Teacher Week + Leibster Award

Okay, y'all! It is teacher week 2013. I am excited that this is a thing! What more could you want?!

Well before I tell you 10 things about me, I wanted to tell you that Ashley Copeland at Tacky the Teacher nominated me for the Leibster Award. I just could not believe it when I read my comments. Thank you so much! 

To accept the nomination you must:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them

I nominate the following blogs:

1. 2 Preschool Pals
2. Fun in Pre-K 1 & Kindergarten
3. Mrs. Brown the Bookworm
4. If you Give a Teacher a Treat
5. Paula's Place

To answer Ashley's questions: 

1. How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

I just started blogging this summer. It has been something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I just love sharing my ideas and getting ideas from others. It is also a great way to see how others would do it. There are so many lovely blogs out there! 
2. When do you get into your classroom for the first time in the summer?

Well school has already started and I am enjoying being back. (I know, crazy!) I went back to work on my room in July because I found out that I was moving in to a different room with a different Para. There was so much work to be done so I spent most of my July days in the room. It looks fabulous, by the way. 
3. If you were not a teacher, what would your career be?

I am obsessed with tigers. It is a weird fact. I even used to save pictures of them on my computer when I was young. I would love to work with tigers, if I wasn't a teacher. 
4. What children's book is your favorite to teach with and why?

I love to teach with the "There Was an Old Lady..." books. I feel as though they are a great way to teach math patterns and have fun. The kids love them! There is so much to do with them. 
5. What is the most embarrassing teacher moment you have had?

This may be TMI, BUTTTTTTT one time I was hanging something up and I farted so loud. I didn't even know I had to do it. It just came out. It was so embarrassing and hilarious! GROSS.
6. If you could eat one food every day what would it be?

Cheesecake. I love cheesecake. (I blame it on Eric)
7. What is your favorite classroom theme you have had?

This is my second year teaching and both years I had a polka dot theme. I love it because you can do anything with it. This year my theme is a mixture of colors and patterns. I call it: "Dr. Seuss Threw Up" Theme
8. What is your favorite blog to read? 

I love the Tattooed Teacher. She is one of the blogs I follow religiously. She just puts it out there and I love it. 
9. What is your favorite subject to teach?

I love to teach Math. It is so hands-on and fun. That is one thing I miss about the older grades (K-5). 
10. What color would you use to describe your personality?

Oh gosh, do I have to choose. What color says happy, carefree, and a little bit sassy? What ever it is, that is me. 
11. What professional development book would you recommend?

I have not had to read one. I am dying to get my hands on that Talking, Drawing, Writing. I feel as though it can be beneficial for all grades. 

For my 11 random facts I can incorporate the All About Me Monday! 

1. Seriously, I love Tegan and Sara. They are my favorite band and they have been since I was 14. I own like 8 band T-Shirts and I have seen them in concert 4 times. I get to see them again at Music Midtown in September and I am stoked. It is actually quite ridiculous. 

2. There are several TV shows that I have a guilty pleasure for. The biggest is Pretty Little Liars. I know I am an adult and I should be in to cool, mature things but I just cannot help it. The mystery is too inciting. (I do like good, adult shows too)

3. I have 4 animals (5 if you count Kinley) living in the apartment with me and Eric. One is a little Chihuahua named Chewie (Chewbacca for you Star Wars lovers) and three rats. There names are: Whisker White, Saul Goodmouse, and Jesse Pinktail. *insert Breaking Bad pun, here*

4. I have a shopping addiction. Seriously. It. Is. BAD. If I cannot afford to buy too much, I go to the Dollar Tree to get my fix. I just can't help it.

5. I pay Target's bills. I am there everyday it seems. Eric went to a birthday party once and one of the party-goers said, "I rang up your fiance today at Target. She is there like everyday." LOL They need a Target's Anonymous.

6. I don't exercise but I really want to. I just never feel like it. Does that make sense?

7. It is the 6th day of school and all of my students already know I am crazy! They tell me all the time how silly and crazy I am. I guess as I get older I can't hold in the "weird" as much. 

