School's Started!

Wow, so these blog posts are going to be pretty slim for a while I presume. I'm pretty excited about all my kids...225 of them in all. I'm pretty close to knowing all their names after two weeks. They're pretty excited about Spanish. Anyways, story of the day...one of my 1st grade autistic boys blew his nose into his hands. As I was getting him a kleenex he stuffed it into his mouth. I gagged twice. Ugh. There have been much brighter moments. :) But that was the notable event of the day. Love to you all

Registering for Continuance

It's that time again to register for our EDUC 599 class :)

I emailed the registrar and this is what you do, just in case if you didn't know:

1. Email Kelly Duncan at Kelly.A.Duncan@wheaton.edu and ask her to register you for EDUC 599 (Action Research Continuance).  Note: you can only do this if this is the ONLY class you are registering for.

2. Mail a $50 dollar check (include your ID #) payable to Wheaton College to school.  

Wheaton College

Attn: Student Accounts

501 College Ave

Wheaton, IL 60187

And that's it!

Everyday Math

At my school, we are using Everyday Math.  I can't remember who has used this program before.  What is good about this program and what are some things I may need to supplement?

oh my...

Hi ladies!

I'm so sorry I've been so MIA. Our family took a really last minute trip to Korea this month, and got back a 10 days ago. I'm starting to head into my classroom this week to set up, and I have NO IDEA what i'm doing. hahaha. feels like methods again...

I'm so glad we have this thing up just to catch and ask a ton of questions. I'm teaching 1st, 5th, and 6th grade literacy to Korean students-- makes me shiver! YIKES!

What are you all taking into your classroom the first day of set up?

Maike- I use Scrabble all the time with the kids that i tutor. They also tell me that they use Banana Grams at school which look like bigger scrabble pieces. Mad Libs is fun game to teach the parts of speech, and they can make funny stories out of them. You can always use their writing for this too. OH oh.. and cakewrecks.blogspot.com is something that i came across this summer. I read that a teacher used the misspelled cakes for her language arts class.

I miss you all so much!

...

Okay, so I didn't realize you all had started blogging since I set it up. I guess I forgot to check. Anyways, I went into my classroom for the second time today and dropped off some stuff. I got my curriculum order in this week. It's really starting to happen. I also spent some time praying in the room. I think that's a part of the preparation that I have forgotten along the way. I hope those kids and families see Jesus. :)
Love to you all!

classroom games

Hi Guys!

I was wondering if any of you knew any games to play in the classroom that enhance language arts skills.  I already found a fabulous game called Quiddler that is kind of like Scrabble, but with cards (each card has a letter or a blend on it and they are assigned point values).  I think I observed another teacher at Hawthorne using Taboo or Outburst (or something like that) to help students expand vocabulary and learn how to describe creatively to their partners.  Any other ideas?  I'll be teaching Writing, Vocabulary, Spelling and Grammar (as well as Bible) to my fifth graders, so I'd like to incorporate some game days to mix it up.  Any ideas would be appreciated!  

Thanks!

Maike

Seting up Curriculum

Now that the real thing is here, I'm like a deer in the headlights.  How should one start organizing the scope and sequence for the school year?

Big question, I know.

I have an interview!!!

Hi all!  I just wanted to ask for your prayers over the next few days!  I have an interview tomorrow at 11 (Florida time) and I really hope I will get the job!  It's at my church's school, where I also graduated from, so I definitely have connections.  But I don't know if they are looking at anyone else as well.  It's for a 5th grade position.  In no way would this be my first choice if I could pick from any job (since I was hoping for a public school position in a few grades lower), but I think it's my best shot at having a full-time, bill-paying, education-related, benefits-included job for the coming year.   I know I could get really excited about it and really love it, so I'm definitely hoping and praying!  I'll keep you guys updated!

Job Search

Teacher Log: Day 263.

Still looking for a job.  No sightings.  Supplies are running low.  Crew losing hope.  

Just kidding.  Just wanted to see how everyone is doing :)

Ruey

Hi Everyone!  I'm so glad we've gotten this thing started!!  Actually, I had nothing to do with it, so I'm just glad Noelle got it going! :)  I hope everyone's doing well.  I can't wait to hear about where we all end up in another couple months!  

If anyone comes across anything new or exciting in the realm of education, or if anything exciting for people personally happens, make sure to share!  Love and miss you all!!

Miscellaneous

Hi all,

I'm so glad that Noelle set up the blog. I miss you guys SO much. I'm taking History of Christianity right now and miss all of you as well as our professors. You know I can get into just about anything a teacher wants to teach. I love church history but I'm dying from the sheer volume of material as well as an inability to put all the pieces together. If only my professor knew about graphic organizers!!

No news on the job front...I did that long term sub position at Crone Middle School through June 8. It was a rocky start but by the end I felt OK about being there. I taught reading to 150 8th graders who really didn't want to be doing anything that last month of school. It was an interesting mix of super high achievers and some really troubled kids. The last week of school one of the kids I had the most trouble with was caught with a bag of marijuana and was suspended. The next day another student was found to be part of an iPOD theft ring. The administrators found 14 iPODS with the serial numbers scratched off in his possession.

Other news tidbits...some of you may know...Debby Stoll is the new principal at Emerson. One of the 4th grade teachers at Hawthorne is taking a leave of absence (I've taken my resume over to Mr. Patterson in the vain hope that he'll be able to hire outside of current district employees.) I guess that's it for now.

Jenna