Flip-book

I have officially survived my first two full days of full time teaching in middle school!  I have to say teaching middle school is a drastic change from teaching first grade, as expected.  I believe I have finally made most adjustments and switches needed to adapt with the changes. It is great to give the students a little more freedom and independence, as at this level students are able to handle more independent work.  I have been working on creating and building student-teacher relationships and building a productive, yet positive community atmosphere where students are engaged, having fun, and learning!  I love being able to delve deeper into the science realm and release a little of my science nerd personality. 

Today, I was able to incorporate a ‘flip book’ idea I gained from my education classes at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.  My class was a little ahead of schedule and something needed to be used to fill time.  Thinking on my feet, I quickly came up with creating flipbooks of the vocabulary words we were studying for our new unit on Force and Motion.  I was extremely ‘proud’ of myself for referencing an old (but good) idea, as well the quick thinking which produced an engaging review/study tool that the students will be able to reference! :)

Force and Motion Flip-book

Force and Motion Flip-book: Term, Definition, Sentence

We are currently beginning a unit on Force and Motion and will start our Trolley lab tomorrow in class.  This lab, will take us a few days to complete as we need to create a problem statement and hypothesis, gather data, calculate averages, create graphs, and answer conclusion questions!  It is great be able to see students interacting, using inquiry skills and engaged in activity; this is one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE science! 

Trolley :)

Lastly, through my placement, I have been introduced to Twitter.  However, it may not be the way you are thinking.  Twitter is an exceptional tool to use as a professional learning network.  I have created a Twitter account to help me stay informed on new and upcoming teaching techniques including science, literacy, common core, technology and overall education related topics.  It is amazing how with technology so many great ideas can be shared with others, which of course directly impacts the learning experience of our students!  I am very excited to continue to learn more about using Twitter as a professional learning network and of course contributing my ideas to others as well! :)

Middle School

Hello Readers...

I am so sorry it has been so long.  I have been busy and to be honest kind of forgot about my blog for awhile.  I would like to post and update you on my current status.  I have begun my 2nd placement in middle school!  I am currently in an 8th grade science placement and it is going very well!  It is quite the change from first grade, but the kids are great and so far so good...

I am just finishing my spring break.  During break, I studied up by reading blogs and browsing pinterest for new ideas to incorporate into my middle school classroom.  I created a new seating chart for my classes, made a magnetic sign for daily targets, created a class-starter 'Riddles' power point, developed/formatted an idea for class breaks, and of course, had time to enjoy my family and friends!  I was also able to go and visit my little first-ies from my last placement.  I miss them so much and it was great to see them again!  I look forward to getting back to the middle school world tomorrow and incorporating my new ideas!  Only a few weeks till graduation and moving forward with future endeavors!

"Today's Targets": This magnet will hang on the white board and I will write the daily targets on the board so the students are aware of what we are going to accomplish each day!

These two magnets will be placed on the white board (one female scientist, and one male scientist).  Each day, one female student and one male student may take the magnet off the board and place it at their desk.  Throughout the class period they may choose a time when they would like to take a 'science break'.  That particular student will then have brought in a science article they will share with the class.  The student will share a brief summary on the article and explain why it is important or why we should care.  That student will then earn extra credit/participation points for the day! (This idea was adapted from the 'poetry breaks magnets' that were introduced to me by Dr. Ford from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh!)

Here's to a productive 8-weeks and looking forward to my future! :)

End of 1st Placement...

Ahhhh My first placement is already finished.  I can't believe how fast it went and I can honestly say I am very sad to leave. However, it makes me all the more happy to graduate and find a job of my own so I can have my very own class to love and look forward to teaching every single day!  I learned so much from my first placement and I am can only hope my second placement goes just as well.  I will be transitioning from 1st grade to 8th grade; it will be a huge switch but I'm excited to be introduced to another perspective/atmosphere of teaching.

I also had a chance to try out some pinterest finds which makes me very happy!  <3  pinterest!

Last but not least, I also began and introduced several aspects of whole brain teaching!  I love so many of the characteristics of whole brain teaching and I feel with more time and practice I would absolutely love to incorporate several aspects of whole brain teaching into my future classroom.  My absolute favorite piece is 'blow it in your hand'; the students blow the answer into their hand and when the teacher says release it...the students say out the answer!  The students love to do it and it gives me a chance to quickly see/hear who is on the right track.

Pictures:

Full Weeks

Hello Readers! :)

I know it has been wayyyyyyy too long since my last post, since then I have been full time teaching in the classroom!  I am surprised at how well it has been going.  To think that I have gone from NEVER teaching anything by myself to teaching EVERYTHING for an entire day/week in just a few short weeks is very exciting!  I truly believe I have grown a lot in confidence, ability and management during this placement.  I am again teaching a full week this week and can not believe I only have less than two weeks left in first grade.

I have also had an observation by my principal!  I was very happy that she was able to come and observe one of my lessons.  I received great feedback and also had a chance to meet with her one on one to discuss comments and questions.  I also set up another observation and I really hope she is able to come and observe me again for another lesson!  I appreciate receiving all the feedback I can to better myself as a professional! :)

I am still loving my placement and am beginning to get a little nervous/excited to begin my placement in 8th grade...I have enjoyed every minute of my first grade class but I'm also looking forward to the challenges and learning that I will gain with my new placement.  I believe it is extremely beneficial to have experience in all age levels to truly understand what all students need...I look forward to beginning my last placement and then moving forward to graduation and the job search!

