First Day in First Grade!

Yesterday was my first day in my first grade internship.  I love this classroom!  My teacher graduated from ETBU in 2007 and has been teaching for 6 years.  She is so sweet and makes me feel welcome in her classroom. 

The students were excited to have an new face in the classroom.  I got to listen to them read and watched them sound out words.  Its crazy to think that just a year ago they were where those kindergarteners were.  Learning is a cool, cool thing. 

My teacher used a lot of great classroom management tools.  I loved that she sang to the kids and the kids sang back.  She used a clip system in her classroom.  This is become very popular from my perspective. 

She used a lot of YouTube videos as transitions and introductions to the lessons she was teaching.  Here are a few:

 These are the 2D Shapes That I Know

These are the 3D Shapes That I Know

Verb Rap Song

I cannot wait to see what next Thursday will bring!  Have a beautiful day!

Last Day at Kindergarten...

Oh Thursday was a rough day. I loved my kindergarten classroom I was interning in. The students all gave me big hugs and said sweet goodbyes. I may or may not have cried in my car before I left the school. 

On Thursday I got to read a story to the class. This was my first time this semester being with the whole classroom. I had to manage them and extend lessons and use all of those things they taught us in all of those classes they make us take. I left that day feeling more confident and excited about teaching than ever. 

Hopefully I'll get to be back with those kids and their awesome teacher in January! 

Creating a Unit

      I am taking my Senior level courses at East Texas Baptist University this semester.  The class that is whispered about when you are taking your beginning education courses is.... THE UNIT CLASS!!
      Sounds kind of boring, right?  WRONG! It is super scary and intimidating!  Well at least it sounds that way a Sophomore walking around the Education building.  Turns out, its really interesting.  I would even call it exciting. 
      Now, we don't just walk in the first day and start planing a unit.  Oh no.  We begin by learning about different projects, technologies, and some history too.  We get our feet wet with this huge, scary project we are about to dive into. 
      Our class has just now begun to brainstorm our ideas for this unit.  Since our college is located in the historic town of Marshall, Texas, we have been focusing on diving deeper into it's rich history.  Friday, we are taking a field trip!  Who says college Seniors can't take field trips?  Our class is going to the Harrison County Historical Museum and the Starr Family Home.  I've never been to either and I love history, so saying I'm excited is a bit of an understatement.  My cousin, Mallory (also and Education Major), is flying in from Arizona tomorrow night so she is tagging along too! 
    I'm excited to see where this experience will take me in my teaching career. 

I hope all is well with y'all! Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Student Teaching Application is IN!

      WOOHOO!! Y'all! I'm all signed up for student teaching in the Spring! I'll hopefully know in a month or so where I am teaching and what grade level.  I'm hoping for Kindergarten and 1st grade in Marshall ISD and Hallsville ISD (I love Hallsville's PLC system). 
       It is getting so real and I cannot express my excitement in just words.  It's beginning to hit me that I am going to be a big grown up soon with my own classroom and my own students!
    
      Any who.... I just found a recipe for Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccinos (my favorite Starbucks drink)....

• 1 cup of milk (whole, reduced fat, or skim. For a special treat, add coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (mmm... chocolate!)
• 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup (Hershey's will do)
• 2 cups of ice
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend it all up and.... you've got yourself a Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino! Experiment and adjust the proportions to your liking. The above recipe makes enough for you and a couple friends.

You may want to experiment by adding cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee, toffee, maple syrup, or whip cream.

      Thank you, IceArdor!

Activity Binder

     I got the itch to create an activity binder today! Here it is! It only took me 3 hours to print out all of my activities and put them together in this beautiful binder!  If you already have activities printed it won't take nearly as long!

      I looked up, "Editable binder covers and spines" at www.teacherspayteachers.com. There were tons of cute, free options (free is my favorite kind of option).  I picked the Diva Binder Design by The Science Diva.  Since I am using a huge 4" binder, my binder cover slipped and slid all over the place.  I solved this problem with a simple piece of tape.  Now my binder is slip and slide free!  I used page protectors to keep each of my activities together. This is helpful for those lessons that have smaller bits and pieces. I also separated the lessons by subject (Math, reading, writing, social studies, science, and misc.).

      I love it because it's organized, cute, and I can find and pull out lessons if I have time that needs to be filled or extra center activities. 

Materials:

Binder (I used 4 inches)

Dividers (used 8)

Page protectors (one per lesson and some to spare)

Use the Aurasma app to discover hidden videos in the blog entry!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Fun Math Activity

Stolen from my internship!

      I think I can explain this activity with a simple picture, but just in case there is some confusion, I'll leave a few simple instructions and a list of materials for y'all.

Materials Needed

Box (fishing/ outdoors stores)

Small Cotton Balls (colored if desired)

Tweezers (1 or 2 pairs)

Construction paper

Scissors

Pen or marker

Description and Brief Instructions

      This is a completed photo of the activity.  The student is to use the tweezers to pick up the small cotton balls and place them into the correct section.  Color does not mater.  Just the number matters. This was completed with a kindergartener who was struggling with their numbers, one-on-one with me outside of the classroom.  There are many different adaptations to this activity.  Students could work in pairs, match color and number or cotton balls, or even use sweethearts or seasonal items.  The possibilities are endless. 

Enjoy!

Intership Part One, Week 6

      To give you a little background, I am a Senior at East Texas Baptist University.  In the Fall semester of our Senior year in the Education Program, we go to a specific teacher in the Marshall School District for 7 weeks (once a week for 7 hours) and another teacher for the last 7 weeks (once a week for 7 hours) of the semester. 
      I am currently in a Kindergarten classroom with an amazing teacher (who wants me to be her student teacher next semester!! Woohoo). 
      Today, I finished my 6th week at the school.  I love the kids in this class.  They all started out looking dazed and confused and now they know a lot of their letters and letter sounds.  They can write their names, count to twenty (forward AND backward), stand in a straight line, work with partners, and even read a little too!  Now if only they could all tie their shoes...
      The students were lovely today.  All eager to learn and high energy.   There were a few times when they struggled with their sharing at reading/ writing centers this morning.  One thing I've learned so far is that Kindergarteners cry... A LOT.  I have to remember that many of these kids have had no schooling before this year and very minimal social interactions with other kids their age. 
      So my lesson of the day is........

 

Sharing needs to be taught in younger grades.  Some students need to learn that crying doesn't always fix the problem at hand.  Talking out situations (from "HE TOOK MY PENCIL!" to, "SHE KEEPS LOOKING AT ME!") will help find a solution.  Just like a grown up.

 

Thanks for reading!