All Growed Up!

This will be my 3rd year teaching 1st grade...can you believe that?  I can't either.  I still play volleyball on the BYU-I campus (I can play because Mark is still in school), and I always feel so old.  Crazy!  We are about a month and 2 weeks into the school year.  It has gone by fast, but slow on certain days (if that even makes sense).  I had a really hard time connecting to this group this year.  Last year, it clicked almost instantly.  I became so close with my class last year and literally bawled with 3 other girls at the end of the year when we said goodbye.  An emotional incident happened on Friday (I will spare everyone the gory details) that helped me realize that I have already connected with these kids and I love them SO much.  I have 17 wonderful, smart, and amazing kids that just want to please everybody.  All of their smiles are so contagious and I am lucky to be their teacher.  I'm a little biased, but I like to think I have the best class in the school...but that's just me.  :)

During the summer, my mind was MILES away from thinking about work.  It was summer vacation, we had a million fun things planned, and I was looking forward to spending that time with my amazing husband (since I barely see him during the school year).  It took me a long time to get my mind back into teaching mode, but once I did, I couldn't stop (as usual).  I decided to add a little more "flare" to our classroom, and I think it turned out so cute.  I kept the "Bee Theme" to save money, and I'm glad that I did.  There is always so much to do with the bee theme!

 This bee was named "Bumble" by my students from last year.  We have a new bee this year for the kids to name.

 Job chart!

 I got this cute "Where are we?" poster from Teachers Pay Teachers (I'm obsessed).  The card that says "We are here!" is velcroed on and can be changed with P.E., Music, Recess, Lunch, etc.  This is so parents can know where we are if they come into the classroom for some reason.  It can also be helpful for students that might come late to school.

 Our "Bee"havior Chart!  It has seemed to work (with most of the kids) and I love that they can go up if they are being good, or down.  It is wonderful.

 Math board!  Every day we sit down and have Math Meeting and sing our math songs, talk about the calendar, count, etc.

 Every single morning, we recite our "5 Bees Promise" so we can remember to follow our rules every single day.

 Isn't the TV in the perfect place?  (can you sense the sarcasm?)

 I had a senior practicum student that made these for me last year.  How sweet of her to make these for me!  I love them!

 Daily 5 posters!  Last year we kind of did it, but this year I am really trying to push Daily 5, and so far it is going alright.  I have had to make a few changes for my class, but it has been going great.

 Tattling Teddy.  When the students have something to say, Tattling Teddy is SUCH a good listener.  They can talk to Tattling Teddy, or write it down.  We had to talk about what a "tattle" is, because they would write things like what their favorite color is, what they are doing after school, etc.  Well, at least they were practicing their writing, right?

 We even have Skippy Jon Jones with is in our reading corner.  On a special day, someone will get to read to Skippy.  If you haven't read his books, you have to get started.  They are the BEST and the kids always love them.

 This is what their desks looked like on back to school night.  There was an apple for the parents, letters from my students from last year, and a welcome to school bag from me.  There was also a gallon baggie for their extra supplies, the syllabus, welcome letter, and a list of where to put the supplies so they don't get confused.  I forgot a few items, but it worked out nicely for the most part.  I keep their extra glue sticks, crayons, dry erase markers, and erasers in the gallon baggies and when they need new ones, we just go to the bag and get one out.

 Thank you Pinterest!

 I saw this and it reminded me so much of my students.  The biggest thing that we work on in 1st grade, is reading.  Some of them can already read, but for the most part, we are just beginning to read and my goal is to get all of my students to be reading (small) chapter books by the end of the school year.

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was 11 years old, and I can't imagine doing any other job (except maybe party planner).  I love my job and I am so grateful for Mark.  I come home and he has to hear all of my crazy stories.  Those stories are what make me wake up every single day.  Being a teacher is hard, but completely and 100% worth it.