I hope to post again soon with more specific details on my full week of teaching including lesson highlights and pictures! :)

Laura Numeroff//Dr. Seuss

Alright...It has been wayyyyyyy too long.  I have several pictures to share and of course an update on how things are going!  I am teaching a  lot now and it is definitely a challenge.  I love every second of being in the classroom and I enjoy my little first-ies and all the cute projects I can do with them!

Shared Reading/Writing: We have been working on a Laura Numeroff unit for interactive reading and writing.  We have read the book several times and created a circle map of the story using paper plates and clip art.  They were super cute but I forgot to get a picture of the final product. :(  This week, we decided after reading about cookies and milk we were hungry for some of our own cookies and milk!  We decided to do a taste test of different kinds of cookies and milk!  We then made a picture graph of our results, which just happened to perfectly fit into our unit 6 of math!  We are learning about using picture graphs and answering questions in math so this fit perfectly into our current curriculum!  :)

RTI Update: I teach a small group for reading intervention Monday-Thursday and the past two weeks we have been working on making connections with the text.  We read the book The Relatives Came and made connections with the story.  The following day, I gave each student a grape with a word on it.  Students had to find their partner/matching grape.  The student with the silver writing had to make a connection to the story, and the student with the black writing had to make a connection to their own life.  The activity went great and after the students had partner share time we presented our connections to the class and made the grape poster while enjoying some red grapes as a snack! :)

I also did a connection piece using the book Wemberly Worried!  Gotta love Kevin Henkes! :)  We read the book, made connections and then made a 'R.I.P. Said' Chart!  We discussed how word choice impacts our reading and writing and created a list of words to use in our writing instead of always using 'said'.  We then used the new word list to practice reading fluency, by reading with expression! :)

Writing: I taught my first week of Writing this week and it went pretty well.  Definitely had some challenges with trying to keep kids on track.  I am teaching an 'All About' unit which includes a how to paper, parts of page, kinds of page, about the author, table of contents, dedication etc.  It is challenging because students must stay on track and can not really fall behind or they will miss the next step.  Finding everyones topic was a little more difficult than I thought, but it seems we are doing alright! :)  I will be teaching full time  for the next two weeks; I am very excited!  I am so glad that I have been given this opportunity.  Teaching first grade is definitely different than any other experience I have had this far A LOT of lesson planning and teaching in every single day on top of the dozens of parent notes, emails and miscellaneous events that occur each and every day.

Dr. Seuss: Friday, was Dr. Seuss's Birthday! We celebrated in the classroom with Dr. Seuss read alouds, dress up day, snacks, and of course...art projects!!!  We made 'Thing One' from The Cat in the Hat.  The project turned out ADORABLE and I hung them in the school hallway for everyone to adore! :)

Reading: On Monday, I will be beginning Reading and I am doing the final celebration to wrap up the previous unit.  I found a super cute 'Superhero Scavenger Hunt' on pinterest and have adapted it to work for my reading unit celebration!  I am making superhero glasses for the kids to color and wear during the scavenger hunt and I can't wait to do the lesson; I think the kids will LOVE IT! <3  Pinterest  <3

Power Teaching: Last but not least, I have decided to try and incorporate some strategies of 'Power Teaching' into my classroom.  It has surprisingly went pretty well.  I just introduced some of the strategies on Friday and they are already doing pretty well with it.  I will continue with it for the duration of my placement and I will keep you posted on the results I see and successes! :)

Wishing you all a Happy and Relaxing Sunday!!! Can't wait to post after my first FULL WEEK of TEACHING!!! :)

P.S. Forgot to share this as well...Gift I got from my coop. teacher before I went to Madison for the weekend.  She knows I'm a baby on 'long' car rides and thought she would try to make it more bearable. I received a gift card for some Diet Cokes and Swedish Fish!!! :)  SO CUTE!

Leap Day!

Happy Leap Day! :)

 I wanted to post so I can always see the date on my blog! :) I will post soon with updates from my week; I will hopefully have a lot of pictures to share as well.  I have had a busy week and have done quite a few fun projects in my classroom!  I will post pictures and give details within the next few days...stay tuned!

Hibernation Pajama Day!

Today was our Hibernation Pajama Day!  It was a Blast!!!  The kiddos were so excited all day to ‘hibernate’ and do science…Mission Accomplished :)  First of all, my little first-ies were absolutely ADORABLE in their jammies!  Secondly…getting down to business.  We started by meeting in our classroom library to discuss what was all going to happen during our science lesson...aka…hibernation simulation!  Then, we became squirrels and scurried around the room to gather food to prepare for hibernation. The students scurried around the classroom searching for their ‘hibernation snack mix’ and set their snack bags on their desk for when we woke up…after hibernation, animals are hungry!!!  We then found a spot in the classroom to hibernate.  The students ‘hibernated’ while I read a story we all took our heart rate and counted our breaths per minute before and after our hibernation.  A thermometer in the classroom helped us to know when it was time to begin hibernating, as well as when to wake up from hibernation.  The students just LOVED this lesson.  We finished by gathering again (with our snacks) and talking about the life of a hibernating animal.  Students were able to understand what animals do to prepare for hibernation, when they hibernate, why they hibernate, what happens to their bodies when they hibernate (heart rate, breathing) and finally what they do when they wake up from hibernation!  The lesson was a complete success and the kids were 100% engaged!!!! :)

OWL Cupcakes!

OWL Cupcakes! 

On a Roll...

I am sooooooooo thrilled right now with the amount of lesson planning and organizing I accomplished today!  I picked up some stackable drawers to house my lesson plans and papers that I can bring to school and help to keep me organized.  With teaching multiple subjects and trying to plan and stay weeks ahead of schedule it was hard to keep everything organized.  I also picked up an accordion type folder to help keep my other papers and such organized.  Feels great! :)

I finalized all of my ongoing projects and units and made originals for all sorts of graphic organizers and such...I feel a bulleted list may be helpful to show off all my hard work!

