The day had finally arrived! December 12th: The day I got to visit my school, meet my co-op, and students for the upcoming spring semester!

Upon first arriving at the classroom door, I paused for a minute before knocking, staring in, with a smile on my face. Those students sitting at the desks were going to be the ones I would be spending my last semester with as an Elementary Education major. This was the class I was going to be student teaching. What an amazing opportunity to be a positive influence on the lives of so many students!

With a mix between being barely able to contain my excitement and a bit nervous about meeting these third graders and my cooperating teacher in person for the first time, I knocked at the door.  The nerves escalated slightly when I realized I probably didn’t knock hard enough because my cooperating teacher kept on talking to the students. Well do I knock again? Do I slowly and least awkwardly as possible try to make my way in? Definitely knock. Slowly, the little heads began to turn to the right in my direction as I made my way in.

As a preservice teacher, I supposed it is inevitable to say goodbye to a group of students. Ending my last student teaching experience from fall semester when I was in a kindergarten classroom two days a week was hard. I know that this will be hard too, but right now I am excited. I am anxious to get started. I am anxious to go back to third grade after thirteen years. I am thrilled to have the chance to make a difference in the lives of each eight and nine year old in the classroom where I will be spending the next sixteen weeks.

I can’t wait to see what is in store, what funny stories I will be able to tell, and the chance to learn alongside my students. Let the student teaching experience begin!

In the world of Elementary Education at University of Illinois, the day one finds out their placement for their last semester is a big deal to say the least. Everyone anxiously awaits the email that will be sent. I hate to admit it, but when I received mine, I scrolled right until I found my cooperating teacher’s name, the grade level I would be working with, and the school. I took it that all in, and then went back and decided to read the rest of the email. I couldn’t wait to email my future co-op. A multitude of questions rushed through my head: What is she like? How long has she been teaching? What does her classroom look like? Will we get along? Will we be compatible just like I am with my cooperating teacher now? Somewhere in the stream of questions, I finally decided to sent an email introducing myself and establishing a time to meet in the near future. No more time pondering questions I would soon be able to figure out the answers to. Soon enough, I heard back from my future co-op only a couple hours later and I began looking forward to the day we scheduled the visit.