My Version of a Flipagram

I was recently visiting a blog that belongs to a dear friend of mine from school (here), and noticed that she did a sort of "year-in-review". She pointed out the few most important things that happened each month in 2013. Now, I know that 2014 started 2 weeks ago, but with school being my life, I operate more along a semester basis than year--I get two chances for fresh starts!

2013:

January:

My birthday month! My birthday always falls during syllabus week, meaning I brought in 22 with a bang! My friends and I celebrated with a yummy dinner at Sushi Axiom in Fort Worth followed by lots of nights out catching up before the real work started.

February:

This month brought the beginning of my student teaching. I began six weeks in a fourth grade classroom, with a teacher who is near and dear to my heart. I had observed her classroom for a semester-long Practicum before, and I fell in love with her teaching style. Her students loved her, and they were excellent writers! I learned so much in those first 6 weeks of student teaching and gained confidence in my ability to be in charge of 25 10-year olds! February also brought the birth of my cousin's first baby, Olivia!

March:

March brought Spring Break. My dear friend Katie, affectionally known as "Brawn", and I spent a lovely 9 hours in the car together on our way to my hometown of New Orleans, LA. We met up with some friends to enjoy dinner and night out.

The next morning, we met my grandparents for beignets and walked around the French Quarter. It was so much fun to show this California girl the place I call home. We drove the rest of our way to Destin, Florida. While it wasn't your typical SPRING BREAK experience, we had a lot of laughs and memories with 17 other girls from our sorority.

April:

 In April, I finished my second 6-week term of student teaching. This time, I was in Kindergarten. I had the opportunity to learn under the mom of one of my closest friends. She taught me so much about patience and encouragement. Not only did I learn from her as a teacher, but as a friend and role model. April is also the month when I landed my first REAL JOB.

May:

May 11, 2013 was the day I graduated from TCU. I don't even remember walking across the stage, but I just remember feeling elated that all my hard work had finally paid off! The most memorable and exciting chapter of my life so far was closed, and I was moving on to a new one! Too bad it was accompanied by one too many good-byes as my closest friends jetted off across the country.

June/July:

I spent my summer moving from Fort Worth to a small apartment with my Dad in Dallas. My parents were in transition from Alabama BACK to Dallas (We've moved quite a few times in the past 10 years). My days consisted of working my part-time retail job and checking lots of novels off my to-read list. I also prepped my classroom, but you can read that post here.When my sister and mom finally got here, the four of us moved to a house in Frisco. Packing and moving is miserable.

August:

On August 13th, I became a grown-up. By that, I mean I began my job. We had two weeks of training, where we learned the in and outs of rules, schedules, and reviewed best practices. Luckily, I had my team to keep me sane. We talked about food a lot. On August 22, I met 20 little sweethearts that became mine. I stood in the doorway shaking hands and giving hugs. That hour was a blur, but ignited my excitement for the next Monday. When my 20 students arrived on Monday morning, I was as ready as I could have been! The first day was probably one of the smoothest days I've had all year--I think they were trying to impress me ; )

September:

September brought a lot of frustrating days as I was figuring out management, how to plan, how to organize, etc. This month consisted of school, school, school & more school. 

October:

In October, I was fortunate enough to spend a short-lived weekend with my college friends at my first TCU homecoming as an alum. It was bittersweet.

(Also, check out this precious picture of my cousin Olivia that I recieved!)

November:

The month of thanks! I spent Thanksgiving with my family & friend Katie. My younger sister turned 17. She is a driving machine in her cute little car, and I can't believe she is already looking at colleges. 

December:

The last month of 2013 flew by before I could even notice it was here. With two ice days off school and a long Winter break, this month was a breeze. I spent time in New Orleans with family, mostly holding my sweet baby cousins, Ian, Isabella, and Olivia. We watched movies, shopped, and ate Tamales. It was perfect. I watched 2013 turn into 2014 with a new friend Lauren from school, and with that, another new year began!

 

Birthday Wishes

My birthday is just ONE week away!

Next to a good book, a huge bag of newly shopped goodies is my favorite thing to carry around. Considering I've "invested" in a few key pieces over the past few months (working 2 jobs has its perks), I really should not be going crazy. 

