WHAT JUST HAPPENED???

Have you ever agreed to do something thinking..."Sure, I can do that. How hard can it be?" 

This was me all excited before my 1st day.

Then you stop for a minute and look around and think, "What have I done?" That was last week for me.

This was me at the end of my first day. ;)

KINDERGARTEN IS NO JOKE!!! If you are unfamiliar with me, this is my 10th year of teaching. I started out student teaching in 5th grade because I wanted to be a middle school math teacher. Once I graduated I got a job teaching 3rd grade and thought, "Wow! I like this SO much better than 5th grade! Forget middle school!" After teaching 3rd grade for 5 years I became a focus teacher that pulled groups of kids who needed extra help in math and reading for grades K, 3, 4, and 5. Following 1 year of this I decided to go back into the classroom. I switched schools so I that I could be 3 minutes from home instead of 1 hour and took a position as a 2nd grade teacher. I loved my new school, I loved my commute, I loved 2nd grade! After 3 years, the second 2 as an inclusion teacher, I had my daughter Jayne and my husband and I decided I should stay home. Well as I mentioned in a previous post, living in Montgomery County is EXPENSIVE! We needed better health insurance, I missed talking to adults and teaching children, and we wanted to make more money so we can send our kids to private school one day...All that said, I was going to go back as an ESOL teacher. I took the ESOL Praxis and passed my test, but because of crazy contract crap policies, I couldn't get an ESOL job However, I was able to find a Kindergarten position back at the school I love 3 minutes from my house! So all is good, right? Kindergarten will be a cinch. After all this will be my 10th year of teaching. I read amazing kindergarten blogs all summer to get an idea of what to do/expect. I HAVE AN ALMOST 4 YEAR OLD FOR GOODNESS SAKES! Well I was not prepared for my first day week of school...

Everyone tells you the first 6 weeks of kindergarten is just establishing routines...however, then I was reading these kindergarten blogs and spending my life saving on all the products they offer on TpT it seemed to me that I should be teaching them academic things. I haven't been able to use practically anything other than decorations (and in some cases not even that which I can complain talk about another time) in these packets because they are assuming my kids can do thinks most of my class can't such as write their name, write letters or numbers, HOLD A PENCIL!!!! I'm not kidding! I have kids who have never held a pencil before, or scissors, or glue!! 

Here is a 10 minute section of time on Thursday that pretty much sums up my week. Picture a teacher who thinks she is finally getting her students to understand the morning routine: get breakfast and take to seat, put backpack into cubbie, order lunch and sit and eat breakfast. Things seemed to be running smoothly until one student spills her chocolate milk, while the teacher is cleaning it up, another one of her students who has bad anxiety throws up on the floor because he misses his mom and then went back to his seat and throws up in his lap. While the teacher abandons the spilled milk for the throw up she realized she doesn't have any plastic gloves to use when cleaning up so she simply throws some paper towels over the throw up and calls the office to see if someone can escort her sick child to the nurse. Well the office informs the teacher that the nurse isn't here, but after some haggling they agree someone will come down and get him since he is 5 and he doesn't even remember where the nurse is since it's the 4th day of school. Meanwhile, one of the special needs students has walked through the throw up and is tracking it all over the floor, the poor little girls sitting next to the sick student is trying not to look at him because he has throw up in his lap, and the lunch ladies are inquiring about why the breakfast tray and lunch order sheet isn't ready yet. At some point in all this the teacher looked around and thought, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?" Sadly this was not the only time during the week this thought went through my head and I'm sure it won't be the last.

As I reread what I have written so far it seems like I hate kindergarten and it is the worst place in the world...it's not. Actually it's crazy, but when I see those glimpses of "one day" it is so much more exciting than it was in 2nd and 3rd grade. I'm in love with Kindergarten and I'm not sure you will ever get me to leave. Let me leave you with some pics of this week to show you what I mean...

My students are starting to be able to work their fingers and their brains to link numbers together IN ORDER. This doesn't seem like a difficult thing to non kindergarten teachers, but first you have to make it through the exploration phase, the I hook the numbers together in any random order phase and then you finally get to the right activity and the right order and it's magical!! (Thank you Martha for this activity)

These are two of my babies that I can not get to stop moving. When I say moving I mean I have no control of any part of my body (arms, legs, mouths, etc.) In this golden Writer's Workshop moment I was able to find a place that they could go and do their best work. The top student is sitting at writing center. It's in the alcove by my front door, but it is nice and quiet and reduced a lot of distractions. My second student is sitting at a little lap desk I found at Michael's. I bought 3 when they had their Create2Educate sale. I'm in love and so are my Kinders! 

Week 3 starts Monday. Hopefully be able to post some other things that are starting to work. In the mean time, let me know what works for you. Are you in the same boat as me? Do you teach in a high, middle or low income school? What are barriers you run into?

What's On Your Walls

Here in MoCo, Maryland teachers start back on August 18th, but I like many teachers out there, have already been in my room a few times. I wish I could say that I have all my bulletin boards up, my book boxes are labeled and filled, my cubbies have names, or even that I have my alphabet up...alas...the answer to all of these is no. Every time I go into my room I'm filled with dread because I have no idea where to start...

