100 Day!

It has been 100 days of school for them (for me: a month tomorrow) and so the whole school had a party. They gave out bracelets, we made 100 day glasses, we sang songs, they created a 100 hand mural, they did activities related to 100, we counted in Spanish to 100, etc.. It was a very fun and surprisingly relaxing day! That is because I had my last JPAS observation right when school started and then it was over. I think it went pretty well except she came in when we were doing bell work. Bell work meaning I don't teach, I take role and they work quietly by themselves. So I quickly had to make a lesson out of bell work! So I decided to correct it out loud, use the word wall, sing, etc...to make a lesson and she loved it! 


So during our party, I had a parent volunteer and she had the painting center under control. So I decided to relax and enjoy my wonderful students and get to know them a little better. I played games with them, I helped decorate valentines for our senior citizens, I let them talk a little louder than normal, I just had fun. Almost by the end of our party, I had most of my students wanting to play a two-player game with me. They crave one-on-one time with the teacher. They would rather miss recess to play with me than with their friends (boys and girls). It was like most of the stress had left my body and I just melted.


At PTC, I had 3 no shows and parents that don't understand that their child is only 7. They expected perfection and were very upset about 1 test score. Wow, their student is reading at a 4th grade reading level. They should be hugging him, not saying that he can do better. Anyway, they left unhappy. Ok don't shoot the messenger! After PTC, I had a 30 min meeting with my principal. She is amazing!! She told me I am doing a great job and gave me some pointers with a few of my students--basically how to deal with them. We talked about her life and her past teaching opportunities. Did I mention how much I love her! She also told me that she likes how I don't send every student that touches another student to her like the other teachers do. I asked her if I could take care of it my way or she needed to see them. She said I could take care of it and she wants me to do it. I had a very well-meaning teacher/friend come in when I was disciplining at recess for some "bothering others." I had them read the sign of how to not be a bully and ask them if any of those words said hit others back, etc.. I helped them know what to do the next time they get angry and told them to go play. She was stunned how I didn't yell at them or take them to the office. She said she is a no-tolerance teacher where any fighting and you are in the office.


Anyway, today was a good day except it is near midnight and I am working on my JPAS report that is so far near 20 pages due on Friday. Ahh life of a new teacher!

J Whato

So after coming to school anyway with a hurt neck (because I thought I could just wing today), I was asked to help a substitute who was not left plans. About 5 min before school starts, my principal comes in to tell me she is going to JPAS me today. JPAS is the observation that allows you to get a level 2 license in 3 yrs. You fail, you are let go. So I was like, "sure come on in." What, I didn't have a lesson plan ready...I was just going to fly at the seat of my pants. However, there she was right before lunch observing me. She gave me a perfect score on the observation and said she would finish tomorrow. Oh and I need to have a binder full of documented evidence and other things by Fri. ( I hope she will let me have until Fri since I just found out about it today;) So what a stressor. Here I am with a hurt neck, a somewhat better voice but not perfect and I am getting one of the most important evaluations of my career. Glad that went well:)


The kids were not the greatest while she was in there. They were great up until and after but during, aye aye aye. She wrote on my observation, most of the kids were with you. So afterwards I vented to my team about how I thought I failed. They told me that my principal loves me and that they all think I am doing an amazing job. Direct quote, "You have your sh--together. Ahh thanks ladies:)) Who would have known my dream job and boss would be out in the middle of nowhere. Oh I also applied for a grant and was awarded the money today. Yeah now we can get a rug for circle time!!


Parent Conferences are tomorrow with the principal there! Wish me luck:))

Have Fun!

This post is boring. I worked an 15 hour shift and I am tired. My voice was about the same today and I had two more observations. I passed both of them this time with flying colors! I decided to go back to being the fun, creative teacher that I was before I got so stressed and just have fun. My class earned a PJ party so we played some games and they wore their PJs. We got a lot done and I integrated art into writing with our narratives we are working on. We used popsicle sticks to frame stories to teach pronunciation. They looked so cute and I had to hang them up for conferences. Speaking of conferences, I have so many reports that I have to prepare to show growth of my students. The class is doing a lot better with procedures and behavior. I can also see my growth as a teacher from a student teacher to now. I also found out that my progress as a teacher was talked about at community council meeting today. So now I am official member of this community. I am not sure exactly what was said, all I know was I was on the agenda as the newest member of the school. All of my students are now in my name instead of their last teacher. Sometimes I sit in my classroom and ponder how life used to be before I became a full-time teacher.

