Where It All Goes Down Wednesday... Kinda

Today is 'Where It All Goes Down Wednesday' at Blog Hoppin. Well, I don't have pictures of my finished room. I will post those at a later date. What I do have are pictures of things I've Pinned and my own projects. They will help set the tone for Where It All Goes Down!

Check for Understanding: Pinned Image from 4th Grade Frolics


Check for Understanding: My Project
I made mine in MS Excel and I love how they turned out! I printed them out onto colored cardstock, then laminated them. I am going to put one in each book container and then I'll have the students use another one as their bookmark in their 'Just for Fun' book.



Book Luggage Tag: Pinned Image from Beg, Borrow, Steal and 4th Grade Frolics has some too!


Book Luggage Tag: My Project
Again, I took the idea and made it my own. I knew Archiver's had a die cut of a tag. I took some paper I had laying around and punched a bunch out! Then I had the laminated so I could - hopefully - reuse them next year. Now, I haven't finished them completely yet. I am going to put a number on the back along with a label on the front with the corresponding name. I think it will look delightful!


That's all for now!

Teacher Talk Tuesday

Today is all about giving advice to new teachers at I'm Blog Hoppin'. Sometimes I feel like a new teacher, so this is going to be tough for me.

Take care of yourself.
Whether this is your first time spending all day every day with kids, or you've worked at a daycare in the past. You will get sick because there is NOTHING like having 25+ kids in your room sniffling. Ish! Take your vitamins, get a good nights' sleep and relax a bit on weekends!

Be flexible.
When I graduated from college, I didn't really want to be a kindergarten teacher. I had gotten a taste of 3rd grade and LOVED it. I secretly wanted to hold out for a 3rd grade position. However, that wasn't in the cards for me. I was offered a 4-Year-Old position and took it because it got my foot in the door. You have to start somewhere and why not accumulate seniority/tenure as soon as you can? I think you should also stay flexible because it's your first year... you learn the most once you're in the thick of things! Also, things don't always go as planned, so taking a lesson in a new direction on the spot is needed sometimes.

Rituals and Routines are KEY!
Establish those rituals and routines the first day and model a lot throughout the year. Things will become second nature for the kids and your days will run smoothly!

Communicate!
You need to communicate early and often with parents. Building a positive, honest relationship with them will be beneficial. You want parents to trust you! You also want to make sure that you communicate clearly with your students. Be explicit and tell them exactly what you want and what things are supposed to look like.

Collaborate
Not only do you learn while you actually teach, you learn a lot from those around you. Create things with your grade level team, share things, and don't be afraid to ask for things!

Remember the Golden Rule
Stay positive and polite. Making friends with many people, if not everyone, at your school will be beneficial. You never know when you might need help.

Have fun!!

Meet The Teacher Monday

I'm Blog Hoppin' is hosting Teacher Week 2011! I am really excited to get to know those who are inspiring me, and hope you will learn a bit a about me too!


Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Teresa and am married to a wonderful man named Brian. We have a beautiful and curious little girl, Adelle, who is a year and a half. I sing, play the Wii, read, and watch movies too. I love to scrap, make cards, cook (and eat :) as well as getting outside to discover the world with my family. Everything looks brand new when you experience it through the eyes of a child.


You might not know...
When I was little, I wanted to follow in my Dad's footprints and be a barber. I wanted to own my Dad's barber shop. I wanted to go to work with him every day until it was time for him to retire with my Mom. Seeing how he made kids feel every time they stepped into his shop was awesome and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be the next Children's Barber. Unfortunately, my Dad had to retire long before I was able to help him at the shop. He is one of the reasons I became a teacher though!!

What are you looking forward to this school year?
Besides meeting my students... everything! I've been reading about the Daily 5 and am excited to implement it into my routine. I have also been busy working on projects this summer; I am excited to use them as well! I have a student teacher this fall, my first one ever, and I am excited to just get back into the curriculum! Besides, I love the smell of new, sharp, pencils! :)

What do you need to improve?
While I welcome constructive criticism, I take it to heart. I would like to work on letting more things slide off my back. I am a great teacher, I don't need to be as critical of myself as I am!

Another thing I would like to improve, is documenting! I feel as though I assess students a lot. I don't always write things down like I should, this can become a problem when it comes time to report for RTI and PLCs! I have thought of a few strategies (in case one doesn't work)... we'll see how it goes!

What supplies can you *NOT* live without?
There are so many things I love...

My Elmo: Showing kids EXACTLY what you want or EXACTLY what something looks like is key. I love it!

Sharpies & Flairs: I use Sharpies and Flairs for everything! Charts, labels, notes, assessing... everything!

Sticky Notes: I use these for every subject. My students use them, I use them, we all love them!

My iPod: I have a bunch of music on my iPod specifically for my students. We listen to music throughout the day and I find the students are more attentive when it's on.

This is not a supply, but I can't live without my teaching partner! She is an amazing teacher and person. I have learned so much from her in the past few years and we work really well together. We do a lot together and I am looking forward to another year with her across the hall!!

Now it's YOUR turn! Answer the questions and link up!!

Linky Party - What We Love

Well, this is the first time I have participated in a Linky Party. First Grade Blue Skies is hosting this class decor party and I have fallen in love with a LOT of great ideas! I want to redo my bulletin boards this year and I am just not sure what to do. I love these little owls from Carson-Dellosa, but the background is so light.
So I have been thinking of getting some of the items and creating (myself and with my students) these little owls from Meet the Dubiens. Seriously, they are adorable!

However, Mrs. E, over at The Sweet Life of Third Grade is working with black backgrounds and bright colors. Adorable! So I thought I would combine her use of black and bright colors with elements from Dots on Turquoise along with these SUPER cute library pockets!!
I could also still use those little owls made in bright colors, accented with paisley too!

I guess I am in love with paisley!! What are you in love with?