A Somewhat Nervous Time

My CT is going to be absent on Monday. When I spoke with her about it last week I made a promise and also got some directions. I promised her that if she told me what she wanted done it would get done. That's pretty reasonable. I actually expected a list of directions. Last time she was absent she wrote out 2 or 3 pages worth. This time she gave me just one page and told me to come up with activities for Reading, Math and Art. Wow! That's handing over responsibility. My stomach is tight again, I'm thinking nonstop about what I need to do. And I woke up thinking about giving a lesson again. A sure sign that the stress is on.

Math won't be too hard. The teacher who wrote the lesson plans gave an activity and it was fairly easy. The kids need practice doing place value settings. I'll just follow the lesson plan.

For Reading I chose a story from the basal text and asked her if they had done it. They hadn't so, we are reading "The Legend of the Persian Carpet." The book has lots of ideas to work with. I may use a few for a little direct teach, but most of it is going to be practice. I'm thinking characters, settings, and sequencing with cause and effect. Example: Tell me 3 things that happened on these 5 pages and for each thing that happened tell me why it happened. I think I'll break them into their reading groups to read the 5 pages. That means I have to manage 3 groups from one spot because the weakest group works with me at the table. The other 2 groups are on the floor at different ends of the room. Note to self: query children on the directions after you give them.

For the Art activity she requested in the afternoon I'm going to have them do an acrostic poem on their name and then publish it on a half sheet of manila paper and illustrate the poem. I asked the kids I sat in with during recess yesterday if that would be a fun activity and they said yes.

So this weekend I'll be writing lesson plans and rehearsing what I want to do and say. What my CT did, when she left me in charge of these things, I see as a vote of confidence and a challenge. I want to do well and am determined to put forth my best efforts. I just wish my stomach didn't hurt quite so much over the wanting of it all to go right. Prayers for calm and that all goes well would be appreciated.

Peace! Hope! & Joy!