thinkbrit

incognerdo: ohmuffins: A Karaoke 5K? Are you serious? Click...

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:59:17 -0400

incognerdo:

ohmuffins:

A Karaoke 5K? Are you serious?

Click through for more information.

Doing it!

Oh. My. I HAVE to do this.

ilovecharts: -christina-n-weber Um, this is basically how I...

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:12:07 -0400

ilovecharts:

-christina-n-weber

Um, this is basically how I live my life.

Exhaustion and happiness and sadness and news.

Thu, 31 May 2012 22:26:16 -0400

Exhaustion:

We went hiking today, on our last day of school. It was amazing.
I am so sunburned.
Went to the end-of-year staff party tonight.
Lots of emotions.

Happiness:

My kids are amazing and have grown so much this year.
I’m no longer a first year teacher!
I love the people I work with.
I have news & no more uncertainty.

Sadness:

I will miss my kids. I cried.
Change is really hard.

News:

I accepted a job teaching a 3/4 combined gifted & talented class at my current school. This is my passion and I am incredibly excited.

Thanks, Tumblr community, for helping me get through this amazing roller-coaster of a first year of teaching. It meant so much to me to know you were (and are) all behind me.

I will write more/reflect on the year later, but for now I’m utterly exhausted and redder than a tomato.

May 30, 2012 Dear Crew, I can’t believe the year is over. It seems like just yesterday that...

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:49:59 -0400

May 30, 2012

Dear Crew,

I can’t believe the year is over. It seems like just yesterday that you walked into my room for the first time. I was so nervous that first day- and what you didn’t know until the end of the day was that it was my first day as a teacher on my own. Your smiles and eager spirits made it easy for me to get through the first day, and I am so happy to have grown with you this year. I am proud to call you my first crew, and I know I won’t forget you.

We have learned together this year. From our first voyage and the first time I got the giggles in front of you (and my face turned tomato red) to our last drum circle as a crew on Tuesday, we have been there to support one another. I am happy to have been your teacher this year… but each of you has been my teacher, too. I learned:

Sometimes I just have to giggle, even if I should really be keeping a straight face.
Although some books are fantastic, they are too long for a read-aloud. (I still recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society!)
Sometimes it’s best to just stop and refocus, or try again.
Third graders often say things you’re not expecting. And those things might be really silly.
Perseverance can be hard, but the results pay off big-time.

I am excited to see how you grow in fourth grade. I know each of you will be successful, wherever you go. I know each of us has a favorite memory or two from this year, and I would like to part with one of mine. I remember reading our first read-aloud: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Every one of you waited with bated breath as Charlie peeled back the wrapper of the Wonka Bar with the Golden Ticket. We all knew what would happen, but we were all anticipating Roald Dahl’s elegant reveal. When I finally read the part where Charlie saw the ticket, I remember how you reacted. There were gasps and cheers, and I knew I wouldn’t forget that moment. I loved hearing you all beg me to read just a little more. I hope you remember that books can bring people together, and that you continue to read. If you ever need a book recommendation, please come visit. I would be more than happy to suggest a book.

Thank you for the best first year a teacher could ask for, crew. I will miss you.

Love,

Ms. B

Today is the last day of school.

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:46:08 -0400

I’m going to cry. I already started to cry in the shower this morning. I’m so proud of my kids.

We’re going on a last-day-of-school hike- could there be a better way to end the year?

But yes. There will be tears. I’ve warned the kids already and resigned myself to my fate, although I will try to hold off as long as possible.

Wellesley Tumblr Roll Call

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:05:00 -0400

sienaeats:

wellesleymag:

Lisa, class of 1999 and an associate editor at Wellesley magazine
wellesleyunderground:

Can we do a roll call for all the Wellesley peeps on Tumblr? Just reblog this if you go to/went to Wellesley. If you are inclined, you can add your name and year but it’s fine if you don’t.

<3 Wellesley Underground

Siena Napoleon 09

Brittany S 09

I just wrote a letter to my crew for the last day of school.

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:27:00 -0400

I might cry.

I’ll post it later.

Edit: Queued to post on Thursday at 4, when my kids are released for the year.

Big, paralyzed puddle of anxiety?

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:28:05 -0400

Yup, that’d be me.

For no real, articulateable (I’m making that a word) reason.

Too much to do? Too much unknown? Change? Transition?

Yes, all of those reasons and more. 1 and a half more days with kids, which is both good and bad.

Daily 5 and Cafe Strategies Resources

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:39:46 -0400

Reblogging for myself to refer to later. Thanks, PPT!

positivelypersistentteach:

I have been hoping all year that next year I could move up a grade. With that hope in mind, I’ve been pinning on Pinterest Daily 5 and Cafe Strategies ideas. It doesn’t look like I’ll be changing grades, so I thought I would at least share what I’ve found.

The books are written by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.

Here is what I’ve found:

Daily 5 Resources from 3rd Grade Thoughts

Zap It - Game for Word work from Indulgy

Daily 5 Work on Words and Freebies from 3rd Grade’s a Hoot

Guided Reading 101: Printables, Strategies, and Word Work $8.50 on Teachers pay Teachers

Working on Writing - What do Writers Write Free Printable from the Teacher Wife

Story Starters from The Frugal Teacher

Daily 5 / Cafe Bulletin Board example from The Frugal Teacher

Wondrous Word Work from First Grader… at Last!

