the zoo

So, we went on a field trip to the Dallas Zoo in November. I have to admit that it is definitely not the best zoo around, but my students did not seem to notice, or care! In fact, they found the squirrels and random bugs to be the most exciting part! :) I ended up with no chaperones to help me, so I had all 13 of my students by myself for most of the day. Let's just say we ALL took naps on the bus back to school! However, experiencing something like that with my students was a lot of fun. We got to play and learn together. It was really fun and rewarding.

Unfortunately, our school only budgets for one field trip per school year (and the whole school goes), but I am hoping to find a way to fundraise for another one in the spring.

it's been a while...

So, apparently I got a little busy towards the end of the semester, and neglected to update my blog. The good news is that I have officially graduated from grad school with my Masters in Education, so now I can devote my time to teaching, and not have homework in the evenings... at least until I go back for my EdD in a few years! :)

I'll post a few pictures and updates from my class tonight too!

germs and silly faces

So, as most of you know... it happened... my kids got me sick! 2 weeks ago I was out almost the whole week with the flu. It was miserable. And after the flu I got an infection in my throat. Pretty rough week. I'm finally back to 100%, but vitamins and antibacterial gel are my new best friends for sure!

This last week was great. On Friday I had 4 kids absent... which means I only had 9 kids there. The firemen came and talked to the kids and they got to walk through the fire truck. They loved it! I was in a great mood and my kids were having a lot of fun. So, I let them make silly faces and I took pictures... here are a few of my favorites. How cute are my kids?? Although now I have a lot of work for those kids that were out to make-up, but that's alright.

Also, this was the end of week 9.. which means we are a quarter of the way through the school year! I can't believe it!!

spirit week

This week was Spirit Week at school. Monday was Sports Day, Tuesday was Hawaiian Day, Wednesday was Pajama Day, and Thursday was Western Day, and Friday I got the day off because my students got free tickets to go to the Texas State Fair!! It was great! Here are a few pictures of my kids... they are so cute!

Also, I have made it through 6 weeks now. That means report cards and parent conferences this week... should be interesting! And I'm just trying to lather up on antibacterial and avoid the flu as it goes around! Yuck!!

funny day

So, after going to the Cowboys game last night, getting home 12:30am (poor me, I know) I have to say that I was feeling less than great this morning. Luckily I have a great job and get to have my awesome kiddos make my day! So, I had to share these few funny stories....

First, one of my little girls came up to me about 30 minutes into the morning and told me that she had to hold her pee until she got to school today and when I asked why she said "our toilet is clogged and if I want to go I have to go outside under the trampoline..." It literally took everything I had not to start laughing. Kids are just so hilarious and it just made me realize how truly different my home life is than theirs.

Also, we got 400 new books last week in our otherwise VERY meager library. I took my students today and they were exploring the new books and one of them came across a copy of Twilight. I was telling them how this was one of my favorite books and one of my little boys said "I have the movie... want to come over to my house and watch it?" and I swear there was a hint of flirtation in his 6-year-old voice. Sweet sentiment, but man they grow-up fast! :)

I'm so lucky to have a job that can put me in a good mood even when I'm not having such a great day!


i had to add that today (the next day after these two things) we had a power outage for about 5 minutes. all my kids started screaming like the world was ending even though sunlight was coming in through my windows. but one of them asked to use the restroom and i told him to take a friend and be careful because the hallway and bathroom were really dark and he replied "it's ok. i can see in the dark. i eat carrots." gotta love it!

also, i am realizing that if there really was a tooth fairy, first grade teachers would be rich! my kids have already lost 4 during school hours and it has only been a month! i should take pictures of all the gaping holes because my whole class should send letters to Santa asking for at least their 2 front teeth! :)

i'm lovin' it

so, i have to say that i can't remember the last time i was this physically exhausted! it's friday night and i don't even want to get off the couch! that never happens! spending the day with kids is so much more draining than i ever imagined... but when i am with them i have more energy than should be possible. they really keep my spirits up and keep me going.

this week i got my first present from a student... a stack of fresh tortillas from his mom... not only were they delicious, but my principal told me that i must be doing something right because in the Mexican culture they show appreciation with food. my principal also sat me down today and told me that he wanted to know my plans for next year... next year? hello! i am just trying to survive the first month of school! he is already worried that he is going to lose me to a better opportunity. i told him not to worry about it because i really like where i am, but it's nice to feel like i am doing a good job and he wants to keep me around.

