These are my last free days of "no plans" (well, not including helping at Excelebration for 0-5 year old Monroe County kids Saturday & church Sunday) until school starts back.
That makes me pretty sad. I love summer even more now that I'm an adult in the working world than I did as a child. I love sleeping late, watching my shows, & keeping my house clean. I love walking around downtown, taking pictures, hanging out with my girls, lunches at Yummy Yogurt, and dreaming of new ideas for next year.
I am going to miss Dr. Oz in August.
I love visiting with neighbors in the front yard, walking and discovering new streets (off of my own street... who knew???) with my iPod & dogs, and boot camp classes at B-Train (personal trainer's business in Amory).
I especially love shopping, jumping in my car and going to visit family, and reading in the sunshine. :) I cherish the summer days.
and guess what's coming up? I have been helping Sue Mc prepare for this for a few weeks now.....
Super Summer 2010.
This is my 5th year of Super Summer. I went two years as a student, and this year will be my 3rd year as a team leader. I love it! I don't want to ever out grow it.
I am cherishing these free days from now on this summer because it's about to start getting busy! No more using the "b word" (bored). I am resting in Him.
One week off, Vacation Bible School, Kindergarten orientation, one week off, professional development, working for MS Southern Baptist Convention (Super Summer Prep), trip to Chattanooga to see Anna, more working with the Baptists, lead SUPER SUMMER camp, one week off, and.... two weeks of professional development, and school starts.
This doesn't even include the to-do list I made of things needing to be completed before school starts, & I've only checked two things off of it.
JUNE
__ Collect environmental print for word wall
__ Write school supply lists & welcome letters to parents of incoming pre-1st graders.
__ Write scope & sequence for next year's transition to 1st grade class
__ Write curriculum map for first semester
X Set-up my annual notebook (that will contain lesson plans, ideas, evalutations, data, graphs, copies of newsletters) (DONE!!)
__ Make newsletter for first week of school
JULY
__ Mail welcome letter/school supply lists to parents of incoming pre-1st graders
__ Organize/inventory classroom library
__ Set-up Reading Wall
__ Write lesson plans for August
__ Set-up grade book
__ Organize furniture in classroom (was moved out so custodians could wax floors)
__ Buy extra school supplies
AUGUST
__ Set-up students' FISH (Family Involvement Starts Here) notebooks
__ Schedules for paraprofessional & myself
__ Make copies of August poems for notebooks; write August poems on chart paper
__ Make name tags/tags for coat hooks with students' names
__ Make desk name plates with students' names
X Make website list for computer center (DONE!!)
__ Copy first day of school book for each student's personal libraries
I deserve this extra stress for making a to-do list this early in the summer. I knew better!! :) Actually, I'm trying to avoid what I did last year. Last year, I had NO IDEA what to do to prepare for the students so I spent weeks organizing/decorating my classroom & no time on the little things that all piled on me the day before school started.
I am so blessed this year to have 16 sweet come-back kids. These are my students who have had a year of Kindergarten & need one more year to catch-up/get ahead before first grade. I am blessed to be getting a paraprofessional to help me, and I am praying for her every day because we will have quite a group on our hands. :)
Our year will be divided in half. August-December will be Kindergarten Math/Language skills; January-May will be 1st grade math/sight words/Language skills. Guided Reading will begin after we cover our 26 letters & sounds the first six weeks of school. Kindergarten is getting leveled books for the very first time this year, and we are excited!!! I am also bidding for a few sets of books to keep in my classroom for students to read independently or check-out to practice at home.
This year is very experimental. We have never had transition classes. They may work. They may not be as successful as putting these children in a regular Kindergarten classroom, BUT nonetheless, we're going to be learning in Miss Hurst's classroom and making the most of every day. My goal is to reflect more & write more down so this time next year, I'm not thinking, "What did we do last year?" I literally cannot remember the first six weeks of school last year because they were so CRAZY! Good thing I have my old lesson plan book & my e-mails to my mentor teacher to jog my memory. I'm making a lot of changes to the year, too. Obviously, something did NOT work in the way we taught Kindergarten to my students, so I'm taking more of this mentality as I teach this year....
