I'm already loving this linky for connecting with and learning from fellow teacher bloggers. We have Lisa at Second Grade Stories to thank for this one :)
Creating a classroom community is possibly my biggest focus in the weeks leading up to meeting my new little learners. Isn't that why we all stress out about getting our classrooms set up? I've rearranged my general layout, got rid of my teacher desk for a sweet new kidney small group table, and have been tweaking some of my classroom management strategies based on last year's experience. We worry so much about this stuff over solely focusing on lesson planning because it sets a tone.
I'm excited that we have a half day August 17 followed by full days the rest of the week. Normally we have half days on a Thursday and Friday before hitting the ground running. I plan on using this solid week to really work on rules and procedures as well as making my students a family. My grade had issues with students treating others kindly last year which made me really think about what I could do to help things out.
I'm sharing my Big Plan for week one with you and will update with how it actually goes later. For the half day on Monday, the focus will be on important procedures they need to know for the end of the day and the following morning. We will also do a basic get to know you activity.
Tuesday: We will read and discuss "How Full is Your Bucket?" and kick off bucket filling in our room. My plan is to allow students to fill out slips after they finish morning work and during the last five minutes of the day after they pack up.
Wednesday: We will read "Ruby the Copycat" and "A Bad Case of Stripes" and talk about how great it is for everyone to be his/her own person. I plan on doing a community quilt and talking about how all the squares are different but come together to make something beautiful. (Side Note: Here comes some comparing/contrasting literature, too, for those Common Core Standards!)
Thursday: I'm working on a "Be a Buddy Not a Bully" lesson/activity for my students with a corresponding note to be sent home for parents. I want my students to understand how their words can affect others and how they can do something if they see someone else being bullied. We'll be doing the toothpaste demonstration this day, too, where they squeeze it all out and have to try to put it all back in.
Friday: On Friday, we'll cover one of our big issues--tattling! We will read "A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue" and go over the difference between telling and tattling. I didn't know about this book last BTS, so I'm looking forward to actually teaching my kids the deal! I'll also try to think up some craftivity in the next week of PD :)
I'm looking to make this a great year for my students and can't wait to show you how it turns out!
How is it possibly August already?! I blinked, and summer is over! In honor of August, I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for the Currently link up.
Listening to The Karate Kid Part II:
I don't know if I've actually seen all of any of these movies. It's serving as background noise at the moment.
Loving having a great AC:
It rained the whole month of June. It was bone dry the whole month of July, with 100+ temperatures the last half of it. We had a couple days more of rain, but the heat and humidity are back. You can barely walk outside right now! My poor little learners may not be able to have outside recess to kick off school if this keeps up.
Thinking about my To Do list:
I'm pretty sure it's what I'm always thinking about! It's really bad right now because I forced myself to take June totally off from thinking about school. I always work the summer away and am tired when school starts back. This was a fatal error because it's proving quite difficult to get back into a work mode.
Wanting a few more weeks of summer:
I'm fairly sure this could be said about any teacher at the moment!
Needing to switch from summer to school mode:
Like I said, NEVER totally taking a break for a whole summer month. A mostly break, sure. Completely shutting off my teacher brain absolutely not.
BTS RAK--a happy goodie:
I seriously adore my fellow 2nd grade teacher. There will be only the two of us this year with bigger class sizes. Last year was a bit crazy for us with two new textbooks, a totally new daily schedule, and lot of changes from the state. I'm looking forward to this year with her!
Please send a few positive thoughts my way about getting back into a school groove. I may need them to stop staring at my pile of things to do and actually work on them :)
I spent the past couple of days at the A+Pel summer conference in Baton Rouge. It's always a great time when you get 300+ teachers together!
We had a day and a half of various hour-long professional development sessions. I got to attend several great presentations as well as deliver two session myself.
My first presentation was about RTI in the classroom. We covered behavior interventions first before moving on to academic. I talked about all the different things I do in my class: converted games, flash cards, scoots (task cards), iPad apps, and more. This session was right after Larry Bell spoke, and boy, was I nervous! We had some great conversations which continued for the rest of the conference. I was even asked about doing a PD day for a nearby school district! Talk about flattered.
My second presentation was on Eureka Math. I talked about how the lessons are structured and focused on key elements that can be used in any classroom (whether the school uses the EM program or not!). We did a sprint, had some fun with happy counting, and talked about application problems. I really LOVE this math program! There will be more on my affection later!!
