sped on by

It all started with a speed workout this morning. Then I was engulfed in sped all day long. Special education that is. 

One of the graduate courses that I am taking this semester is an introduction to special education. I am learning about the legality of the system, the exceptionalities that students may be diagnosed with, and the implications for me, a general education teacher. As with all classes, I have assignments to complete, and today seemed to be the day when I was able to get them done - or at least started. 

This morning I was observed by my instructor during my morning meeting. I was able to share with her one of my most favorite times of the day - the time when we all say good morning, get to share a little bit about ourselves, do a group activity, and work on our literacy development. I am always excited by this time of day and it helps to get our class started on the right foot. This assignment will continue through a process of feedback from her and my reflection on that feedback.

My instructor left right as we were beginning language arts time, and from there the morning took off. We flew through different activities, focusing on high frequency words (have & is this week), the letter a and the /a/ sound. Reading and listening comprehension. Facts about flowers. Comparing and contrasting. And, before I knew it, the kinders were lining up for recess. This is how the majority of my mornings go. I become engaged with my students and before I know it, it is time for a break. I love it!

After recess the students worked with my assistant, as is usual and I worked on preparing some materials for a lesson that will be given next Monday when I am out for a training. The students worked on their letter sounds while I listened in the background and checked in on their small group projects. When lunch rolled around we were in a rush to line up and get to the cafeteria in time, because once more, we were engaged in our assignments and forgot to look at the clock.

At lunch time I was engulfed in sped work again. Another assignment for my class is to interview someone from the special education team. Today was my lucky day as our educational diagnostician was on campus. She only stops by occasionally, but I wanted her perspective since it is the one that I know the least about. We sat and talked throughout my entire lunch, meaning I only ate a few bites of my delicious salad. My kinders were great coming back into class and my assistant did her amazing thing where she got math class started so that I could at least eat my salad.

Math was a breeze, reading 1 Hunter, by Pat Hutchins and practicing numbers that are one more than the previous. The kinders were really engaged and involved in the counting of animals and figuring out what the number would be if there was one more animal. They then completed their worksheets with flying colors. Once again, time flew and before I knew it we were being called to the cafeteria for a fund raising assembly.

And, just like that the day came to a close. We had a short intervention session where I worked with some students on one to one correspondence (counting in normal people terms) and then I brought out the smarties. I'll need to share about smarties another day because for me, my day will continue with more special education. Tonight I have class to learn even more about this field of education so that I can improve my practice!

Happy (crazy) Wednesday! I hope that yours sped on by as well.