8. I really like ice cream. My favorite flavor is Mint Chocolate Chip. 

9. Going to the movies is my favorite thing to do. Forget the romantic, over the top dates, I just wanna go to the movies. 

10. I spend a lot of time watching youtube tutorial videos. Eric makes fun of me for it, but I just can't help it. You can learn how to do everything through Googling and Youtubing! 

*11. I enjoy fonts. I can spend several hours a day looking and downloading fonts. It is so weird. 

My 11 questions for my blogger friends:

1. When did you first realize when you wanted to become a teacher?

2. What was the hardest year of teaching you have had? How did you overcome it?

3. What is the most embarrassing moment you have had at school?

4. What is your favorite blog to read?

5. What subject do you enjoy teaching the most?

6. If you weren't a teacher, what else would you do?

7. What are your guilty pleasures?

8. What was your favorite classroom theme?

9. What past lesson you planned was the most successful? Why?

10. Name one of the most rewarding moments in your teaching career.

11. What has been your favorite class theme over the years?

Thanks for reading my blog. Check out the blogs I nominated and all of the great blogs that have posted their about me's on Blog Hoppin'!

Meet & Greet!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! This last week has been a whirlwind of crazy! Thursday was the first day of school and we had Meet & Greet on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. I had to make sure all of the things I worked on this summer were ready.

Here are some photos of my room for the lovely occasion. :)

I definitely am lucky that so many great ideas are floating around on the internet from seasoned teachers. All of their advice and ideas on Pinterest and blogs helped me to have a smooth Meet & Greet. Everything was in place and worked great. 

I had 5 stations. They are as follows:

As soon as the parents walked in the door, they had to sign in. The parents also had a choice to sign up to be a volunteer. It is always nice to see who wants to volunteer so you can see all of the options you have to lend a helping hand. Parents are just awesome like that! They love helping, so use them. :) 

Step 1: The parents followed the yellow signs. This took them to a table where they needed to pick up a baggie with their child's name on it. This baggie had everything they needed to know and sign inside of it. I even had all of the forms that needed to be signed and sent back paper-clipped. Easy and convenient for the parents. Remember, some parents have several children and have to sort through the paper work. This helps them a lot! Here is a close up of my baggies.

Inside of the baggies were as follows:

1. Meet the teacher letter
2. Remind 101 letter
3. 2 flyers about why reading is important *I found these on Pinterest..they are not created by me.
4. Lunch information
5. Student handbook pages that needed to be signed
6. Pre-K Handbook
7. Student information sheet *found on Pinterest

All of this information (except the handbooks) can be found below. 

*****One thing I forgot to put in the bag was what the students NEEDED for school**** 

Um hello! How could I forget that!? I did write that info on the board though.

Step 2: The next step was to find the brown paper bag with their child's name on it. This was a way for parents and the child to see that they had an important project to do together. The label says to bring in a few (5-6) items that tell us about you. I was going to put it in the baggie with all the other information,  but I wanted it to be a separate thing to that wouldn't get pushed to the side. On the first day of school, ALL of my bags returned. I credit this to it being separate from the baggies.

 

Step 3: This step is for the parents to tell us how they are getting home on the first day, the second day, and the rest of the year. This is definitely the most important step of the whole meet & greet affair. My Para manned the station and verified each address and made sure parents filled out everything correctly. This made for a smooth first and second day. 

I asked for the first and second day because we started school on a Thursday. Monday would be when each child really gets their routine down for dismissal. 

Here is the link for my how will your child get home.

Step 4: This step was the most fun! Parents were able to grab a scavenger hunt and explore the room with their child. This really helped to keep everyone moving and not standing around the room or talking to me the whole time. I was able to move and talk to all parents and students. It was nice! When the students were finished with the scavenger hunt, they were able to get a treasure from the Treasure Chest. 

Here is the Scavenger hunt that I used. I found it thanks to ....Pinterest, of course. Bu tI have made it easy for you to download here. It is from Little Kinder Warriors. It is a great blog! 

Step 5: This step was available for parents to grab a helping hand! I wrote down a few things we always need in Pre-K. It was a great idea. 

Meet and Greet was great! It was super busy and crazy but so much fun. I am going to have a great year this year. :)