Saw This and Had to Share

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TEACHER? by Jeff Foxworty
#1 You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
#2 You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.
#3 You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
#4 You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
... ... #5 You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
#6 You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
#7 You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.
#8 You believe chocolate is a food group.
#9 You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
#10 You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
#11 You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
#12 You ask your husband or friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”
#13 You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
#14 You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
#15 You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents.
(Amazing how true this is!)

I stole this from another persons status, but I had to repost :)


Some of these are SOOOO true. I laughed when I read them because it's funny how dorky we teachers can be at times... like the thing about the pencils. I love sharpened pencils. lol

Veteran's Day

Today we celebrated Veteran's Day. It was a day early, but the meaning was still there. The kids had a great time. We invited veterans to come and speak to them about their experiences and talk to them about the importance of the military and Veteran's Day. The man in my classroom did an awesome job. He talked to the kids about how the military ensures that they have certain freedoms and about how the people in the military made a choice to put others' happiness before their own. I think it really hit home for some of them. He talked to them about cool things he had seen while in the Air Force and the neat places he had been able to see while in the military. Mostly, he talked to them about the importance of understanding and appreciating the military and the awesomeness of living in the United States. I was so impressed and really appreciated him giving up his time to talk to my kids.

Happy Veteran's Day!

And a million heart-felt thanks to those who have served or currently are serving our country.

I Knew But Maybe Not

I knew that I loved my new school. I knew that from the moment I interviewed that I would love it there and I do! I knew that. But, I did not know how much. I have such an awesome group of people to work with. It really hit home this week when I started a research project with my students. I wanted them to research Explorers and learn about them, but mostly my goal is for them to gain research skills so that we will be able to do even more research projects as the year progresses. I spoke to the Media Specialist and the TIS at my school. I told them what I wanted to do and they both jumped on board to help me. I am just so excited (and forever grateful for their help) about this collaboration. I took the kids to the Learning Commons (what we now call the library/media center) a few times this week. The first time the Media Specialist took them through a pre-assessment to see how much they know about research. Then she discussed the results with them and explained the correct answers. (I was excited to see that they remembered a lot about what we learned earlier this year about non-fiction text features.) The second time she worked with them to review how to use non-fiction reference books. The third time she and the TIS helped them to use the laptops to research. We will continue our research next week and I am so excited! I just cannot express how grateful I am to these two AWESOME ladies for all of their help!!

Precious Pumpkin

One of my sweetie pie girls brought in this precious pumpkin for me. she painted it herself. I was so impressed! What a sweet thought!

Impossible

While learning about probability, we discussed things that were IMPOSSIBLE. They wrote their ideas on dry erase boards.

"Miss Hall will be ugly."

Apparently this is what I would look like to be ugly. Very creative! :)

"Dino licking man"

Team Work

Most teachers work on a "team" with other teachers in their grade level, department, etc. I do. I work with 5 other awesome third grade teachers. They rock! We work hard very day to make sure our students receive exactly what they need to be successful. Here are the awesome ladies I work with:

(I am the first on the left.)

Lots Going On

Time for a little update.
First of all, I cannot say it enough that I am so impressed with my class. They are a great group of kids. I can really say that I can go and be excited to be there with them every day. They're awesome!
I have this one kid that has really impressed me with her writing. She is doing such an awesome job and is really getting in to it. I can't wait to see her finished product!
I also have some really funny kids. They keep me laughing and on my toes. I love that they joke with me, but also understand when it's time to get serious and get to work.
Friday was an awesome day. We got tons accomplished and they worked their little hearts out... but no one complained. They were excited and (I think) a little proud of themselves. It was a great day.
At the end of the day I stood at the door and spoke to each child on their way out. I told the ones with soccer games this weekend "good luck" and spoke to some about things they are involved it, worried about, etc. I told them all to have a great weekend and sent them on their way.
I'm pretty excited about Monday!

Second, this year is my evaluation year. I am excited and nervous. I started writing my long range plans today. It wasn't too bad. Another teacher on my grade level team is also going through evaluations and we are working together to collaborate and get the stuff done... and done right. I am so glad to have her to bounce ideas off of, etc.

Third, I am starting to find my "place" at school. This year started off a little rough, but I am finding friends and finding my way. It's starting to feel more like home and that makes me happy. I still miss my old kids and old teacher friends at my old school, but I am no longer feeling out of place at my new school.

Fourth, I think I am on the good side of my custodian! Yay! :) I have been working on this and I think I might have made it. We shall see. She is so nice! I am a bit messy and I think she is learning to accept that about me as I am trying hard to clean up and stay organized for her.

This year is off o a great start. Hopefully it stays great!!