Love Notes

This week has been extremely difficult for me.  It seems like I've been sick since the beginning of the year...as one ailment is relieved, my daily handshaking brings me something else to worry about.  I've also been pretty consumed with this job. It's been difficult to find "me" time and take my mind off the list of tasks that will never be finished.

It's so nice to receive notes like this one below! They remind me of the reason why I do this job and why it is so consuming. I may never feel satisfied with my performance because I care so much about these kids.

 And a little comic relief below :) FYI Her non-functional phone was confiscated the other day after she began "texting" during class.

Class Theme and Sharpened Pencils

One lesson learned teaching - not all pencils are created equal! Cheap pencils are sooo appealing. Seeing 10+ pencils disappear a day, erasers pulled off, and pencils split in half by your most "active" students makes it tempting to go out and buy those sale pencils - the ones you see for a dollar a pack.

There's nothing better, though, then the classic Dixon Ticonderoga... ask any teacher out there.  I also found a website that personalized notepads for teachers. I believe for only $12, I know have a great notepad for positive notes home.  LoveIt! Personalized Notepads (See here!) have tons of cute notepads for teachers.

Our class theme is Strong Minds and Big Hearts. I came up with ten characteristics of scholars who have a Strong Mind and Big Heart.  The yellow sentence strips are Strong Minds and the orange are Big Hearts. When students' actions reflect one of these characteristics I've asked them to draw their actions on a small card and I staple it next to the sentence strip.

Stickers, books, and the DRA

My school does not have a library, but I was fortunate to receive a good supply of used books from different places and people to create a pretty large classroom library. I then began debating how to organize these books.  Since I wanted to teach my students how to find "good-fit" books, I thought I could simply organize my library by genre and call it a day!  Two challenges surfaced - 1. Children's book genres boil down to two major categories - animal fiction and realistic fiction :) 2. Students continue to pick books that were either too challenging or too easy.

I decided that it was time to bite the bullet, take home loads of books in my car, and level my library. This will give me more insight into what books fit different students and ensure that kids are picking appropriate books. I decided to level my library by DRA level using the Scholastic Book Wizard (here!). Many episodes of "Mad Men" on netflix and hours later...the job is finished!

To-Do's

A long weekend is a teacher's best friend. I've enjoyed the opportunity to take a couple extra hours and do nothing! I had a great day with my teacher friends Tia and Cara in Sedona today and even got some planning done in the car there and back. 

Everything is in the details...and with so many details to attend to in elementary, it is easy for things to fall through the cracks!  I am trying to find a new organization system to make me more streamlined with planning and to help manage the plethora of "little" things I need to get done throughout the week.   Playing around with word and tables for 10 minutes yesterday, I created a Weekly To-Do template that I plan to begin using this week. I'm hoping that planning my planning and having a central place to record my "To-Do's" will make my life more manageable!

See my template below!

The Emotional Roller Coaster of Teaching

I haven't posted for a while because life has been speeding by during these first weeks of school. Waking up at 5 AM, enduring the extended school day, and coming home to plan has taken a toll again, as expected. I am trying to get more sleep this year and be in bed by 10 PM!

Overall, it has been an emotional roller coaster of HIGHS and LOWS.  The highs are high in teaching, full of love and happiness from children, and of course the lows are very low, as we reflect on ways that we could be better.  Some successes and "failures" so far...I hate calling them "failures," however, when life as a teacher is always a work-in-progress.

Successes! 
(1) Despite the sheer number of little ones (32 of them!), I can say that I have a great class, and I see my "vision" for the class coming to life with the right steps taken.

(2) I made it one of goals to know families this year, and I am proud that I've been able to do so amidst beginning of the year craziness! I have enjoyed speaking with all the families, and I feel like this will be a game-changer for my kids' achievement in the end.

"Failures"! (Things Gotta Change :)
(1) Tightening up some routines and procedures! Moving down from 5th/7th grades has been an adjustment, and it is very different handling 7 year olds! They are a whole different beast :)  I need to tighten up some essential routines - dismissal, line up, etc... Ideas are welcome!

(2) My confidence. I was so positive Week 1, but it is difficult to stay motivated as the grind sets in. With time, I know I will feel successful - in the meantime, I feel like a work-in-progress!

Luckily, Phoenix makes it so easy to think about the "Big Picture" of life when I am surrounded by beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I am trying to take it all in daily and keep it in perspective. Disclaimer: Do not try to take sunrise/sunset pictures while driving...as tempting as it may be :)

Math Rotations

It has been a while since I've posted last, due to the back-to-school craziness that has ensued!  I took a quick picture of the Math Rotations board that I created. I stole this idea from another great blogger, Clutter-Free Classroom (see here!). Thank you for the inspiration. Now I need to roll these out this coming week.

Cacti All Around!

As promised, here are some more pictures of my classroom during it's transformation. It was a crazy week getting prepared to show the room for "Meet the Teacher Night," but after moving desks up three floors, taking five tables and a teachers desk out of the room, and sifting through all the 2nd grade materials from last year, it finally got done!

I'm so happy with the Southwest theme! It really is coming together, and even those who doubted the "cactus" idea are liking it :)  Below are some pictures of the classroom:

Wall left of the door! Bulletin boards for tracking reading, class theme and goals, "Reading Takes Us Places!" Wall, bookshelves.

Wall opposite the door! Bookshelves with classroom library.

"Carpet" area for whole-group instruction. Easel, CAFE board, and Word Wall!

Close-up of the "carpet" area in our room! Thanks to all the generous donations on DonorsChoose.org, I will soon have a beautiful carpet with 30 squares for my kids to sit on :) Thank you!