Teacher Week- Who

Can you believe that it is about to be back to school? I get to meet my 41 firsties on Wednesday night (I am team teaching and do not have 41 kids in my class at one time, don't worry) and I cannot wait. 

I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus due to my summer job, but I am excited to get back into the groove. What better way to do that than Blog Hoppin's Teacher Week! 

My name is Katie and I am an almost 26 year old who is about to start my 4th year of teaching. I truly believe that teaching is a calling and I am one of those people that are lucky enough to get to do what I love each and every day. 

Here are the top 10 things that you need to know about me. 

One. My first two years of teaching were spent teaching 6th grade Language Arts. I definitely know that being an elementary teacher is what I am supposed to be doing. It for sure takes a special person to teach middle school. I loved it, but I love first grade even more. 

Two. I have known pretty much my entire life that I wanted to be a teacher. Everybody else in my family does something medical related...not me! 

Three. I have my Masters Degree and one day I think I would like to be a principal. I am already certified to do that, but I still like the classroom too much at this point. I also think being a curriculum specialist would be awesome too. 

Four. One of the things people look forward to most about being a teacher is summer break. I spend my summer working as a camp director at a camp that I attended as a child. I leave the day after school is over and I returned on the 9th. I got a total of five days of vacation but I would not have it any other way. 

Five. I currently teach in the same school district that I attended and graduated from. It is strange working on the same campus with some of my teachers that I had in elementary school. 

Six. In the spring I coach club volleyball. This upcoming spring will be my 9th year to do so.

Seven. This school year I get to team teach with an awesome friend of mine. I am going to be teaching Math, Science, and Social Studies and she will teach all of the Language Arts. I cannot wait for this experience and I know that I will be a better teacher because of it! 

Eight. I have an awesome set of parents and one sister who is 18 months younger than me. I think that they are pretty darn awesome. 

Nine. I am a reality TV junkie and you can often find me catching up off the DVR. I love Big Brother, Dance Moms, Survivor, Amazing Race. I cannot believe that I just admitted that. 

Ten. I am so blessed to have some of the best friends that a girl could ask for. I am not sure what I would do without them. 

I hope you will join in on the fun and I cannot wait to get to know all of you!

Head on over to Blog Hoppin' to link up and tell us all about you! 

July Currently...just a tad late!

Many of you know that I spend my summers working as a camp director just a little ways away from where I live. This is part of the reason the blog has taken a back set for now too. I simply do not have time. It has been another great summer so far, but I am starting to stress about getting a new classroom set up again. This will be the 4th time in 4 years. :) 

Team Teaching...Here I Come!

I know I have mentioned it before, but I am so excited to be team teaching in 1st grade next school year! I think it is going to be great, however, I also know that there is a possibility that it may flop. In my opinion though we won't know unless we try! I thought in honor of my upcoming journey that I would share some of the things I am most looking forward to in this new chapter of my teaching career!

One.
I am so looking forward to becoming a guru in what I am teaching. Right now I feel like I am a good teacher in all of the subjects, but I cannot wait to feel like an expert in Math, Science, and Social Studies. I know I am going to be a better math teacher because that will be my main focus. One of the things I am looking forward to most about teaching math is implementing true guided math in my classroom. Currently in my classroom I have roughly an hour to teach math. In my team teaching setting I will have about 90 minutes to teach math. I cannot wait to see what a difference having 90 minutes will make not only for my students next year, but just for their math career in general. The way our day is set up right now does not allow us to really teach Science and Social Studies explicitly and I cannot wait to do that either.

Two.
I am excited to have someone else to share my first grade friends with and the fact that I will get to touch the lives of twice as many of them too. One of the things I liked about teaching middle school was the fact that I knew I had the opportunity to touch the lives of so many students. My last year in 6th grade I taught 105 students to be exact. Their smiles are the reason I do what I do each day. There is also just something special about teaching 1st graders. They give the best hugs, they love you no matter what, and they just truly enjoy being at school.

Three.
I am excited to have a teaching partner that I can share ideas with and have someone else to talk with about our kids. Parent conferences can sometimes be a difficult task and you have to share some things with parents that are not the easiest to do. Being to have two different thoughts and people who are noticing the same things will be so helpful when those difficult conversations happen.

I am absolutely pumped for next year to get here so I can have this experience that I think is going to be just awesome! I promise to share more about the adventure as it happens. The goals for now are to survive our Author's Tea, have our Field/Water Day, and End of the Year Party, and did I mention that I am going to be setting up in a new classroom for the 4th year in a row? Oh well, it is so worth it this  year! 

May Currently

Is it seriously already May 6th? I cannot believe that I only have 22 more school days with my first grade friends! This year has had its ups and downs, but overall it has been my most favorite year of teaching yet. There is just something about teaching 1st grade and their sincerity in the fact that they truly love their teacher. There is not many things that are better then a big smile and a warm hug from my friends each morning. :)

Being that it is May I am linking up with Farley for her monthly fun. 

Wordless Wednesday

What is your favorite bulletin board that you have put up this year?

Currently- April Edition

I seriously cannot believe that it is April! I know I say this every month, but where the heck is the school year going? Since it is the 1st of the month I am linking up with one of my favorite blog buddies, Farley, for her Currently Party!

Let It Go- STAAR

It is that time of year that state testing begins again in Texas. As many of you know I spent my first two years teaching 6th grade language arts and testing was a big stress of mine. I know there are different things that stress me out now in 1st grade, but I know there are so many teachers who are worried about  the upcoming tests. This video was sent to me by one of my readers that volunteer in my classroom from the church right down the road. Don't stress…just let it go!