Sub Binder

Over the summer, I spent a ton of time on Pinterest. It is one of the best places a teacher can go for new ideas. One of the things I found on Pinterest was the idea of a Sub Binder. I created a binder with tabs that I thought were important and I leave it sitting on my desk for a substitute teacher. Here is basically what my binder is:

Before the first tab:

• Welcome letter to the sub
• Classroom management system
• Think sheets
• A seating chart
• A list of all my students with their pictures and names (kids like to play tricks on subs).

Tab 1: Schedules

• The daily schedule
• The specials schedule

Tab 2: Emergency Procedures

• My principal required this of our sub folders, and it is just good sense. Subs need to know what to do in the event of an emergency.

Tab 3: Lesson Plans

• Here I include the lesson plans for the date of my absence.
• I also have sheet protectors for any papers that they will need. I wrote with a sharpie on the front of the 6 or 7 page protectors exactly what subject they would need the papers inside for. 

Tab 4: Emergency Plans

• This section is in case you get ill out of the blue and don't want to be up at the school at 4 in the morning to prepare sub plans. I arranged it exactly like my normal plans, but these plans are generic based on the unit we are studying. In my welcome letter I state that if there are not plans in the Lesson Plans section, then this was an unplanned absence and they should refer to the plans in the Emergency Plans section. 

Tab 5: End of the Day

• This section has a checklist of everything that needs to be completed before the bell rings or before they leave. For example, students are to stack their chairs and mark their days (color the color they ended up on from our clip chart to show their parents). If it is Friday, they will also need their Friday Folders. Things like that. I also have the sub leave me a note to say how the day went (I have a cute template that I got for free on TPT). 

I have gotten several compliments from subs to say how much smoother their day went with my plans and my binder than with other teachers' plans. One sub even wrote a note to my principal to say how impressed she was. It feels awesome to get great recognition from your principal your very first year. 

Lesson: The more prepared you are (with your sub binder in particular) the smoother things will run!

Panic Mode

As a new teacher, Panic Mode is a mode that you will become very familiar with!

I was about a month into school when we had our Literacy First training. Literacy First is basically the model they want us to follow for all of our literacy stuff (and some of our math). It's a very complex program and I am not going to go into great detail about it here (partially because I don't know if I could get in trouble for it).

I had already figured out what I wanted my literacy centers to look like. It was modeled after the teacher that I did my student teaching with. I knew this system worked well and I had an idea of what I wanted to do at each station. When my friend and I arrived at the training and were guided through the GIANT book of information, we were totally flabbergasted. I hadn't necessarily been doing everything wrong, I just wasn't doing the centers that Literacy First suggests you do. I blocked most of the training day out (but throughout the day I had placed sticky notes on important pages). I spent the weekend in my classroom reworking my centers and I was in a total panic mode.

On Monday, my coach came in to talk to me and make sure that I was feeling okay after the training. I told her how I was feeling. She explained to me that we are new teachers. Not everything is going to be perfect the first time. Not only are we new teachers, we are new to the district and to the state. Their standards and models are totally alien to us (and by 'us' and 'we' I mean my friend that moved out from Colorado with me). She said that I should focus on one center at a time until I get it the way that I want it.

Lesson: You will get a lot of models/information about how to teach/run your classroom. Don't panic. You are a new teacher and you will not be expected to implement everything you learn the very next day after learning it. Your administrators know that you are new and will give you time and support to make sure you can get comfortable with new models.

A Minute to Catch My Breath!

Oh my gosh!!! It is already November! I haven't posted anything since before the first day of school!!!!

So much has happened. I barely have a moment to breath, it seems. I think what I have decided, as I think through everything I want to say, is to post multiple posts about each topic I want to cover. I have had two months of school and there is SO much I want to say!

I really hope a new teacher finds this next year!

Preparing for Back to School Night!

Tonight I had Back to School night! It went really well! I was totally stressing myself out which was really unnecessary.

I had prepared some thing that I wanted to give to parents earlier this summer based on things that I found online. But I found this week that it was a little bit of a waste of time. My principal gave me a list of things that she wanted us to include in the information that we gave to our parents. Most of the things that I had prepared this summer I didn't use.

I have also been SOOOO stressed out this past week. I think it might be because we have just gone through an information dumping week. Everyone is giving us everything they know about every topic and it is just SO much information. GAH!

Lesson 1: Ask your principal for a list of what she wants to go out for Backpack Night (or Back to School Night) because chances are, she (or he) has one!