Of course, a teacher cannot make changes to the system, but if I continue to teach these National & state standards & am preparing my students for these "standardized tests," I am "doing my job" according to everyone.
However, my students' parents want their children to not only show growth on test scores but to show growth in other areas of their lives. A child should come to me with talents, abilities, & strengths, & I, as his/her teacher, should take these areas and strengthen them further. I should also take their weaknesses & struggles and show the child how to make small goals for him/herself to work towards until weaknesses turn into areas of growth and mastery. The first project I have planned for the new year is to discuss one thing each child wants to learn this year. They will draw their dreams for our year on a star & "write a sentence" (in their sweet Kindergarten writing) & these stars will hang around the classroom. We will revisit our dreams & when a child has mastered his/her goal (ex: learning to write numbers to 100), the star gets put on a "Super Star" bulletin board & a new dream goes up. Oh, and Miss Hurst gets a star, too. I think my first goal for the year is to learn how to use a grade book properly!!! :o)
My ultimate goal for this year is not to have the highest Terra Nova scores on Kindergarten hallway, and it's not to have the perfect group of students all reading on Level J. My goal is to have students who LOVE coming to school every day because they love to learn new things. A successful year for me would be a year where every student discovers a strength & talent he/she did not know existed, and where every student experiences growth in a weak area he/she DID KNOW existed.
Bless them, many, if not all, of my students know they're in my class because "you can't read yet" or "you were bad last year." I pray every day that these labels can be torn away as we begin our school year and as my students unite together as a community of learners.
My first year of teaching is complete! I had NO IDEA what I was getting into this time last year when I signed my contract at my school.
It was a fantastic year looking back. August 5, the evening before our first day, we had open house. When the last student/parents left, I looked around my room overflowing with school supplies & broke down. I had no idea what to do with all of the school supplies before the kids came back the next morning. There was no where for the kids to sit.
Lucky...no, luck had nothing to do with it. Blessed by God was I.. because I had an incredible mentor teacher assigned to me. Kym Buskirk came in to check on me right away & called in reinforcements. In 15 minutes, Kym, my principal, 2 other Kindergarten teachers, & an assistant teacher were helping me put finishing touches on unpacking/putting away. My principal hugged me for five minutes & has continued to mother me since that day.
I've come a long way since that day. No amount of education prepared me for organizing school supplies, teaching students with 21 different levels of ability, teaching boys how to use a urinal, teaching a student with a DD ruling (developmental delay), tiering 6 students, keeping up with paperwork, using assessments/data to make instructional decisions, wiping away tears-giving away hugs-putting on band-aids-teaching character education within the same 35 seconds, & teaching 21 sweet five & six-year-olds how to read, write, & count to 100 (& beyond).
and Ole Miss School of Education was good. My student teaching experiences were realistic, but there's nothing like being on your own to teach you how to really do this job.
My first class of students will always have a special place in my heart. Always, & they will be missed.
I have begun a new journey. Instead of teaching another year of Kindergarten, I have taken on the job of transition to first grade teacher. This will be the class for students who need an additional year before moving on to 1st grade. I will be teaching Kindergarten & first grade skills to prepare them for 1st grade. I have quite a group. It is diverse... still 17 different levels, but I get to add a new challenge this year... dealing with learning disabilities, 17 tier notebooks, & a few students with severe behavior problems.
Instead of being the sweet new teacher like I was last year, I have a new persona to take on.... serious, strict, & organized. Also, I have my first Jehovah's Witness student this year. No more lunch time prayer & Bible stories. I also have to be careful around holidays; I can't teach skeletal system at Halloween, Christmas, & Easter lessons.
Even though these things may seem negative, I am THRILLED about next year. I already love my seventeen students, know about their strengths & weaknesses, & can't wait to learn even more about teaching. :) If I'm going to teach a class like this, it needs to be during the season of my life I'm currently in... when teaching can be my focus.
