I counted three briefcase-sized bags tonight when I finally closed my books and packed up my crayons for tomorrow. There is always a bag in my room filled with books that have wonderful ideas and crafts I'd like to try someday. There is a bag in the back of my car containing the latest yard-sale purchases for my classroom. And last is the large quilted, pink elephant and paisley covered tote that is always glued to my side at the end of the day as I walk out of school and is still there in the morning when I'm seen walking back in!
Just to clear things up, my dad is a high school English teacher, and he passed down to me a passion for writing. I didn't say he passed down a skill of good writing, just a passion! :o)
A little about me... I graduated in December 2007 with my Bachelor's Degree from East Carolina University. I also have a K-12 reading license. I grew up in Greenville, NC, and am still here, but would love to move to at least one other state in the near future. I want to see the world and experience all it has to offer me! My family is very supportive of my career path - I mentioned before that my dad is a teacher; my mom was a preschool teacher for a few years when I was much younger as well. I like to read, be outside, and I love listening to music. I have a cat whose name is Hank - he likes to sit right on top of my computer when I'm trying to work.
I love and teach the first grade at Eastern Elementary in Greenville, NC. Currently there are 19 students in my class with several different nationalities, and they all add up to be a sweet, fun-loving group of 6 and 7 year-olds. We have survived the first half of the school year together, and it amazes me how much they have grown academically, physically, and emotionally!
First grade is a tough year because you are no longer in kindergarten where everything is new and simple and fresh, and you have to be prepared at the end for the fast pace of second grade. Finding a balance for my little ones has proven to be challenging as I am a very nurturing person. I want to give them the same amount of love and support they received from their kindergarten teachers while still pushing them full steam ahead.
I am very grateful to all the teachers around me at school. So many have given me supplies for my classroom (furniture, books, manipulatives, posters, boarders, files upon files of lessons and ideas, note pads, and most importantly chocolate!, and so many more have ideas to offer or projects to try. I have so many ideas myself, but the struggle I have is the fact that it's not possible to try them all this year. I have to be picky - and pick and choose the best for right now and try the rest in the years to come. Many teachers and friends tell me that your first year is all about surviving, but I don't like that saying. I feel that if I have that kind of an attitude towards this year, not only will I not enjoy it, but I will also be letting my students down. I don't want them to suffer academically or in any way just because this is my first time teaching. It's not fair to them. So I am slowly getting better at choosing activities and lessons that I like, but also keeping tabs on how much time to spend on them.
We are "Team Logan" in room 105, and we use music and partner/group work to help us learn. We use music to transition in the morning, to sing our Good Morning song, to sing about the days of the week and the vowels in the alphabet and the holidays...you name it, we have a song for it! Yes, surprisingly, the boys love it more than the girls! :o) Our favorite classroom tool is the stack of 10" square dry-erase boards that sit at the front of the room on the floor. We use these white boards to solve math problems, practice tough words, and we use them a lot in our reading groups for word work. Hand-held dry erase boards have definitely been a plus and a time/paper saver this year. They come highly recommended!
--Post made by January - February writer Brenna Logan
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1 comment:
I enjoyed your points that the first year is about the students, and NOT the teacher. Well said! And by the way, you have demonstrated through your enthusiastic tone that you really have a love for teaching and the well being of your students. Best of luck!
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