First 3 Days of School

I should definitely be writing this week's lesson plans right now, but obviously, I'm not. I can't believe I'm already procrastinating.
pssshh. yeah, right! I wouldn't expect anything else.

We started school this past Wednesday. Like all teachers, I stress procedures those first few days. However, I also really want students to have fun and enjoy being in class. I want them to leave my room excited about what they're doing in math. That's half the battle. If kids know that you (gasp) actually like them and if they enjoy being in your class, they're more motivated and more likely to work hard for you. So, I tried to make those first three days a mix of learning procedures and having fun.

Day 1 - Wednesday:
When students enter my room the first day, there is a small tub of Play-Doh on their desks. The first thing I have them do after welcoming them in is use the Play-Doh to create something that represents them. They LOVE this. It It's so out-of-the-norm for them to be able to do something like this at school, so they are typically pretty excited and chatty during this time. That's okay. That's what I want to happen. I give them more time than actually needed for this because I use that time to walk around to each group of students and talk to them. I ask questions, figure out if I've had their siblings before, find out who their 6th grade math teacher was and what level math they were in, find out what they did over the summer....basically anything to get them to open up to me so that relationships can start to form.

Then I go over a "Who is Mrs. Brown?" powerpoint to introduce myself. It just has pictures so students can see that I'm more than just their math teacher.

The next thing I do is spend some time going over just 3 procedures that they will need to know for the following day - Supplies, Beginning of Class, End of class. I save the rest for the next day.

If there is time left, (and this year there was),  we play a name game. Each student has to think of an adjective to describe them that starts with the same letter that their name starts with. For example, it could be Smart Suzie, Sassy Suzie, Lovely Liz, etc. The first student says their adjective and their name, and then the next student has to say theirs and everyone that's went before them. The kids like this, especially when I split the class in half and make it a competition, but it is mainly more for me to help remember names.

Day 2 - Thursday:
I finish procedures on the 2nd day. However, instead of me just using a powerpoint and rambling on about them, I want the students to interact with them. I printed out the powerpoint that I use, and put 1 copy on each group of desks. Students rotate reading them aloud in their groups. I include written descriptions of important procedures and memes in the powerpoint!! They LOVE reading the memes aloud! My favorite to hear the students "act out" is the "ain't nobody got time for that" one.
TOO FUNNY!

After they've finished reading in their groups, I give each student a half sheet of colored paper, and they have to write down two things they learned about homework, late work, rules/consequences, and rewards. Then I call on students to discuss what they learned.

Once finished with procedures, I have them work on covers for their interactive notebooks. I go around the room and let students choose which color paper they want. They are allowed to decorate it however they'd like. This week, we will begin taping their covers to their interactive notebooks with packaging tape. This helps to personalize the notebook to them so they will (hopefully) find it important and be more likely to keep up with it. It also makes the cover a bit more sturdy.

Day 3 - Friday:
We play Musical Chairs on Friday. This is really not a game. No one wins. No one gets out. It's just the  name of the activity. I got this activity from the teacher I student-taught under. I knew I would love it.

I created 15 get-to-know-you type questions. I put 1 card on each desk. When the music is on, students flip their cards over and answer the question. When the music stops, students rotate to the next desk.

After Musical Chairs, students finish their notebook covers, and I pass out workbooks.



What do your first days look like?

Excitement for 2015-2016

My husband has informed me a couple of times that I'm more of a glass half empty kinda person than a glass half full. I beg to differ. I don't think I'm a negative person. At all. But I do think I am very realistic. Sometimes what's realistic is negative, and sometimes what's realistic is positive. I am not one to sugar coat anything, (and I typically always find those people annoying). I appreciate honesty. Tell it like it is - nothing more, nothing less. Don't try to make something out to be something that it's not. Shoot straight with me. Keep it 100, and we might just be BFFs!

Tomorrow is our third day back at school for teachers. At the start of the school year, stress levels can sometimes be high because there's so much to get done before the kids arrive. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, so I decided to write a post focusing on the positives. I would truly hate if others thought of me as being glass half empty. If it's just my husband, cool. Others, not cool.

There really is a lot to be excited about this school year!

1.) New Schedule - The 7th grade schedule has changed from teaching one class before planning to two. I think I am going to love this change. The kids usually get pretty rowdy after their enrichment courses, and then they still have 3 more core classes to go. This allows us to get in one more class period before they leave us for enrichment classes.

