Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hello everyone! I have not written in a week so I have a lot to catch you up on. Last Friday was a very nice day at school. I was able to teach a maths lesson on measurement. I found this lesson a little bit challenging because I had to try to connect with the students and adapt to the standard unit of measurement here in Ireland which is of course millimetres, centimetres, metres, and kilometres. I was always making sure to remind myself of the units before I spoke so that I did not confuse the students and give wrong information. The lesson went fairly well and was quite simple. I wish I would have had more time for the lesson because I would have liked to bring a more hands on experience to the students. I wanted them to use measurement in the lesson in the more practical sense so that they could connect the importance of measurement to their everyday lives and understand how crucial it is to have a standard unit of measure. Hopefully I will have a chance to do a follow up lesson on this unit and incorporate some uses of measurement that I think the students will find useful and interesting. I was also able to incorporate some spring time activities into the day by creating origami art. Some of the students had never heard of the art of origami before and I had a lot of fun sharing with them where origami originates and all the things that could be made from paper folding. I was also very pleased with this lesson because there was a visual way to assess my teaching as well as the success of the students' participation in the activity by viewing their final product. I was clearly able to see which students were able to follow oral instructions and able to complete the paper folding exercise. Both the students and myself had a great time creating origami!
I had a great weekend. I headed off to London for two days and had an amazing time sightseeing. I got some great pictures which I will hopefully be able to upload and post. The weather was absolutely amazing and great for the open top bus tours. I have always wanted to ride on one and got to fulfill my dream this past weekend! It also happened to be my birthday on Sunday so it was great to be out and about enjoying the scenery and making wonderful memories I will cherish forever! As you know, Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and I was fortunate enough to travel to Dublin for the festivities. It was amazing to be in Dublin for the parade and see all of the different floats. There were people everywhere and from as far away as you could see. This was actually quite overwhelming at times but great all the same to be able to be in the atmosphere and take it all in. The streets remained crowded hours after the parade was finished so you can imagine I did a lot of people watching. There were tons of vendors selling everything green including hats, scarves, beads, whistles, and feathers. It was great! I am extremely lucky and proud to say I was able to experience St. Patrick's Day in Dublin Ireland and I will always remember this unique opportunity!
Since there was a break in the week due to having Tuesday off for St. Patrick's Day, the students have been a bit more energetic and wild. This could also be due to the fantastic weather we have had. I have never seen the sky so blue and the sun shinning so brightly as I have this past week. It was amazing to see and I hope it continues! The flowers are in full bloom and everywhere you look it is like tiny yellow smiles glowing back at you as you see all of the daffodils line the streets and gardens!
In addition to the craziness this week has entailed, I was formally observed for the second time today. I think the lesson went great and the students were outstanding. I taught a science lesson on the food pyramid. I was very pleased with all of the enthusiasm and participation given by the students. They had some great ideas and were great listeners throughout my description of the food pyramid. I was able to get the students involved by helping me fill in the blank food pyramid that I had created in the front of the classroom. The students found the content material very interesting and as I was able to create opportunities for the students to make connections from what they knew about healthy foods to the new information they were receiving about the various food groups. I was also able to assess the student knowledge gained by viewing the individual food pyramids that each student created. It was plain to see if the students grasped the concept behind my lesson by observing throughout the several discussions as well as through their individual food pyramids. I was given very helpful areas of improvement that I will strive to meet as I complete my last few weeks of teaching practice in Ireland. I am very happy with the progression I have seen in myself as well as in my teaching ability. I feel that I have been able to make the most of my teaching experiences at Convent Primary and will continue to do so as I finish out my placement. I have been very blessed to have had this opportunity to grow and learn in not only teaching but in life experiences as well! Until next time Slan!