• Science Unit (Hibernation and Migration)
• Printed and Cut animals for T-Chart Activity
• Printed Parent Letter on 'Hibernation Pajama Day'
• Made Thermometer for Hibernation Simulation 
• Shared Writing and Reading Unit (Laura Numeroff)
• Created Unit Plans
• Made up Vocabulary Cards then printed and cut them out
• Found Clip art for Story Map Project
• Created Model for Story Map Project (Super Cute!)
• Found Clip art for Milk cartons and Cookie Template for our Taste Test Graphs
• Created and Printed Taste Test Forms
• Social Studies Unit (American Symbols)
• Created Entire Unit and Lesson Plan Overview
• Created Graphic Organizers for Statue of Liberty and American Flag (Fact Sheets)
• Created Science Experiment Recording Sheets (Green Pennies)
• Created Assessment Forms for End of Unit 
• Word Study
• Made Paint Bags for students to use to practice writing their words! :)
• RTI
• Cut out 80 'Grapes' from purple construction paper for an activity
• Made a Tombstone for our 'Said is Dead' activity
• Created Sentence strips and cut out words for our Word Choice and Expression Activity
• Math
• Reviewed Upcoming lessons 

I feel as if today was a successful and productive day!  I feel GREAT and am super excited to teach the next few weeks; I feel prepared and I can't wait to show off all of my handwork and planning!

As for tomorrow...I will be sort of taking the day off of lesson planning and school work.  I will be attending my sister's dance competition pretty much all day.  I do hope to run to the public library tomorrow in between her dances to check out a few books for my social studies lesson.  I feel happy with my productivity this weekend and all I have gotten accomplished...here's to a great next few weeks!  I will spend the next day and half telling myself I'm ahead of schedule until Monday rolls around and I realize there is no such thing as 'ahead of schedule' as the lesson planning never ends...Good thing I absolutely LOVE what I do! :)

Good Night World and Happy Sunday! :)

V Day

Alright...as the days go by, I get busier and busier only have time for a quick blurb on our Valentine's Celebrations today and a few pictures! :)  I have been continuing to teach math and overall, it has been successful.  I have also started word study this week and so far so good!  This afternoon, we had our valentine's day party!  It was a hoot.  The kids just love passing out and looking at their valentines.  I have to admit I made out pretty good too (picture below).  I think it's safe to say my kiddos love me! <3  However, its also safe to say I LOVE THEM just as much! :)  My valentine glow sticks were a success, the kids definitely had enough treats as it was so the glow sticks were a great choice.  During our party, we turned off the lights and had a glow stick dance party.  ADORABLE to say the least.  Let's just say I'm still loving first grade...As for tomorrow, I'm hoping my black bean and corn salsa goes over as well as the puppy chow I brought in on Monday!  Lastly, I hope to post soon with a more detailed update!

*Also pictured, a picture of my 'Queen of Clean' Desk Fairy Award!  I will be checking for clean desks tomorrow morning and someone will be lucky to receive a treat from...The Queen of Clean! :)  (Idea Compliments of Pinterest) :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY <3

Valentine Goodies from my Kiddos!

Desk Fairy Award :)

Pictures!

Alright keeping this short and sweet, but I did want to share a few photos!  My sister has reminded me that I still haven't posted the 'Love Monster' photos.  So I will upload those now! :)  I am also sharing a picture of my valentines.  I think they turned out pretty cute!  Even though they do not contain any candy, I think the kids will still love them!  I am getting busier and busier with adding on new content areas and trying to stay ahead on lesson planning.  I have a small group and large group seminar this week and I have signed up for staff treat on Wednesday.  I will be making my mom's famous 'black bean and corn salsa'....hope to do it justice! :)  Sorry for the short post tonight, I will hopefully post more this week. I've had a wonderful but busy weekend and need to continue prepping for tomorrow!

Gingerbread Man

You would NOT believe what happened today!!!!  Our class has been 'studying' gingerbread books for a few weeks now we have read several different gingerbread books with another classroom.  Yesterday, we decided to make our very own gingerbread man to eat as a snack.  So today, we decorated the gingerbread man but...shucks time for recess. We took a few precautions by closing and locking the door.   When we came back....You guessed it...HE WAS GONE!!!! There was frosting on the door handle, frosting on the desks, and sprinkles and candy all over the floor!  The kids ate it up; absolutely loved it.  We are now on the search for our lost gingerbread man.  Tomorrow we are going to brainstorm ideas of how to find him, writing an announcement, making wanted posters etc.  It was so fun to see the kids excitement and of course a fun, creative way to get students to love reading and writing! :)

Secondly, I placed my first book order tonight!  My coop. teacher is generous enough to allow me to take over the book order process.  It is great to have the chance to have this responsibility to see how the process works, understand the 'behind the scenes' time and work of a book order and of course the benefits!!!! With this order, I was able to get $20 in free books with teacher coupons and I earned 1047 bonus points to spend toward free books!!!! :)

Overall, today was a great day I did a fun writing activity using shaving cream and the kids loved it...got a little messy of course but sometimes messy is fun!  I'm looking forward to the weekend as I hope to catch back up and hopefully try to get ahead on some planning and organization!