Lesson 2: It is A LOT of information at the beginning. Bring a pen, paper to take notes, water, and take LOTS of deep breaths! They know that it is your first year and that you are going to make mistakes. Remember: it is OKAY to say "I don't know." If you try to fake your way through it, they know--trust me!

My Classroom (pre-pictures)!

Today I was able to get into my classroom and start organizing it. The teacher before me left a lot of resources in my room and so I need to try to find a place for everything. I was also able to find my box in the office. And my name is already on the door!

I wanted to post pictures of what my classroom looks like before I get it organized the way I want it. So here they are!

From the front door:

From the corner diagonal from the front door:

I will post after pictures later this week. My classroom should be set up by next Monday. :)  I am getting so excited for the school year.

I have decided to post the lesson that I have learned with each experience and I am going to link experiences on a separate page to make the lessons that I have learned more easily searchable.

Lesson: DEFINITELY go in as soon as possible to set up your room because you never know if the teacher before you left a ton of stuff or not.

School Supplies

I LOVE school supplies! I have been drooling over all of the new school supplies that are popping up all over the place. My grandma gave me some money to help me get settled in my new town. So today I went to the store and got a few things for my classroom that I have either read will be helpful or pinned on Pinterest.

I got a label maker! I can put my name on the bottom of things that belong to me before I get them into my classroom.

I also found an idea on Pinterest to help students remember to put their names on their papers. You leave a cup of highlighters near where you want them to turn in assignments and make them highlight their name before they turn it in.

I bought three pen holders, one for this idea and one for dull/sharp cups for pencils.

I am going to use Mod Podge to decorate them and add labels. Hopefully they turn out as cute as the ideas I have found on Pinterest!

I also bought three dish pans to use as Work Baskets. While I was reading a blog (The Clutter-Free Classroom) I stumbled upon one of her flash freebies. Her suggestion was to purchase plastic dish pans from the dollar store (if the only dollar store you have is Family Dollar, I actually found them cheaper at Walmart). You can spray paint them to add color to the classroom if you want. Then you use Mod Podge to glue labels onto the sides of the dish pans to make the labels last longer. You have students turn in assignments by subject. That way, you can save time sorting through papers that need grading. Right now they are just white, but when I get paid I am definitely buying spray paint.

I also finally got to see my classroom! My friend has a key to the building (I haven't met any school officials in person yet). I am so excited because my room is HUGE! And there are so many resources already stacked in my classroom. I really want to get back in there, but I have to either wait until Tuesday or see if my friend is up for another trip out there.

I am getting so excited for school to start. Today was hard because Mike went back to Colorado. It is really going to be difficult being so far away from him especially when I run into some issues. I will start posting more soon because my first day is on Tuesday!! Wish me luck!!!!!

Welcome to Kansas!

I arrived here in Kansas on Thursday night at about 9:30 Central time. We successfully got the U-Haul and my car unloaded. We had issues with U-Haul before we left. We weren't able to pick up the trailer the night before (even though we had it reserved) and so we had to load the trailer at 7:30 A.M. Mountain time. We didn't leave until about 10 A.M. Mountain time.

Friday we spent bringing up boxes and getting the utilities all set up. We also went and found my new elementary school. It looks like a really nice school. I really want to get my room set up. It is probably a good thing that I can't yet though, I REALLY need to work on my apartment.

I said good-bye to my parents this morning, which was really difficult. On top of that, I got a cold! Boo. But I have been slowly unpacking boxes. I have already used an idea off of Pinterest! I'm really excited at how well it worked. I took a piece of tape (Pinterest says to use painter's tape, but I used masking tape and it worked just as well) and I taped it to the back of a dry erase calendar I wanted to hang. I poked holes with a pen where the nails needed to be. Then I took the tape off the back of the calendar and put it on the wall. I used a level to make sure it was level and then I nailed nails into the wall where my holes were. Here is the picture (and link) from Pinterest:

A New Chapter

I have been so excited to move and start my career. Beyond excited. I knew that I would be leaving my loved ones here, but I was thinking about my exciting new adventure.

I just packed up my DVD player, printer and TV and it just hit me. I am leaving home. I will be on my own for the first time in my life with my parents 9 hours away. It didn't fully hit me until I put away my DVD player. I watch movies every night and so I wanted to pack that last. I feel like crying. But I know that's silly. I should still be excited to go. I should be excited that I actually was able to get a job unlike so many people who I graduated with. But all I keep thinking is that this is the last night that I will be sleeping in my room on my bed. I will still be here tomorrow night too, but I will be sleeping on the couch. This might be one of the hardest parts. Leaving home for the first time without the knowledge that you are still dependent on your parents.

