Today was another adventure full of unexpected pleasant surprises!
Kari and I are started off enjoying a relaxed morning full
of Skype calls, phone calls, and sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather
with Heather and Bruce as they drank their morning tea. The sun comes up so
early here it makes it difficult to fall back asleep if you wake up. I have been
waking up at 6:30am or earlier each morning. I don’t even mind it because Max
and I have an opportunity to Skype then when he gets home from his day (Since
it’s 3:30pm the day before for him). I also don’t mind waking up so early
because I haven’t been tired at all throughout my days. Maybe this should be
something I try when I get back to America!
of Skype calls, phone calls, and sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather
with Heather and Bruce as they drank their morning tea. The sun comes up so
early here it makes it difficult to fall back asleep if you wake up. I have been
waking up at 6:30am or earlier each morning. I don’t even mind it because Max
and I have an opportunity to Skype then when he gets home from his day (Since
it’s 3:30pm the day before for him). I also don’t mind waking up so early
because I haven’t been tired at all throughout my days. Maybe this should be
something I try when I get back to America!
We made our way to Uni at 10:00am. We were invited into some
of the education department’s classes. We went to a science lecture, educational
psychology course, and a science methods class. The science methods class was the
most fun because Year 2 students were presenting 35 minute long lessons. One pair
did a lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly and another did a lesson on force
and motion. They were both interesting to watch and participate in. What I was
most excited about was that they were using the 5E STRATEGY! Woohoo! The 5E
Strategy is a method for teaching all science concepts in specific way. The 5E’s
include: Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate, and Elaborate. Using this strategy
is one thing I am excited to do when I have my own classroom. I won’t bore all
you non-elementary-education-people with more details of that though. Another
learning experience to add to the list includes the fact that the nine of us
are to a point in our studies where we can observe these lessons being taught
and know what would work and what wouldn’t work in an elementary classroom. We
were able to give written feedback to the presenters since they were only Year
2 students. However, I almost wonder if we were more of a distraction for the
Aussie students --- we found ourselves having a bit too much fun throughout our
time in the classroom. At the end of the force and motion lesson (for the
Elaborate portion of the lesson), the presenters took the class outside to do a
Tug O’ War activity. Of course we followed through with the activity of making
predictions of what would happen with three people vs. the rest of the class,
then half and half. But before we went inside we HAD to suggest Aussies vs.
Americans! The nine of us girls headed to our side of the rope and turned around
only to see the nine tallest, biggest of the thirty girls facing us! Ha, as you
would imagine we got our cute American butts handed to us pretty fast. Then Jenny
(the instructor of the class and our university supervisor for our field
experience here) stepped up to even the playing field. She had each of us go
stand by an Aussie that was about our height and weight. No worries, Americans
--- we corn-fed girls from the mid-west had no problem of course!
of the education department’s classes. We went to a science lecture, educational
psychology course, and a science methods class. The science methods class was the
most fun because Year 2 students were presenting 35 minute long lessons. One pair
did a lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly and another did a lesson on force
and motion. They were both interesting to watch and participate in. What I was
most excited about was that they were using the 5E STRATEGY! Woohoo! The 5E
Strategy is a method for teaching all science concepts in specific way. The 5E’s
include: Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate, and Elaborate. Using this strategy
is one thing I am excited to do when I have my own classroom. I won’t bore all
you non-elementary-education-people with more details of that though. Another
learning experience to add to the list includes the fact that the nine of us
are to a point in our studies where we can observe these lessons being taught
and know what would work and what wouldn’t work in an elementary classroom. We
were able to give written feedback to the presenters since they were only Year
2 students. However, I almost wonder if we were more of a distraction for the
Aussie students --- we found ourselves having a bit too much fun throughout our
time in the classroom. At the end of the force and motion lesson (for the
Elaborate portion of the lesson), the presenters took the class outside to do a
Tug O’ War activity. Of course we followed through with the activity of making
predictions of what would happen with three people vs. the rest of the class,
then half and half. But before we went inside we HAD to suggest Aussies vs.
Americans! The nine of us girls headed to our side of the rope and turned around
only to see the nine tallest, biggest of the thirty girls facing us! Ha, as you
would imagine we got our cute American butts handed to us pretty fast. Then Jenny
(the instructor of the class and our university supervisor for our field
experience here) stepped up to even the playing field. She had each of us go
stand by an Aussie that was about our height and weight. No worries, Americans
--- we corn-fed girls from the mid-west had no problem of course!
Since the nine of us had some time on campus together we
discussed getting together tomorrow night at Melanie’s home stay to discuss
travel plans while we are here. We are hoping to go to Sydney, Melbourne, The
Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, with the flooding going on
right now, we are not able to travel up to the Great Barrier Reef. I started looking
up sights and flights on the internet so there should be some fun plans in the
making!
discussed getting together tomorrow night at Melanie’s home stay to discuss
travel plans while we are here. We are hoping to go to Sydney, Melbourne, The
Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast. Unfortunately, with the flooding going on
right now, we are not able to travel up to the Great Barrier Reef. I started looking
up sights and flights on the internet so there should be some fun plans in the
making!
We asked Angie and Ashley for a ride home today, and as we
should have imagined it turned into quite an adventure! Angie is a retired Canadian
who has been living in Australia for the past 20 years! She lives life on the
edge of her seat and takes everyone she’s around along with her! So of course,
when we were on our way home our car took a bit different route to our first
visit to the Pacific Ocean! It was SO wonderful! We came to these mud flats and
came upon 100s of little blue crabs running across and burrowing in the mud! I
have a good video of Kari and Ashley holding one but I just stood there with
the camera screaming and laughing. Then we went to fantastic beach. The water
was warm and the sand was ever so soft! It was so cool to see real ocean waves!
It just gave me an itch to get to the barbeque we are having on Saturday. I’m
hoping for bright blue skies!
should have imagined it turned into quite an adventure! Angie is a retired Canadian
who has been living in Australia for the past 20 years! She lives life on the
edge of her seat and takes everyone she’s around along with her! So of course,
when we were on our way home our car took a bit different route to our first
visit to the Pacific Ocean! It was SO wonderful! We came to these mud flats and
came upon 100s of little blue crabs running across and burrowing in the mud! I
have a good video of Kari and Ashley holding one but I just stood there with
the camera screaming and laughing. Then we went to fantastic beach. The water
was warm and the sand was ever so soft! It was so cool to see real ocean waves!
It just gave me an itch to get to the barbeque we are having on Saturday. I’m
hoping for bright blue skies!
Here’s the continuing list of Aussie Lingo for you:
Mark – a grade you would receive on a paper or in a class
“Spot on” – a common saying a male Aussie student would say
for “Great job.”
Root – intercourse… yes, sex. So down here we can’t say,
that we “Root for the Vikings.” However some of us might not claim that anyway J
Shout – to buy another round. “Come on Aussie boys, are you
going to shout us or what?”
Chips – French fries!
Biscuit – any kind of cookie
“Spot on” – a common saying a male Aussie student would say
for “Great job.”
Root – intercourse… yes, sex. So down here we can’t say,
that we “Root for the Vikings.” However some of us might not claim that anyway J
Shout – to buy another round. “Come on Aussie boys, are you
going to shout us or what?”
Chips – French fries!
Biscuit – any kind of cookie
:) I like that you are blogging
ReplyDeleteKeely!!! I MISS YOU SOOO MUCHH!!!! We need to skype soon!!! I'll have to text you to see when you and J and Molly can be together so we can connecT!
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