I know, I know, I haven’t blogged in forever……Well the thing is, I wrote out a very long blog post with “heaps” of information about what I have been doing, and it ALL GOT DELETED. Needless to say I was frustrated, so I have been putting it off. I decided to type them in Word now so they are saved just in case my Internet goes funky.
So much has happened the past couple days.
This past weekend Kristen and I went to Wellington. Now some of you know how I feel about flying, and let’s just say I don’t enjoy when the plane goes through turbulence, or turns, because I feel like something bad is going to happen. Anyways to make matters a little more interesting Wellington is known for being VERY windy and the runway is right by the ocean. When we flew into Wellington I had to close my eyes because I couldn’t watch. All I could see out my window was water, the plane was shaking, and we were flying very low. After landing I was able to feel much better. The best part about flying Air New Zealand though is that instead of a flight attendant going through the safety features of the plane, they have a hip-hop video that plays, and its “sweet as”.
After arriving in Wellington, we decided we would walk to the Te Papa museum to save money on transportation and we could see more of the city. Um… that was a terrible idea. Turns out I don’t completely have the conversions down between American measurements and New Zealand measurements….OOPS. It was actually over a 10 mile walk, and some of the “foot paths” were a bit “dodgy”. When we came back to school on Monday even the teachers at Swanson thought we were a bit crazy for walking all that way.
After arriving at the Te Papa museum we were starving, and grabbed some food, it was “yum”. The museum was very fun, and then we did some exploring of the city. Wow, I thought that Chicago was the “windy city”. Not even close compared to Wellington. It was so windy I thought I might blow away.
During our weekend we went to the zoo, rode a cable car, and stayed at a bed and breakfast on the beach. It was a very fun experience and it was great to see more of New Zealand.
As for Teaching…..
I have fallen in love with my students here at Swanson. They each come from so many different backgrounds and have so many different talents that they bring to the classroom. Every morning I countdown the minutes until my kids arrive at school, because I am so excited for the school day to start. This past week we have been working on “ow” words and nouns. We have also been continuing with our science experiments, and patterning in maths. On Wednesday we made butter by mixing cream with salt. I had the students sit in a big circle and we took turns shaking the bottle to make the butter. The students loved it, and were very excited that they could taste test it afterwards.
I can’t believe that I am already half way through this placement, it has been great so far and I am excited to see what the next four weeks hold for experiences and teaching. Although it is also sad to think that we have been here for half of our stay already.
This week was a little different week because on Thursday Kristen and I got the chance to chaperone a class field trip to Rainbows End. Rainbows End is a theme park that is very similar to Bay Beach. We were super excited to see what kind of rides they had, and spend the day there. All the kids that went were wondering if we were going to go on the big rides and roller coasters. Yeah that was not going to happen for me. I did go on the go carts and I smoked Kristen and my cooperating teacher, because go carts are my favorite. It actually felt weird to drive because we have not done that in over a month. After eating some lunch Kristen, my cooperating teacher Matt, and I decided to go on a couple more rides. We were waiting in line to see this motion movie, but turns out they were having technical difficulties. Instead Matt and Kristen said we should go on the Free Fall. Against my better judgment I got roped into going on it. The ride was for 3-5 people it went slowly up the tower to the top so you could see the whole city then it completely dropped. Now, I do not do any rides that go in circles, because I will get sick, but I couldn’t think of an excuse to get out of this one. While we were waiting in line I started to get super nervous, but there was no turning back. Once I was strapped in I really started to freak out. I was just going nuts and super scared all the way up to the top, only to look over and see Kristen and Matt laughing hysterically at me. When we got to the top it was a game of chance wondering when it was going to drop. When it did I screamed all the way down. Although it was a bit scary for me, I am glad I was able to provide some entertainment for Kristen and Matt, because they were quite amused. Don’t worry; I will get them back for taking me on that ride.
Anyways this weekend we are going shopping for Thanksgiving meal items, and going to the beach!!! I am going to be making a pie for my kids, and doing a lesson on Thanksgiving (making a pie should be interesting).
Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures!
Make Today an AWESOME DAY!!!
Yours Truly,
Katelyn
So much has happened the past couple days.
This past weekend Kristen and I went to Wellington. Now some of you know how I feel about flying, and let’s just say I don’t enjoy when the plane goes through turbulence, or turns, because I feel like something bad is going to happen. Anyways to make matters a little more interesting Wellington is known for being VERY windy and the runway is right by the ocean. When we flew into Wellington I had to close my eyes because I couldn’t watch. All I could see out my window was water, the plane was shaking, and we were flying very low. After landing I was able to feel much better. The best part about flying Air New Zealand though is that instead of a flight attendant going through the safety features of the plane, they have a hip-hop video that plays, and its “sweet as”.
After arriving in Wellington, we decided we would walk to the Te Papa museum to save money on transportation and we could see more of the city. Um… that was a terrible idea. Turns out I don’t completely have the conversions down between American measurements and New Zealand measurements….OOPS. It was actually over a 10 mile walk, and some of the “foot paths” were a bit “dodgy”. When we came back to school on Monday even the teachers at Swanson thought we were a bit crazy for walking all that way.
After arriving at the Te Papa museum we were starving, and grabbed some food, it was “yum”. The museum was very fun, and then we did some exploring of the city. Wow, I thought that Chicago was the “windy city”. Not even close compared to Wellington. It was so windy I thought I might blow away.
During our weekend we went to the zoo, rode a cable car, and stayed at a bed and breakfast on the beach. It was a very fun experience and it was great to see more of New Zealand.
As for Teaching…..
I have fallen in love with my students here at Swanson. They each come from so many different backgrounds and have so many different talents that they bring to the classroom. Every morning I countdown the minutes until my kids arrive at school, because I am so excited for the school day to start. This past week we have been working on “ow” words and nouns. We have also been continuing with our science experiments, and patterning in maths. On Wednesday we made butter by mixing cream with salt. I had the students sit in a big circle and we took turns shaking the bottle to make the butter. The students loved it, and were very excited that they could taste test it afterwards.
I can’t believe that I am already half way through this placement, it has been great so far and I am excited to see what the next four weeks hold for experiences and teaching. Although it is also sad to think that we have been here for half of our stay already.
This week was a little different week because on Thursday Kristen and I got the chance to chaperone a class field trip to Rainbows End. Rainbows End is a theme park that is very similar to Bay Beach. We were super excited to see what kind of rides they had, and spend the day there. All the kids that went were wondering if we were going to go on the big rides and roller coasters. Yeah that was not going to happen for me. I did go on the go carts and I smoked Kristen and my cooperating teacher, because go carts are my favorite. It actually felt weird to drive because we have not done that in over a month. After eating some lunch Kristen, my cooperating teacher Matt, and I decided to go on a couple more rides. We were waiting in line to see this motion movie, but turns out they were having technical difficulties. Instead Matt and Kristen said we should go on the Free Fall. Against my better judgment I got roped into going on it. The ride was for 3-5 people it went slowly up the tower to the top so you could see the whole city then it completely dropped. Now, I do not do any rides that go in circles, because I will get sick, but I couldn’t think of an excuse to get out of this one. While we were waiting in line I started to get super nervous, but there was no turning back. Once I was strapped in I really started to freak out. I was just going nuts and super scared all the way up to the top, only to look over and see Kristen and Matt laughing hysterically at me. When we got to the top it was a game of chance wondering when it was going to drop. When it did I screamed all the way down. Although it was a bit scary for me, I am glad I was able to provide some entertainment for Kristen and Matt, because they were quite amused. Don’t worry; I will get them back for taking me on that ride.
Anyways this weekend we are going shopping for Thanksgiving meal items, and going to the beach!!! I am going to be making a pie for my kids, and doing a lesson on Thanksgiving (making a pie should be interesting).
Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures!
Make Today an AWESOME DAY!!!
Yours Truly,
Katelyn