Well good night:)

Act Like A Second Grader!

Today my voice was a lot better...still not normal but better. Thank Heavens for that:) My students are learning!! I was so excited. My favorite assessment is individual whiteboards. I bought shower board from Home Depot and had them cut it into little whiteboard size for about $1.25 for 40 boards. So cheap compared to $5 a pop anywhere else. The markers were the most expensive. Anyway, so they each have their whiteboard, an old sock they brought from home to use as an eraser and a marker. We have a very strict procedure they have with them. They can't draw on them, etc... Well I use them all day with making words, phonics, and especially math. I just write a problem on the board and I tell them to solve it on their whiteboards. Then I say 3-2-1 show me (I sometimes sing it) and I can in 3.2 seconds see who understands and who doesn't. Then I tell them to put them down and I will ask a few students to explain how they got their answer without saying if they are right or wrong. I just want to see their thinking. Then I will model out loud how I got the answer and I will solve it. We will have a 3 sec cheer for those that got it correct. Then I ask who did not get it correct and ask if they need re-explaining. Well I taught on ones and tens and expanded form..everyone incl. my struggling students got it 1st try! I was so happy..I was high fiving the kids, literally skipping and jumping around, hoping none of the administration walked in at that moment. Of course my students loved it...me making a fool out of myself. I was speaking in Spanish, in English and some made up language I was so happy!! My students are learning:))) 


I received their standarized test scores back and we had a faculty meeting about them. Everyone was like, "oh your students are struggling." Hello, no solid teacher for 3 mo, yeah they are! However, I was thrilled with the test scores. This next sentence I am not writing to say I am a great teacher or whatever, it it is just the facts (I still have a lot to learn). All but two of my kids jumped from failing grades to an equivalent of a C in the 3 weeks I have been there. Ok, yes we are still behind the rest of the first grade but that is huge improvement. In their other tests, they all (but one) jumped 30+ points higher from the week before I came to yesterday!! I could not be prouder!


Yeah so when I came to be observed, she suggested that the children act like 2nd graders because they are nearly second graders. However, my students didn't really understand how they were supposed to act. So I asked my mentor, who is a 2nd grade teacher if we could observe her students for 15 min. She obliged and my students were very impressed with how 2nd graders act. Actually so was I. Now all I have to do to get them to listen is say, "Act Like 2nd graders."


Teaching is a lifestyle, not a job:)

New Goals and No Voice

So I didn't write yesterday because I had a complete meltdown. It was bound to happen right? With all of the pressure and stress that I am under, I am surprised I lasted three weeks. I felt defeated and felt like packing it up and going home. That is what the last teacher did. Once a week I meet with my mentor to discuss everything and I just lost it. Luckily I kept it together until then. That is when my voice started leaving. I had had it! I could not teach anything because as soon as I would try, I would have to deal with 15 different discipline problems. So my mentor told me to set my goals more realistic, be patient with myself and with them and keep being consistent. She also suggested having my coach model a lesson for me and see how she handles my students.


So she did today and my students were the same way for her. She did show me some ways to deal with them. We also talked about how taking care of myself makes me a better teacher. So I am going to try to get more sleep, drink more water, eat healthier and I went back to the gym today. I did it, I admitted I needed help and I got the help I needed and I feel better about everything.


Teaching without a voice can be difficult, especially first grade. Well, on my mission, my voice left for 3 weeks while I was training a greenie and we still managed to do our work. So I continued teaching in anyway that I could and surprisingly we got a lot accomplished and my assessments showed that they learned. My super hard, challenging children are suddenly doing wonderfully. It is amazing how when parents, teachers and students work together, miracles occur. Finally, I was pulled away from my class to go translate in Spanish for a student who just got suspended and his mom didn't understand it. She was so happy and understood me perfectly:) They said that I sound more Mexican with my voice like this. Who knows..anything to help me sound less white.