Night! :)

1st Observation (Math)

First, Let's play catch up...
Yesterday, I had a super busy day.  I taught a lot, which was awesome!  I had morning calendar, word wall, read aloud and math!  The math lesson was definitely a learning experience.  I had asked my students to take out a blue, green, orange and red crayon.  Not fully understanding the first grade mind at this point, I did not realize the task that lay ahead.  Soon I had Mrs. Bolwerk, Mrs. Bolwerk is this blue or purple; Mrs. Bolwerk I only have red violet; Mrs. Bolwerk what does this say? Me: Forest Green; Student: Aww man, I don't think I have a green; Me: Forest green is green, that will be just fine!  After ten minutes of determining crayon colors the lesson could begin....I found this entire situation quite comical, it proved to be a great learning experience for me to understand the mind of a first grader and how literally they took my instructions.  After school, I stayed late to copy all of the word study sheets for the next 5 weeks.  We have two groups so it was a lot of copying.  With some organization, half a box of paperclips, and some quality time in the copy room, I have all my word study lists set for the rest of my placement!  After that, I met my coop. teacher at Mc Donald's for my school's Family Night.  We mostly just mingled around and reminded people to mention the school before ordering!  It was a great opportunity to meet some parents and show my support to the school and community!  I had a great time! :)

Today...
Today I had my first university supervisor observation.  I was welcomed to school with a 'good luck' card and gift from my coop. teacher....too cute! (Picture Below) :) I had my supervisor observe during a math lesson.  Overall, I thought the lesson went well; I am very pleased with how the lesson turned out. My students understood the lesson and met my objective! :)  After school we had our first all staff meeting; it was actually kind of fun to sit in on! After the meeting, I talked with the principal for a few minutes asking about the teacher in-service, and about coming in to observe a few lessons!  I am happy I got the chance to make a connection with her again today!  I feel like I am truly blessed with my placement and I feel totally welcomed by all teachers and staff in the building.  I continue to build relationships within the 1st grade team and throughout the building! Soaking in everything I can during this time and trying to make the most of every opportunity; so far I just LOVE STUDENT TEACHING!!!! :)

'Good Luck' Gift from Coop. Teacher :)

1st Math Lesson

I had a Wonderful Day Today!!! :)  I had my first 'real lesson' and it went very well, if I do say so myself.  I felt like the kids were pretty engaged and most of the kids were keeping up and understanding the lesson.  After the lesson, I talked with my coop. teacher; she also thought the lesson went well.  Her only suggestion was that I wait for attention longer towards the end of the lesson.  The math lessons are a long time for first graders to sit and learn towards the end.  They get a little distracted and she just said that I did a great job in the beginning with attention but towards the end I could have waited longer or tried harder to get everyones attention before continuing.  I agreed!  However, I am extremely pleased with how my first lesson went and am happy to continue taking on more and more responsibilities in the classroom!

This afternoon, we made our MONSTER BAGS!  I found the idea on pinterest and put my own spin on it.  The kids LOVED it!  The monsters turned out super cute and the project actually went pretty smooth...much better than the crowns ;) I forgot to get pictures but I will take some tomorrow and post pics then...they are just too cute! :)

Week 3

Wow! I can NOT believe it is already week 3!!!! Seems like time is flying already.  This week, I take over all of the morning routines and procedures...checking agendas, lunch count, attendance, calendar and morning math routines.  I also continue with the interactive read aloud, word wall, transitions, and then I will be adding math as well.  I'm excited to take over math, but a little nervous.  I have some math experience from my clinical placement; however, teaching 4th grade math verse teaching 1st grade math is a little different.  First graders are still learning EVERYTHING and almost every concept is new to them so I'm slightly nervous to make sure everyone is understanding the material while also making sure I get everything covered.  This just means, a little more practice with differentiation and flexibility.  I'm up for the challenge and excited to post on how my lessons go this week!

Tomorrow we will also be making our Valentine's Mailboxes.  We are making 'monster bags' compliments of pinterest.  They are super cute little monsters made out of lunch bags for students to put their valentine's in! :)

Overall, I have a busy week this week with taking over more responsibilities, morning bus duty, a 1st and 2nd team meeting, an all staff meeting, McDonald's Family Night, my 1st observation, a small group meeting and a SST meeting...Hoping for a successful week filled with new insights and lots of learning! :)

Post-it Note :)

Today was a typical day...I just wanted to share a post-it note I received, definitely made me smile! :)

I especially love the spelling; he sounded it out perfectly! :)

Crowns...

Hmmmm...Today was "one of those days" I wouldn't say it was a bad day, but just not a great day. To begin, today was the 100th day of school. I wore my crown out to greet the students and said "HAPPY 100TH DAY!!!!" The kids loved it! and couldn't wait to make their own crowns....we began our Intervention time this morning for the first day. It is a new district wide 'program' that splits students into groups by their reading level and gives them 20/25 minutes a day of individualized instruction based on their needs for their level and how they can grow as readers! It is really neat and I am glad I am able to see the process begin and take shape!

Then, we began making the crowns...here is where the day begins to be 'just one of those days'...If you saw the picture, the students are supposed to add 100 strips of paper to their crowns to resemble 100 days. Well, sometimes a person forgets the organizational skills and abilities of a 6 or 7 year old child. Let's just say there is probably not one kid who actually has 100 'strips' on their crown...kids lost count, couldn't count to 100, mixed their piles, dropped strips, got sick of gluing all the strips individually etc. It was semi chaotic but all in all a great learning experience. I have to admit I was glad the students had to leave for art I was able to reflect and 'cool off' from the said catastrophe. I talked with my coop. teacher and she said that projects can be chaotic but the students enjoy them. We then discussed things I could have done differently such as more modeling and perhaps providing some sort of graphic organizer for the students to put their 10 piles. Such as a paper with 10 squares that they could have put their piles of ten onto to help keep them organized and know what count they were on. GREAT IDEA! I have to admit I was extremely frustrated and upset with myself on how this project was turning out. Regardless, the students came back from art and we finished up the crowns and it turned out great. The students loved their crowns and felt extra special wearing them around school today! On a side note, I would like to add a funny comment I said not thinking today to a student...one student was not very far on their strips and falling a little behind. She said to me "I'm never gonna finish" so I said to this student..."A little less talking, a little more stripping" (hahaha) of course not thinking the meaning; both my teacher and myself laughed no big deal of course they didn't get it just a little funny for the adults in the room!

