No Planning Week
Are you productive when your team comes together for planning or all-staff professional development meeting? For me, I generally am productive. However, there are particular times in a teacher’s schedule when everything comes to a close and you about lose your mind trying to tie all the loose ends together. This generally happens at the…
Read Full Post*200 Followers* Freebie!
Today I am celebrating 200 followers!! Wahoo!! Thank you to all my loyal readers. I started this blog last year to record my experiences and reflect on how I could become a better teacher. Networking with teacher bloggers has allowed me an outlet to vent with people who “get it” as well as borrow stellar…
Read Full PostTeacher of the Month
Wednesday, January 9th was one of those days where it was the best and the worst day rolled into one. I went from the lowest low to the highest high. Let me start at the beginning… I left teaching in a Title-One school after 5 years because I was ready for a change. I was…
Read Full PostLiterature that will Change your Life
Have you ever read the book Junebug by Alice Mead? Oh my goodness. I might have been more excited to start reading it than my own students! Tell me this wouldn’t have you hook, line, and sinker?: “Reeve McClain, Jr.—Junebug—has decided to skip his birthday. Since ten is the age when boys in the projects…
Read Full PostEnriching Learning
Have you heard of ASCD? [“ASCD is a membership organization that develops programs, products, and services essential to the way educators learn, teach, and lead.”] I receive their magazine “Educational Leadership” monthly. At the end of the magazine, there is a section called, “Tell Me About A Time…” where readers (just like us!) can write…
Read Full PostRubric vs Checklist
I have evolved in the way I grade papers over the last seven years of my career. In my first year of teaching, I took every paper home. I’d look through it, make editing marks, and even record it. I quickly learned this is a way to get burned out so instead I would just…
Read Full PostNew Year's Resolution Linky!
Thank you to Jen over at The Teacher’s Cauldron and Amanda from Teaching Maddeness for these fun linky parties! Personal: Allow myself balance. I love what I do so it is easy to get caught up in hours of “teachery” stuff. I want to walk my dog daily so that gives me a good hour…
Read Full Post2012- year in review!
WordPress.com presents 2012 in blogging Annual Report Happy New Year from WordPress.com! Crunchy numbers 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 13 years to get that…
Read Full PostCaught Being Good!
My school recently implemented a school-wide initiative in which all staff members are able to reward classes that follow school rules. We call this “Pawsitive Paws.” This is to encourage knowledge and application of school rules. (1. I am SAFE. 2. I Am Respectful. 3. I Am a Learner.) Each staff member is stocked up…
Read Full PostGod Bless our newest angels
As I am home in Connecticut for the holidays, I am overwhelmed with the support and love for those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary this month. In visiting Newtown, CT it is evident that no one forgets what happened in their small, quaint town. Below are pictures I was able to take during my…
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