Reptiles and Bunnies and Tilapia OH MY!

Week one is complete! This week was another week of learning and getting adjusted to the school routine. After the initial last minute drops and adds, the classes are pretty set now. The biggest class I will be teaching this semester is animal science 1 with 32 kids! After the initial scare of not having enough chairs, Mrs. B got everyone settled and comfortable. The smallest classes this semester will consist of 10 students in the plant science 1 course and eight in my small engines class. 

This week consisted a lot of observing Mrs. B get the students introduced to the agriculture program, classroom, and shop. We also took the environmental classes out on a walk to the school woods, greenhouses and the maple house. Having the opportunity to be here in the fall semester when the kids first come back to school has been so beneficial. It has been great to see how they get initiated to the classroom and start getting into the flow of things and creating the year's classroom atmosphere. Even during my teacher prep courses, I feel like I still did not wrap my head around all the behind the scenes work and systems that teachers need to do. There is so many systems for grading and class management processes that it is a whole lot to try to take in! I think I am starting to figure all the programs out though as I started entering grades this week.

(Fun Fact: In the classroom currently we have a parakeet, mice, 5 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, a corn snake, a hamster, a python, a bearded dragon, a tortoise and a chinchilla! Coming soon there will also be tilapia and rainbow trout.)

My favorite part of this week was in the animal science 1 class. After the students received their class tour and introduction greetings to all the animals, they are then allowed to have them out quite frequently during class (if they can still focused of course). The students were to shy to ask at first but once they were reminded and encouraged that they were allowed, they were all more than excited to go grab an animal to sit with them on their tables. At one time during class the hamster, a snake, a rabbit. a guinea pig and the bearded dragon were all out to visit with us! Seeing the students really get excited and want to start interacting and learning about these animals was super exciting to witness!