So I still love teaching even though I had a complete and utter breakdown. I am told it is common your first 1-3 yrs:)

Differentiation is the Key

So as a first year teacher, you meet with your mentor and you set weekly goals based on your district's standards. Well my goal this week was to differentiate or teach one lesson in 3-4 different ways based on abilities. It can be a daunting task but fortunately the program that we use, differentiates for us. So, I am introducing guided math tomorrow. Where I will teach one lesson and then for homework and independent practice, they will all have different group assignments based on a pre-assessment I gave today. So I hope I can reach all of their needs because I need to get their grades up. Plus, they need to learn this stuff:)


Anyway, I was very stressed and impatient today. Plus, imagine "Finding Nemo,"all of the little birds saying "Mine, mine, mine, mine." Ok that is how today was for me. All of my first graders were shouting Miss Newbold and wanting my help all day long. I was so glad for the day to be over. Things were just crazy from the beginning. I was just trying to get ready for the day, feeling lousy, and parents wanted to talk to me, etc... Oh my goodness. The other first grade teachers say they had the same day:) So, I pretended to be patient and sweet, but oh I almost lost it. Just imagine the seagulls in Nemo for 7 hrs straight and see how sweet you are at the end;)

Fights and sickness

Well I love Fridays because for whatever reason, the kids are on their best behavior. We learned how to properly take tests and we had our lockdown and tornado drill. The kids were surprisingly mature especially when I talked about how we would have to use a bucket as a toilet. I know right but it is a district policy to explain everything. The only time they laughed is when we were talking about what would happen if they were in the bathroom when it happened. I was very impressed and after 3 times, we perfected it. I corrected their tests and they did horribly. Granted, I didn't begin this unit with them but oh my goodness I have a lot of work to do.

I had to go over my really bad observation yesterday, today and well let's just say, I felt like a terrible person. I found out that I scored so poorly and it goes in my permanent file. They said they would take in account that it is my 2nd week teaching and that I did not have time to teach procedures. Whatever, I am getting a cold so I really was not in the mood to find out what I did wrong. I then realized that I am in an adult job and evaluations are a part of any job. I was defensive but I decided to suck it up and keep it to myself. I accepted responsibility, promised I would try harder and she said she would come back next week. I didn't want to say anything but she didn't tell me when she was coming, like she said she would.

Then I planned as a team and I found out that our team is divided, has issues with each other and had a full on fight today. Everyone is feeling overwhelmed and tempers are getting hot. I just tried to mediate and hear each member vent. Then I went and locked myself in my classroom and just cried. I think I am just blowing everything out of proportion and taking everything seriously because I am sick. I just feel like I am working hard and getting nowhere. I am there until 9 or 10 every night and still got a bad observation rating.

Today was just a bad day for me (my students were near perfect especially my hardest student) Teachers say that some days are like that even after many years of teaching.

Trainings and observations

So I had my three observations today of many. I am told I will have at least one a week. The first one was from my principal and she rated me super high in everything! She did not have one suggestion on how I could improve. However, she thinks that some of my children need to be held back or in special education. I could not agree with her more. So we had a nice, long talk about how to do that. She said though that I handled every situation correctly and that I have hard kids. I appreciate a principal that does not think that everything is the teacher's fault.


Then I had an amazing class until my second observation. The kids were in a word: terrible. Well their behavior was that. Very few were on task and no one knew their basic math facts so I had to review and could not get to my objective. Surprisingly, I got rated high on that one too because I was consistent and assessed correctly, etc.. So while I wanted to cry during everything, the administration thinks that I am doing a fantastic job. Go figure! I also had the superintendent's assistants come into my room to make sure it was clean, had correct posters, etc...


Then I got to meet the mother of my soon-to-be new student. Well she is very frustrated with how her student is being treated by his current teacher and she went on and for my entire lunch period. I ate a little bit but nothing big because I wanted to remain professional. So I finished my lunch as I was teaching. I could feel her frustration so we discussed my high expectations and she chose me to be her child's teacher out of all the first grade teachers. Wow what an honor! I didn't tell her that it is only my 2nd week teaching. 


After school I had a meeting at the district office and a training on how to use Youtube in the classroom. In my district, it is on the restricted list and therefore you can't access it. This training allows me to have permission to use it. So what a busy day! I knew it would be though. I now have parent helpers daily and this new student's mom said she wants to help as well. My aide is more on the ball...things are getting better:) Oh and I finally finished my class job chart and I really like it how it turned out. 

