Getting Excited!

Good evening everyone!

     I'm getting so excited about the new school year! We will have large classes at the beginning, but I know it will be great. I am so thankful to the parents who have already contacted me letting me know how excited their child is to have me as their homeroom teacher! It makes my heart smile.

I recently decided to add a Reading Center to my classroom. I had one when I taught 1st and 2nd grade, but in my former classroom there just wasn't enough room. Two of my coworkers inspired me to create one again! Luckily, my classroom is much larger this year!

Check out that emoji pillow! How awesome is that? lol

We had a very fun and informative beginning to the new year at our teacher work days! Our new principal created a super cute scavenger hunt for us. At each station we found a puzzle piece, had to complete a task, and received a prize. :) Our puzzle piece formed a larger puzzle! Our theme for this school year is Super Heroes! I love it! Anyone who knows me, knows I love sci-fi, fantasy, and superheroes! :D We have a lot of changes this year, which can be stressful, but I really like the vision we have for our school. It will be a great year!

One more thing that I am super excited about, is my new Erin Condren Teacher Planner! It is the ULTIMATE planner! I absolutely love it. The planner is $50, but SOOO WORTH IT! Any teacher friends should really consider purchasing one. I'm obsessed! I am a very organized person when it comes to my job, so this is just fabulous! You can find them {HERE}.

Tomorrow is our Meet & Greet and Find Your Gator Seat! The students come to meet the teacher, put up their supplies, and choose a seat for the first day of school. It's going to be oh so fun! I'll take pictures and post soon!

Everything is AWESOME!

Check back for more updates soon!

Have a lovely evening!

Getting Ready for the New Year

Hey all!

I know it's been some time since my last post. This summer I haven't spent as much time as I usually do creating things for my classroom. Although, I did get my new classroom set up! This year, I'll be teaching Reading/Language Arts and Science. Our former Science teacher moved to Florida. :(

I am looking forward to teaching science, because it is my personal favorite subject. My students often ask me what my favorite genres are to read. They're always shocked when I tell them nonfiction and science. lol

Here are some sneak peak images of my new classroom:

This is my new favorite thing in my classroom! I have a back door!!! This will make going to lunch and recess so much quicker, and we can avoid hallway traffic!

This board holds images of me, my favorite educational/inspirational quote, our schedule, and missed work folders.

My feeble attempt at curtains. lol 

I love this computer area! I have so much more space in my new classroom!

Excuse the mess! This is our counter space which will hold green folders, turn-in trays, and early finisher activities.

Our lovely small group table! Like I said, SO much room! <3

This is my memorabilia corner! It's filled with memories from student teaching to last year's memories at Steere. 

Corner by the front door.

Calendar

Outside of my back door

Lockers! So, I bought the wrong size name plates and attached magnetic tape to the back before realizing they were too big. So, the little creative teacher that I am made it work!

Here are some images of my summer adventures:

Went with some of my 5th grade cohorts to see Lover Boy in concert.

My godson turned 1 this summer!

Celebrated July 4th a day early with my grandparents!

Celebrated July 4th at my house with friends!

My husband and I celebrating the 4th 

Celebrated my Mom's birthday on July 10th!

Had a teacher hangout at Holiday Lanes!

Celebrated my hubby's birthday!

This is a controversial topic, and not meant to start any debate. However I wanted to post it, because I think it's important that I show students that it's okay to stand up for what you believe in. We may not all agree, but never back down on something you believe in and never stop fighting for what you think is right.

Each summer I ponder my goal as an educator. My forever goal is to teach students to think critically and think for themselves. I enjoy research, which has shaped my values, views, and morals as a person. I hope that each individual student is able to come to their own conclusions and beliefs. No two people are the same, and I value individuality. I hope my students are inspired by the novels, articles, and subjects we read, and not to sound vain, but I hope I can inspire them.

That's all for now folks! Check back soon with more updates!

Little Update!

Good morning everyone!

I just wanted to give you a little update about some things we've been doing in class!

During our WIN time (RTI time) we've been discussing using evidence to answer questions. This week, we showed movie clips from Akeelah and the Bee. Students had to answer questions using evidence from the movie. :) They really liked this activity!

In class, we have been discussing Black History Month. On Friday we started a new writing assignment. Students read the story "Rosa" from our textbook and filled out a Cause and Effect graphic organizer. Then, they created an outline of their writing assignment. This lesson is taken from our Wonders Module 4 that I helped create! 

We will begin our new novel study next week! We will be reading The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker. This is my favorite novel that we read! I can't wait to start it!

Here is the book study that I created! Check out my TPT store for more info!

There is also a research project that goes along with this novel. I haven't decided if we're going to do this one this year. Our Number the Stars novel study took longer than I expected.

Personal Update:

I have started selling Plexus! Plexus has improved my sleep, weight loss, energy, skin, and overall health! If you'd like more information, please message me!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I hope you all have been doing swell!

Here are some updates to what's been going on with my classroom and my life!

I am so proud of myself for facing my fears and presenting by myself at the ECET2 Conference!

I presented on blogging and social media for teachers! 

Mardi Gras at school:

Amy and I were comparing our hair color! lol

Kim (our principal), myself, Toni, and Val!

Celebrating Mardi Gras with my hubby:

Me being silly with some friends!

Our friends Hollie and Jim

Fun things we've been doing in the classroom:

Using our Kagan pyramids for group reading! I often talk about using Circle Talk, which is another similar strategy for group reading. This is a great one too! You can purchase these pyramids at our local teacher store or online at kaganonline.com! 

I decided to try something knew with my classroom! I have really liked this seating arrangement! 

We have now started something called WIN time, which is really RTI time for everyone. WIN stands for "What I need". This is a picture of one of my groups working on using main idea, details, and evidence. The students worked in groups to write an informative or narrative piece about a painting. I told the students the artist and the title of the painting. They had to use their imaginations to figure out what the artist was trying to say and use details/evidence from the painting in their writing. The students then presented their writing with the class. The other students had the opportunity to suggest different interpretations using evidence. The students really enjoyed this!

My students have been presenting their WWII and Holocaust projects. I will be doing a post specifically for that and how it ties into our novel, Number the Stars! 

Next week, we will be comparing the Holocaust to African American History in America. My students will be answering some higher order thinking questions and completing journal writings in relation to Black History Month videos! I'm very excited about this, because I love history. I sneak it into our literature and writings all the time! :D

Valentine's Day:

My hubby surprised me at work on Friday with these beautiful flowers!

So, I painted him this elephant picture! :)

We celebrated Valentine's weekend by going to our friends' wedding today! It was so much fun and so beautiful!

We also celebrated by going to dinner, shopping, and a movie! We ate sushi, per our favorite, bought an essential oil vaporizer at Earthbound, and watched Dead Pool. We ran into one of my students at Earthbound and we took a selfie! I'll have to get her to text it to me, so that I can share it with you all! She's so sweet! 

Well I hope you all have a very special Valentine's weekend! Spend time with all your loved ones: your family, friends, children, pets, and partner! 

Until next time!