i have to say that i am really glad that i have been going back to school for the last year. my kids are at so many different levels in reading and it is driving me crazy! more than half of them failed their spelling test today (on kindergarten level words) and the other half aced it. so, even though it means more work for me, i am really glad that i have learned more about differentiating in grad school so that i can make sure i reach the needs of all of my students and none of them are penalized for where they are right now. i just really hope that i can teach the struggling ones to read and keep the ones that are already reading challenged! i'm looking forward to learning more about teaching reading and how to best reach my students. i'm already a little frustrated, but i really couldn't ask for a better learning experience or a more supportive principal and school environment!

also, this week my kids did some really great art projects and have started making me little notes and presents. i will have to take pictures and post them when i can! :)

two weeks and counting..

so i survived another week and i am heading into my third. testing continues take up most of my time, trying to assess all my students is really time consuming, but i should be done after this week. so far all of my students are below grade-level (which i expected) so i definitely have my work cut out for me this year, but i guess i knew that too! my kids continue to have a ton of energy.. which drains me of most of mine! but they are a lot of fun, and you have to expect a lot of energy from 6-year-olds!

i am really enjoying getting to know their individual personalities. they are all so funny and they love to be silly, which makes teaching them so much fun (except when we need to get work done). but since we have been doing so much testing and sitting still lately i downloaded "shake your sillies out" by raffi and i put it on when things get too serious and let them dance around. it is probably the funniest thing ever and if i could video tape it and provide you all a good laugh i definitely would... but instead you will just have to imagine it!

and let me tell you that little kids are the biggest confidence booster! every day at least one of them tells me how they like my hair or my glasses or my shoes or something else like that. even when i haven't washed my hair in 3 days or done laundry in 2 weeks... they still love me! :)

some of them knew it was my birthday this weekend and they were asking how old i am. when i told them i was 25 several of them said "that's how old my mom is!!" i'm not sure if they really mean that because they don't have much concept of age, but in some cases they probably do! scary thought!

side note: it's a four day week and i already survived one day! we also had our first PTA meeting tonight. about 8 parents showed up, but if you have any fundraising ideas for low-income families/areas then please let me know!!

one week down

Here are a few pictures of my kids in the reading corner (which they love!) and working at their desks. This week flew by, but was so exhausting! I was asleep by 8:30 several nights this week. Or, I would come home and fall asleep at 6:30 on the couch only to wake up and do a few things and go right back to bed. My mom is in town this weekend and she took me to buy some comfortable shoes. I never realized how bad my feet would hurt after standing and chasing kiddos all day! I have resigned, sadly, to the fact that in teaching comfort is more important than looks... at least for shoes!

We had meet the teacher night this Wednesday. Only a few of my parents came. There were a few that spoke no English at all and I had to use their children (my students) to translate. It was interesting. I do have a few parents that seem willing to help though which will be nice. And I have found myself already understanding certain Spanish words and sometimes even almost speaking it! It is pretty neat that all 12 of my students are completely bilingual. It makes me wish that I was!

I started reading testing this week and so far I have found that I have a few really strong readers and the rest barely know their sounds. Should make for an interesting year, but I am excited to help the strong ones continue to grow and challenge them, and I know it will be really rewarding to see the others begin to read... even if it is difficult!

This is definitely a huge lifestyle change for me! Up at 5:45.. home around 5... and no energy to do ANYTHING! Luckily several of my girlfriends live in the building so they came over one night this week to make sure I had some adult interaction... that didn't involve me getting off of the couch!

Oh, and as for this taking night class business.... what was I thinking? I sat through class on Thursday night drinking a huge Diet Coke to stay awake... and drawing new seating charts for my class in the column of my notes! I'm a terrible role model for my students! At least it is only 1 semester, so hopefully I will survive!

I survived!! Well... the first day anyway...

