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This month has absolutely FLOWN by!!! I feel like we got back from Easter break just the other day but that was three whole weeks ago! The students have honestly been quite calm and eager to learn the past few weeks. I really think Spring break was exactly what they needed to help them push through the rest of the year! This past week was environment week, and PCPS had a school wide event planned for that Friday. The students knew it happens every year, and they could not wait! The students participate in an entire unit on the environment throughout the week and then on Friday tons of people come to the school to share in different ways. For example, this year, we had a lady bring two snakes from a wildlife shelter, a gardener there to talk about growing fruits and vegetables, a forester to talk about how we need trees in our world, a bee keeper to let the kids try real, fresh honey, and several others. The day was packed with real people who are advocating for our environment, and this made a lasting impact on our students for sure. The lesson I taught was about humans' impact on the environment and I did so through reading and studying the book "The Lorax." I was very impressed with my students because they were able to make the connection between the fictional characters and the "real-life" situation the book represented. I taught two lessons this on taking care of the environment, and I really had to sit down after the first lesson and reflect before I taught the second lesson. The lesson went well as a whole but I have two students who seemed to be "spaced out" for the majority of the lesson. I really had to reflect on my practice as all good teachers do, so that I could be more effective in the way that I chose to engage those two students in particular as we progressed to the next lesson. After watching my video, I found that when I made eye contact with them they seemed to be more engaged, and when i gave them the opportunity to answer or share with the class they were engaged. After my reflection, I decided to make it a point to keep eye contact and be sure to address these two students nearly every time they raised their hands. This was such a powerful reminder of how teachers really must reflect on their practice constantly. In my future classroom, I will be sure to reflect on my practice each day. I know it will be much different because I will not be videoed or graded on my practice necessarily, but I will be able to reflect on my practice by being an active observer of students' work and students' responses to my lessons and activities throughout the day. I have learned that reflection doesn't always have to be when you formally sit down; it is something that should be cycling through a teacher's mind almost constantly. I understand now that one day when I have a class of my own, in my mind everyday, I should never stop asking questions like "What can I do better?" "How can I make this lesson click better?" or "Is their a different way to teach this information that students would receive better?"My research this month consisted mostly of me searching for ways to help a new student we acquired this month. We spent the first two weeks just seeing how she responds to assignments and learning what she can do and how she learns. We have found that after these two weeks of assessing and observing, our new student still reads on an RB level, which is where kindergarteners usually being in the fall. This particular student has been to three schools this year and has taken time off in between moving schools. We have heard from her that she is experiencing some difficult things at home. The standard “create a respectful environment for a diverse population of learners” really took a new meaning in my mind this week. My CE and I are not only taking time to differentiate every activity we do with her, we are also establishing a place where she is safe and can learn how to be a successful branch of our classroom socially. I found a few helpful sites that really hit on many things my CE and I have been struggling to help this particular student with: 
http://www.naspcenter.org/factsheets/socialskills_fs.html
https://www.ldatschool.ca/social-skills-training/
http://www.ldonline.org/article/21025/
Over the course of the past five weeks, we have gotten two new students who have come from other schools and one new student from the EC class who practices inclusion for two hours everyday. This really opened my eyes to just how flexible teachers must be! It is crucial that we go with the flow and really have an open mind about whatever may come our way! I now understand that in my future classroom, I must be welcome to all changes, because I never know what may get thrown my way!