I have not posted in awhile so here is what has been happening!
I have been working as a para in a Kindergarten classroom since the beginning of the school year. I mostly help students who are struggling academically, help with behavior management, and provide extra ELA instruction during workshops. This has been a great learning experience for me as I transition from college grad to first year teacher.
But now I am about to start taking over the classroom! The teacher that I have been working with is about to go on maternity leave, so I will be taking her place. I am very excited about this, and I am very hopeful! I will be providing more consistent updates now that I am teaching again.
The last few weeks I have been updating my resume and brochure on my online portfolio. I am hoping the drastic change in my resume appearance will help attract attention to my name, for teaching positions next year. The charter school I have been working at has been great, and I'm hoping this experience will help me transition into a teacher!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Job Update!
Well school starts on Tuesday, so I need to give an update!
Although I did not get my "own" classroom, I did accept a position as a paraprofessional in kindergarten! The school I am at is a charter school not too far from my house so it is quite perfect. The position I have has the potential to turn into a long term sub position, which will be great to get my feet wet. I am absolutely ecstatic to be involved in a new community of educators so that I can continue to learn and grow as a teacher and a person. My teacher that I am paired with is supposed to be amazing so I can't wait to begin! I will be posting my encounters during the year since this is my first year out of college. Keep looking for updates! :)
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Getting Crafty! :)
Now that it is getting to be crunch time for back to school, I have been filling up my free time with making things for my room! These have included posters, classroom management items, organizational tools etc. Basically this is what I had on my TPT wish list. I printed all of these out on cardstock, laminated them, and cut them out how I wanted to. Mostly these were freebies I found online, so I won't post each link because I printed off so much! But again, these were all from TPT so you can easily find similar products that fit to your style! Enjoy! :)
This is my bucket for Box Tops I found on Pinterest. I found the label from a blog, it comes in different colors and you can download it from here
These are signs for my room that show hand signals for students to show me for fewer interruptions, and what I mean when I say "Give Me 5"
Popsicle sticks can have many uses in elementary classrooms! On the left, I have a set of numbered popsicle sticks. I plan on assigning each student a number, and I can use these to call on students, put them into groups etc. On the right, are my Brain Breaks. This one I did have to pay for, but I think it was worth it! I think there were maybe 50-60 ideas total, but I just took out the ones that I thought I would like to use in my room.
On the left are schedule cards. I put magnets on the back, so I can easily change them from day to day. One the right are classroom jobs. I glued them onto decorative library pockets and I will have popsicle sticks with numbers for each student and just place those sticks in the pocket when it is their turn.
These are file folders that I made, that have one folder for each day, and an extra one that says "Copies for Next Week". My idea is to put the copies that I need each day into their corresponding folder. When I am lesson planning for the following week, I can just put one worksheet in the "Next Week" folder so I can make all the copies at once and have a place to store all of them.
These are my absent folders. My idea is to place these on a absent student's desk, and put in papers that are passed out throughout the day into the folder. At the end of the day, the folder will simply be put into their mailbox and everything should be kept neat, organized, and out of the way.
This last idea is for pencil sharpening. I hate it when a student gets up during the middle of a lesson and starts sharpening a pencil. With this idea, if a pencil breaks or needs sharpening, all the student has to do is put their old pencil in the "Sharpen Please" side and take a new pencil that is ready to go! I have one of my classroom jobs as a pencil sharpener, so this is just one less thing I have to take care of :)
These are signs for my room that show hand signals for students to show me for fewer interruptions, and what I mean when I say "Give Me 5"
Popsicle sticks can have many uses in elementary classrooms! On the left, I have a set of numbered popsicle sticks. I plan on assigning each student a number, and I can use these to call on students, put them into groups etc. On the right, are my Brain Breaks. This one I did have to pay for, but I think it was worth it! I think there were maybe 50-60 ideas total, but I just took out the ones that I thought I would like to use in my room.
On the left are schedule cards. I put magnets on the back, so I can easily change them from day to day. One the right are classroom jobs. I glued them onto decorative library pockets and I will have popsicle sticks with numbers for each student and just place those sticks in the pocket when it is their turn.
These are file folders that I made, that have one folder for each day, and an extra one that says "Copies for Next Week". My idea is to put the copies that I need each day into their corresponding folder. When I am lesson planning for the following week, I can just put one worksheet in the "Next Week" folder so I can make all the copies at once and have a place to store all of them.
These are my absent folders. My idea is to place these on a absent student's desk, and put in papers that are passed out throughout the day into the folder. At the end of the day, the folder will simply be put into their mailbox and everything should be kept neat, organized, and out of the way.