Complements, complaints, and breakdowns

Well my sweetums are climbing the latter to success actually at a very fast rate. I am so proud of how much work they have put in the support from their parents! We are three points away from our class party! I use a hundred's chart to help them earn parties. If someone complements them, they get a point and if we get a bundle (10), we get a party or other reward. We are soo close:) So remember my last post about being a strict teacher. Well today at recess duty, I had kids practically hanging off me telling me how nice I was as their teacher. See what I mean..kids love a fair teacher. I am always amazed the children who I have to discipline the most, who cry because "I am so mean" are the ones that want hugs goodbye and tell their parents how nice I am. Ha go figure! Having said that, I got my first parent call to the principal, rather a complaint. I was told to report to the Principal's office after school. My heart sank, I could hardly finish teaching until the end of the day, thinking the worst. 


When I got there, with solemn faces, they told me to take a seat. "Oh no," I thought I was in for it. They explained that a parent called and complained that I was too nice! What? If I am too nice, I can't imagine how the child is being raised! They wanted me to be a very strict disciplinarian! Like yell at the kids I guess. My principal laughed and said well another parent's mom called and wants their child to go into my class. So me and another colleague are swapping students. Ok whatever, at least he will be easier to handle, right. Nope (well I am not sure for myself) but I am told he is 10xs harder to handle than mine that left me. So a complement and a complaint in one conference!


Let's see a very harsh member of my team complemented me and gave me a hug. A student told me that I looked good now that I have lost weight.:) Than the rest of the class kept giving me complements. A lot of the faculty were giving me complements. Heavenly Father knew that I would need as much love today as possible. Let's see what else happened today. I had a student fall at recess and bite through his lip. Another one, I wrongly corrected and had to publicly apologize. Haha I thought the student was just drawing when he really was giving the correct answer. I have them use personal whiteboards and then they show me the answer. Well the problem was: what is the 9th letter in Mathematics? Well the student put  "I" but put it looked like a drawing instead. I reprimanded the student and told him to please get on task and that is a warning. Then I looked around and saw many of my students with it. I thought they were ganging up on me or something. Nope, just doing exactly what I had asked them to do. Haha so I felt embarrassed and laughed at myself and apologized to him several times. I have had to do that many times since I started. I will call a student the wrong name in an irritated tone and that student is being perfect. I apologize and everything is good. I think it is good for them to see that their teacher makes mistakes too and she too, if she does, has to apologize. It is amazing how instantly children forgive. I guess that is why we are exhorted to be like them.


Finally, I had a mini breakdown in team meeting today. I wasn't planning on it but science took over. It was like a bottle with pressure and it hadn't quite hit its mark where it explodes. Well more pressure was added to it (this was before I found out about my new student) and that was testing scores that have to be evaluated, reported and turned back in very soon and a chapter in a book I have to read and discuss on Friday, and I exploded. I don't mean yelling because I never do that but I started crying. I told my team I am drowning (trying to be as dignified as possible and I started crying) They fixed some things to make my work load easier and gave me a hug. I love them so much and am so grateful for them!


So I really am seeing the principles of the scriptures as a teacher unfold in my life. There are many incredible books and people that offer great advice on teaching. My mentor being one of them. However, I have found that the scriptures offer the best advice of all. Be like children. The little things that you do bring many great rewards. Don't procrastinate! Report everything. Turn to the Lord in all things. Treat others how you want to be treated. Be prepared. Don't idle away your time. He always answers prayer and it is usually through others (like an awesome staff). Prioritize. Be cheerful. It makes since as the Lord is the master teacher that he would have an entire instruction manual on how to do it.

New assignments and lots of work!

Well the children were back to their near perfect selves. Thank heavens for that! I have a great class up until 2 pm and then chaos. Unfortunately that is when everyone wants to come observe me. Haha life is crazy as a first year teacher! We as a class are doing better. Considering where they have been, they are doing great! I did have to call a parent today due to something that happened in the lunchroom but she was very understanding and super nice. I love how the parents feel that it is their fault and try to convince me that they are good parents. "We have very strict rules." "We don't even allow pop in the house," etc... So one of the ways I get parents on my side is to say I am sure you are doing all you can at home...but here is what I am seeing at school. I also had a parent tell me that she is sorry that her child is bad. I absolutely hate when parents say that and worse convince their kids that they are bad. So I pulled the student away and said you are never a bad kid, what you did just was not right.