For the most part, the day went up from there. The kids LOVED the cupcakes (of course) and seeing the frosting on their face, hands, arms, foreheads etc. was cute and worth the effort! I ended the day with a meeting which was a great experience for me to sit in and be a part of. As for tonight, I will be working on math lessons and enjoying some dairy queen in hopes to end on a positive note! :)

100th Day

Today was a great day! Everything went smoothly being the 2nd week of my placement, I am now in charge of Morning procedures including getting the students in the morning, lunch count, attendance and agenda checks; transitions to and from 'specials'; word wall (taught my first lesson today); Interactive Read Aloud and dismissal procedures. I am also still helping out with other lessons as well as continuing to observe guided reading groups and conferences as well as trying a few on my own! Next week, I will add Math and Interactive/Shared Writing to my responsibilities!

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school! I am excited because I have planned a little 'party' if you would like to call it that, to celebrate! In the morning we will be making 100th day crowns to wear around school all day...and yes, of course I will be wearing mine too! :) The crowns have a part that say 'Happy 100th Day of School' and around the edges we will be adding 100 strips of paper...The students will work on counting out groups of tens before glueing them onto their crown! We will also be reading Fancy Nancy 100th Day of School while enjoying a juice box and a 100th day cupcake! The cupcakes turned out pretty well I used pretzel sticks (broke in half) and mini oreos for the numbers! :) (Pictures Below)

Tonight I also made cookie dough brownie bites for Paul's work cook out tomorrow! They turned out nice but are super sweet! I am spending the rest of my evening working on my class valentine's and doing a little non-fiction professional reading to help prepare for the 'All-About' Writing Unit I will be leading! :)

True Happiness

Today was another wonderful day in the first grade! I am still LOVING my placement and I enjoy being in the classroom more and more everyday...Today I had a moment where I was sitting in the room, soaking up the atmosphere and I just couldn't help but smile! I feel so lucky to be where I am in my life, I have a loving family, a supportive husband, and a future career that I am absolutely in love with!!! I couldn't be happier with how things have worked out for me! :)

Today, we had a field trip this morning, it went very well and made the day fly by. This afternoon, I had a chance to make a project with the students it was a Valentine's Day Themed Locker decoration! I found the idea on pinterest (of course) I'm undeniably obsessed! The activity went well, however; I did not plan the hand washing aspect so well...the line got a little long but overall the activity went great, the students enjoyed it and I learned something new!

Tonight I didn't have a whole lot of 'homework' to do, so I was able to spend the evening with my husband...Today is our 8th year anniversary of being together!!! <3 I then spent the night preparing a dessert for his work party on Wednesday for the companies 10 year anniversary and began making cupcakes for the 100th day of school on Wednesday (will post pictures tomorrow)!


Project Pictures (Valentine's Locker Decorations):

Ahead of Schedule

I had such a great weekend!!! I am trying to keep ahead of schedule as long as possible with Student Teaching! I already have two projects ready for Valentine's Day as well as my valentine's idea in mind and three valentines games all set for our party! I also have my idea in mind for our St. Patrick's day decorations...

This weekend I...
-Read all of Mr. Popper's Pengiuns so I am prepared for Interactive Read Aloud
-Read 3 Sections of 'Nonfiction Writing: Procedures and Reports' (Lucy Calkins & Laurie Pessah)
-Made a list of word wall activities for future lessons
-Completed my word wall lesson plans for this week
-Typed up 3 Math lesson plans
-Found a super cute How-To Writing Activity
-Looked into ideas for teaching SS and Science in upcoming weeks
-Ordered fun supplies for future projects
-Created a Reading and Writing Lesson Plan Binder which includes mini lesson graphic organizer sheets

As well as....Had dinner at my parents, went shopping, expanded my classroom library and went to dinner with another couple all while having time to relax on the couch and catch up on TV shows! Now it is time to pack up my bag for tomorrow and make sure I am set for our Field Trip tomorrow!!!

Here's to a successful Week 2! :)

Week One

Week One is over already...I have to say it was nothing short of FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely LOVE my placement and school! My coop. teacher is extremely helpful and definitely making this experience all about me and helping me to learn and grow as much as possible! The entire building staff is extremely welcoming and I have built several connections and relationships with other professionals!

Thursday: I began taking over some of the morning procedures such as checking agendas, lunch count, and attendance. I also took over the Interactive Read Aloud. I have to admit I was a little nervous because my teacher does an amazing job of 'thinking out loud' and having students picture things in their mind and make predictions throughout the reading. This is something I have not had much experience with but I believe I did a great job. I prepared by pre-reading the chapters and making mental notes of times I could interject and have students practice reading skills. I also had my first small group seminar on Thursday evening. The seminar was great, our supervisor invited us to her home and we were treated to an array of snacks! :) It was great to see other student teachers and be able to talk about our first week and experiences! The seminar was extremely helpful in answering questions and planning out expectations and plans for the semester!