Even though I haven't done a whole lot, here are some ideas that I plan to copy. Here's hoping they turn out ok...

Bulletin Boards: I bought some adorable fabric from JoAnn's because here in MoCo we aren't allowed to paint our bulletin boards or our walls for that matter...boo...and I need a little something to brighten the place up. I plan on using the same fabric for my curtains and a few cushions to be staged around the room.

The small bulletin boards that I do have will have this fabric and an idea I'm copying from Little Minds at Work. Tara West in a genius and I will be copying ALOT of her guided reading techniques. They are loosely based on Jan Richardson's plan and I love me some Jan Richardson. This is what Tara came up with:

This boarder is simply made from strips of white bulletin board paper that she cut and accordion folded before stapling around her bulletin board! WHAT! Amazing!!! Bulletin board ideas, check.

Writing Center: My writing center idea is coming from the great Deedee Wills. She makes fantastic Writing Stations. They are broken up my month. Each month I will be placing a new writing center into this special place in my room. It has writing sheet that are aligned to our curriculum (lists, letters, stories) with word walls! Teaching an inclusion class and kids in general it is always helpful when you can help them get their words out. Click on the picture below and it will take you to her TpT store.

Calendar: I have taken ideas from two different bloggers. Maria Monroe from Kinder-Craze has created adorable calendar pieces for my whiteboard. They are printed, they are laminated and cut out, but alas they are not up! GRR!

I have bought her calendar numbers, months, days of the week, months of the year, weather and temperatures cards. They are all so cute I can't wait to hang them up. 

The second calendar activity I plan on copying is Miss Kindergarten's Interactive Calendar Notebooks. These seem like the perfect way to keep my kinders engaged in calendar every morning. I can't wait to try them out.

Last but not least my word wall is copied from my FAVORITE Kindergarten blogger Martha McGuire. Her back to school pack is printed, laminated and ready to go. She is amazing. The things she creates are common core aligned, ADORABLE, and engaging for kids. I can't wait to use not only her letters, shape and number posters, but all of her math galore packs and word word packs!

I will also be creating and hanging posters around my room for Martha's Ball Word program. If you haven't seen this way of getting your kids motivated to learn their Dolch Words you need to get on it. Click on the picture to find how she sets it up in her classroom. 

These are the goodies I plan on copying so far. Hopefully I'll have gotten everything done by my next post...week your fingers crossed for me. In the mean time, pass the wine and let me know some ideas you have for your classroom. *Wink*

Kindergarten or bust!!

Ok so here goes...I'm a 30 something, mother of 2, wife, and teacher in Maryland. I recently took a year off after teaching for 9 years in low income schools at various grade levels to stay at home with my kids. 

I don't know what it's like where you live and teach, but here in Montgomery County Maryland if both parents aren't working, you will run out of funds faster than you can say, "Holy crap we are broke!" So after a lot of discussions and happy hours with my besties who are still teaching, my husband and I realized we need the benefits and I still have a small itch to be a teacher. Ok it's more like a full body, I can't stop myself rash!! This was made very apparent when I was offered a position as a kindergarten teacher and immediately got off the phone and started Pinteresting ideas for my classroom at the dinner table. 

I have known for about 2 months that I will be teaching kindergarten, and I have spent about 30 seconds less than that planning my first year. I spend every waking moment reading kindergarten blogs, reading books by "The Sisters", buying EVERYTHING that is offered on Teachers Pay Teachers, and printing, laminating, and organizing all my new finds. Now I know you know nothing about me and when I say I have bought everything you think ok, she bought a few things...she has laminated a few stations...

Each of these bins contains amazing math stations and Daily 5 word work activities. All of these beauties I have gotten off Teachers Pay Teachers from an AMAZING kindergarten blogger, Martha McGuire. If you are not following this woman yet, you are stupid. She is amazing and she has changed my life. I first saw something of hers on Pinterest.  I began staying up til all hours of the morning reading and rereading her blog from the beginning (she started in 2012). I had never seen such adorable activities and ideas of how to teach the same boring concepts for an entire year, but make them come alive for the kids. I was/am truly obsessed. I began talking about her so much, my sister coined her my "best friend." Everything she makes I want to buy, as evidenced by my first TPT purchase of over a hundred dollars of only things she has made for the first quarter (back to school, apples, farms, harvest, etc), downloading every free product she offers, buying the exact same bins she has with the labels, and signing up for Stitch-fix. I want to be this woman. I want to start the year off and WOW the pants off everyone. 

Am I the only one who thinks this way? I want people to walk into my classroom and say, "Wow, she is so organized." "Wow, her students are the best behaved." "Wow, her reading and math data is amazing." "Look at that bulletin board!" It is for this reason I spend every waking moment trying to learn everything I can about how to be better. 

Let me be very clear...my classroom is never the most organized. My students are never the best behaved. My math and reading data is never the best, but a girl can dream can't she? 

This is my goal for this year and my reason behind this blog. I am one of those people who is SO not creative...but I'm a really good COPY CAT. I like to find things that other people have done and try them out. In a planning meeting I never come up with really good original ideas, but I DO take other peoples ideas and run with them. So this year, I plan on taking the ideas of greater kindergarten teachers and trying them out in my classroom. I would love for you to join me in my journey.