Addicted...

You know you're a NEW teacher when...

...you ASK your reading specialist for some "good books and videos" on guided reading, are legitimately thankful when she gives you some to take home, and then proceed to PLAN (and actually be excited) to watch them on your Saturday night.

...or maybe its the laying-on-the-comfy-couch, relaxing, no-alarm-set-for-the-morning part that's exciting to look forward to...

Anywho, no joke, this is what I did this weekend. The reason being, I am having a tough time differentiating and finding meaningful lessons with rich literature in the traditional anthologies. They are just so...blah. I am so intrigued by the concept of work boards, stations, and guided reading, the students' main source of reading instruction being done independently. My school gave me a GREAT book called "Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy" by Debbie Diller.

Inside are lots of pictures showing what a well set up classroom looks like and how greatly it impacts the success of your reading lessons. I am hooked. All I can think about now is how I can set up my room to MAXIMIZE the amount of learning that can go on simultaneously in our room! The only problem is that I am a new teacher and I have inherited such a hodge-podge of random furniture that its going to be tough to have a nicely cornered library on bookshelves...seeing as I don't ACTUALLY have bookshelves. I am determined though and luckily my mentor just happens to be one of the reading specialists in the school. I am thinking that taking full advantage of my resources is going to be the secret to my success. I have a PD this week that is actually based off of Diller's book. How perfect! (That's another one...you know you're a NEW teacher when...you're actually excited for professional development.)

Plus, I am in the midst of decorating and redesigning my new place. (I'm a big girl now...gotta have a big girl house to match the big girl job!) Many trips to Target later, it is coming together. I am excited to move onto bigger and better things...ie my classroom :) I love the idea of a well decorated and thoughtfully laid out classroom (mostly because mine is SO not). I can just picture it...a room with defined centers, working traffic patterns, and a definite color scheme. So far, I've got the color scheme chosen (based around my fave color, teal, of course). I am thinking that I am up for the challenge...we'll see!

You know you're a teacher when...

You know you're a teacher when... you add a 'books' category into your excel budget spreadsheet. (Also when you have an actual budget, sigh... real world.) Yes I just purchased 10 copies of The BFG through scholastic ($1 a piece, you can't beat it). The four newspapery scholastic pages were exciting to me as a child and still bring the same excitement today!

Do You Dream?

Opening Day 2010 from Dan Riley on Vimeo.

Top Five

Sixth Here...

After surviving 6 days with my 6th graders and brinking on the start of my first full week, here are some reflections I have about teaching 6th grade special ed so far.

1. They aren't as big as I thought. In my mind I had towering giants with lots of hormonal attitude seeping out of their skin sitting in my classroom. In reality they are like my first graders from last year with a bigger vocabulary and more stories to tell. They're still worried about being late to class and if they'll be able to get to their locker without missing the bus.

2. It's okay to ask questions, and to ask them frequently. Something new comes up on an hourly basis that I either don't know the answer too (like how to direct a student to the band room) or that I don't know how to do (like use the 'cold' laminator *a laminator that doesn't heat up*.. I know right? I didn't know they existed either.) Someone in the near vicinity will usually know the answer or direct you to someone who does. You look sillier trying to shove your pretty new poster through the laminator for a half hour than just asking someone near you.

3. Fake it til you make it. My instructional assistant told me the other day that she had no idea I was a first year teacher. This gave me great ease and also taught me that my acting classes I took back in elementary school are paying off ten years later. I look young, especially compared to the other teachers on my team and feel like the newbie in the lunch room, but at least I look like I've got it together!

4. Most of the time I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off just trying to get by, but on the outside it seems that I can keep my poker face on. Lady Gaga would be proud.

5. My take on my students has changed every day. As time passes I'm beginning to understand them better and see what will and won't work when teaching them. The honeymoon is starting to wind down but I'm ready for next 10 month journey!

"Get the Scoop" on my "Busy Bees"

Before I could even think about curriculum, planning, assessment, or classroom rules I spent an entire two weeks just setting up the physical space of my classroom.

Bulletin Boards were on the top of the list to get completed and more importantly...to look really cute.

I have to say I am pretty pleased with the way they have turned out. And I figured...if I don't actually have anything to teach my students when they start school tomorrow- at least my room will look good!

Heres to hoping I survive my first day,

-Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing