It's Friday!!!

I survived my first week of student teaching!!!! Today I was able to teach the math lesson to the students because my teacher had to watch another class for a few minutes. I didn't know I was going to teach it until a few moments before! I was a little bit nervous, but it was a basic worksheet that counted numbers from 10 to 20 using colored counters. I made sure that I gave the students many examples and showed them on the board. When they went to do the worksheet many of them had no problems which made me feel that I did a good job. I also was able to finish their phonics lesson which is much harder for a lot of the students. Many of them can not read yet and do not know how to sound out their letters. There are many reasons for this including students transfer schools a lot and there is no support from home. A good number of students are being to read which is good for 1st grade.
Outside of school there have been many things happening. Last night one of the people who works for the school personnel office came to the dorm to show the kids how to do roping. He used to rope professionally and showed us a few of his belt buckles. He brought a fake bull and lots of ropes to get all the kids practicing. I even got to try it and it is hard!! I finally got the hang of it and even lassoed the bull! The kids all enjoyed it and some even want to try it again in the future. Roping and rodeo are very popular activities on the reservation, but many kids do not participate. The dorm staff is having programs like this to help students learn more about their culture and become more independent and responsible.
A lot of the people here have been telling us that there are many things for us to do on the weekends. There are basketball games, lots of surrounding cities/places, and hopefully getting to visit some homes of local people. We will even get to herd sheep! This weekend we are going to go to Page, AZ where Lake Powell is located. That will be fun and they have stores were we can get some things we need. They even have a little movie theater :) Tonight all the dorm students go home for the weekend, so we can relax a lot.
Oh one more story before I forget! At lunch today I sat with one of the helpers in my classroom. They all just call her Grandmother and she is there to be a positive Navajo role model for the students. She talks to them in Navajo and helps them in other ways. Today at lunch she started telling me what the dorm and school were like when she was a little girl. She said that she had to stay in the dorm all year and only got one day off on Christmas. They hardly ever say their families and were not a loud to speak Navajo. She told me that they would be sneaky and speak Navajo when no one was around. Her first language was Navajo, so she had to learn English. She also told me that she did have fun in the dorm and enjoyed school. She said she thinks the dorm is good for the kids because it helps them learn responsibility and they have to care for themselves a lot. She sent all her children and grandchildren to the dorm, and even worked there. She raised her grandchildren too because her daughter would work off the reservation to send money home. Her story is so common among the people here. The grandparents are raising the children and people travel a long way to find work. Even my teacher's daughter is going to school all the way in Flagstaff because the schools are better. They sacrifice so much just to have better schooling and jobs.
Now we are off to the trading post to find some food :)