Meet The Teacher Planning

     Since there's about a week and a half left until school starts, the anxiety is starting to kick in! The biggest thing I'm getting a tad anxious and nervous about is the infamous Meet the Teacher Night. Our meet the teacher night is Monday, August 18 (2 days before school starts). I don't quite have all the details of things that are expected at my school that night but I've begun planning how I want to go about this night and things that I want parents to do. I know I'm going to have envelopes for parents to take when they walk in the classroom that have all the paperwork they need to fill out and anything for them to take home. I'm going to have labeled baskets for them to turn in the papers as well. I've seen different things about sending home a "brochure" for your classroom or a pamphlet about rules and expectations but I'm not sure what I'm going to do just yet.

     So this post is really just a call for help. I would LOVE to hear how you plan your meet the teacher night and what things you have out for parents to fill out. Suggestions, comments or any tidbits that I should know for this night would be awesome!

Thanks guys!

It's Crunch Time

     2 weeks. 2 weeks and counting until I'll be face to face with 18 little first graders. I am a ball of emotions just thinking about how little time there is left. I'm anxious, nervous, excited, worried, and pretty much every other emotion! There's also the feeling of "holy crap my room's not even close to being done yet". I am making progress, however! Whenever a teacher walks by they always tell me "It's starting to come together!" and I see that, I just know I have SO much more to do. Of course I've started different projects and just haven't finished them yet. Fortunately for my sanity I had to take a day off because I just got my wisdom teeth removed today. Ouchie. And tomorrow I've got a full day of grade level planning with my team...yay for a great first impression (chubby cheeks and all).
     Besides all the negative things I just talked about I'm SO happy to see some of the things in my room come together. I've got some updated pictures so you can see some of the things I've done...which really doesn't look like much but to me it is!!

View of my room from the door.

 

My behavior management chart that I LOVE! This is probably the thing I'm most proud of in my room since I made it completely on my own :)

 

My reading corner so far. I want to make it a bit more cozy and comfortable so stay tuned to see more progress here!

Book buddies in my reading nook for students to "read to someone". Got these for $1 each at Dollar Tree.

Classroom library. I'm still thinking about ways to organize my books and labels and such. Any suggestions would be great! Got these bins at Dollar General for about $3 each.

The beginning of my writing center. Still experimenting with how I want the bulletin board to look but this center is complete with sharp/dull pencil cups, journal prompts jar, student dictionaries and a crayon organizer (hello OCD).

Classroom computers that I moved against the wall. Some people suggested I turn them the opposite way so students not at the computers can't be distracted by what's going on on the computer but for me I need to be able to see what students are doing on the computers.

My teacher corner (since I don't have a desk). My word wall is going to be on the white board to the right and on the actual wall I'm going to put up some pictures of myself and my family for an "All About Miss Oliver" wall.

We are a "Leader in Me" school so these are the 7 Habits posters that my school gave me. I'm still working on some extras to put at the top and around the posters to jazz it up a bit.

Lastly, here's a view from the back of my room to the front. I love the fact that there's a huge space in the middle for whole group time. The bulletin board to the right is going to be home to our classroom timeline (stay tuned for info about that). The bins on the bookshelf under the SMARTboard (which I've replaced with cuter ones) have my math manipulative kits and some other center materials...still a work in progress.

 

 

Well, that's all I've got so far! It's already a change from when I first walked in my door and I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far. Can't wait to actually start finishing all the projects I've started!