I had my meeting with my mentor and we decided I needed to differentiate so that my high kids don't get bored and my struggling ones don't fall behind. So because my principal could come observe me at anytime, I had to get it done tonight. I also had to print, copy and staple printable books for my class so that they can each have a book to take home weekly. Wow what a process that was! I watched like 5 movies and just keep wishing I were dead...umm done. Haha. Everyone said that I was supposed to have my aide do it but well that is another story.  I still am not done but I met my deadline. I also had to pull back children one on one with me to read their sight words that again my aide was supposed to do, so that I could send home their scores. I had to get homework packets ready, work on a classroom helpers chart, clean my room (something I am graded on), and do the normal correcting papers. Oh well baby steps right? Overwhelmed is an understatement! I have a student that refuses to do anything, one that constantly shouts out, one that I constantly have to monitor, etc... how am I supposed to reach everyone? I work from 7-10 every night and still don't feel like I have made a dent in everything I supposed to do. I talked to some other teachers and they said when they first started, they were there until 12 every night! Wow what a comforting thought;) I am just so tired of not getting everything accomplished that I want accomplished.


Lesson Reflections: I taught odd and evens with a song and a dance. Well we marched to determine what numbers are odd and even. Then we sang the odd and even song. I was so out of breath by the end, but they had fun. I think I will do that again:) 


General reflections: I am just so not cut out for first grade. I run a very tight ship in my classroom. I am super strict and expect a lot from my students and their parents. I don't accept anything but their absolute best in work and in attitude. I am not the type of teacher that is coddling or demeaning. I am the type of teacher that is a consistent disciplinarian and expects my students to be independent. I don't do anything for them that they can do themselves. I am trying to teach them how to be proactive, responsible children. They are too used to everyone doing everything for them. I generally don't pick up after them. If they make a mess, I tell the janitor to leave it and they will clean it up later. I hand them them the cleaner and they clean it up. If the coatroom is a mess, I make them clean it up. 


Me being this way, I have mixed reactions. I have a great class and for the most part, our day runs smoothly. My first grade team thinks I need to be nicer and sometimes after I discipline a child, they will go over to them and coddle them almost taking away the punishment. I give a rule and if it is not followed, there are immediate consequences. Like today for example. The students know that when I am at the table working with other students, they are not to disturb me. I won't make them clip down or anything like that. I make them wait until I am done or I say I can't help you right now, I am busy. Oh and by the way parents love me and the way I run the class. I mean don't get me wrong, I am not a witch. I am very well loved and respected by all of my precious angels. I get plenty of hugs and things the children have made. They love to tell me all about their lives especially in Spanish. I think it is partly because they know I will be fair. No one will get away with breaking the rules, it doesn't matter what gender you are or how much I love you; you break a rule, there is a consequence. Students like a fair teacher. I never ever yell at them and never say anything negative to them or about them.


Anyway, I thought that the interview process was hard but being a teacher is very hard work! But I still love it:)))

More responsibilities and a huge complement!

So today was a little bit better with the children. They had remembered more of the procedures. We tried Friday math games and they got so loud they were shouting. So we will need to practice that procedure. Granted, it was the first time they had had them. We got a lot more accomplished and they are getting so smart in math...I am so proud! I did have two children of whom I said could use the bathroom and they did not return for 30 min. So this time I called down to the office and they were brought back safe and sound. A little boy and a little girl were holding hands and trying to find somewhere to be "alone." What is the world, they are 7! We had a long talk about going straight to the bathroom and back. Since they missed their spelling test, they had to stay in for recess and take it. I felt like it was a good natural consequence.


I started planning more like a teacher now that I have a planbook. Hopefully once I finish my job chart and a few other projects, I won't have to stay so late and can have a life and get back to the gym. Oh so I found out that we are a Title 1 School so we have to do interventions to help our struggling readers get up. Well the principal said that the most qualified teacher should teach the preschool level how to read. So I am sitting there thinking that it will be the ones with tons of experience or tenure. Boy was I wrong. They asked me (the teacher who had taught a week) to take the lowest of the struggling children and bring them up from a level AA to a level H in 5 mo in the entire 1st grade. What a responsibility but what a complement!! Sure lets just add one more thing to my plate:)

They say you have ups and downs with your class

So today my students had completely forgotten all of the procedures we had practiced. My colleagues say that it is common after a substitute. Anyway, I sent my first student to the office today ever. I was teaching and out of nowhere I had a student that left the classroom and ran outside. Our school doors automatically lock so it was a security risk. We are technically supposed to call the police but I decided to get someone to go get him and that I would keep teaching. When the whole thing was over, I asked him why he decided to do this. He had a response, "I was just playing." I could feel the tension rising in my head and I had to take a time out to prevent myself from strangling the kid. I calmly told him that he knows the rules and he knows the consequences and he chose incorrectly. He cried the entire way down to the office but went. At this moment, I had just introduced centers for the first time so things were caotic anyway.


