In This Room

I found this poem and absolutely loved it! I plan on including it in my Meet the Teacher Packet and thought some of my teacher friends may enjoy it also! It's such an encouraging poem for our little ones!  I can't wait to read it to my students on the first day and truly believe each sentence in it!

In This Room

Written By: Heather Price

In this room you’ll sing and laugh and grow.

In this room, I’ll teach you some of the coolest things you know.

In this room I’ll help carry the burdens too much for little shoulders to bear.

In this room you are a treasure both beautiful and rare.

In this room you are safe from monsters that do you harm.

In this room you may always seek comfort in gentle, loving arms.

In this room your voice is important and always heard.

In this room you will not be hurt by hands or harsh words.

In this room your laugh and smile will make my heart sing.

In this room I believe you will soar past the limits of the sky.

In this room is the gift of roots and wings to fly.

In this room I’ll love you from the start

Because when you walk into this room you walk into my heart!

Making a Difference Monday!

As I'm getting ready for the new school year, I have been doing a lot of searching, creating, making, and decorating.  While doing this, I was reminded, the reason I decided to teach.  I chose this career, not just  because I would only work 180 days of the year, but also because I wanted to make a difference in a children's life. I remember writing an essay for a scholarship my senior year of high school that I ended up winning.  In that essay, I wrote that my purpose as a teacher is not just to go to work each day and teach, but rather to make a difference in my students' lives.  I felt that if I made a difference in at least one child's life, then I have met my goal; however, I strive to make a difference in every child's life. Today I read that 'before I can reach a child's head, I must first reach their heart.'  That small quote reminded me why I do  what I do.  Yes, I have spent a lot of time being creative trying to decorate and get my classroom together before next Thursday just like most teachers do at the beginning of the year. And yes, I have enjoyed it and yes I have spent a little too much this year trying to get ahead, but I know it's worth it.  My students may not remember me for what my classroom looks like or even what I taught them, but they will remember me for how I treated them and who I stand for!  I want my students to remember me for my faith, for my heart, and for the way I believed in them.  

This year, I've decided I'm going to be that teacher who loves her students no matter what! I'm going to show that love every day! Today during my devotion, I was challenged to try not to complain all day! Wow that is so hard when I'm down to a little over a week, have very little done, and lots of meetings to attend!  However, I have decided I'm up for the challenge! I'm going to try to quit complaining as much as I can each day even if that means reading this verse over and over again throughout the day, "Do everything without complaining and arguing." Philippians 2:14 

My goal this year is to make a difference in all my students' lives! I want each one of them to know I care and that I believe in them! I want them to know that "they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them." One way I plan to follow through with this is by trying to post a Make a Difference Monday post every Monday! When I taught 2nd grade, I would challenge my students to make a difference in someone's life each Monday.  I'm not only going to start challenging my pre-kers to do the same, but I'm going to challenge myself to make a difference in my students' lives each Monday and hopefully everyday! Hopefully this will help me look forward to Monday mornings as well as show my students I love them and believe in them!

This Monday, I am started by spending all day in my classroom getting it ready for my new little ones.  I also met a special little girl who may be in my class this fall.  She started out wanting nothing to do with me.  By the time we walked back to the office, she stood by my side the whole time and even followed out of the office all because I took the time to talk to her and get to know her!  She's even willing to let me borrow her cute little pink sandals!  

I also made a difference in Eli's Monday! I gave extra hugs to him today just to remind him I love him! He returned those hugs even more!!! I love my stepson!

How can you make a difference in your students' lives?  Have can you make a difference next Monday?

Me in a Nutshell

Just wanted to share some information about myself and my background with education.

When did you know that you wanted to be in education? 
Honestly, I can't remember when I decided to be a teacher.  As long as I can remember, I wanted to work with kids. I remember being as young as second grade and 'playing school' with my younger siblings and cousins.  

How are you currently involved in education? 
I am currently a pre-k teacher/director at an elementary school.

What is something fun about you that other teachers don’t know?
I love the outdoors!  I love fishing, camping, hiking, and getting muddy!! I have even participated in Hog wrestling and Mud volleyball as well as look forward to attending our local 4-h fair every year to see the tractor pulls and derbies.

Do you participate in education outside of the classroom?  In what type of role?
Yes, I teach Sunday school every Sunday at my church as well as teach children's church when needed as a backup.  I also plan events on the children's ministry for the kids at my church.

What experience do you have in teaching?
I have taught Bible School, Sunday school and children's church since I was in middle school.
I was a 3rd grade, Spanish, cadet teacher my senior year of high school.
I have substitute taught in Honduras and at a Christian school.
I student taught in 2nd and 3rd grade.
I have taught 1st grade for a maternity leave.
I taught second grade for a year.
I have planned and worked at summer camps for 6 years.
I have taught pre-k for 3 1/2 years as well as substitute taught and was an assistant in day care settings for 5 years.
I was an assistant for a kindergarten classroom for a year.
And I am currently teaching/directing a preschool program. 
 
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? 
I would love to be a photographer! Taking pictures is one of my favorite things to do!
 
What profession would you not like to do?
I would hate working at a hospital! I don't like blood or any body fluids for that matter that are not mine or my families.
 
Who is your favorite author?  Favorite educational author?  And why? 
Jan Brett-I love how almost every one of her stories have several activities and lessons you can do in the classroom with the students.  Gail Boushey (2 sisters)-I love Daily Five and her books have seriously taught me so much about how to successfully manage my classroom.

Western Numbers

I have been so busy getting things ready for my class; I'm now wanting to actually go in my room and start decorating and setting up, but I have to wait :-( The floors are getting waxed; therefore, we can't get into our classrooms until next week!  Since I have only been able to work at home, I decided to make number cards match my classroom theme: western! I am excited to see how they turn out.  I have numbers 1-10 ready to go! I downloaded some western barn letters and numbers from www.digiscrapdepot.com and then used clipart for the pictures.  It was very time consuming because it seemed like every time I inserted an object or word, the entire page shifted, but I am finally getting the hang of it!

Bead Sorting

I have been making several activities for busy bags and this is one of the ideas I decided to make. I have so many beads and was going to sell them at our last yard sale but decided to keep them because I thought they would be great for sorting for my students. Hopefully, the students will enjoy sorting them!

Bead Sorting

I Love Water Bottle Caps

Wow! I can't believe summer is already almost over!  I have been working hard trying to make busy bags and last minute games for my students.  I do a lot of small groups in my class and wanted to make games and activities that my students could work on as they finish their activity with my assistant.  I also wanted to make math games that my students could play when they are finished eating snack.  Below are a few of the ideas I wanted to share that are perfect for pre-k and kindergarten classrooms!

Water Bottle Cap Moo Counting Game

 This game I made for the students to practice one on one correspondence and number recognition. 

Letter Tic Tac Toe

This game I made as a letter of the week review game.  Instead of using x and o, I plan on using the letter of the week and the letter from the week before as a review.

Letter Cap Spelling
 

 

For this activity, I used water bottle caps for consonants and big red caps for vowels.  I found a set of flashcards at a yard sale and thought they would make a great busy bag activity as well as a Daily Five: Working with Words activity.  At the beginning of the year, I plan on having only the letters that form the word in the bag; however, as the students progress, I hope to have several letters in the bag so that the students will have to find the letters to make the word.