Friday: Friday Already!?!?! Friday I continued to do morning routines and the Interactive Read Aloud. I think the read aloud went extremely well today and I am happy with my progress already! My teacher says 'I'm a natural!' :) I held several reading and writing conferences with students and made final preparations for my first Valentine's Locker Decoration Craft which I will be doing with the students on Monday!

I can not believe the first week is already done. I am so happy in my placement and am excited to keep learning and growing from my coop. teacher. I am truly blessed to be a part of such a welcoming school and to be learning from such an amazing first grade teacher! This weekend I am trying to stay ahead of the game and look into ideas for upcoming units and lessons I will be teaching during my placement. I also plan on making my students Valentine's, writing a few math lesson plans, doing some reading in my professional development books, and planning my word work activities for next week! My goal is to keep ahead of schedule as long as possible!


<3 Teaching <3

Busy Busy Busy

It has already been 3 days...and I have been loving every single minute of it! I am so happy with my placement I feel blessed to be in such a wonderful school. Everyone has been extremely welcoming and helpful! I was quickly embraced into the first grade teaching team (6 teachers in total)! The overall staff seems very friendly and eager to strike up conversation! I have been invited to join several teachers for lunch in the lounge or to join them on Fridays when they head out for a quick 'off campus' lunch break.

Day 2: Let's see, on the second day of my placement I continued to observe the main procedures of the classroom. I was able to see reading and writing for the first time as well. With the celebration of Chinese New Year on day one, we did not have time to cover reading and writing in the normal format. My coop. teacher was extremely helpful in explaining her procedure to me. Also, the reading I did before beginning my placement was truly a great help! I had the opportunity to observe a few conferences and strategy groups before trying my own conferences with students. My coop. teacher allows me to work independently and try out conferences without the pressure of her continuous observation. It definitely helps me to feel more relaxed when trying these conferences out for the first time. Day 2 I had a lot of questions about the reading and writing structure and learned a lot of new information about guided reading and writers workshop. I had a meeting after school about an intervention strategy that will begin in our school on Feb. 1st. Basically, the first 25 minutes of every school day ALL the first graders are split into their reading level group and then students move to their specified intervention teachers room. Then, that teacher will work with the selected students to improve on and work on level appropriate material to help the students grow as readers! It is a great opportunity to be a part of something like this. This is the first time the school is doing anything like this and it will be very helpful to have the chance to work with the first grade team on planning and organizing this new strategy.


Day 3: Today, I was mostly all hands on deck. I walked around the room helping out students with whatever help they needed. I was able to do a few reading and writing conferences and work with some of the struggling math students and try to help them understand strategies to find the answer. We are currently working on using our fingers, drawing a picture (sticks and circles) and/or using a math mountain to solve our work problems. I was also introduced to the word wall today and how that is used in our classroom. This was extremely interesting to me, because I will be taking over all the word wall activites next week! Tomorrow, I will be taking over control of some of the morning routines such as lunch choices; lunch count; attendance and interactive read aloud. This is something I am very excited for because it is not your average read aloud. The teacher does not just read a story for fun, rather she reads the story for purpose. While reading, she points out several strategies good readers do while reading. She basically uses a 'think out loud' approach to this and explains to the students her feelings while reading, her predictions, the picture in her mind etc. I am excited to practice this strategy tomorrow and in the future weeks of my placement!

I feel like I have been very busy at home the last few nights with preparing valentine crafts and locker decorations as well as reading some resource books, looking over math lessons and keeping up with University work as well. I am enjoying every minute of this experience and plan to make the most of every opportunity! Tomorrow after school, I have my first meeting with my University Supervisor; I am excited to see the other student teachers and hear how their experience is going. I feel very lucky that I have a great coop. teacher and a well managed classroom to learn in and I feel I will truly benefit immensely from my time in this placement!


“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” -Sarah Caldwell

First Day

The first day has finally come...I had an absolutely wonderful day! I was greeted with a card and care package from my coop. teacher! I got some post its (my favorite), some sticker packs, a bottled water, some snacks, pencils and a resource book! Very nice thought and definitely started my day with a smile. :) Shortly after organizing my new desk, it was time to pick up the kiddos! I was so excited to finally meet all of the students! At first, I was a little nervous as I didn't think the students looked like the pictures I had been studying. However, after only a few minutes I had the names down and could tell one red student from the next! :)

Today, I spent most of the time observing a normal day in first grade! However, I had the chance to do my introduction activities. First, I introduced myself to the class with a flashback of 'Mrs. Bolwerk in 1st grade' my school picture, my favorite story etc. I then showed the students the scrapbook I made and told them it would be available to be looked at further during free times! After my introduction, I took the opportunity to play a little introduction game with my students to practice names and learn a little about them! The kids loved the activity and it was a great way to make a better connection with the students.

My coop. teacher spent some time in China and today was Chinese New Year; therefore, we spent some time today examining some of her Chinese artifacts; reading a few Chinese New Year books and making our own dragon puppets! We then paraded our dragons around the classroom and school to get rid of any bad luck! The kids loved it and were learning in the process...score!

This week, I am spending most of my time observing and getting to know the students. I am extremely excited to see what the rest of the week brings; I had a great first day and I'm happy to see what the next few weeks entail! :)

As for the rest of the night, I have to go rummage the closet for some orange to add to tomorrow's outfit and then I plan to relax and surf Pinterest! :)

E-X-C-I-T-E-D

Ahhhhhh I can NOT wait...in 12 hours I will be waking up and getting ready for my first day as a Student Teacher! I ran around all day today to finish up and make final touches to all my projects and introduction materials. I made a 'Meet Mrs. Bolwerk' scrapbook to show the kids and let them look through. My teacher had made a story about herself in the beginning of the year and the kids ate it up; thought I would put my own spin on the idea! :) I found out its character week at my school this week which presented two challenges; picking out a new first day outfit that was red and also trying to learn student names when they are all wearing the same colored shirts all week...haha...I'm up for the challenge! Ending my night by packing my lunch and my bag so I have nothing holding me back come morning! Can't wait to post tomorrow night with my first update as an official STUDENT TEACHER!