Here are a few things on my wish list: 

I became addicted to Fresh products a few months ago, when I bought their lip treatment in Petal (seen here). It's like slapping on Chapstick, but is a beautiful color! I could easily spend my paycheck at the Fresh store, but right now, I'll settle for the lip gloss and Seaberry body cream--it smells heavenly!

I bought these Frye 'Melissa Button' boots back in October in black, and I wear them at least twice a week! I am on my feet all day, and these stood up to the test. Clearly, I need them in this beautiful cognac color.

I am not a runner, by any means, unless I'm chasing children--does that count? However, our Principal has instituted "Work-Out Wednesday", so our staff gets to wear cute & polished workout wear to get through hump day! These tops from Lululemon have sleeves to make them work-appropriate, but I can wear them on those few days of the year when I think running sounds like a good idea. I'll take one in each color.

Spoken from the Heart, by Laura Bush, has been on my to-read list for a while now, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I recently visited the George W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum, which re-sparked my interest in this one! 

Mom & Dad, I hope you're reading this! 

Ms. L

Lessons Learned

I'm halfway through my first year of teaching, and here are a few lessons that I have learned. 

--Don't put sharpies in the hands of a 7-year old. They will accidentally (maybe on purpose) ruin your favorite J.Crew skirt. 

--Sticky notes are everything: If I don't write it down, it doesn't happen. I cannot count the random things on my to-do list that float into my head while I'm in the shower, driving to work, or trying to fall asleep.

--Being a part of a team is hard work, even if your team is as wonderful as mine. Getting 5 people to agree on what's best for children is not an easy feat...but you get a lot of support and laughs along the way. I would not get through a single day without my 4 girls.

--Cutting in line or forgetting your lunch are both a very big deal when you're 7.

--Know your lessons. It's great to be able to wing it, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't, but I always feel better when I know the objectives and the procedure for lessons. 

--There is no greater feeling than hearing a kiddo say "I get it!" or "I'm getting the hang of it!". 

--Actions need consequences. No matter who, what, when, or where.

--Wii JustDance videos are a save-the-day for indoor recess, class parties, or for when you look out in the middle of a math lesson and your class' eyes are glazed over! Here's my favorite:

--And lastly, sometimes, a hug or a "thank you" is all it takes to turn the world's hardest day around. 

Ms. L

Resolutions

I know, it's a little late for resolutions, BUT...

I resolve to:

1. Blog more--that's why I'm here!

2. Lesson the amount of time I spend on social media. I've already deleted FB and Twitter off my phone--we'll see how long this lasts.

3. Read more than I watch TV. Netflix is a vacuum of my time & emotions. I need to get a life. 

4. Tell people "THANK YOU"! I always enjoy being appreciated for the favors and hard work that I do--others should get that as well. 

5. Spend more money on experiences than on material belongings. (Ignore my birthday wish list, I guess) Trip to Santa Monica for Spring Break: Check!

6. Exercise--haha! Who am I kidding? But really, I mean I need to find a yoga studio that is as good as Karmany Fort Worth. 

7. Believe in myself & have confidence as a teacher, as a recent college grad, and as a twenty-something. 

Ms. L

32 Books Later...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. In true nerd fashion, I've gotten in the habit of setting a goal for how many books to read in a year. My goal for 2013 was 25 books, and I totaled out at 32! 

Here are my 3 top favorites/recommendations:

(1)

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, was captivating. It goes outside of my typical interests--I don't usually go for the mystery type novel. However, I could not put this book down. The point of view, voice, and plot twists made this book unforgettable. I was shocked at the ending!

(2)

I tend to be indecisive when choosing my next book, so I often ask friends for recommendations. A close friend suggested When Crickets Cry, by Charles Martin, and I now know he is my go-to guy for book advice. This "Novel of the Heart" is just that! Though I've never experienced anything like the situation in this book, the writing put me right in the middle of every event, feeling every emotion--yes, I cried in a Starbucks while reading it. Embarrassing. The characters felt like family, and I would read it again in a heartbeat.

(3)

In October, a friend of mine started a book club, and The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak was our first novel of choice! I found this book to be unique for a few reasons, but the most pressing was that the narrator is Death. He describes in detail what it is like for him to take someone and to have someone escape him--obviously not something I had considered before. It tells the story of a young girl's experience in Nazi Germany, with haunting descriptions. 

