Keep Calm and Teach On

Excellent Article

2011-11-21T22:13:00.001-08:00

The New York Times published an article Sunday "How About Better Parents?" by Thomas Friedman and it is an absolute MUST read for everyone!!!

Blog on Fire!!! Yay!!!

2011-10-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

A HUGE thank you to Christine at Hopping into First Grade!!!!

The rules for this award are:
*Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post
*Share 7 things about yourself
*Pass this award along to 10 recently discovered blogs

Seven things about me....
1. I am an "Alternative Certification" teacher...meaning my degree is in Accounting/Finance (I worked at a Management Analyst prior to teaching).

2. My career move to teaching happened in a matter of about 48 hours...call it an epiphany or a quarter life crisis...everything fell into place and I have not looked back :)

3. My I co-teach with my mother who has been a kindergarten teacher for 30 years. My grandmother was also a kindergarten teacher and my sister is an ESOL teacher. I guess you could say it's like our family business.

4. I plan to start my Master's this spring...I am trying to decide between Ed. Leadership and Communication Disorders.

5. I love love love math....weird because k-12 I rarely made above a C in math. In college, it just clicked...and my love for it began. I truly believe anyone can understand/appreciate math...if it is taught correctly. I do not think that I suddenly matured just before taking Calculus my freshman year in college. I had an incredible professor who served as a facilitator, he allowed his students to try the problems, then he would demonstrate the correct approach, and so on...

6. I love technology!!! I especially love how familiar children are with technology and how quickly they adapt to technology.

7. I truly love my job and without a doubt I love going to work each day. No matter what is happening in the world outside my classroom, we are having a fantastic time together!!!

Awesome (CCSS) Math Resource

2011-09-05T04:56:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this snazzy math resource... Illuminations....it is part of Verizon's Thinkfinity and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The lessons are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Math is so important to me because I struggled with it for most of my education. In college, I finally found my niche and I ended up majoring in it. I promise you my high school math teachers would never believe it.

I am trying to decide if my new group of kiddos would benefit more from whole group math instruction or math centers...or perhaps a combination of the two...

Either way this site is worth checking out!

New Year = MIA

2011-08-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

I feel so out of touch with my TBA blogs since the new school year started (just the typical adjustment process); however, I am slowly finding a balance.

Our school is in the process of installing a snazzy new technology package that includes...a SMARTBOARD!!! Woo hoo!!

Today, I stumbled upon this website which has several Smartboard files for Kindergarten!! I absolutely cannot wait to use them!!

SMART Board lessons for your Kindergarten classroom

Common Core State Standards

2011-08-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Since Kindergarten is the first to implement the CCSS, I wanted to provide my parents with a handout of the Kindergarten Common Core State Standards.

Click here for the math PDF and here for the language arts.

Lettering Delights Freebie: First Day Signs

2011-08-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lettering Delights is offering FREE classroom signs to help you welcome your students. They have signs for grades PreK-12.

These signs make super cute first day pictures! :)

Click here to download signs.

P.S. They have lots of other freebies!

Another reason to love Matt Damon....

2011-08-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

Ready2Read

2011-07-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Annie Moffatt at The Moffatt Girls developed an awesome reading program for her daughters. She has graciously shared it and it is absolutely free! Each unit also has a corresponding lesson plan! To quote her description of R2R:

Ready2Read is a program that I created to help Audrey learn how to read. As an educator, I understand that children need both phonics and sight words to successfully learn how to read. Therefore, each unit will introduce 5 new sight words and 2 new word families. The units comprise of more than 20 printables that teach, reteach and reinforce basic reading concepts. In addition, I have made day-by-day lesson plans available.

Teachers and moms must check it out!!!!! Click here to check it out! Thank you Annie!!!

Sqworl

2011-07-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Sqworl is an online bookmarking site...I have my bookmarks grouped by grade level and/or subject. Click on the links below to view my bookmarks...

Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Sixth Grade (Middle School)
ESE
ESOL
Teacher Technology
Teacher Resources

I add to these all the time so keep checking!

Fun Backyard Craft

2011-07-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

I found this on Etsy and loved it! This is something you can do yourself in your backyard and let the sun melt the crayons or use a heat gun in the garage.

***Be sure to use Crayola Crayons because they do not release toxins when they're melted.

Pottery Barn Kids: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday

2011-07-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

I love love love The Very Hungry Caterpillar collection at Pottery Barn Kids!!! Tons of great ideas for your classroom!

Click here to check it out!

CNN Video: "Why I Quit"

2011-07-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

This video is very insightful....

I love my job...actually love is an understatement...

However, when I worked in finance, I honestly had no idea as to what sacrifices teachers make...

What Kindergarten Teachers Wish Parents Knew | Scholastic.com

2011-07-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

What Kindergarten Teachers Wish Parents Knew | Scholastic.com

This is a great read!

I made a blog button!!!!

2011-07-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Yay!! I made my very own blog button!! I'm slowly becoming an official blogger!!! :)

Goodies in the works...

2011-07-18T05:14:00.000-07:00

I am really trying to keep up with my posts...but they've taken a back seat to my STEM internship and my blog/classroom website redesign! It is my goal to have a post each day and here is what I'm working on...

1. TpT freebies for Jolly Phonics (and that's plural)
2. Overview of Google Apps (and their use in your classroom)
3. STEM!!!!! (all about STEM education and resources)
4. Sharing my 1,000+ Google docs

And there's more (I officially have a "Blogger Notebook" I carry around to jot down ideas). In the mean time, below is a link to my classroom website. :)

Click here to check it out!

More Christmas in July from TBA!

2011-07-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Christmas (in July)...the TBA shop has items for 50% off!!

TBA Blog Shop

Freebie Friday!!!

2011-07-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Teacher Blog Addict is celebrating "Christmas in July"!!! Click on the image below to check out all of the great freebies for Freebie Friday!!

Pinspiration...why I love Pinterest

2011-07-13T04:47:00.000-07:00

Pinterest is an online "pin board" (design board) that allows you to "pin" (or bookmark) things/ideas/inspirations you find on the internet. To quote their definition...

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

I love, love, love it for so many reasons but mainly because it simplifies/organizes the standard "bookmark". I usually have 10+ tabs open during an average internet session :) and/or I go on "bookmarking sprees" and eventually forget why I bookmarked a page.

Pinterest allows users to pin specific pictures (and the associated source) from the web so they are able to refer back to them. It is FANTASTIC for those who are more visual!

Click on the picture below to see to my "classroom" pin board...

Prepare to be hooked....happy pinning! :)

Reading Bags!

2011-07-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Megan...and I'm a Target $1 spot addict...

But it has paid off! :) I just purchased the best reading bags for my kiddos!!! I love Dr. Seuss and these snazzy bags were found in the (you guessed it) $1 section of Target (woo hoo).

Last year, each student paid $5 for reading tote bags that had a screen print of our school logo and by the end of the year (actually by Christmas) they were looking rough. Since the Dr. Seuss bags are only $1, I was able to purchase extras and still stay under the $5!

Students use these to take home their New Way reading books each night. I encourage parents to use these instead of backpacks but the kiddos are so excited to tote around their (empty) backpacks. (ah, the joys of Kindergarten) :)

I'm finally bloggin!

2011-07-06T03:14:00.000-07:00

For the past...oh 6 months...I've been eagerly following (a more pleasant way of saying "stalking") all of the teacher blogs. I am excited to begin the upcoming school year as an official blogger!!