Of course also at this very moment, the people who were supposed to observe me, came in and heard what had happened and told me that they would come back another day. Thank you:) So that is how the entire day went. I had 10 children in for recess and I don't keep kids in for recess because I need the break. However, my discipline system said that any infractions that get to the level of think time happen at recess. I even had my most well behaved kids in. It was just a bad day. I had two students bawling because they were missing recess (boys and girls). But they have got to learn procedures and rules in order to learn anything. When I was student teaching, anytime I saw a crying student I would rush over and fond over. Being a teacher, unless the child is hurt, you learn to ignore it because it is a way they think to get out of things, such as consequences. We couldn't have circle time, long math, they ended up writing goals instead of the original plan. We ended up watching, "The Letter Factory," a phonics lesson and I came up with an activity to go along with it. They loved it! They seemed to have already known the songs from it. It was the first time that day where I relaxed.


Then I sent them home, most of them with sad notes (per my discipline system) hoping to just relax. When I came back, I found a parent in my room wanting to discuss her student's lack of progress. She did not look happy. Yesterday, we learned how to deal with irate parents and I was not in the mood. I was emotionally drained from my students that I just wanted to sleep. Nevertheless, I greeted her warmly, we went over her son's grades and I could tell she was not into it. So I asked her if she had any concerns. Of which she replied that her son has severe ADHD she thinks and they can't handle him at home. He is one of my hardest kids as well so I empathized. We could not come up with a solution because her son kept displaying the behavior we were discussing and we couldn't stay on the task at hand. We agreed to both do some research, she would take him to a few specialists and we would reconvene in two weeks.


I finally got a second to relax and work on something and the whole day just hit me. I decided to leave earlier and relax at home. I hope today was just a fluke and they are back to my good class tomorrow. I also added more things to my room, mostly so I don't get marked down for anything. I think I only have to finish my job chart and my room is pretty much how I want it, at least this year.

Share What You Know

So today I missed my students like crazy because I had to be at a training all day. However, I was not surprised but very happy to find out that my students were "great" for the sub. We first observed another teacher teaching and then we went to class. At class, I talked to this teacher that says that she cries daily after school and is thinking that she hates her students. Those words broke my heart. I felt for the teacher and for her students. She mentioned that her principal wants to fire her and she is at the end of her rope. She is teaching in a very dangerous school and just trying to keep her head above water. So I asked her what she uses for discipline and she said she bribes them with candy. Well I immediately asked her if she would like to try something different: something that works. She appeared as if I had offered her a Paris trip. So after the meeting, we copied my discipline system and a few other things she was lacking. I hope and pray she does not quit.


I also won free things for my classroom at the training and found out my budget is way higher than I thought. They informed me that if I don't spend every cent of it, I have to turn it back in. So I bought Leapfrog DVDs (thanks Ronda for the suggestion), and phonics games. Then the district curriculum specialist told us that we can have more money from his own budget. Many blessings were seen today. I have my first evaluation tomorrow. They were going to wait because I have only taught not even a week yet but since my students are doing so well, they decided to come on in. So here goes my first evaluation as a full-time teacher. Speaking of that, we had to introduce ourselves and say where we taught. When I said the words, I could not believe it. Reality hit..I teach 1st grade. It is my classroom. They are my responsibility! Awesome kay Possum:)))

Parent Confernces--lots of surprises!

Well today was another fantastic day! My students are doing amazing and already improving. We even got complements from the entire lunch staff! I just can't stop bragging about my students and feel very fortunate to be teaching them. I tried this new strategy that I think I am going to continue with another lesson. They used their phonics phones where they have to whisper, to read letter sounds around the room. For an entire 10 min, my class was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop:) Their behavior is getting better every day! Oh I just love them so much. I have to leave them with a sub tomorrow for a training and I just pray she is nice to them. I never yell or talk negatively to my kids because I don't see the point, so I hope she does not either. Let's see..I received an apple from a student and felt like a real teacher.


