Cowboy Breakfast

I have great room parents! Two days ago my school decided to have a "Cowboy Breakfast" since our town has a huge Cowboy Breakfast every year, which was also today. One parent brought homemade refried beans, cheese, tortillas, eggs and a griddle. Another parent brought her electric skillet, and another parent brought bowls, tablecloths and such...and many other parents brought boxes of juice pouches. I bought a big sheet, we cut it in triangles and made the class bandanas to tie in front of their neck. They had the option to decorate with fabric markers and/or tie some beads on it. It was nice! Next, the classes each sponsored an activity and the classes rotated every 10 minutes. We did this until it was time to go to lunch. The kids really enjoyed it. No field trips next week, but we do have three trips planned in February! Wish me luck!

Field Trip

Our school goes on more field trips than any other school in San Antonio (my educated guess). Which can be a double edged sword! It's a great thing when the students get something out of the trip and we can incorporate it into what we are teaching that week. However, that is not always the case. Today we went to a museum which has an awesome concept. Members of this museum came and spoke with staff and students a couple of weeks ago to tell us what to expect. When we went today, we didn't see anything they showed us in the slides. It was amusing also that the staff at the museum kept stressing how you can use ANYthing to create contemporary art, then gave each student a piece of paper and markers and told them to write words. Hmmmmm. Kinder. First Grade Students. Second Grade Students. This was not terribly exciting for them and I highly doubt that it helped them increase their love of art! If you would like to share any awesome art ideas for 7 and 8 year olds please let me know!

Chapter 1

This is my very first blog ever...thanks for reading! My blog is about teaching. I did not grow up knowing that teaching was my calling. So...a few years ago I signed up for a Teacher Certification Program. I attended classes, took some state exams, and thought finding a job would be a piece of cake. Wrong. When I didn't get a teaching job I did substitute teaching, then accepted a job in a day care in my neighborhood. One day I found a website with a multitude of charter schools and emailed every one that had an e-mail address. To make a long story short, I heard back from one school that took a chance and hired me. Now the fun begins.

Whoever thought teaching would be so much work? I hate to admit my ignorance but I didn't. First of all, I was offered the position in June, and worked the next five weeks without pay. Not only trying to get ready for what I was teaching, but painting the entire classroom with life size dinosaurs on the walls! The charter school had branched out and so the classrooms were in a separate building that needed complete painting. Once school started I realized they had no scope and sequence! For those of you unfamiliar with the term, this meant it was up to me, a brand new teacher, to figure out what to teach each week for the next 180 school days.

I love every one of my students. They are really great but they love, love love...did I say LOVE?...to talk and talk. They have to constantly be reminded that we are there to learn. Oh, and I am having to learn the Montessori method of teaching at the same time, using that method of teaching. It has definitely been a challenge.