Minnesota

Curled up in the car with my blanket, computer and a skinny turtle mocha from Caribou Coffee; one of my favorite indulgences from MN! :) I’d say it has been a successful two-day trip. We got to go out to dinner with a good friend and enjoy a nice long day of shopping at Ikea and the Mall of America today. It was nice to get away for one last hurrah before I dive into my student teaching placement on Monday. I am extremely excited…I have been quizzing myself on my student’s names all weekend and I still have all day tomorrow to mentally prepare, choose an outfit, and make some final preparations to make sure my first day is an absolute success! I’m pretty relaxed at the moment but I know it will be hard to catch any sleep tomorrow night; therefore I am hoping to catch a nap on the ride home and force myself to bed early tomorrow night! As winter break is coming to a close, I look back and am very pleased with my overall progress and successes with crossing things off my ‘winter break to-do list’. Now I will leave with my ‘Student Teaching First Day Success Material List’…

Student Teaching First Day Success Material List:

•Positive Attitude
•Eagerness to learn from coop. teacher
•Smile :)
•Students names memorized
•Introductory Activity x2
•Cute Outfit
•Nutritious Lunch
•ST Binder
•Notebook and pencils
•Teacher Tote Bag
•School ID Badge
•Fun Read Aloud Book

I think I’m set…now only approx. 36 hours to go! :)

Reading Notes

Hello Everyone! First, I have to comment on my successful baking attempt. The chocolate chip cookie-oreo-brownies were a hit! :) I mean how couldn't they be with that mixture of ingredients! It's a small step in the cooking world, but for me that's truly a milestone! Secondly, I want to comment on the books I have been reading this week. All the books have been very informational and will surely be helpful in my student teaching placement, as well as in my future classroom. I am excited to use this information to help me be a successful literacy teacher. I would like to share a few key points in my reading that stood out to me...

1. Writing Workshop: Set students up for success with a variety of paper choices including folded paper for brochures and informational texts, Lined and formatted paper for letter writing, lined paper with a picture box for descriptive writing etc.

2. Guided Reading: Leads students to independent reading! Small groups; encourage students to read entire text; over time read more challenging books; Main Goal= Have students read for meaning at all times!

3. Word Sorting: 3 Main Types= Sound, Meaning and Pattern; Teacher Directed and Student Directed; Timing- Teacher Instruction 15-20 followed with 10 minutes daily;

Mock Schedule: (1st Grade)
Monday: Picture Sorting
Tuesday: Drawing and Labeling
Wednesday: Cutting and Pasting
Thursday: Word Hunts/ Word Banks
Friday: Games

Activities (Tips):
1. Repetitive writing is not helpful
2. Writing out sentences can be overdone; stick to choosing 5 words and writing 5 sentences NOT one for every word.
3. Instead of alphabetizing...Categorize (sound, pattern, meaning)!
4. Word searches, Hangman and Spelling bees do not help students learn material

Those were just a few snips of my notes from the reading. I hope some of you find something useful from my notes and I encourage all of you to pick up any of the books...all are great resources!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I have just crossed the Minnesota border and am on my way to Minneapolis for a mini-getaway before beginning my Student TEaching Experience on Monday!!!!!! My husband and I are off to visit a friend who we don't get to see as often as we would like. He was a groomsman in our wedding and shortly after moved to MN :( but hey, we now have an excuse to visit MN and the Mall of America! :) On the car ride, I have been busy reading, planning an introduction activity for my students, and memorizing student names! I am doing pretty well; however, I am nervous that with different hair styles and clothing choices I will struggle...wish me luck! I am extremely excited to begin and can't believe it is only a weekend away! I can't wait to finally begin blogging about my student teaching experience and my professional growth during this learning opportunity! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and to all my fellow student teachers out there...GET READY!!! :)

"Find a Job you LOVE, and you will Never have to work another day in your Life!" -TEACHING :)

The Nerves are Setting In

Alright...only a few days away and the nerves are setting in. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely excited to get back into a classroom and begin my student teaching adventure. However, I am starting to get slightly nervous...nervous of the unknown, expectations, afraid I'm forgetting something, and first impressions.

I am a very organized person and usually ahead of the game on preparation and planning. However, with getting into the classroom to observe the normal day before I have the chance to plan material and lessons is a little unsettling.

Not to be modest, but I do know that I am good at what I do. I love teaching and I honestly feel if your heart is in the right place, the rest comes naturally. I am excited to work with the students and build my confidence and skill level in multiple ways during my experience.

Alright...plan for the rest of the evening...My husband just celebrated his 5 year anniversary at his job...therefore, he asked his 'betty crocker' of a wife to whip something together for him to bring to work. Several problems with this request; mac and cheese, hamburger helper and spaghetti are about as gourmet as this girl gets. Now, if he called up his sister-in-law she could easily whip up a 5 course meal with ease. Therefore, I immediately hit up my new addiction...Pinterest. I found a chocolate chip, oreo, brownie dessert bar. It looked to die for and after eating too much it could probably kill you but if you know my husband, he LOVES his desserts. Therefore, I showed him the picture and away we went to the store. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have good news on the success of this dessert with his co-workers!

Now that the dessert is in the oven I plan to dive into some more of my literacy homework...Tonight's reading entails...

