If you give a mouse a cookie...

I have been in a creative mood so I made some acrostic poem templates for my kiddos this year.

I am like a mouse with a cookie though, because that got me thinking about what else my students need help with. I then created a part part whole/ fact family packet. 

I really like creating things, but I am awful about jumping from one project to the next without breathing. After I made the math packet, I decided I wanted to create my own fonts... uh-oh. No sleep for this brain. I have already been down this path with clip art.

Click below to see what I made.

 

  

 

First Year Teacher- no more

My first year in my own classroom is finished. It has been an exhausting, trying, and educational year. As difficult as some challenges may have been, I would not have traded it for the world. I have really learned a ton and I'm excited that I'm not a "first year teacher" anymore.
It makes me excited for next year to possibly have an idea of what is going on. This year I lived in a disoriented state and I could not have done it without my precious 1st grade team. They are unbelievably encouraging and life giving. I'm beyond thrilled that I get to be with them next year.

In one sense it feels like yesterday that I was putting up these items in my room and hanging up my name plate, but in another it feels like a lifetime ago.

Now, it is summer and I am going to sleep because I am EXHAUSTED!

All About...

It has been FOREVER since I have written anything on my blog.
Here is what has been happening in my life since leaving student teaching.
The year after I graduated I started working part time as a gifted specialist and then homeschooled a 1st, 2nd, and 7th grader. I was working a lot and it was a fabulous learning experience. It was really great to see the gifted side of education.
After that year, I got a job at the school where I student taught! Yay! I was so super excited to be at my dream school. I have been teaching 1st grade and it has been exhausting and wonderful. This year has had many many many trials, but I know it is only growing me as a teacher. I have a wonderful mentor teacher and an incredible team. They have really made my year.

We are wrapping up the year, and I am excited to regroup and figure out what I want to do differently next year. I have been consuming teacher blogs, Pinterest, and TPT like crazy.

These last couple of weeks we have been studying habitats amidst all of the paper work. I wanted my kids to do some independent research on an animal and write about them and their habitat. I quickly created an All about... book and let my kids get started on Pebblego.

Here is a link to my free book on TPT.