One down, one to go!

Well I have officially completed my first semester of graduate school! I can hardly believe that time has gone so quickly. Finishing up the first semester means a few things:

1. one semester until I finish my first year
2. halfway to my Master's Degree
3. one year of classes left until I am in the field for a full year internship experience

I guess I should wrap up what's been happening for the past month. Class was pretty intense the past month or so of the semester. It seemed like I had a lot of reading, papers, assignments, and tests to complete before I was free. My exams weren't too terrible. I had zero motivation to get anything done though. It was a struggle. It is definitely a challenge to get focused when you remember that classes are pass/fail. I started to find myself thinking about what the "minimum" grade I needed was. However, I still think I was able to pull it off.

At my placement I have been feeling a lot more at home. I love that I now have people I can go to for things to do, like observing a student for the speech and language pathologist. Its great to feel valued and have your opinion matter. I'm hoping to finally get my hands into some educational testing after the break. Last week I watched the holiday concert at the school, which was so cute. The choir is HUGE and the kids did such a great job. Some of the young ones (around first grade) even had solos! Lastly, Primary Project at my placement is well under way. I have seen one student 5 times and the others three times. While the prevention program is great for the students and has some promising data, its been hard to stick to the "script" exactly. I'm trying to make it my own, but at times it still feels robotic. Regardless, I think I'm really starting to make connections with my students. One of my quiet guys saw me in the hallway this past week and lit up, giving me a huge wave and smile. It really showed me that he enjoys our time together, even if it is silent 99.9% of the time.

Now that the semester is done, and I have only two more days at my placement, its time to decide what to do with all my free time! I'm planning on spending lots of time relaxing and sleeping. I also plan on doing some more cooking and trying my hand at baking. I plan on making gingerbread cookies using a recipe I have seen a few times on Paula Deen's show. I also want to try and recreate my favorite English Christmastime treat: mince pies (meat free please!). I was told that there are some jarred fillings in the grocery store so I've been looking for one that is meat free to make for Christmas this year. I also plan on enjoying myself with my bowling team on the next few Sundays. We had our first game last week and won by only five! Luckily one team member is really good, so she carried our team to victory. The league was started by Parid's friend and he has expanded to a variety of cities across the country. Check out their website, especially if you're in Philly or the Chicago area: www.betteroffbowling.com.

Until next thyme,
Erika