T is for Thankful

You can always tell it's November by the ridiculous amount of Facebook posts that begin with "Today I am thankful for...". Normally I do not participate in this, but I have A LOT to be thankful for this year, so I figured I'd give in to this trend ;).

I am thankful for my job. I know how hard it is to get a job right now, and I certainly know how hard it is to get a job in teaching. Waking up at 5 A.M. and driving to work in the dark every morning is awful. Writing lesson plans, attending dozens of meetings and trainings, and assessing students is exhausting (YES, we ASSESS in Pre-K...I even had to give a standardized test a few weeks ago). I will admit, sometimes I feel like teaching material gets more of an emphasis than teaching children. Despite these things, I am thankful that I am able to wake up every morning and drive to an awesome school. I am thankful that I am greeted every morning by enthusiastic coworkers who give 110% every day (seriously, my coworkers are incredible). I am thankful that I have an administrative team that not only goes to bat for their teachers but also shows compassion for each and every student. I am thankful that I am putting my degree to use in a job that I love. At a recent training, an instructor shared a quote with us, "We are planting trees under whose shade we may not sit." The paperwork is tedious, the hours are long, and the pay, to be frank, sucks, but that quote sums up why it is all worth it. :)

I am thankful for my students. I am thankful that I get to experience teaching an age group where EVERYTHING is new.  My kids have so many "AHA!" moments and it is incredible to watch their little minds at work. I am thankful for the dozens of laughs they provide me. I am thankful that I get the privilege of being their teacher, friend, confidant, and playmate. I am thankful for my students' families. It is no secret that my kids come from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite this, their parents give everything they have to make sure their children are getting a quality education. They communicate and cooperate with me. They attend school events. They volunteer in our classroom. They donate items to our classroom. They come and eat lunch with their kids. They bring me gifts for the classroom. Believe me when I say they are the BEST!!

I am thankful for my parapro. I shared this in a prior post, but when I began my job I was nervous about working with a parapro! I was nervous about working with someone who had been at my school, in Pre-K for sixteen years! Would she like me? Would she approve of my lessons? Would she judge me? Would she think I was a bad teacher? (Have I mentioned I am a worrywart?) I can't even put in words how amazing she is! She has gone through a lot of family issues this year but has still given her all to her job, to me, and to our students. On my first day she had flowers, a balloon, and a necklace waiting for me. She brings me fresh food from her garden and chocolate (doesn't she know I'm trying to fit into a wedding dress?!). I am so thankful for her advice, ideas, and friendship.


I am thankful for my friends (duh). They live ALL over the country, but they are the BEST. I am thankful for my teaching friends and the stories we can share about our first jobs and crazy students. I am thankful for my Augusta friends. I am thankful that we can go a few weeks without talking and pick right up where we left off. And, it goes without saying, I am always thankful for my best friend for every and any reason you could ever be thankful for a friend.

I am thankful for my Dad. Let's be real, he's the best. I am thankful that I can call and rant (or rave) about my day and he truly GETS IT. I am thankful that he comes to Atlanta just to paint our sunroom or fix a leak. I am thankful that when I go home to Augusta he STILL takes my car to get serviced or get gas (and yes, at the age of twenty-two I am well aware of how to pump gas on my own). I am thankful that he enjoys doing those little things for me. I am thankful that I am his daughter.

I am thankful for my Mom. She could essentially rule the world. I am thankful for the shopping trips she still takes me on even though I have a "big girl job." I am thankful for her SERIOUS assistance wedding planning. I am thankful for the groceries she buys us "just because." I am thankful that I can call her anytime (whether it be 3 A.M. or in the middle of a board meeting...whoops) and she is always there to listen or help. I am thankful that I am her daughter!

Of course I am thankful for Chris! I am thankful that he puts up with my incessant discussion of lesson plans and all things wedding. I am thankful that he doesn't question me when I say things like, "I'm going to make play-doh on the stove tomorrow" or "I signed you up to run the cake walk at my school's fall festival" or "I'm picking out what you're wearing for our engagement pictures." I am thankful that he understands when I have to spend all night working on school work or have mini-breakdowns about save-the-date designs. I am thankful that I get to spend my life with such an intelligent, driven, person. I am thankful for all of the memories we have shared over the last almost six (!!) years, and I am so thankful (and excited) for the life we are getting ready to start!

Happy November, everyone!! What are you thankful for? 

A is for Apple...

