Mama Mindy's Week 1 of Courses

Hi friends!
As you all know (or if you don't...I will fill you in), I am in my Junior year of my Elementary Education degree program. 

This semester I am taking 13 credit hours, which doesn't sound like a lot...but I am actually taking 5 courses.

Elementary Music (2 hours).  Meets on Monday for two hours.  Like the teacher.  The work seems reasonable.   Homework this week was minimal. We had to create a piggyback song AKA change the words to a song you know to fit the education field.  Right a few notes about a movie we watched in class as it is linked with Common Core Standards in English.  Order a few books I did not have for the first day (two beyond the text) and read a small bit.

Advanced Instructional Technology (3 hours).  Meets on Tuesday for three hours.  The teacher is blunt...that's fine with me. :)  I can be blunt, too!! (this means we get along fine). Homework this week was minimal as the only required homework due next class period was to set up our flash drive with folders for future projects.  I get a few more weeks to work on and submit a working-version on-line educational portfolio.

Math for Elementary Ed & Middle School Teachers I (3 hours).  Meets on Wednesday for three hours.  The teacher is nice...but then when viewing the homework assignment for this week I might change my opinion on that one.  (Note:  I do not mind a lot of homework but when I do not understand what we are doing and I consider myself pretty descent in learning math, then I despise the workload).  Let's just say the homework this week involves finding patterns...like ACT/SAT math patterns...not something little children in elementary schools will ever learn.  Argh!   Homework was obnoxiously large.  In fact, it is the only class I am still working on at this time of night and I still have a few days left of homework to do before class again.  I have to do assignments for two sections in the textbook and on-line via a MathLab (just finished the MathLab and not getting 100% on homework stinks...especially after working on it for 3 hours).  I have to create what is known as "core connections" where you outline each section of the chapter you are assigned for homework or to do the following week and match it up with a common core standard quotation.  I have to do two for this week's homework and two for next week's homework.  Finally, I had two activity pages I had to accomplish and let's just say after more than 4 hours...I finished those...and it wasn't easy. 

Homework left:  Core Connections for four sections and two sections of homework in the textbook.

Field & Lab Biology (3 hours).  Meets on Thursday for four hours.  The teacher is enjoyable and wants us to succeed and have large quantities of resources for when we teach in our own classrooms in the future...she even gave us an educational goodie bag with colored pencils, a pencil sharpener, pink eraser, mechanical pencil, pen, and all that in a "pet company" flat fanny pack.  The work is reasonable as you are learning in the classroom one thing and applying that same information in the lab the next. 

Homework left: Light reading.  Doable!

Elementary Art (2 hours).  Did not meet this week.  Will meet next Friday and three times later for about 4 hours each meeting.  I think this will be a blended course with most of the work on-line and only a few in-person meetings.  Not sure what this class will entail, but I hope it is equivalent to the Music Class's homework volume and no more than that...

I think I might make this a weekly blog post...maybe not on Saturday going into Sunday...but it is important for me to share with you my trials and tribulations of establishing my career. 

This is to be my third degree.  I know this one will stick. :)

God Bless and Good night,
Mama Mindy :)