New Teachers Unite

     Yet another day of professional development in the books, almost, and yet another tired teacher! The past two days were just for us first year teachers so it was more tailored for some suggestions about assessment and management and grade level specifics.Yesterday I was in a class with pre-k to 2nd grade teachers so we all shared a love of the little ones :) Today I was only with my fellow first grade teachers so a lot of the things we discussed today were strictly for first grade. It's really helping me reduce some of my stress a little bit because we are going over all the different procedures and things that need to be present in a first grade room, something I have been stressing over! The two teachers that are "presenting" for first grade are extremely helpful in all areas. They are emailing us copies of their procedure books, behavior charts, and pretty much any resource they have. Knowing that there are all of these people that are available to help and give me resources for my first year makes me a tad bit less stressed. Everyone I've met has really emphasized the fact that it is my first year and I will ask a ton of questions but that's ok!
     I've also got to give a shout out to some of the amazing people in my district. I'm not sure who or how many of them did but someone donated a TON of books, organizational things, teacher bags, and furniture for our classrooms, and each school created a gift basket as door prizes (none of which I won :( ). It was pretty much a free for all once we were let out for lunch and I ended up snagging about 10 or so books for my classroom library...all free :) It's the little things like that that my district is doing that really makes me happy about my choice to be in this district. We are a pretty well known district, not only in the state of South Carolina but also nationally. We've won awards for technology use and, if I heard correctly, we are one of the top districts with teachers who are nationally board certified (I think they said we've got about 1,000 or so teachers who are!). I know it sounds like I'm bragging, because frankly I am. It's amazing to be part of such a wonderful, supportive district and I haven't even begun my school year yet! There's so much I've still got to learn and I know that but right now I'm definitely calming down a bit because of all the support I've been given by the district.
     Another awesome thing I've been given the opportunity to do is sit down with my fellow first grade teachers and actually plan out the first few days of school. Today we are getting to talk with some veteran teachers about planning the first few days. Their plan is to give us suggestions and copies of activities they do with their students and actually plan those days with us. That's definitely a weight off my shoulders because that was something I was definitely getting concerned about. I don't really know what to do! I know procedures and things are a big part of the first few weeks but I wasn't quite sure how to go about them. Some people have said to jump right into the content and teach procedures at the same time. Obviously I'm going to do some little review things at the beginning but there's no way I'm going to say, "Ok guys, open your Treasures reading book to page one...we're going to discuss elements of a story." That's just not something I would want to do my first day!
     Sorry for the long post but I've just been so overwhelmed with information that I just had to share some of it! I finally get to go back to my classroom on Monday and actually get to set some things up since summer school is over, YAY! I'll definitely be posting some pictures of my room as things start to get finished...slowly, but surely!
     I would like to pose a question to some of my fellow teachers, and this is centered around behavior management, of course! I've got a clip chart that I'm going to be using in my classroom. It's your standard colored chart the gives students the chance to clip up for excellent behavior and clip down for negative behavior. My question to you is this: What is your procedure for either documenting daily student behavior over time or sending notes home to parents for negative behavior? I've heard multiple things about how teachers do this and I'm curious to know some other opinions! Any suggestions or comments are appreciated :)

Teacher Development Overload

Holy cow I've been so busy the past few weeks I have barely had time to breathe let alone blog about everything going on...I feel that's going to be my excuse a lot! Anyway, there's so much going on between teacher development and summer school ending I need to take some time to relax...unfortunately that won't happen for a few more days. This whole week is pretty much scheduled for me with teacher development. My district uses this week to "train" new teachers to the district and brand new teachers as well. Today and yesterday was strictly for any new hire to the district. A lot of it wasn't new for me since I attended some other development days a few weeks ago. They really just informed us of the new curriculum that hasn't been released yet...and won't be released until August 15 (5 days before school starts might I add). The next two days, however, are just for new teachers! It will be nice to finally just be with my fellow newbies for a few days :)

As if all of this curriculum talk isn't overwhelming enough, I've still got to worry about my classroom! Summer school ended last Thursday, YAY! Now they're waxing the floors on my hallway, BOO! It will be nice to just focus on content for a little bit and take a break from classroom setup but I can't help but continue to be anxious. I'll only have two weeks to really set up my classroom before school starts and it's driving me crazy! Time is ticking away and I can't believe kids will be in my room in 3 weeks. It's crunch time ladies and gents and this newbie has got to get a grip on all these changes!

Day 1 In My Classroom!

     Ahhh, so it's been awhile since I've blogged last but it's been so crazy around here! For starters, being a waitress and working 40 hours a week is completely draining me. I'm also trying to tie up all the loose ends when it comes to my licensure and employment...talk about craziness. Anyway, I finally got a chance to spend some time in my classroom today and I am so excited! Here's a quick peek at what I walked into today. My room is being used for summer school so it's a tad dirty.

 

 



     It's not that big of a room, but it's definitely bigger than I remembered it being. I've got 5 classroom computers in my room which is awesome, but I want to move them against the wall so I can always see what they are doing on them. After I took these pictures I played around with some table arrangements and I think I found one that I like. My mind has been racing with all the possible arrangements I could do so it will just take some playing around to find something I like.
     The one thing about my room that I wasn't so glad about at first is the fact that I don't have a desk. Instead, I have a corner with my kidney table. back where the kidney table is there's a large cabinet, a large bookshelf, and then a smaller bookshelf. At first I was a bit disappointed but after thinking about it, I'm kind of glad I don't have one since it would just be one more thing to try and keep organized. There's also no mailboxes for my students so I'm trying to come up with a cheap arrangement to use for student mailboxes. If you have any ideas I could definitely use them!
     I've got my work cut out for me and I'll be posting lots of pictures as I start to fix up the room. For now, if you have any advice on organization or classroom setup or any first year teaching advice at all, please let me know! I'm always looking for suggestions :)

Calling All Teachers!