When I was out of the house (diet coke in hand) and it was still pitch black outside this morning, I was a little worried... but seemingly for no real reason. I'm exhausted, so I'll make it brief... today went great! My kids are awesome! I have two little boys that are definitely going to test my patience, but they are so sweet, I can't not love them already! I have 13 kids as of today. All, but 1, are Hispanic. They all understand English, but a few have a harder time speaking it, which should make teaching reading really interesting! Everything went smoothly though. I had more than enough to do with them and they did a great job. Luckily, I think they were as tired as I was! One day down... 180 something to go.... but as stressed as I know that I will be, I am really excited about a great year!

are you ready? i was born ready!

so, tomorrow is the big day! and after a long week and weekend of preparation i feel like i am almost ready... or as ready as i am going to be! my classroom is done... i have the first few days planned. i am finishing some last minute preparations tonight and then going to try to get a good night of sleep and get ready for what i'm sure will be a crazy, fun, and draining day! i can't wait to meet my students and get to know them! i know there will be a lot of stress involved, but i am really excited to learn from students... and maybe teach them some too!

here are some pictures of my classroom in it's current state:







wish me luck!

positivity and productivity go a long way

I have had quite a productive day. A truckload of furniture came this morning... my order of desks was somehow tables instead. Which means my kids don't have any individual storage, but rather than dwell on it I just told my director that I would make it work somehow and he was very appreciative. After recruiting the P.E. teacher to put all the tables together for me, I got them all set-up.

Here is a view from my desk:



As you can see, I also got a few more things hung on my wall. I spent a lot of the day organizing as well. I finally feel like I am really making progress! Don't get me wrong, I am still very overwhelmed and have a lot to do, but I am getting there slowly. This evening I am organizing all of my math overheads into sheet protectors in 3-ring binders. And a few other miscellaneous projects. My language arts curriculum is supposed to arrive the end of this week or first thing next week.. so I am just winging it all for now.

I haven't even started planning for what I am going to do with my students, but i guess that is what this weekend will be for. I am fortunate that one of the second grade teachers lives about 5 minutes away from me, so we are already preparing to having planning and paper-grading dates at the Starbucks nearby!

Also, I got my class list today... and so far I only have 12 students!! I am trying not to get too excited because I am sure that I will get more, but having fewer students would be great because I can give them more individual attention and do more fun things!

In-Service=Exhaustion

So yesterday morning we had training about TAKS testing (boring) and classroom management. It made me really glad that I am not teaching an upper grade that has to take state tests! After lunch with all the staff and a few hours of work I made my 17th trip to Walmart and was asleep on my couch by 5:30... phew!

Today was a little better. We had training on confidentiality, got warned about the possibilities of being sued, talked about after school tutoring expectations (no big deal that I have to tutor Thursdays until 4... wait for the kids to be picked up and be at night class by 5). Then grabbed a quick lunch with a colleague and got to work organizing and decorating my room. Oh ya! I also got put in charge of the school aquarium... which means I need to find some cheap fish that are hard to kill! I put together 2 bookselves... well sort of. I put a small one together with ease and loaded it with books. The big one was not so easy... about half way through I went to stand it up and a one of the pieces broke in half. I thought I could repair it, but in the process I cut myself 3 times and ended up with a blister from fighting with the screwdriver. Just when I thought maybe there was a chance... I realize that half of it was put together backwards! UGH!!! That's when I decided it was time to call it a day.

So, after a trip to Big Lots and Ross and a nice dinner with a friend here I am.... here are a few pictures of my classroom to-date:

Here goes nothing...

I am preparing for my first teaching position. I will be teaching first grade at a charter school in a high-poverty area. I am very excited and nervous at the same time. I have been certified for several years, but I have been working in the corporate world, until the last year when I began pursuing my Masters in Education full-time and substitute teaching. I will be finishing my Masters this coming December, and enduring my first few months of teaching.

Going into this job, I knew that it would be stressful and exhausting, but I did not realize that it would be so crazy before school even began! This week has been all about learning the ropes of the school, setting up my classroom, organizing, and getting lesson plans ready for the first week of school.... and now I'm just hoping that I survive it!

While realizing how tired I am without even having students, I realized that the next few months I will probably be in somewhat of a hole... you know... in bed by 9 (which I haven't done since middle school) and too tired to do anything but grade a few papers, pour a glass of wine, take a bubble bath, and call it a night.... so I figured a blog would be a good way for my family and friends to keep up with my trials (and successes, of course) over the coming months. Also, I figure that kids are pretty funny... so I'll probably have some great stories to share.... so stay tuned!!

Here are some pictures of my classroom when I saw it for the first time last week... if it looks small... that's because it is! And yes that is an "accordion" wall that separates me from the other first grade class.