Ready or not....

Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  Perhaps.  We had our 2 days of workshops yesterday and today, and tomorrow is our first day with our students.  I mentioned in an earlier post how I received several responses from parents and students on my letters that I sent them.  I also got to meet two of them today.  I feel better about tomorrow.  Although I just taught 3rd graders this past year, for some reason I was imagining my 4th graders as larger students.  I'm not sure why....

On Sunday night I definitely didn't feel ready mentally for school.  The idea seemed surreal.  Yesterday, before our district workshop in another building, I went to my classroom to drop off some items.  When I left, I felt more motivated and energized for school to start.  This morning, after a couple of meetings, I was able to work in my room.  I got pretty much everything I can imagine prepared.   Now I'm sitting on my couch waiting for laundry, patiently waiting for a decent time to get to bed, and I feel that I'm ready.

However, as ready as I feel right now, I certainly was dealing with the nerves this morning and afternoon.  Yeah, let's just say that I'm really looking forward to Thursday, because the first day of school jitters will be over.

Trials in preparing a new class....

Since school finished about 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've been moving my things to a new building and setting things up.  There have been lots of organizing, too.  I went for the third time today to work in my room, and like I'm sure may teachers working in their room experience, you don't get much done.  I did get a lot accomplished, but I'm also getting to know my new colleagues.  So far they've all been so helpful, informative, and welcoming. 

Here are some pictures of my new classroom, as a clean slate.  Right now a lot is set up, but I'm in the "making a mess" stage, just trying to get things organized.

Here's the wall with new windows that overlook the playground.

Turning toward the left, this will be a larger whiteboard area...

Again going to the left, where my kiddos will hang up their jackets and bookbags, the entrance from the hall, and a closet.

Last, but not least, the back wall with two display areas, a sink, plenty of storage, and....a bathroom!  I've never had one in my room before.  Hope I don't regret it.

I've worked a lot in my room, in fact, I've been told by many that it looks like I'm ready to begin class tomorrow.  They wouldn't say that after today, though, I have lots of unfinished projects going on.

Some of the recent conversations taking place, during my breaks, have been about using the Developmental Spelling method, like I wrote about in my last posting, and apparently we have a guru in the building.  I'll definitely be picking her brain before school begins in the fall.

Other teaching strategies that I've been looking into this past week is student-centered classrooms, and flipped classrooms.  I had thought that they were the same thing, but through the research I've done this week, there are some similarities and differences.  I found that although the learning for both is student driven, a flipped classroom is when a teacher provides the lesson through a video that the students watch at home for homework, then they're ready to learn in class.   As for student-centered, I understand that to mean that students have choices as to what topic they want to focus on and create their own projects showing their new knowledge, which I think may also be similar to flipped classrooms.  I'm still learning....

I came across a great video of a 4th grade teacher in action.   http://youtu.be/c2zTz8eOfuI

Her name is Ms. Kelly, and I was intrigued by how well her reading class went, especially the strategies she used.  What excited me most was that there were some times that my classroom looked like that last year, at least in regards to the collaboration that took place.  This video not only gave me great ideas, but also gave me confirmation that I have done some things right last year.

If anyone has any advice regarding student-centered classrooms or flipped classrooms, I'm willing to learn more.

Until next time!

Successful year and more changes....

So, I have survived my first year of teaching 3rd grade.  There were times that I wondered if I was where I was supposed to be, but my belief that there is a plan for me, I just need to say yes and follow, and that kept me going.  I can confidently say that I was a good teacher.  Not a fantastic teacher like I wanted to be, but a good one.  I did a lot of reflecting and learned more than I had ever expected to learn this year. I'm a much better person and teacher because of this year.

School will be finished with the kiddos on Tuesday, and I will be finished at that school as well.  My position got cut, again.....However, this time I am NOT at the bottom of the totem-pole this time, so I'm only getting relocated to another building in the district to teach 4th grade.  I'm really looking forward to the change.  I'm already 90% packed!  As soon as I get the okay from my new principal in the new school building I'll be moving to, my stuff is heading their way.