Alright, I'm having some trouble making a huge decision in my life: getting my master's degree. I have always been on and off about whether or not I want to get it and I've started thinking about getting it again. The problem is: what do I get my master's in? The two programs I've narrowed it down to is Curriculum and Instruction or Administration. My goals as a teacher are not to become a principal or administrator. I've never ever considered getting out of the classroom, which led me to curriculum and instruction. Sometimes I consider becoming a college professor teaching elementary education classes when I get tired of teaching elementary school. I've been getting very mixed feelings about which degree to pursue. The curriculum and instruction program will only take me a year and a half whereas the administration degree will take 3 years. Another difference between the programs is when I can start. With the administration degree I need 3 years of classroom experience before I can enroll in the program...the curriculum and instruction program I can start this August. I'm just very torn as to what I want to do. I wanted to get right into my master's now since I'm still kind of in college mode but I don't know if it will be worth it. If anyone has any advice or suggestions or anything concerning these two degrees I would LOVE to hear it! 

Scratch That Last Post

Oh my gosh! Ok, I'm so excited and overwhelmed right now. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and this whole searching for a job this has been up and down but I can finally relax now and say definitively I am a first grade teacher in South  Carolina. I have officially accepted an offer teaching first grade. There is no ifs ands or buts about it. I am beyond excited and cannot wait to get into the classroom! Gahhh!

Frustration is an Understatement

Ok so this is really just a ranty post because I'm so frustrated and stressed out. My plans originally were to move back to NC to teach kindergarten. Then I got very promising news about a 4k job here in SC. Well the time has come for me to make a decision because I've kept NC waiting for over a week now and they need my decision by tomorrow. I'm just learning that SC won't be making a decision tomorrow, instead they'll be making a decision on Wednesday. Well that just puts a HUGE twist in my plans. I have absolutely no clue what to do. Do I accept the job the NC and deal with it if SC eventually offers me the job? Or do I turn it down in hopes of SC offering me the position? I can honestly say I have no idea what I am doing. My family is here in SC and this is where I want to be but there's no guarantee I will be offered the job. I am stressed beyond belief because of all this and I just want it to be over. If anyone has advice on what to do I'm taking any and all suggestions haha. I know it all comes down to what I want but I need help right now :(

Craziness!

Ok so I know I've been MIA for a little but everything is being turned upside down right now. A few weeks ago I was pretty much set on being in North Carolina teaching kindergarten because that was the only job offer I had received. Well, since then I've had two different interviews, both in South Carolina where I would like to be, and both of them look promising. One is for first grade and one is for a 4K/child development program. Now that I've had two other interviews in South Carolina my dream of teaching kindergarten is going to be put on hold for a year or two so I can be in the area I want to be in. I am very new to the 4K program and have never really considered teaching that age group. I do have a lot of experience working with young children because I taught gymnastics and dance classes to 3-6 year olds but teaching them in school is totally different. I'm not familiar with the curriculum they use (HighScope I believe) and the whole idea of having a full day pre-school program blows my mind. I still hope to do some blogging with my students, although it definitely wouldn't be as student led as I had hopes of, but it will still be a fun way for students to share their thoughts and achievements. If anyone has any tips or some useful resources for 4K/Child Development I would greatly appreciate it! Hopefully I'll have some more definite plans for next year by the end of this week!

Teachers Pay Teachers

So I've been making all these things for my classroom next year and I have decided to start my own Teachers Pay Teachers store! I've only uploaded a couple products so far but I hope to have more and more as the summer goes on. Here's the link to my store.

Enjoy!

Exciting Times!

     I figured since this was my first ever blog post I should probably start with a little introduction. My name is Taylor Oliver and I have recently graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University with my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education (K-6). The past year I was a student teacher in a kindergarten class and I absolutely loved it. Currently, I am a long term substitute in a first grade classroom. My plans for next year have still not been finalized as to where I will be teaching for my first year and what grade level but there is a 99% chance I will have my own kindergarten classroom at the school I student taught at! As you can tell I'm very excited to finally be beginning my career as a teacher and cannot wait to get started in my classroom.
     I've set up this blog as a way for not only myself to blog about my classroom, but also for my students. My goal is to blog at least once a week with my kinders. We will blog about the first day of school, birthdays, holidays, field trips, special achievements, and anything else that they would like to share! At the beginning of the year I will be taking pictures and typing up the blog posts but as the year goes by I would love for my students to be in charge of taking the pictures and maybe even typing the post...I'm still thinking about that one! I want this to be like a window into my classroom. Anyone who follows this blog will be able to see what goes on in our classroom and all the amazing things that may happen.
     This is such an exciting time for me and I can't wait to share everything with you!