Mama Mindy's Week 4 of Classes: Busy, busy, busy

Hi friends!

Re-cap:  Last week I was busy...but getting in the swing of things...

This week's re-cap:

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). Lead a song in class that was videotaped and sent to me so that I could critique myself...can we say "overly enthusiastic" (think clown on happy pills...that was my video...).  This week we are starting one of our semester long projects--A Music Resource file (2 songs per subject matter) and Social Studies/Multicultural was up first.  I chose the Kansas state song of "Home on the Range" and a good patriotic song, "This Land is Your Land."  More recorder...this week we learned "C" and had a few pages to practice.

Advanced Instructional Technology (3 hours).  The class went geocaching.  I think first one must get quite acquainted with the GPS device before doing it again. Let's just say some groups found many...and my group found one. :)  Next week, no class since class only meets 2 weeks a month...but I do have to work on my picture editing and audio editing project.  I actually finished those at about 1:30am this morning...so I think I'm set until next class period.

Math for Elementary Ed & Middle School Teachers I (3 hours). Exam 1 was dreaded...but once I took it I felt better about my mathematic problem-solving capabilities.  I probably got a few wrong...but I'll be happy with anything in the A to B range. As I said, this class is not "elementary" in any way...at least the math is not...but I WILL be teaching it...so maybe I will come to see the usefulness of the processes I am learning.

Homework left:  One homework assignment for Chapter 3, Section 1 and the common core standards for Chapter 3, Section 3 and 4. 

Field & Lab Biology (3 hours).  First Exam was returned.  I got an A.  As long as I feel I did my best, the letter grade does not matter much...but since I love what I am learning...then I really, really, really want the A.  To begin class, we went on a field trip of our campus to identify tree that grow. Then the Virtual Field Trip presentations took place.  My instructor got miffed with me...but I thought I was helping a classmate...apparently, during presentations you can not ask questions of a classmate's presentation...apparently, questions asked are rhetorical and any interruption is seen as rude...Oops! When my turn came to do my presentation, I was cut off after 6 minutes or so...I did not even get to finish...even thought the directions said we would be given 5-10 minutes...apparently, the classroom time we had left was quickly fading out and we still needed to go to lab.  Lab was over plant and animal cells and the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (i.e. cells with a nuclear membrane and cells without a nuclear membrane). 

Homework left: Study for Exam 2. (Exam 2 already?...Yikes!!)

Elementary Art (2 hours).   Apparently, the instructor did not know we did not have access to class material...so she let our first week of missed assignments be forgiven.  This week, we had two photo projects (Elements of Art & Principles of Design), one reading ("Visual Arts in Education"), and one lesson plan and art creation (I did mine on abstract cityscapes). 

So...next week will be equally as busy as this week...but I WILL survive...but some days I will question my sanity.

Much Love,
Mama Mindy :)