On a sad note, however, I'm really going to miss the friendships I've gained this year.  Some I will still see, because they tend to move around the district throughout the week, but there are a few that don't.  I'll miss our daily, morning chitchats.  I will also miss my kiddos.  I had a couple of kiddos who came a went, but I have 13 students as of right now, and they have all made a mark on my heart that will never go away.  Those 8 and 9-year-olds, even the ones who challenge me behavioral-wise throughout the year, have had a part in my own education and evolution from being a middle school language arts teacher to a 3rd grade teacher, and I'll be forever grateful for their patience with me and love for me.

The big kiddos  in the back are mine, the smaller ones in the front were part
of a Pre-K class that joined us for Fun Day.

I've also learned the value of supportive parents.  I've communicated with parents before, but it was usually because they weren't happy with their son or daughter's score or final grade.  Other than that, I hardly saw them or heard from them.  This past school year I have had the overwhelming support from my children's parents.  They've been open with me on their concerns, and have supported me with mine.  There was never a question as to whether the lines of communication were open or not.  They always new they could contact me if necessary.

My new building that I'll be working with has been praised highly by my colleagues.  I've also worked with my new principal in my old district.  He was my mentor teacher back when I started teaching middle school. In fact, because of what I've heard and who I'll be working with, I'm excited.  I'm really looking forward to using my new-found skills, abilities, and knowledge to be an even better teacher next year.  I have some new tools in my new toolbox I can use, and some old tricks up my sleeve that I wasn't able to use with 3rd grade.  It's a pretty exciting time!  It's as if this past year was a stepping stone, only meant to prepare me for next year and beyond.

To leave you with something to think about, I found this saying on Facebook today...thought it was important for me to remember when I feel overwhelmed.

Preparing my room....

Hey folks!

Well, today is the first time in several days I don't focus on my class.  I've either been planning here at home or working in my classroom getting it physically ready.  I have to change my frame of mind from middle school language arts to 3rd grade and teaching all subjects.  Not that I didn't have science, social studies, or math in mind from time to time when I was teaching middle school language arts, but I will now be teaching all of those subjects, and I need to start thinking that way.

My classroom was used as a storage/spare room last year, so there's a collection of a variety of things in there.  So you can imagine that it was quite bland and empty when I took out what I didn't need.

There were a lot of things on the shelf that I didn't need....

I was dealing with a blank slate...

There's a lot of sun that shines through those windows...

 

It was almost overwhelming.

 I've been working off and on for a few days, now that the floor is accessible.  Of course, I've made some progress, but there's still a lot of work to do.  School starts in less than 2 weeks and there's lots to do!!

I plan on using the Responsive Classroom approach, and the place I want to use for my morning meeting is here....

Granted it doesn't look like much of a spot right now, but trust me, it looks much better now.  I've purchased an area rug that I'll place there, there are a couple of bookshelves in the far right corner, blocking the back of the computer table that's now there.  My easel for the morning messages will be placed on that corner too.


Another thing I need to plan is where my centers will be.  My room looks much better now that I've done some work, but I haven't taken pictures yet.  I'll share them in my next post.  I think you'll see a pleasant difference.

Well, I began this post saying that I wasn't focusing on my classroom, but apparently that's all I've been doing.  Go figure!  Oh well, teaching is a large part of my life, so I should be more surprised if I don't think about my class, students, or the lessons I'm planning.  When that time comes, then it's probably time to consider another career. 

Guess I'll make myself a cup of coffee before we eat lunch and I head back to my class.  It's taking everything for me not to go right now.  I have to limit myself or I will literally spend the whole day there.  I have my rug to place, and I've prepared some bulletin board items to laminate and put up for my reading strategy board.  Things are coming together....