I feel like my life has been overtaken by apples! My class learned about apples the past two weeks, and Chris and I went to an apple orchard this past weekend!

We had the best time learning all about apples and doing all sorts of apple-centered activities! I believe in having a very text rich classroom, so I had lots of apple vocabulary words all around the room. I encourage the kids to use the vocabulary words when they are in the writing center.

The bottom picture shows cards that are actually a part of our curriculum; however, they are from lots of different units so I picked the words that applied best to apples and fall.

We did two fun "craftivities" (love that word, hah!). The first one we completed in the small group that I lead. We read the book Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss during large group. The book helps students learn to count to ten as the characters in the book keep stacking apples on top of their heads. We drew "self portraits" and then glued apples one-by-one on top of our heads! We are working hard on one-to-one correspondence!! Some of my higher students wrote the numbers on each apple 1-10.

Our second craftifity were these cute torn-paper apples the kids made. My sweet parapro led this small group. Side note -- One of the things I was most nervous about when I started this job was having a parapro! I thought I may be uncomfortable giving directions to a woman who is over thirty years my senior! Plus, she has been at my school for sixteen years! However, she is WONDERFUL and we get along so, so well! I seriously don't know what I would do without her. So thankful!! Anyway, developing fine motor skills is a very important aspect of Pre-K, so tearing the construction paper to make these apples was the perfect way to practice! We hung some of the apples on a tree my parapro made on our classroom door, and hung the rest in an AB pattern along our board. We are all about patterns right now in Pre-K!

 We celebrated the end of our first Apple Week by taste-testing three different types of apples (red, yellow, and green). When we finished tasting the apples, each child chose their favorite and wrote their name on the corresponding dicut apple. We graphed the results!

This little boy couldn't believe how sour the green apple was! His expression was sooo cute and he kept telling me, "It's tangy!!"

Um...how cute is his shirt?! TRUST ME, he is so suave he probably will be prom king one day!

We also made applesauce in the crockpot. We learned the steps involved in making applesauce, which gave us a great opportunity to talk about ordinal numbers. The kids were SO excited about the applesauce, but a few of them ended up not being too crazy about it (probably because it wasn't processed and prepackaged ;))!

Whew! Can't believe we packed all of that into one week. The second week of apples was pretty low-key because we had Monday off and I had training on Tuesday. However, we learned a cute poem about apples (complete with hand motions) and on Friday we had an Apple Party. I put balloons on my bulletin board before the kids came in and you would've thought it was Christmas by their reactions! They loved the balloons so much that I kept them up. One of my little smarties said "That's a pattern!" as soon as he walked in the door. Success! We listened to music and had apple cider, apple cereal, and more apples. Of course, we had to make a graph about the apple cider. Here are a few pictures from Apple Week #2! 

Coincidentally, Chris and I had planned to go pumpkin and apple picking right at the end of our apple theme. I definitely regretted not going to the apple orchard before we began our theme because there was so much fun stuff I wished I could've brought back for my class! 

We went to Mercier's Apple Orchard in Blue Ridge, GA. We chose to pick our own apples (you can just go inside and buy virtually any type of apple, but we wanted the whole experience). We decided on two bags of apples, not realizing just how many apples can fit in one bag. We ended up with sixty-one apples. I've baked an apple pie, given plenty of apples to my coworkers...and still we have a full drawer full in our fridge. I am not normally crazy about apple juice or apple cider, but the cider at Mercier's was INCREDIBLE, so we picked up a jug. We had such a fun day and I can't wait to go back next year! 

Next up...pumpkins! 

My Students

When I was being interviewed for my job, the principal mentioned that my school had a large Hispanic population. Now, I don't know why it didn't occur to me that some of my students may not speak English, but I went into my first day of teaching thinking that all of my students would easily be able to communicate with me, even if they were Hispanic. WRONG.

In my class of twenty-two students, all but one are Hispanic, and all but five speak little to no English. Because Pre-K is considered to be so language-based, we do not receive ESOL services. So...how do I communicate with my little learners?

Luckily, I took Spanish classes from the time I was in second grade up until my sophomore year of college. My Spanish was definitely a little rusty when I started my job...but it is incredible how much I have remembered and learned in these few short weeks. I have even been translating parent meetings for my coworkers! Usually, during a lesson or small group, I give my instruction in English and then repeat myself in Spanish. My county uses a curriculum that has a Spanish translation for EVERYTHING, and even though I don't rigidly stick to the curriculum (I like to incorporate themes into instruction), it is nice to have that resource available. I also have Spanish translations for nearly every display/material in my classroom and this helps to quickly name things and also helps to create a very text-rich learning environment.