This last idea is for pencil sharpening. I hate it when a student gets up during the middle of a lesson and starts sharpening a pencil. With this idea, if a pencil breaks or needs sharpening, all the student has to do is put their old pencil in the "Sharpen Please" side and take a new pencil that is ready to go! I have one of my classroom jobs as a pencil sharpener, so this is just one less thing I have to take care of :)
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Getting Organized
I have spend today running around buying more classroom decor, office supplies, and printing out my TPT collection I have started. Once I settled down, I began my cutting and organizing! Here is what I worked on today:
Today I focused mostly on organizational tools. Last fall, I bought a great teacher binder organizer from Lovely Little Leaders on TPT. There is PLENTY to choose from but I just used what I think I will need for sure next year. The first binder I made was for Student Information. In this binder I included sections for Birthdays, Behavior Notes, IEP's, 504's, ELL, Parent Contact, and I have two more tabs open for whatever else I might need. This is what it looks like:
Next, I made a binder for Substitutes. I put in some information of what I had from substitute teaching (like filler activities). I made generic sections for Lesson Plans, Student Information, Building/Emergency Procedures, Extra Activities, Please Leave a Note. I subbed in one classroom this year and I was really impressed by a similar binder a teacher left for me. Being new to the school, it was super helpful and she kept many pages in sheet protectors so it stayed neat, clean, and it could last her a long time. This is what the beginning of mine looks like:
I found at Office Max divider tabs that go by month. I used these in a binder I made for Lesson Plans so I can go back and look at them the following year.
I also have a binder for my Meeting Notes. I made tabs for Staff Meetings, Student Meetings, Parent Meetings, PLC, Professional Development, IEP, 504, and one extra tab. I know I will have to document many things, just to keep things on track and have a record of what actually happened. Here is what this binder looks like:
My final binder I made is for Data. Again, I found tabs at Office Max that were numbered 1-32. I plan on assigning numbers to my students so that way these numbers will coordinate with them. I also added a sheet at the back of each binder in the event that it gets lost, it has my name on it. This is what this binder looks like:
My last project for the night were some file folders. One set I created a file for Monday-Friday and another for "Copies for Next Week". These I plan on using to organize whatever copies I will need for the week, and have a place to keep files for the next week together. I used the backgrounds that came in the teacher binder I bought, and just added text. I also created files for absent students. I found the covers from Emily Noble, they come in three colors, with owls AND polka dots, and were free! My idea for these is to just place them on absent student's desks, and throughout the day if any papers are passed out they are just placed inside the folder so the student has everything they missed. I plan on laminating these later in the week to make these last as well.
Next, I made a binder for Substitutes. I put in some information of what I had from substitute teaching (like filler activities). I made generic sections for Lesson Plans, Student Information, Building/Emergency Procedures, Extra Activities, Please Leave a Note. I subbed in one classroom this year and I was really impressed by a similar binder a teacher left for me. Being new to the school, it was super helpful and she kept many pages in sheet protectors so it stayed neat, clean, and it could last her a long time. This is what the beginning of mine looks like:
I found at Office Max divider tabs that go by month. I used these in a binder I made for Lesson Plans so I can go back and look at them the following year.
I also have a binder for my Meeting Notes. I made tabs for Staff Meetings, Student Meetings, Parent Meetings, PLC, Professional Development, IEP, 504, and one extra tab. I know I will have to document many things, just to keep things on track and have a record of what actually happened. Here is what this binder looks like:
My final binder I made is for Data. Again, I found tabs at Office Max that were numbered 1-32. I plan on assigning numbers to my students so that way these numbers will coordinate with them. I also added a sheet at the back of each binder in the event that it gets lost, it has my name on it. This is what this binder looks like:
My last project for the night were some file folders. One set I created a file for Monday-Friday and another for "Copies for Next Week". These I plan on using to organize whatever copies I will need for the week, and have a place to keep files for the next week together. I used the backgrounds that came in the teacher binder I bought, and just added text. I also created files for absent students. I found the covers from Emily Noble, they come in three colors, with owls AND polka dots, and were free! My idea for these is to just place them on absent student's desks, and throughout the day if any papers are passed out they are just placed inside the folder so the student has everything they missed. I plan on laminating these later in the week to make these last as well.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Etsy Purchases
Since the 4th of July, I have seen an increase in job postings, but nothing dramatic. While I am waiting to hear back from the districts I have applied to, I have been doing some shopping on Etsy to keep me busy for the time being. I am so in love with my purchases! I might still buy more, but that will depend on the type of grade/school I will be teaching in. For now, here is a sneak peak at what I have for my room so far! Enjoy ;)
This is a picture of my name plate that I bought for my desk. It was completely customizable, and I think it it one of my favorite buys! I bought mine from HandCraftedHC, and you can view the shop here:
Next I bought a classroom door sign. Again, this was totally customizable and the seller sent me a proof of what it was going to look like before she made it. I had no issues with it and it came out great! This was bought from kasefazem and you can view the store here:
Now this was something I really didn't need, but I thought it was super cute! Another customizable product and fairly cheap considering it is a decorated hand sanitizer bottle. I bought it from lyricalletters and you can view the store here:
Birthday board! This was another one of my favorite purchases. Instead of having some giant display for birthdays, I found this fun little board that has painted chalkboard disks that I can change the names of my students each year. This will take up less wall space and looks way cute! I bought it from Havensplace and you can visit the shop here:
I bought this rubber stamp for a few reasons. One, I thought this would be great to stamp my books with so that way my name is in the book and should (ideally) never get lost. I also thought it would be good when I need to sign off on multiple things, and this would make it a lot faster. I bought this from cupcaketree, and you can view her shop here:
Finally I bought this "READ" sign for my room. I was able to get this in the theme that I'm making my classroom in, and I was able to choose the book characters I wanted to personalize it! I chose Dr. Seuss, because no matter how old you are, you can always have a love for Dr. Seuss books :) I bought the blocks from littlebluebirdcreate, and you can view the shop here:
This next week I don't have as much going on, so my game plan (in addition to always applying for jobs) will be to be crafty! I have a TON of things I want from TPT so I'm going to print them off, laminate them, and cut them out. These range from classroom posters, brain breaks, to word wall letters. I'm just doing the generic things I know that I want for sure in my room so that way I am even more prepared if I get hired last minute. I also have a few more things on my wish list of things I want from local stores in my area, so I will be going on a shopping spree this week! I will post with updates as I get them!
Next I bought a classroom door sign. Again, this was totally customizable and the seller sent me a proof of what it was going to look like before she made it. I had no issues with it and it came out great! This was bought from kasefazem and you can view the store here:
Now this was something I really didn't need, but I thought it was super cute! Another customizable product and fairly cheap considering it is a decorated hand sanitizer bottle. I bought it from lyricalletters and you can view the store here:
Birthday board! This was another one of my favorite purchases. Instead of having some giant display for birthdays, I found this fun little board that has painted chalkboard disks that I can change the names of my students each year. This will take up less wall space and looks way cute! I bought it from Havensplace and you can visit the shop here:
I bought this rubber stamp for a few reasons. One, I thought this would be great to stamp my books with so that way my name is in the book and should (ideally) never get lost. I also thought it would be good when I need to sign off on multiple things, and this would make it a lot faster. I bought this from cupcaketree, and you can view her shop here:
Finally I bought this "READ" sign for my room. I was able to get this in the theme that I'm making my classroom in, and I was able to choose the book characters I wanted to personalize it! I chose Dr. Seuss, because no matter how old you are, you can always have a love for Dr. Seuss books :) I bought the blocks from littlebluebirdcreate, and you can view the shop here:
This next week I don't have as much going on, so my game plan (in addition to always applying for jobs) will be to be crafty! I have a TON of things I want from TPT so I'm going to print them off, laminate them, and cut them out. These range from classroom posters, brain breaks, to word wall letters. I'm just doing the generic things I know that I want for sure in my room so that way I am even more prepared if I get hired last minute. I also have a few more things on my wish list of things I want from local stores in my area, so I will be going on a shopping spree this week! I will post with updates as I get them!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
How To Get Freebies In Your Room
I've been following WeAreTeachers on Facebook and I am always getting great things from them! They let me know when a shop on Teachers Pay Teachers has items for free that are popular, talk about current happenings in education, and even provide resources for teachers. Tonight I read a posting where it have a list of ways to get free/cheap supplies for your classroom. As I am going to be a first year teacher next year this was very helpful. I have so much I will need to buy to get started, there are plenty of great resources! Here is a link to the post I found, I strongly recommend following them on Facebook and on Twitter!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
2 A.M. Find!!!
I'm lying in bed, exploring Pinterest trying to get even more ideas for my classroom, when I go over a pin that was all about classroom organization. There were some really great things on this pin! I was scrolling through and I found something I LOVED! It is a collapsable file folder that can be hung on the wall! I have been thinking about having some sort of filing system where the students can turn in their papers and this thing is perfect for that. Not only does each section have labels (for the older kids) but it is color coded so the younger kids would know where to put their papers even if they can't read! PLUS at the end of the day/week all I will have to do is fold it up and I have all my papers neatly filed so I take take them home to grade. And it was fairly cheap too! Only $14.99, that and the fact that I am a terrible impulse buyer had me taking out my credit card at 2 A.M. :)
Such a good idea for teachers, thought I would share!
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