I'm spending the next two days at a Cain Center Eureka Math training, put on by the people from LSU who wrote the program. Since my school district is hosting the event, we got some free seats. My principal offered, and I jumped at the chance! I can't wait to learn some new stuff to share with other teachers and my students.
I've wanted to do one of these posts for so long, and now I can! Here are 5 random things from my week.
I'm currently in St. Louis visiting my grandparents and uncles. We've been coming here since I was born. I look forward to seeing everyone, catching up, and shopping in a real city.
I'm going a bit crazy thinking about the next couple of weeks' events and wondering how in the world I'm going to get my room set up. It makes me a bit nervous thinking of how much I really have to do in there! Seeing everyone's posts about their progress has done nothing to ease my mind.
I'm gearing up to make weekly supplements to our new Journeys Common Core ELA curriculum. I would love to keep ahead on these throughout the year! I can't wait to launch them.
I'm so excited to present at a state conference in 2 weeks. I'm doing one on Eureka Math and another session on RTI. I'm working on the finishing touches for the PowerPoint slides now. Even with the excitement, I'm SO nervous!
I visited Half Price Books for the first time yesterday. I'm glad we don't have one near my hometown, because I'd never leave! I got 15 Magic School Bus books for my classroom library. I was walking around the store thinking the shelving system HAD to have been created by a teacher. It was magical!!
I'm so excited for my blog launch! I've thought of doing this for a while and finally went for it.
Once I decided to actually create the blog and get a (fabulous) designer for it, I realized I needed to come up with an actual name for my TPT store/blog. It's ridiculous that it was the hardest, longest part of this whole process. I couldn't land on something that captured ME. I thought I'd come close a couple of times but they were already taken or too similar to someone else's name.
I started thinking about teachers who inspired me growing up. Some were real, some were fictional. My third grade teacher Mrs. White. My high school ELA teacher Mr. Hammons. My high school history teacher Mr. Van Rhyn. Then, there were the fictional teachers: Ms. Frizzle, Bill Nye, and (my favorite) Mr. Feeney.
I learned so many valuable life lessons from Corey, Topanga, Shawn, and Mr. Feeney. Boy Meets World was a favorite with my friends. I'm currently using the fact that I'm a teacher as an excuse to enjoy the new Girl Meets World, but truth is, I'm loving grown-up Corey and Topanga. Upon realizing just how sentimental I was getting thinking about Mr. Feeney's last advice to the gang, I knew. It's been what I've tried to pass on to my own little learners for the short time I've been teaching: "Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good."
Most of my students have never been out of Louisiana. Many of them don't do a lot of things (travel, reading, etc.) that give them the life experiences to help them in class. I get to introduce them to world, to history, to their imaginations. I have to make them believe in themselves and dream as big as possible. I get them to try things, though sometimes it's more forcing them to try things! I really work on the 'do good' part. I want them to put as much good out into the world as possible.
I'm excited to see where this blog will take me on my teaching journey. I look forward to connecting with teachers around the world. I want to be inspired and to maybe inspire someone myself. Here's to many years of blogging to come!
I'm visiting my grandparents for a bit, and it's what is on the TV as my background noise.
Loving my new blog design:
It's like Gabby climbed in my head to figure out what I wanted it to look and feel like. She's amazing!
Thinking about my upcoming PD presentations:
In about 2 weeks, I'll be driving down to Baton Rouge to present at a state conference. This is my first time presenting to a major audience (more than just my grade level in-district), and the nerves are starting to kick in. I've got to edit my presentations in the next week and upload them so people can download the slides during the conference.
Wanting the blackberries in the fridge:
Blackberries may very well be my favorite fruit. My grandmother got some fresh from the local grocery, and if I hadn't had a chocolate lava cake, they would be mine! At least I know what I'll have for breakfast tomorrow.
Needing to cross items off my to-do list:
Now that it's July, I'm thinking about the classroom I need to unpack and set up. I've also got my back to school purchase list to start working on. Next weekend I'm in charge of organizing child care for 30+ kids ages 3-15. There's more (we teachers ALWAYS have much more!), but those are the major things on my mind right now.
All Star list maker:
If I don't write it down...it may not happen! I've got my school list, home list, TPT/blog list, etc. I've got my planner set up for the coming school year, and my Plum Paper lesson planner is in the mail as of yesterday. Now I just need to get faster at marking things off and slower at adding them!!
