So I went to this concert last night...

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It was an amazing winter concert last night for Conesville Elementary.  Everyone involved did a fantastic job.  The kids, families, and staff were quite impressed with the talent our school demonstrates.  I am extremely blessed to work with such amazing students and adults on a daily basis.  This just reminds me of how much our kids retain from performing songs and moving around.  This is one of my favorite strategies I love to incorporate into our daily routine. I ran across this article explaining the many benefits to using singing as a memory tool. 

I would like to take this moment to thank everyone for a wonderful school year so far, and look forward to an awesome 2015!!  
Merry Christmas everyone!

I am so thankful...FOR EVERYTHING!

It is that time of year again, and I am utterly amazed how many people can find nothing to be thankful for.  Realistically, my list goes on and on because I think about how much I have been blessed with- things I overlook on a daily basis.  I am thankful I get to wake up each morning, take a breath, see with my eyes, feel my heart beating, have heat in my house, running water, food to eat, clean clothes- those are just the basics.  I am also thankful for my 3 beautiful children, extended family, wonderful co-workers, and friends.  I work in an amazing building filled with sweet, big and little faces who desire to make me happy everyday.  I live in a country where I am free to do many things that they are not permitted to do in other countries, thanks to the soldiers who risk their lives.  So, if you can not find anything to be thankful for, I am more than willing to share with you any of my many thanks.  I hope all of our families take the time to enjoy each other this Thanksgiving break and really cherish what this time of year is about.  

Happy Thanksgiving~   

October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month! Help spread awareness and support for those with dyslexia... go to interdys for more details!

We are in deep...

Since the beginning of the year, I have not had time to blog or do much of anything above and beyond the curriculum!  We have always differentiated and scaffolded our learning yet it seems even more intense now!  I really do like the common core- stop throwing stuff at me! 

 

I do.  It allows our kiddos to become deeper thinking individuals and not just regurgitate information.  I have been approached by friends at baseball games, dance, and every other extra-curricular event because they do not understand why their child has to do all this extra work~  One parent said "if you ask me why that barn is gray over there why do I have to explain it?'  Good point, but what if I say it is silver- then we are going to have to support our answers with evidence.....

We are not torturing children, we want them to be ready to head off to college and compete with the most elite minds of our times... Become innovative thinkers!  Be our future!  (this is not an advertisement for the common core curriculum, it is only an advocate for building a society of cognitive thinkers.. ;-))

Knock, Knock. Who's There? August.... What?

It is that time of year again!  August is here and this is the time to go back to school.  I love school, which could be one of the many reasons I became a teacher.  My own children think this makes me a nerd.  LOL!

Believe it or not, I feel like a kid when it comes to going back to school.  I become excited about decorating the classroom, new school supplies and I even acquire butterflies in my belly when the first day of school is finally here.  Seeing the kids meet each other again for the first time in a couple months is comical, talking about all they did and trying to portray this all in one breath because all they had to tell one another.  They have tan little faces and a freshness in their step.  The excitement lasts at least a whole week!  

My co-workers and I love our jobs.  We know we have a great responsibility to make our students become successful , doing their very best.  If you read my blog, come see me on the first day of school and tell me a joke you learned over the summer to get yourself a piece of candy- I know Mr. Moore will be the first one there!

Like the End of a Good Book....

Our 2013-14 school year has come and gone... you never realize how quickly it goes by, until the last day.  You look around and wonder, "how is it time to say goodbye already?"  I know everyone is ready for a break, and I would be lying if I said I would not enjoy a couple days of sleeping in!  

Now, I will set the story...The setting is just a quaint little building.  Not entirely great to look at but filled with nooks and crannies of the past.  The characters are several students, teachers, and staff trying to live life to the best of their ability, dealing with whatever is thrown their way.  These individuals face many obstacles from learning new lessons to fighting battles- losing friends or loved ones.  We watch people grow, fall, succeed, and bleed. All of this within just a matter of months.  The rising action, climax, and falling action all take place within such a short period of time.  Finally, the conclusion.  You have the last week jam packed with awards, talent show and track & field.  Everyone is laughing and playing, the smell of summer is in the air.  It is the end of the book... but you want more!  How can this be the end?  

