Deja Vu

I swear that every summer I walk back into a classroom that is piled high with boxes.  If I didn't actually move classrooms, I had to pack up everything for a remodel or summer school.  This is probably the earliest that I have starting working but I don't want to spend all day in my room.  I'd rather spend a few hours a day organizing and unpacking and not get overwhelmed. 

This year I moved from a portable (which I loved) back into the main building.  While this room doesn't have a bathroom (which I love having), it is directly across from the hallway restrooms so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue.

This is what it looked like when I arrived:

It will be nice to have the built in cabinets and cubbies again since we had ZERO storage in the portables.  However, it did force me to eliminate a lot of unnecessary junk that I had collected! 

Of course I had to sit down and make a list of what furniture I had and try to decide where to put everything before I started shoving it around the room.

 

 

Hopefully my next set of pictures will show a LOT of progress!

Freebie

I found something similar to this on Pinterest, but needed it to match my classroom decor so I threw this together today and wanted to share it.  It's not much, but it's something!

Click the picture to download or click here.

Teaching is Boring Right Now...

Not really.......but it's that time of year (Testing Season) and I just cannot seem to avoid the "teaching of the test."

In Texas, 3rd grade takes the STAAR Reading and Math test at the end of April.  In the weeks prior to the test, our district has us "bridging" to the STAAR and doing a LOT of practice reading passages.  After the first week I was bored out of my mind and I know that my kids were feeling it as well.  Unfortunately I really don't know of ways to make this part of the year more enjoyable.  Since this is my first year in 3rd grade I am really just trying to survive and do things the "district" way.  I'm hoping that next year I will be able to find ways to teach the same skills but using the reading passages as assessment only.

One thing I did find was this unit on TpT that I'm hoping to incorporate in the next couple of weeks:

It does a great job of discussing the "myths" about standardized tests, the strategies they should use, and what to expect on testing day.  I think that it will be a nice break for my kiddos and a way for them to show me what they have learned so far.

Hopefully I'll post an update in the next few weeks that is a review of this with some extra ideas!

Currently!

I always think the "Currently" blog posts are super cute so I finally got one done!

 

 

I love college football and bowl season is my favorite of all the seasons! LOL!  I am a die hard Aggie and have enjoyed their fabulous season in the SEC.

 

I forgot my bag of work at school the day we got out for break and I haven't missed it one bit!  I'm sure I'll wish I had graded those papers or organized something but I have LOVED being lazy!

 

For the past week I have said "I'm going to write my lesson plans today"...and for a week I've NOT done it.  Whatever!  I'll do them tomorrow!

 



I have had the Erin Condren Teacher Planner for the past two years and I love it.  However, now I'm involved in a lot of things outside of school and really want the Life Planner.  But I also know that I do not need to spend the money right now so I'm sure I'll hold off until next year.

I am super excited about having a student teacher this semester!  But I have so many thoughts running through my head and need to get them organized before I start trying to tell her things.

My OLW is "initiative"...I am the WORST at getting things done before the absolute last minute.  I have to get better about this.  I am starting grad school this spring and my life will be crazy for the next 2 1/2 years.  If I don't get some sort of system in place I will be in serious trouble!

Go link up!
 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well I've done a fabulous job of maintaining a classroom blog this year! I believe this is my first post since school started. At this rate the second one will come around Easter.

Why no blogging???
I'm overwhelmed. Plain and simple.
And I know I'm not alone in that and yet other bloggers continue to post daily/weekly and here I am doing nothing.

I have LOVED my move to 3rd but I am just not loving this year. I'm frustrated and overwhelmed with our curriculum and just don't feel like it's benefiting my kids. But I don't know what to do about it yet because we really don't have any other options.

Anywho! I'll eventually get it figured out and hopefully will be able to get myself a blogging schedule.

I hope that you are having a blessed holiday and enjoy your time with family!

Yay!

I ordered a Silhouette Cameo today! It's my back-to-school gift to myself.  I can't wait for it to arrive!

Hopefully that will motivate me to get busy on school projects. I have no desire right now. Normally I'm excited about new room design and such but right now it all seems so overwhelming.

I look forward to showing all the awesome things I'm going to make!

My Teacher Story

Tales of Frogs and Cupcakes is hosting a linky party of how you came to be in the classroom!  So I thought it would be neat to share my own story.

I have always loved everything associated with teaching!  In elementary school I would get unwanted materials from my teachers and use them to play school at home.  I had a grade book and everything!  And if you were mean to me during the school day, your grades that evening would surely reflect it. 

But somewhere during my high school years, I decided that I wanted a more "prestigious" job that would pay me more money.  I was very unsure of what exactly I wanted to do after graduation so I attended a business school and studied accounting.  Looking back, I know that I could have done something much greater, but I honestly don't think I'd change my decision because of what I learned from those years.  After a year at the business school I graduated and got a job as an Administrative Assistant at a mutual fund company.  It wasn't long before I moved up and became a Pricing Analyst.  I worked for that company for around 3 years.  I made good money and LOVED my job!  I had opportunities and experiences there that I would never have had otherwise and I am very grateful for that.

However, I began feeling like that chapter of my life was over and the desire to become a teacher was growing.  I finally walked into my bosses office and told him that I would be leaving at the beginning of the following year.  It was a hard decision (and very scary!) but I was trusting that God would provide for me.  I signed up for classes at the local community college and got a job waiting tables.  Quite the turnaround.  I had several other part time jobs in the years that I attended college.  I transferred to a nearby university and was lucky enough to have several girls from my area that were also in the educator program.  We carpooled and attended classes together and it was great to have their support.  

After graduation I was hired by the district that I currently work for and I could not be happier!  I am SO glad that I took that leap of faith all those years ago!