Hope to update tomorrow with results of baking and any new tips I learn from tonights reading! :)

Confidence:
"Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and twice as beautiful as you'd ever imagined" -Pinterest

Literacy 'Homework'

Hello everyone!  I received some 'homework' from my coop. teacher to help prepare me for the type of literacy they use in the district.  I found the reading to be extremely beneficial and I learned a lot and picked up quite a few tips that I plan to share with all of you!

Reading Notes: Growing Readers (Kathy Collins)
Guiding Principles:
1.   Readers have time to read just right books everyday
2.   Readers select their own appropriate books
3.   Readers take care of books
4.   Readers respect each others reading time and reading lives
5.   Readers have daily opportunities to talk about their books in genuine ways
6.   Readers don’t just read the words but also understand the story
7.   Readers’ work in the independent reading workshop is replicable outside the classroom

Structure of an Independent Reading Workshop
1. Mini Lesson

a. Connection: connect with previous lesson, current unit, and/or student work
b.Teaching Point: present point verbally and re-state throughout
c. Active Engagement: give students opportunity to practice; plan; and/or talk
d. Link to Ongoing Work: restate teaching point and tell students your expectations for them moving forward
*Extra Tips: limit student talk; keep connection brief (less than 30 seconds); state lesson objective and keep restating; MODEL; use a familiar text; match the active engagement to the teaching point

2. Private Reading Time
a. Begin with students reading independently in their reading spot
b. Students are allowed to talk to students around them for help
c. Expect a quiet buzz (low noise level) in the room
d. Teacher meets with reading groups during this time

3. Mid-Workshop Teaching
a. Students find reading partner (relocate)
b. Expect noise level to raise slightly (teacher should monitor)
c. Teacher meets with reading groups and/or partner groups

*Reading Conference Tips:

• Move to student (do not have student move to you)
• Conference should last approx. 3-5 minutes or less
• During conference: review last conference strategy, listen to reader and jot notes, give the reader a compliment, teach skill/strategy,  practice strategy, tell student to continue to use this new strategy in their reading!

4. Teaching Share Time
a. Use this time as a lesson reinforcement (model good student behavior)
b. Use this time to add on to the lesson (acknowledge good behavior and add on or give another quick tip)
c. Use this time as a mini lesson preview (tell students what is coming next)
d. Use this time to problem solve (behavior management)

I found this text to be extremely informative and it definitely helped me to know what to expect in the classroom.  I hope some of you will take something away from this and learn a new tip or two to try in your classrooms! This is the first post of many that will include reading suggestions and quick tips and suggestions that I learn on my student teaching journey!

Enjoy :)

Success

Alright, overall I'd call today a success first let's take a look at my goals:

Wake up early: debatable :)
Workout: success
Work on 'To Do List': work in progress/success (made some progress)
Watch Ellen: success
Make Dinner: Vegetable Lasagna, Side Salad and Fresh Fruit=success

Today was a successful day, and I hope to continue that success tomorrow by getting some more things crossed of 'the list'.  Keeping today's post short and sweet.  Hope you all had a wonderful day as well!

"Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it"-pinterest

May tomorrow be a successful day for all! :)

Time Flies

It's almost Wednesday and winter break is winding down...I am extremely excited to get into the classroom in a few short weeks.  I have a bit of light reading to do from my coop. teacher to familiarize myself with the learning strategies used in the classroom.  I also need to get moving on that 'To Do List' I was talking about.  Tomorrow I am hoping for great things, I plan to wake up early, workout, work on a few things on that "never-ending" to do list, sneak in some Ellen and make dinner for the husband!  Hopefully tomorrow evening I can write of my successes of all of the above!

"Teachers who love teaching, Teach children to love learning" -pinterest :)

Night.

To Do List...

Today  I had my Student Teaching Orientation Meeting...It was extremely exciting going and seeing everyone as well as knowing student teaching is approaching quickly!!! :)  However, I feel like my to do list just grew ten-fold.  If you know me at all I am a planner, pretty well organized and usually ahead of the game.  This meeting made me feel a little behind and overwhelmed with all of the tasks we were instructed to complete.  I immediately went home and started working on these items and created a plan of attack to get everything done and done well! :)  I am very excited to student teach and get into a classroom and have the opportunity to learn from the professional teachers in the building.  This excitement is what will keep me going and get me through my seemingly never ending to do list!

Eat. Sleep. Teach. (Titan Teacher) :)

Meet the Teacher

Ahhhh Today was an extremely exciting day; I got to meet both of my cooperating teachers that I will be working with for student teaching!!!!  I couldn't' tell you if I was more nervous or excited to meet my teachers.   I could hardly sleep last night....

First, this morning I met with my 4th term coop. teacher.  I will be working with a 8th grade science teacher and I am extremely excited.  I took a little tour of the 8th grade wing of the school and was introduced to a few of the other team teachers.  Everyone was very welcoming and I feel that this will be a great fit.  I can not wait to get back to middle school!

Secondly, I got to meet my 3rd term coop. teacher.  She was very nice and extremely organized.  I received a little binder and lesson plan packet along with a list and picture of all the students! :)  I will have 21 little first grade minds to mold and sharpen!  I can not wait to work with first graders and expand my confidence with early literacy development with my coop. teacher.

Today was a milestone in my step towards achieving my dream!  I can not wait to get back into the classroom and expand my skills and confidence as a growing teacher!

Heres to starting my Student Teaching Journey!!! :)

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my blog!  I am new to the blogging world but I am very excited to begin and track my teaching journey and adventures as a homemaker.  This will be a lighthearted and friendly blog that will allow a little insight to my crazy adventures in learning to cook and learning and growing as a professional teacher!