Saved by the Bell

Since graduating in December and getting a job right off the bat to teach 3rd grade this past couple of months have felt like I've been on a roller coaster. I've been so grateful of having a job but have also felt like a lost puppy. I came into this job after a teacher had to leave mid-year.I love my class and the school that I work at. But, up until today I have felt so lost. Today something finally clicked. I got through all of my lessons and finally have my classroom management skills under control. (p.s. I wish they had more classes on classroom management in college.. I don't feel like I was prepared to manage 20 individual personalities, but darn it I can write good lesson plan.) Anywho, Today I finally figured out what works best for my class and myself. Here's hoping tomorrow is just as great :) On a different note, we started Unit 4 of our Reading Street Readers, (we are a little behind due to snow days and holiday break), I found seller, Sarah Kirby . Her stuff for the Reading Street units is so great. And you can buy each unit for around $16. Her anchor charts are my favorite. This is my literacy wall that I change each week. Happy Teaching!

Jen

Currently reading...

I am head of the Accelerated Reading Program for 3rd, 6th, and 7th graders at my school. Everyday that I have them they have to read to self for a full 30 minutes. The rest of the time we do activities or I read to them. I love reading chapter books to the upper grades because they really get into it. I am currently reading The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, to my 6th and 7th graders. It's a Newbery Honor book. Since MLK day is near I wanted to choose a book to read that dealt with the Civil Rights movement. I love this book, I had to read it in my Children's Lit class in college. From Amazon.."A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny's 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma's church is blown up". It's a great read! Just thought I'd share! P.S. It's a AR test book and there's a movie, which I like to use as a treat after a chapter book.



Jen

Remembering Sandy Hook

I was babysitting my baby cousins, Emma and Ella, when the tragedy of Sandy Hook happened. One was down for a nap while I was rocking the other in my arms. I had the television on mute, not really paying much attention to it. Then all of the tragic news started flooding in and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was crying, as quietly as I could, as I held this precious baby in my arms wondering how on earth anyone could do harm to innocent children.


As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School. We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children. We honor their memory with our service. Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook. #love4SH




(Matthew 5:4)

Jen

A thankful post

I love this time of the year. It's a time that really slows me down and helps me remember what is important in life. I take a step back and let reality sink in. It's also a time that reminds me of how fast time flies. Seeing my grandparents over the holidays and thankful that I have gotten to spend another holiday with them. Having a home that is warm and food on the table. Living close to my family and getting to spend time with them whenever I can. It's so easy to get our priorities out of order. So this is not an educational post, but one of thankfulness. What I am ever-so grateful for.

1) First and most important, I am thankful for God's undeserving love. We are here to serve Him. I feel like in the world today, it's so easy to place importance on unnecessary things. Materialistic things. Life is so short and every day I want to be closer to Him, a better version of myself than I was yesterday, and to set a godly example with the life I live. I would not be able to succeed or have a happy life if I didn't have the Lord. He truly is my rock and with Him all things are possible.

2) I am so grateful for my family. God has blessed me with amazing and loving parents and brother. I am also thankful for my in-laws. I have gained such a great extended family.

3) My husband. We have known each other since the first grade. We fight like brother and sister and probably take each other for granted sometimes. However, I love him. He's my friend and someone who I want to spend all my days with. I'm thankful that I KNOW God has to be present in a marriage for it to work. There are times when I may get upset and have a heavy heart. I may expect so much out of my husband or ask him to change things. BUT, I remind myself that nobody is perfect. No one. And praying for your spouse is a very necessary ingredient to a successful marriage. That accepting your husband for everything he is, is important, because that is what God does for us. He accepts us, he loves us unconditionally, and he's a forgiver. We should pour out unconditional love to those in our lives, to always have grace, be slow to anger and quick to forgiveness.

4) I am thankful for my new job. I have recently been blessed with a new job, teaching 3rd grade reading and language arts. I am so blessed that I get to use my passion of teaching to help children.

5) I am thankful for my church. It is a hop, a skip, and a jump away. It is always a breath of fresh air, every Sunday.

6) I am thankful for using technology and social media for good. I think social media can easily suck the life out of you. It's so easy to be envious of other people's lives, or spend more time on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest then we do with our own families or reading the Word. I love when I am on Facebook and someone is posting about a great church service or sharing a bible verse that is just what you needed for the day! I love my bible app, it makes reading the Word so convenient and leaves no room for excuses (because we always have our phones with us). I love following blogs that speak of the greatness of the Lord and helping others.




Be Blessed!

Jen

Pumpkin fun!

For my second 8 weeks of interning I have moved to first grade. I've really enjoyed meeting the kiddos and making new lesson plans. To kick off my first grade internship I did a pumpkin mini unit. I really enjoyed creating the lessons and sharing them with my new class. We did a pumpkin investigation where the students observed and investigated their own pumpkin. This happened to be very easy for me because luckily my father-in-law has a pumpkin patch and let me bring 25 pumpkins to school for each of the kiddos. I put the pumpkins outside and let the kids come out ad pick their own pumpkin. It was like a mini pumpkin patch. They got to investigate and paint their pumpkins. We also had a pumpkin taste test. I brought pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, and pumpkin seeds for the students to try. We then made a class graph of what everyone liked best. All of the firsties loved the unit and it was a great unit to do right before fall break. 

Last days of Kindergarten

It's been a long time since a post but I have been very busy. Sadly I recently finished my 8 weeks of teaching Kindergarten. Like June B. Jones would say, I got a little wet in my eyes. It was a very bittersweet ending. I'm excited to be in 1st grade now but I miss Kindergarten so much. Seeing the Kinders first day of school and getting to know all of them was a great experience. Towards the end of my days in Kindergarten we did a "Pete the Cat" unit. The kids have grown to love Pete the Cat so much and they all know he's my favorite. Here are some pictures of some of the Pete the Cat activities we did. We read "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" and "Pete the Cat; I Love My White Shoes". Like always, all of my activities aligned with Common Core. We really enjoyed this mini unit. 

Five For Friday!

This is my first time to link up with the Five for Friday posts but I'm excited to start because I'm a newbie blogger. My name is Jen and I am currently interning in a kindergarten classroom. I graduate this December with a degree in Early Childhood Education (pre-k-3rd). I'm so excited to get into the classroom. This week has been especially exciting because it was the first week I started teaching and taking full responsibility of the students.

1. I started an apple unit this week which I talked about in the previous post. It was a hit! the students had so much fun and I had even more fun teaching them about measurement, parts of an apple, and the classic tale of Johnny Appleseed.


2. I'm excited it's Friday. I have big plans of being lazy this weekend. Watching some college football (Go OU!) and laying out poolside with my hubby and dog, Boomer.



3. Celebrated this baby girls birthday. I might have the cutest baby cousin ever!


4. I'm especially excited about this... I recently signed up for my first Slant Box. If you are familiar with BirchBox,(one of my favorite things), then it's the same concept except educational themed boxes sent between teachers. Basically you get assigned to an educator each month randomly, and you put together a box of goodies that goes with the month's theme. I'm really excited to get started. I heard about the Slant Box through this lovely blog, Lessons With Coffee.


5.Last but definitely not least. Today is my mom and dad's 27th anniversary. They are such a great example of what a happily married couple is. I love them and am so blessed to have them as parents.


Link up here at Doodle Bugs Teaching


Jen