A few others that stuck with me were:

-The Moviegoer : Walker Percy
-Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Other Concerns : Mindy Kaling (hilarious)
-The Beautiful and the Damned : F. Scott Fitzgerald
-The Alchemist : Paulo Coehlo
-The Handmaid's Tale : Margaret Atwood

I aim to read 35 books in 2014--any suggestions?

Organization

Clearly blogging has not been a priority for me the past few weeks! I've been lucky enough to be able to spend some weekeends with family & friends celebrating my mom's birthday and TCU homecoming. 

I've always known that it would be vital to stay organized, but I had no idea how to go down that path once I was overloaded with papers, lessons, worksheets, etc. This is what planning for ONE week for  ELA looks like: 

[YIKES]

 It's taken me a little while to develop a system that works for me-. However, once I got this rolling, I save copious amounts of time each day figuring out what I'm supposed to be teaching.

Hanging file folders have become my best friend.

I have a two-drawer file cabinet right next to my desk. In the top drawer, I keep one file folder for the whole Unit--in that folder, I have my Planning Guides & Scope and Sequence for that Unit for each subject. That way, I can reference them quickly if I need to. Next, I keep a general folder for each week (Unit 1, Week 1) in which I put all of those generalized week-long papers. 

Behind those (I know, lots of folders...), I keep one for each day Monday through Friday. I put ALL subjects for that day in the folder, so when I arrive at school, I can just pull them out and go in order. I have no need to frantically search through papers to find that day's lessons.

Here's what it looks like: 

When I am finished with a week, I take 1 or 2 originals of everything we did and put them into the "Unit 1, Week 1" folder. Then, they go into the drawer below for reference next year! This drawer is a bit messier, because of all of the odds & ends that I have -- laminated center cards, worksheets, vocabulary cards, math games, etc. I'm still working on it! 

For work that goes home, I use a crate with --you guessed it-- a hanging file folder for each student. That way, when our wonderful & amazing PTA members come to stuff Tuesday folders, they can just grab the group of papers and put it into the right folder. SO EASY!

I'm sure that I will continue to tweak this system, but for now, it's helped me to keep track of all of our planning-we are a month ahead and that is a LOT of papers : )

xoxo, 

Ms. L 



Whirlwind

It's been weeks since I have posted, because time is flying by! The first two weeks of school have been the most exhausting and draining, but exciting, moving, and worthwhile two weeks I've ever experienced. 

I have gone to bed every night BY 9:00. I've spent a lot of 10-, 11-, and 12-hour days planning and prepping for the next days, only to go home and grade and prep some more. It is all worth it. 

I have 20 students: 10 boys and 10 girls, and I know I'm going to be a basketcase on the last day of school, because I love them so much already. 

The one thing for which I was not prepared was the information overload that accompanies new teacher training before school starts. Thank goodness, there were girls from my school there to keep me company. Along with copious snacks, we found some ways to stay sane:

After my classroom was finished being decorated, organized, and ready for 20 little hearts, I started worrying about the day-to-day of the job. Here is my lifeline, my everything: my planner. 

I searched around for ages for the perfect one, thought I might design my own like some of my team mates, and became disappointed when I found perfection at Erin Condren, but that it wouldn't ship until September 4th. YIKES!

Well, I bit the bullet, paid the $30 priority processing fee, and my custom planner arrived 4 days later!

Here's what I love about it:

Dates at a glance -- to keep track of those that I would typically forget!

This is where I put my lessons. I actually ended up loving how the subjects go vertically, because I can easier see math for the week quickly...or phonics, ELA, writing workshop, etc. 

 

In the back are a ton of pages entitled "checklist". I used these to record whether a student has turned in a form, as well as for some particular grades while I am figuring out the online gradebook. 

And last but not least, this is one of my favorite quotes about education and it's in the very front of the planner! 

The Erin Condren website has tons of cute things for everyone, not just teachers. Next on my wishlist is a customized clipboard. I carry around different clipboards throughout the day at all times, so I would love a cute one to match my planner! 

Happy Monday, 

Ms. L