I have one child in my class, "C," who speaks both English and Spanish very well, and he is such a great resource! He is my little translator. Oftentimes, when a child is upset or there is a problem between students, C will talk to the students involved, figure out the problem, and let me know. When I need help remembering the translation of certain words, C is always there to help me out! I am so thankful for him!

Finally, it is amazing how much English my Spanish-speakers can now understand. I think it is KEY to stick to a routine, regardless of the grade you are teaching. This routine really helps my Hispanic students because even though they may not be able to understand everything I am saying, they are learning the sequence of our days. We keep the same schedule each day, and they know when it is time for calendar, small groups, centers, etc. We go over rules and expectations every day, and so they know how to transition without me having to tell them over and over again (in English OR Spanish).

The hardest part about teaching Hispanic students is the fact that the vast majority of their parents speak absolutely no English. I believe that parents and teachers should work as a team to educate children, and speaking a different language than the parents definitely poses some challenges! Every note or newsletter I send home must be in English and Spanish (google translate has become my new best friend).  When I call a parent, I try to have a rough script drafted of the things I want to say (in Spanish), and also try to predict any questions or comments the parents may have so that I am prepared to respond appropriately. The same goes for when I know a parent is coming to the school to speak to me. Thankfully, when I have official conferences, a translator is provided. Regardless of the language issues that may separate us, I have incredible parents in my class. They are so involved in their kid's education and respond so well to anything I ask of them or their children. They have made me feel so welcome and comfortable at my school and I am truly thankful for that because I know that this is not always the case!

When I graduated, I never thought that I would be teaching in a classroom with so many students who do not speak English (and don't receive language services).  The past few months have been extremely challenging, but also so rewarding. I feel like both my students and I are learning together each day. I have learned that the bond and love between a teacher and his/her students absolutely transcends language and culture. My experience just goes to show that you NEVER know what opportunities and experiences lie ahead!!

The First Post!

I have wanted to start a blog for a long time now, but I never really knew what to write about. However, with as crazy as the past few months have been, I decided that I really just want to document everything happening in my life!

This past May, I graduated from Augusta State University with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  My road to becoming a teacher has definitely been a winding one! Many teachers say that they felt a calling to teach, or that they knew since they were children that teaching would be their profession. Not me! When I graduated high school in 2008, I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life...but I knew I definitely DID NOT want to be a teacher. I had just spent nearly every day of the past thirteen years with teachers, not to mention the fact that I lived with the ultimate teacher, my dad. So, I set off for college in August with the intentions of being pre-law, but still had no idea what I would major in. In my first year of college I think I declared at least four majors - English, political science, psychology, and nursing. Now, I have the most supportive parents in the entire world, but when they laughed in my face when I said I wanted to be a nurse, I knew yet another change of major was fast approaching.

The summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I decided that I couldn't avoid it anymore; I was destined to teach. After all, teaching was in my blood! At the very last minute, I withdrew from my current university (which didn't offer a major in education), and enrolled in Augusta State University in my hometown and immediately declared Early Childhood Education as my major. Transferring to Augusta State was hands down one of the best decisions I have ever made. During my time there, I student-taught in four incredible and unique schools, was instructed by the best professors, and made genuine, lasting friendships. Somehow, even after attending three different colleges, I managed to make up all my credits and graduate right on time in the spring of 2012.

The night of my graduation from Augusta State, Chris, my boyfriend of five-and-a-half years, proposed. What an awesome graduation present!! Two weeks later, I packed up all of my belongings, moved out of my parents' house in Augusta, and into a townhouse in Atlanta with Chris. I then began the arduous and downright depressing task of job hunting in a horrible market in a city where I knew NO ONE. June and July passed and hardly any jobs were even posted (despite the fact that there are 400 elementary schools within a 30-mile-radius in Atlanta). Finally, in August, I got my "big break." Three days after the school year started, I was hired to teach Pre-K at an AMAZING elementary school just a few miles from my house. I never anticipated that I would be teaching Pre-K, as most of my experiences have been in the upper grades. However, I am loving the challenges that each day brings.

I am so excited to chronicle my first year teaching, first year living in Atlanta, and my first (hah, just kidding - ONLY) year of wedding planning! Let the fun begin!