be too hard, either! Certification is a tricky thing, y'all.

So after (hopefully) acing my FTCE and staying up late last night, I was so happy to sleep in today and decided to make chicken gyros for dinner! I spent the summer of 2010 in Paris with Cru at UF doing outreach on college campuses and we absolutely fell in love with gyros, or kababs, as they called them. You have to eat them with fries stuffed inside and you have to have a banana/Nutella crepe for dessert. Sorry. Those are the rules.

See- House of Gyros, what more could you ask for?!

My first Parisian crepe. Oh baby. 

So tonight I had a little taste of Paris again. Awwww. Before I tell you about the food, let me introduce you to my IPad stand I use in the kitchen. It is magical.

I use online recipes A LOT (and listen to music) so it comes in handy.
You can find it here by Belkin. 

Anyway, important things: I used the gyro recipe from Hungry Girl and doubled it so we would have 4 servings :

Ingredients (original amounts for 2 servings): 
Sauce
1/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
3 tbsp. peeled and finely chopped seedless cucumber
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. chopped garlic
1/8 tsp. salt
Marinade and Chicken
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/8 tsp. salt
8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
Gyros
2 high-fiber pitas
1/4 cup chopped seedless cucumber
1/4 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp. crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

All of the above. And fries. Duh. 

Mix your sauce ingredients, cover it, and put it in the fridge.

Mix your marinade. 

Chop up your chicken and put it all in a giant ziploc bag for at least 20 minutes in the fridge.

Dance to music in the kitchen until your 20 minutes is up [optional].

Then you saute the chicken on the stove, put the fries in the oven, and mix together the chopped cucumber, halved grape tomatoes, and feta cheese.

When you are ready to assemble, you can warm the pita up in the microwave, then put some sauce, chicken, and cucumber mixture in your pita. Fries go last ;) Also, I put everything INSIDE the pita because it was easier, but the website originally said to put it on top. To each his own.

Mmmmm so yummy. 

Afterwards, homemade crepes from Skinnytaste! With bananas and Nutella, of course.

C'est bon. C'est tres tres bon.

Hey, let's just run away to Paris and eat like this every night. Who's with me??