One Week Down! (And TOO many more to go!)

Well, I survived my first week of school! I am starting to get back into the routine of school and work...fun stuff! For those who don't know, I'm an Early Childhood Education major with emphasis in Special Education. I have finally gotten through all of my gen ed classes, and am excited to actually get into my major starting this semester! I'm taking 16 credit hours and am working about 15 hours a week. I am busy nonstop every day from 8 or 9 in the morning until about 4:30!

My Classes:

MATH FOR TEACHERS: I am really excited about this class. Terry Terrell told me that she really enjoyed it and uses it a lot now as a teacher herself. The teacher I have seems great and has a teaching method similar to what I am used to. Pretty much, we are learning how to teach math to our future students. It requires a lot of critical thinking and is a lot of work, but I have a feeling that I will enjoy this class!

INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY: This is actually my last gen ed class that I will have to take. I really wanted to take another literature class, but none were available for the time slot that I had open. A friend recommended the class and the teacher...he does not work very hard (and admits it) and still pulled an easy A. She is also a Christian and does not try to change your view about God, which is a great comfort to me! I am not exactly a "philisophical thinker" and the word philosophy scares the living daylights out of me, but this teacher seems like she will make this class bearable. I have just started our first reading assignment about free will vs. determinism. It is very interesting so far!

INTRO TO TEACHING-FIELD EXPERIENCE 1: Field experience already?!?! I feel like it's too early and that I'm too unprepared to start doing this! But I know it will work out. This class only meets one day a week for 50 minutes, and then we actually go out and observe at a school for three hours following the lecture period. We will be assigned a school in this general area to visit and simply observe the classroom. Our grade will primarily come from our written observations--so this class will be a lot of writing! It's a good thing that I like to write! My teacher is my advisor, so I came in already knowing him a little bit. The first day, he came off as very intimidating, but I know that this class will be okay! And it's only one day a week!

INTRO TO TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHERS: I LOVE TECHNOLOGY! In this class, we will be learning the basics of how to use Microsoft Office-- (Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint) in our teaching career. Thankfully, I am comfortable with these programs and will be able to feel confident in what I am doing. We will do small projects using the concepts we learn in class, and the instructor seems confident that we will all have A's. Sounds good to me!

SURVEY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: Tuesdays/Thursdays will be long days! I have the same professor for 3 hours straight (two classes in a row), so I hope I like her! So far, I can't read her, but I'm sure she'll be okay. In this class, we'll be getting the big picture of the world of education and will be studying a lot about the history and advances in early childhood education. What makes me a little nervous is that we will have several out of class observations to do...and I don't know how I'll make time with my work schedule! I'll have to work something out...

CHILD DEVELOPMENT: This class will be similar to the previous one, including the same instructor. We'll study...you guessed it...child development! We'll study conception through the grade school years, taking time to understand each phase. This class seems like it will be extremely beneficial for us as future teachers attempting to understand children.

So there's my schedule! This semester will be a lot more work than last year-but I think I'm ready!

On another note, I LOVE my new dorm! Last year, I lived in Kays hall, which was an eleven story, skanky, and run-down building. Although I got used to living there, it was not the most pleasant experience at times. For the first semester, I had a roommate from Little Rock who was really sweet. For the most part, things were good with that. After the Christmas break, I moved in with Jamie (now Adams), and got to move from the 10th floor all the way to the 3rd! That was such a blessing! We got along great and had lots of good memories.

This was of my living space in Kays Hall last semester.

Right beside my bed, I got half of the desk space.

A small vanity area.

AND I saved the best for last...

A toilet. I can't post a picture of the shower--it's intense!

However, this semester, I am staying in Northpark Quads. It is a MUCH newer facility that is more like a small condo or apartment. In Kays, I shared a bathroom with three other girls, as well as shared a room (a huge open space) with another girl. NO PRIVACY! However, in Northpark, the setup is much different! There are four bedrooms in each corner of the quad, with two bathrooms, a living area space, and even a kitchen area! Best of all, I have my OWN room that LOCKS! I never thought I'd be so excited about something like this!

My OWN room. A little messy...get over it!

Mine and Michelle's vanity.

A bathroom for 2! AND IT HAS A TOILET LID!

I've known my roommate Michelle since I was in Kindergarten, and things are going fantastic so far. Every night she comes into my room and we talk. Mostly about boys. And yes, we giggle. A lot. Our suite mates who live on the other side of the quad are nice, but we don't see much of them...they seem to like to party it up!

So, there is my semester so far in a nutshell. I've even gone to work out a time or two! Since I've started school, I've already lost some of the weight I gained over the summer. My trick? Living about a 10 minute walk from the main part of campus (I'm pretty much at the Convocation Center) and not keeping anything except for bottled water and granola bars in my room! I have a meal plan where I can eat whenver I want in the cafeteria, which serves ANY kind of food you could imagine. I try to choose the healthy foods...but sometimes, I give in. Come on, there's even a soft serve ice cream machine! Now DO NOT tell me that you could resist THAT every day!

The first week of school has gone by pretty quickly. Now the work will start piling up, and I will probably stress out way more than is needed, like normal. But maybe keeping up with this blog will help alleviate some stress that I will be experiencing along the way!

♥ Jay