After school, I had parent conferences and well there were many surprises. All of the parents are on board and very supportive. I have 4 ESL children so I did a few conferences completely in Spanish. Thank heavens for my mission training. I had a student who is performing very well in all aspects, especially behavior, and her family came in for conferences. After saying as many nice things as I could say in Spanish, all of a sudden her mom starts screaming at her. So I am trying to make sure I did not say anything wrong and hoped I had not upset her. She goes on and on about how her child is perfect for me but not at home and how she must love me more. At this point, I did not know what to do, so I just listen trying to make sense of this screaming women's Spanish. Then everyone starts crying (her brother, mom and her. I still just listen and try to let this poor women vent while her child is near choking crying so hard. Then again out of nowhere, she hugs her mom and everyone is hugging and crying. She profusely thanks me for fixing their problem and walks off thinking I am the best thing ever. What in the world just happened, I wonder. So now I have my ESL parents on board because their child has a teacher that can understand their needs and concerns.


I love being an educator!

Little Angels--feeling very blessed!

Today was a great day! My students were all very angelic right up until 2:00 p.m. I felt very fortunate. Every teacher I talked to, told me how amazing my class was being. I would give them a command and they all would do it. All of my children with ADHD were suddenly great. Almost all notes came in and I got a lot of teaching in. I had my first meeting with my mentor and she told me that she had heard very positive rumors about me and my teaching. Thank heavens! Every night I pray for my students and a miracle to occur within them and my prayers are definitely being answered. I also had my first team meeting and we, as a team are going to try one of my tried and true strategies. I was surprised they actually listened to a first year teacher when they have 15+ years of experience. I have the best team and faculty support, especially my principal. I still wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing first year experience. I started guided reading groups today but still am afraid of introducing centers. I hope my angels stay angels at least until May:)


Reflection: I am trying to introduce and use sight words in every subject I teach them. I really believe that if they can memorize the sight words, they will soar with their reading. So the challenge I posed to them was to use five sight words in 1 sentence. We had a close winner with 4/5 words. I think I will use this strategy again. Math did not go as well as I hoped. I need to schedule time in for interventions possibly during independent practice.


Teaching is a very rewarding career and I love it!

Day 2--Getting Better and New stuff for my room

Well today was a lot better than yesterday. I took away the tables and did a horseshoe formation. I also moved my student with ADHD that was giving me so much headache and it was a lot better. We played a getting to know you game and we practiced more procedures. Every day it is getting better. Everyone tells me they feel that way every year even after teaching for 20 plus years. I also put up some phonics things around the room. I should finish with my room this weekend. I cannot wait to see their faces on Monday! I will take new pics tomorrow and post them. I got recognized in Faculty Mtg today and it was great!

Introduction and Day 1---CRAZY!!!

How do you teach when your students have not been taught how to learn? That is the struggle I am dealing with already. Forget what it takes to create a learning environment. These kids need to know everything from Preschool to the middle of 1st Grade in 5 mo. Everywhere I turn I am told something new to do or that should be done to get my kids up to grade level. Stressed and overwhelmed is an understatement. I was told to create a journal of my first year to reflect back on and see my growth as a teacher, but I thought a blog would be more fun.

Here I will tell about the amazing things I learn, the good, the bad and the downright heartbreaking. The staff here is amazing and very helpful. My principal has already taken time out of her schedule to help my kids get caught up..how sweet:) Whenever I turn around, someone is pulling out my low kids to help them catch up. I ask for anything and it is granted. The parental support is phenomenal. I already have at least 2 boys who have a crush on me and will work the hardest for me:) I had a student hold the door open for me and say, "After you!" Another dedicated his journal to me. The kids have at least 3 emotional meltdowns a day with full on tears. They are so afraid of failing that they don't try. They don't know their ABCs sounds of letters. They are not learning the procedures very well so it makes it hard to teach them anything. They have not been reading at home or at school, writing or doing much of math.

My heartbreaks just meeting their parents and finding out what they have to deal with on a daily basis as a 6 yrs old.

I love teaching still!!