There will be some who are leaving our setting (Conesville), but a new crop will be filling their spots the following year.  Not taking their places!  So... then the new book begins and we will have a new set of characters in the same setting.  We will fill that book with new memories and adventures.  

Remember it is our story to write! 

On another note!  It is important for us to read this summer as much as we possibly can!  If you read 4-5 chapter books, or have somebody read with you, you will be on track to get started next year.  Never let your love for learning or reading stop when the school year ends!  Challenge yourself to continue to read this summer and report your progress to your teachers!

Have a fun and safe summer!

Seriously... Where did April go?

So... I guess I have been so busy I did not realize that April just ran past me with no warning.  Time flies when you are having fun and that must be true.  We have been preparing for testing and piloting assessments for next year.  New testing makes so much sense, the way they are gathering evidence of our students learning.  No longer should teachers teach to tests, but teach skills and have students apply them in real life situations.  Reading and writing- really measuring the knowledge of items that matter.  
I know people think teaching is easy, yet the constant formative assessments, differentiation, reteaching, reassessing are quite fatiguing.  I love my job, but I am exhausted at the end of the day.. just in time to run my 3 very busy children from one side of the state to the other.  Luckily, I have a village that helps take care of my children.  This is where I give a shout out to all of my great friends and family members who help, or at least attempt to.

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Right now, believe it or not, we are preparing for next year.  Thinking of different ways to approach the skills we taught this year and cool projects.  I am trying to visualize what my groups will look like for reading and what I will ask of my students, and how relevant my requests are... When I signed up to be a teacher I had no idea it would not just be my career but a lifestyle.  I laughed one day because a friend of our family, who is also married to a teacher, said "Be ready because this (school) is all you will ever talk about for the rest of your life".  It is funny now because I had no idea.

My co-workers are my best friends.  We live and breathe this stuff.  However, we do prioritize our lives as well.  Family is first for a lot of us.  

The last day of school will come so quickly.  Awards day, track and field, the infamous talent show.  I love the smell of this old building when it gets to be about 100 degrees or better- not really!  Have a great May!

"March"ing All the Way!

Our kids are working extremely hard.  We have a lot going on in 3rd and 4th grade with different testing and expectations from our district.  We are working toward preparing our kiddos for the future- college and careers.  We see where they are and develop their skills from there.  Trying to close gaps to bring any of our students closer to grade level.  On the other side, we are working on challenging those students who get it very easily, and on the first time.  Helping them show growth in academics as well.  
If you would come into our classroom, you would think it was a zoo- a million different things going on all at once.  Now we still try to keep order in the classroom so we present general topics as a whole, but our kids are individuals and not everyone understands the same way.  Some kids need different avenues of explaining it as well. 
Overall, our little leprechauns are able to handle the stress of the many state selected indicators they need to know- way better than I do.  I am remarkably proud of each one of them.  I know when my third grader comes home, it takes all we have to ensure he gets his reading and math completed.  In the end, all of this will be worth it.  Our children will grow to be impeccable members of society and we will know that what we are doing is the best thing we can. 

I love school!

T is for teachers, who love what they do,

E is for effort we put in whether happy or blue.

A is for the grade we all try to seek,

C is for the cheer we spread each and every week.

H is for the heart we provide to our kids,

E is for the energy we expend, up to our lids.

R is for the reward on each smiling face and the lifelong learners we create!

I am so blessed to have the job I do, the people I work with, and the family who support it all! 

A Great 2014.

I am so glad to be back at school and in some kind of routine again.  This is going to be the best year ever! "Why?" you ask, because I want it to be!  I was able to get some stuff organized over break and really get my zen back.  My own kiddos, even though they will not admit it, were all happy to be back as well.  

I have some personal New Year's Resolutions like getting back to church on Sundays, exercising, eating right, and being the best momma/ wife/ daughter/ sister/ friend anyone could ask for.  However, I have some school New Year's Resolutions as well.  This would include getting/staying organized and helping my students stay engaged in any class I may be in with them- even if that requires me making a fool of myself every once in a while.  

Making resolutions means nothing if you have no passion behind it.  Being at home made me realize my main goal in life.  It is not to clean my house or make sure everything is in place- just so... It is to live my life to the fullest and give everything I got, so that I can be sure that all the gifts God gave me were used 100%.  

Happy New Year to all and may 2014 be your best year yet!