Reading Stamina Chart from F is for First Grade

Spelling, Sorting and Mapping (see first idea) - from Montessori Work

Anchor Charts from First Grader … At Last!

Bloom’s Taxonomy for Guided Reading from Mrs. Saylor’s Log

Literacy Cafe Menu from Pbaker

Read to Someone Spinner from Mrs. Crowder’s Busy Bees

Free Daily 5 Posters to download from Kindertastic

Daily 5 Handbook from Second Grade is Splendid (Part 1, see side bar on blog for the rest)

Daily 5 Power Point - Free - on Teachers Pay Teachers

More Reading Buddies Questions from The Picnic Pals

Free Daily 5 Introductory Lessons from The Best of Teachers Pay Teachers

Great Daily 5 Ideas from Beg Borrow Steal

Dr. Seuss Daily 5 Anchor Charts - Mrs. Saylor’s Log

Great explanation of how one teacher runs Daily 5 from Mrs. Vansko’s Teacherweb

If you are trying out Daily 5 / Cafe next year (or thinking about it) and plan on doing some research of it over the summer, I suggest you bookmark or reblog this post!

Adjusting to a new teacher

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:08:29 -0400

Adjusting to a new teacher:

A co-worker of mine posted this on our PD site on Edmodo, and I think it’s great. It seems so bizarre to already be thinking about these things for next year, but it’s true. We have to start the year gently and build relationships slowly with our new crew.

vantagelearningblog: One is one … or is it? One bag of apples,...

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:24:29 -0400

vantagelearningblog:

One is one … or is it?

One bag of apples, one apple, one slice of apple — which of these is one unit? Explore the basic unit of math (explained by a trip to the grocery store!) and discover the many meanings of one.

This might get a play in my classroom next week when we spend a few days reviewing some difficult concepts from this year. Awesome.

This made me weepy.

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:57:51 -0400

Email from a parent:

I can’t believe this year is almost over. Every time I talk to [name omitted] about summer and school being over he gets sad and says he will miss you not being his teacher. You have done such a great job with [name omitted] this year and I feel like he has grown so much. Thank you! You may have a hugger coming up to you next year when ever he sees you in the hall.

I was feeling pretty down on myself this week, but this email made all the difference. I love this student and his family. The good news is that he has a younger sibling.

Day 5 of Jillian Michaels...

Wed, 23 May 2012 20:41:09 -0400

Much easier, but I also started feeling faint during it. I don’t think I’d eaten enough calories before I started working out, and now I just don’t feel like eating anything. I should, though.

The stats: 5 days of Jillian. 2 inches lost from my waist in the last 2 weeks. 4 pounds dropped in the last 2 weeks. I’m feeling pretty sweet about that.

I made some delicious baked chicken tenders today. Marinate in hot sauce, dredge in seasoned breadcrumbs (no eggs necessary- the breadcrumbs stick to the marinade), spray with Pam, and bake at 500 for about 15 minutes.

Yum.

Now for more calories and more grading. Yippee.

Computer may or may not be dead.

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:16:22 -0400

We shall know in 5-7 days whether it’s fixable or if I need to pinch my pennies and buy a new one.

Yay.

Motivation, where have you gone?

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:52:44 -0400

I got home and cooked dinner (citrus marinated tofu… yum). Now I have no motivation to do anything. Clean up? Eh. Work out? Eh. Grade or plan? Eh.

But I will. I will do those things. That is what it means to be responsible, right?

Yay. The Mood is back.

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:25:03 -0400

Going to bed to see if that helps.

Fingers crossed.

Things I did today:

Sun, 20 May 2012 21:09:21 -0400

bridal shower
exercise (day 3 of Jillian Michaels, what is UP)
grocery shop
slog my way through some grading

I hate grading. I hate it with every fiber of my being. I need to be better at this whole thing. I’m kind of in a place right now where I feel like I’m not doing a good job and questioning if I’ve done a good job in certain places all year.

Basically, I feel icky about my job right now. I have to get over that. 8 more days…

lhuddles: I like the DVD a lot! I’m doing 30 Day Shred, which as 3 different workouts (level 1, 2,...

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:45:39 -0400

lhuddles:

I like the DVD a lot! I’m doing 30 Day Shred, which as 3 different workouts (level 1, 2, and 3; all get increasingly harder). Each workout is just 20 minutes long, and all you need for them is a pair of hand weights.

Read More

I totally agree. I have done 2 days of Jillian Michaels, and I love it so far. I’ve only done level one, and I think I’ll be there for a while.

2 days in a row of Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred.

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:49:48 -0400

It is a problem that I live on the third floor. Stairs. I want to fall down them. My legs!

Also I have now worked out for 3 days in a row and have consistently been at or under my calorie goal all week. Go team!

everyfiredies: allisonunsupervised: hisnamewasbeanni: ambedu: ...

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:11:47 -0400

everyfiredies:

allisonunsupervised:

hisnamewasbeanni:

ambedu:

Found this shirt on Tanga, a daily deal type website! I thought everyone in the #education tag might appreciate it!

I would wear the hell out of this.

I had it in my cart.

But what I really need is a shirt that says, “I teach English, and spotting the comma splice saved me $8.98.”

allisonunsupervised is the best.

Yes, she is. I had the same thought. I can’t possibly buy a shirt with a comma splice.