I'll talk more about next year's group after Monday -- their orientation is Monday morning, & I have a parent meeting at 10 am. :) I'm planning to give them a taste of what we'll be doing in my class & teach them how to help their children with homework. These are seasoned parents.... they know how to do "big school" now. I think it'll be a better use of time to work on good study habits & answer their questions about next year. :)
School is winding down! :) I love my students so dearly & will cry when I have to say good-bye, but I am worn out. Trying to finish scrapbooks for them + end of year tests + teaching 1st grade skills to prepare them for next year = very tired, first year teacher.
I have prayed over a very important decision the past several months. I joined my church in Amory to help me become a part of this community I'm living & working in. I have taught preschool-Kindergarten choir, sung in the adult choir, & attended church regularly at this church. My pastor at Calvary, Bro. David, called me last Sunday to tell me he was praying for me & my decision... that it would be clear from God where I should be attending -- the place where I'm growing spiritually & socially.
That was God's answer... I am not growing as I should be at the new church. I feel lonely instead of feeling a part of the church. God's ministry for me has always been youth ministry... I've known this since 12th grade. I can't really do youth ministry here though without second guessing what other people could be saying about me. Questioning my integrity & rationale for working with youth, as a teacher in the schools. No one has ever said this aloud, but I can't help but to wonder if they're thinking it... maybe because I would think it? I don't know.... but I know my integrity & character was not questioned at Calvary. My purpose for working with youth ministry is to teach/minister, help the students see how they can live Godly lives as young people, & to encourage them when times get tough. I've been welcomed by so many dear people in this new town & church, but it still doesn't feel like coming home.
The past 3 weeks at Calvary, I have thoroughly enjoyed the drive to & from church (great thinking/praying time), the Sunday School lessons (Young Adult/Career Sunday School), the worship services, and being around those who love me & understand me. God is making his answer for me as bold & clear as a neon sign.
Friday was my class' Q&U wedding. It was so much fun! I didn't do it the traditional way... with one bride, one groom, & lots of wedding party. Every little girl was a bride, every little boy was a groom. Girls wore veils; boys wore Q bow-ties. They walked down an aisle with QU words all over it... written by two little girls in smocked dresses I was afraid to let go to PE. :) Their vows were to promise to follow each other at the beginning of words forever. Our reception was "homemade" cupcakes & Kool-aide. The kids in my class .... this kills me to even say it, but they have NEVER had real cupcakes. You know, the ones you make with cake mix that are so easy! I baked these cupcakes in literally 30 minutes, & as sweet Riley said, "She didn't even burn them!" On birthdays/parties, we get cupcakes, but they are store-bought (Wal-Mart) cupcakes... and trust me, I understand... it was tempting for me to just go buy those Thursday for the reception, but after I saw those kids devour the ENTIRE cupcakes (not just the frosting), I was a convert. Many said they had never had a cupcake so good, & sweet Reese told me to bring more Monday! :) Ask to see pictures from the wedding when you see me in person... they're in my purse, & the kids are darling! The owner of a ballet studio here in Amory, Sally, taught a manners lesson Friday, too. She taught the kids how to eat soup properly (with punch), how to introduce themselves to others, how to pay someone a compliment, & how to write a thank-you note. The kids wrote thank-you notes to their parents for letting them attend the Q&U wedding. Days like Friday make teaching Kindergarten SO much fun!!!
SPRING BREAK came at the perfect time this year. The weather was beautiful (until today..) and I'm refreshed & ready to hit the ground running with my students from now until Kindergarten graduation in May.
It was so good for me to be back with my ministry -- youth. God has shaped me into a Kindergarten teacher, obviously, but I do a much better job within the church working with teenagers. This year, I've been teaching preschool choir on Wednesday nights, which makes for very long Wednesdays. I teach all day, stay late getting cleaned up & ready for Thursday, drive to choir, teach choir for an hour, go to prayer meeting, & then my own choir practice until 8:30. When I say LONG day, I mean LONG day. My patience is so thin by the time preschool choir starts, & it's so hard on me not being able to structure my choir the way I do my classroom. I can't really get on to the kids because it's church, so in turn, it's me against 17 three-six-year-olds, and they run all over me. This doesn't happen at school because I am so structured, but I don't know how to maintain a structured church classroom without stepping on anyone's mama's toes. Next year, I've got to get away from this and start doing what I was designed to do- minister to teenagers.