2.) Teaching a New Section - I will be teaching one 8th grade class this year first thing in the morning. I have never taught 8th graders, so I'm excited to see if I will mesh well with them. I student taught with 6th graders and then had one 6th grade class my first year teaching. So, after this year, I will have taught all three levels. I'm interested in seeing if teaching 8th grade is something I may be interested in in the future.

3.) Coaching Volleyball at the Middle School - I have coached volleyball for several years. My friend and I had our first team of developmental (11 and under) players our senior year in high school.  After that, I've coached JV at Lugoff-Elgin High, a 16s club team, several seasons of 15s club, and this past year was the assistant Varsity and interim head Varsity when the head coach was on maternity leave. This year I will be the assistant coach at the middle school I teach at. I have never coached this level. I'm suppperrr excited to be able to work with girls on basic fundamentals because they are so, so important. It's frustrating at the high school level when there are players that still do some things incorrectly or haven't fully mastered basic skills. It's much harder to break them of those bad habits at that point. I will definitely miss the high school girls and the fast-paced game, but I can't wait for this new experience.

4.) Co-Teaching - This year I will be co-teaching two classes with a new teacher to the school. I LOVE doing lots of group work, stations, and activities that have kids up out of their seats and moving around the room. And I often pull small groups of students and work with them directly for some extra tutoring while other students are working independently. Having another teacher in the room is going to be so wonderful for this!!!

5.) New Way of Grading - As mentioned in a previous post, I will be transitioning to more Standards Based Grading. I still have some reservations and questions/thoughts that I need to figure out, but that's also another reason why I'm stoked about co-teaching. We will be able to bounce ideas off of one another and figure out what's going to work best for us and our students. I'm worried that it may be too much to implement this with all classes, so right now I'm thinking of just doing it with the classes that are being co-taught. Not 100% sure on this though.

OOOOHH and I got new carpet in my room! It's the small things, y'all!

See Tim, I can be a glass half full sometimes!

Things I realized this summer

Disclaimer: This is a complete random post that really serves no purpose.

Today was the last official day of summer for teachers. I love my students and I love teaching, but ooooh do I love summer, too!!

After reflecting on my summer, here's a list of things I've realized:

1.) I've spent wayyyy too much time on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Google, etc. And I'm not even one of those girls that's glued to her phone. Just having extra time had me on it more. I'm pretty sure I posted more things this summer than I did the entire last school year.

2.) I don't think I'll ever grow out of wanting to stay up late and sleep all day. And when I say all day...I mean ALL day! I've always heard that that would change when I became an "adult" with a big girl job. Well. It hasn't.

3.) I love just being a wife. Organizing, cooking, and cleaning are things that typically get put on the  back burner during the school year. I come home late (after volleyball), usually exhausted, and often times still have school work to do...which means take-out and a cluttered house. And take-out and a cluttered house eventually leads to stress and unhappiness. Plus my mostly innocent husband is the one that I end up taking my frustration out on. (Love ya, Tim.) Even though it seems like I say it every year, I have GOT to find a balance this school year.

4.) I LOVE being an aunt! I became an aunt for the first time in June. Buying for baby girls is so much fun!!

5.) I have picked up 2 new hobbies. Experimenting with my Essential Oils from Young Living and becoming an independent distributor for AdvoCare and helping myself and others meet their health and wellness goals. I never had intentions of being a distributor of either one. I started using Essential Oils in April or May, and it's been so much fun. I love trying DIY recipes and learning new ways to use the oils to replace common household products that contain harsh chemicals and are loaded with toxins. I started with purchasing the Premium Starter Kit (which is currently on sale), and  I thought that would probably be it. Boy, was I wrong. I am now buying different oils every month and have a Pinterest board full of different things to try.

The same goes with AdvoCare. I did not have intentions on becoming a Distributor. I just wanted to try the 24 Day Challenge and figured I'd be done with it after that. Halfway through the challenge, I was loving the products and noticed a huge difference in the way they made me feel. That's when I decided that I would want to help others experience the same benefits that I did. I am a big believer in AdvoCare and still use products daily!!

If you're interested in learning more about the 24 Day Challenge, I found this awesome video here! Check it out and let me know what you think!!