Leaving for college was different. I was only an hour away from home. My parents were still supporting me. There was nothing but excitement and the fear of being 30 minutes away from Mike for the first time.

I am so scared.

Classroom Compulsion

Another way to get really awesome resources is to enter giveaways from other blogs. Tonight I started following this blog, following her friend's blog, following her teacher store and now I am blogging about her giveaway so that you know it's there. Any way that you can get awesome resources, do it because you are going to need all the help you can get the first year. Here is a link to Classroom Compulsion:

Cross your fingers for me!

...Now What?

I finally got my blog looking just the way I want it! I am so excited (and a little proud of myself) that I was able to figure out how to do everything, or how to get around things. I love my new signature! And I love how well my blog flows together. It finally looks like a professional did it! I have all of my methods written down in a Word document so if anyone wants to know how to do anything I can definitely share everything that I have learned about personalizing a blog.

I am also finished packing. We are having a "Loading" Party (aka a Come Over and Drink Beer Party) tomorrow. Friends and family are going to come and help us throw my stuff into a trailer and then visit a little while before I move.

I have everything done that I wanted to do before I moved...so now what do I do?

First Year Teacher

I have been messing around on Pinterest this evening (what's new, right?). I found this really awesome Kindle purchase that I plan on reading (along with finishing the other books on my reading list). It is a free download if you have a Kindle. The book is called First Year Teacher. This book is full of tips, advice and warnings for new teachers! I am sooooo reading this book! I will definitely need it.

T-Minus 4 days until I move (Oh my gosh!)
15 days until I begin my career!!!!

Teachers Pay Teachers

While messing around on Pinterest (as I have been doing a lot lately), I discovered this really awesome website called Teachers Pay Teachers. This website is full of teacher created resources! There are resources for everything (probably because teachers know what teachers need). I decided to do a post about this website because I have been getting a lot of really awesome resources on there for free! If a new teacher finds this blog next year, I really hope that they read this post. There are a lot of things on the website that aren't free (most are only around 2 or 3 dollars though if you really want something). But I have downloaded TONS of resources for next year from this website and I haven't paid a cent. I know that I will be glad to have some of these things when school starts.

Another idea for resources is a website called The Mailbox. If you sign up for their e-mail newsletter, they will send you some really awesome ideas for classroom management or art projects or free activity pages.

I hope this helps someone in the future!

Redesign

Obviously since school hasn't started yet and I don't really know what I could be working on (without spending money), there isn't a lot for me to post about. So therefore, I am trying to make my blog look amazing! It will probably take me a while to get it just the way I want it. But for now, try and laugh a little as I make some changes if they look a little ridiculous. I have the time to create a new background and such and so I might as well (I am almost done packing, yay!).

Today was my last day at the specialty retail store (that shall remain unnamed) and I am not sad about it at all. I barely got a goodbye from most of the people there and the company doesn't care either. I have a couple of people who I will keep in contact with, but for the most part--so long! :)

Pinterest

I finally created a header that I am actually really happy with. Now I need to work on creating an awesome background to go with it. All of the blogs that I am visiting (mostly via Pinterest) have really awesome designs. So I am sure that my header is still fairly amateur, but who cares for right now? I can work on it a little at a time.

I have been stealing a lot of really great teaching ideas off of Pinterest lately that I am DYING to try! I cannot wait to get to Kansas and get all set up in my apartment so that I can get started organizing for the school year.

I also received my "teacher e-mail address" today and it made me really happy and excited. I don't really feel like I am actually a big girl now who is moving out and starting her own life. I feel like I am packing to go back to school and in a few weeks I will see all of my college friends. Life in Kansas is definitely going to be an adjustment. But on the bright side, one of my college friends got a job in the same building, so I will already have a friend!

New Header!

I have been playing with Photoshop (which is WAY more difficult than I expected it to be) and I have finally created my own header. I couldn't have done it without TONS of help from my computer savvy boyfriend.

I know it isn't the greatest, but hey, I finally did it! I will definitely be working to create a better one, which hopefully I will have up and running soon, but for now, this one will do.

T-Minus 16 days until I move to Kansas!
27 days until I have to report for New Teacher Orientation. Hopefully then I can start posting more about teaching and less about my life until then!

Goodbye Retail!