One of the BIGGEST challenges I've faced this year is figuring out when on earth to assess my students. Supposedly, first-year-teachers typically struggle with classroom management, paper work, lesson planning, feeling secluded, etc... I don't have any of those problems. I had trouble with classroom management until the fourth day of school, when my principal asked me if I needed help getting my class under control. That was enough for me to evaluate what was going on & to get it under control, and I did. Paper work takes time, but I'm good about not waiting until the last minute to do things. I've got my kids sample work divided by subject (language & math), we keep a writing portfolio, their assessments are updated & organized. Lesson planning is time-consuming but it comes pretty naturally for me. Learning to not plan way too much was something I needed to work on at the beginning of the year, but I've got it down now. Feeling secluded was never, ever an issue. I have a wonderful mentor teacher, Kym, who experiments with my ideas with me, is honest when things are good or terrible, gives me lots of materials & ideas, and ends up mentoring me with other aspects of my life, outside of teaching. She knows more about my personal life than my own family does.
My biggest hurdle is when do you test these babies? It's not like I can put up dividers & give them tests whole-group like you can with older students. We do have to test this way sometimes (Terra Nova, Kindergarten grade-level tests, etc), but for me to know which letters of the alphabet my students know & don't know, I have to test them away from their classmates. Did you know 5 year olds cheat without knowing they're cheating? They do. They can pretend to know the answer just by waiting a half-second after someone else has answered the question & then they'll write it or say it aloud. In college, I was always told, assess while you teach. Give the students a project or activity, and assess the skills as they work, but it is NOT that easy with five-year-olds who are new to the world of cutting, gluing, coloring, and writing. I am proud of my students' progress, don't get me wrong, but the only time I've found I can test my kids individually is during centers *when I should be teaching a guided reading group!!
I was working on my lesson plans for this week... getting so excited about teaching a writing lesson during my small group time & I realized, I've got to be finishing up this checklist... which means instead of teaching my fun lesson, I have to pass it on to my assistant teacher to teach & I get to assess. I wish first year teachers could get student teachers. I got to do all of these kinds of lessons while my supervising teacher assessed, so the kids were able to get it all in. AND oh my goodness, to observe a first year teacher's struggles in the classroom might be awesome for knowing what to expect & overcome the next year. Experienced teachers sometimes forget all that goes on in the first year... I get asked all the time, "Why are you going up to the school today? It's Saturday!" But I don't have materials already prepared & laminated from previous years. Also, I don't do well under pressure. My pencils had better be sharpened before my kids walk in the door or the chaos will make me crazy.
I love Spring Break. I have missed my sweet youth so much this year! It's hard going from having a ministry at your church that you are totally invested in for five years to a brand new church struggling to find your ministry. I love FBC Amory, but I have learned this year that teaching preschool choir isn't my ministry. God didn't design me to teach choir. It takes a special, patient, possibly non-teacher to teach 3-6 year olds. And I'm alone with 17 of these preschoolers & Kindergarteners. Next year, I may work with youth. That's my forte at church, I think. :) I love little sweet kids at school, but they know their boundaries with me at school & I can be firm with them & they know I still love them. At church, it's kind of hard to be firm with the kids because it's... church. Today, I went to eat lunch with Kathryn Wynn, Katie Cagle, Shelby Davis, & Lindsay Newell & I realized how much I miss working/hanging out with youth girls. It's my God-thing, & for me to be useful in this little bitty town of Amory, I think I need to do my God-thing.
Recipe for Ooblek (I used more of everything since I made enough for 21 Kindergarteners).
2 cups of corn starch 3 drops of green food coloring enough water to make a thick mixture (about the texture of pancake batter) I usually measure equal amounts of water and corn starch, but mix water in slowly.