I cannot tell you how happy I am to be done working in retail. People are just so MEAN! Seriously, what did I do to you to make you treat me like crap? I asked a lady if she was doing okay (like every trained associate in a specialty retail store would) and she ignored me and turned around and walked away. Seriously? I'm not a good enough person to even look at? I know this blog is about my first year of teaching, but this is me saying "So long retail!" I promise I am done ranting after this. I just have a few things that I really want every single mean customer out there to read:

1) It is okay to have a normal conversation with a sales associate. Just because I ask how you are doing today does not mean that I am going to try and sell you something. I hate it when I ask how their day is going and they say "I don't need help." Okay, but that's not what I asked, lady. Maybe you need a good teacher (like me!) to teach you proper responses to questions.

2) If you had a good mother or father, I am sure they taught you that it is not okay to ignore people. Again, just because I say hello does not mean that I want to sell you something. When I say hello and you just ignore me, then I know that you are the type of person who thinks they are better than anyone who has to work crappy jobs to support themselves. I'm sorry, no you are not better than me because I actually have manners.

3) A smile goes a LONG way. I am just supporting myself and doing what I am told to keep my job, you don't need to be mean.

4) I am always amazed at how rude some people are when they are eating at a restaurant! Seriously, they are dealing with your food! I have worked in a restaurant and yes, I have seen a waiter spit in someone's food. It is not just a myth, people! I know working in retail I can't spit in something that someone is going to eat, but I can be really mean at the register in my own passive aggressive way. Guess what, at my job, I may be the greeter and the cashier, which means that if you are rude to me at the front of the store, I might also be the cashier and sorry, no our register isn't capable of looking up coupons. But if someone is nice to me, guess what, I have this 20% off coupon that I just happen to know the code for even though you didn't actually get the coupon in the mail. Be nice to retail people because they may want to help you out if your transaction starts climbing quickly.

Not every person is mean. I love the people who come in and start talking up a storm! I just wish people knew that just because I am nice does not mean I am getting paid on commission.

Okay, next post will be about teaching. I have had my rant about retail.

My New Planner

The last few days, I have spent packing up my bedroom (which is taking FOREVER).

But I was able to purchase a "Teacher Planner/Record Book".

I want to be as organized as possible this year since it is my first year. So I have taken the time to mark the dates that we have no school and the dates that are teacher inservice days. The No School days are pink and the Teacher Inservice days are purple. 

I only prepared 10 student boxes because I am not sure how many students I have yet. 

I am getting very excited about moving and beginning my new career. I hope this year runs smoothly. I can't wait to get out there and set up my classroom. Hopefully I can find more things to prepare while I have all this time. I am sure that next year, I will know exactly what I need to do to prepare for the school year. I wish I knew that now. In the mean time, I will continue to read these awesome resources that I found through one of my mentor teachers:

           

   

Preparations

I have been spending most of the day packing today. But I thought I would take a moment to work on anchor charts! I just finished a chart on Adjectives. I got the idea from a pin on Pinterest. Here is the link to The Inspired Apple (the blog that the idea came from):

 http://theinspiredapple.blogspot.com/2012/03/camera-dump-anchor-charts-oh-my.html

I think my chart turned out pretty good. I will also make the charts for noun, vowel, etc.

Moving!

I just graduated from a college in Colorado that was roughly an hour and twenty minutes away from home. My mother raised me to be reasonable about expenses that are coming up (like my $30,000 of student loans). So when I went to a job fair for new teachers, I went to every booth--out-of-state or not. I am very excited because I got a job! I am one of the few people I know or have heard of to get a teaching job right out of school in this economy. I am now off on a new adventure because I am moving to Kansas! I am very excited to get settled out there.

I already have a pretty nice apartment. But now, I need to start packing! I have been looking online for ways to get prepared for an out-of-state move and they are all basically saying the same things:

1) Give yourself plenty of time to pack.
          Check. I have four weeks to pack!

2) Get information on any licenses/IDs you will need.
          I plan on doing that tomorrow. :)

3) Set up your utilities before you arrive.
          I will also accomplish that tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

My Very First Blog Post

Hello!

This is my very first posting and I have to say that I am a little excited to start off my new blog. I hope that I can come up with as many great ideas as I have gotten from the many terrific blogs that I have been following the past couple months. As this is my first year as a teacher...in a classroom...by myself (mostly), any advice would be AWESOME.

I have been trying to figure out how to prepare for the coming year. I know that there is probably a lot that I could be doing, but I have no idea where to start. I have written a welcome letter for my parents with as much information as I have at the moment (which is not a lot) and I have created a few monthly calendars for the coming school year. Mostly though, I have just been pinning away on Pinterest. What should I do to prepare for the school year?