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WOW...A Liebster Award!

I just discovered I've been nominated for a blogging award!  I am excited and thankful to Tessa at Funnies in Fourth for the nomination.  Seriously, she is awesome and you should go check out her blog right away!  You can read all about the award here on Tessa's page. 

 

To accept the nomination there are a some things I have to do:

1.  Link back to the blog that nominated me

2.  Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted by my nominator

4.  Share 11 random facts about myself

5.  Create 11 questions for my nominees

6.  Contact my nominees to let them know I nominated them

 Here are the great blogs I am nominating: 
1. Renee from O.W.L.S. in Third
2. Susie from Shafer's Shenanigans
3. Katie from Cowgill's Corner
4. Mai from Diary of a Grumpy Teacher
5. Karen and Alison from Planet Happy Smiles

Questions from Tessa

1.What is your favorite teaching moment?

Hmm...Those moments when I realize my students are 100% on task and engaged in work.  Last year, my students were awesome and begged for more time to read and work on writing!  

2.If you knew what you know now...what advice would you give yourself!?

Relax, sometimes good enough is okay!!! I hide my stress well, but recently realized that I need to take time to have fun and focus less on perfection.

3.What is your favorite book (teaching or not)?

This is a hard one, but Frindle by Andrew Clements was the first to pop in my head.  I love the student-teacher relationship shown in this book.

4.What is your go to school snack?

Anything chocolate

5.What is the best gift you have ever received?

Salvation...amazing gift that helps me keep it all in perspective!

6.What is your go to item in the classroom?

Papermate Flair Colored Pens

7.What is your favorite quote?

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.  -Dr. Seuss

8.What is your favorite place in your classroom?

In my old room it was my classroom library.  I'll have to find a favorite place in my new room!

9.What is your favorite blog you go to most?

Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons and 4th Grade Frolics (I couldn't settle on one)

10. What does your Friday look like after a long week of teaching!?

Straight to bed!

11. Where do you like to buy Teaching clothes!?

Any place I can find a good sale

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I'm obsessed with Investigation Discovery.

2. I'll eat almost any kind of chewy candy.

3. I have a hard time hiding my facial expressions.  This often leads to people assuming they know what I'm thinking.

4. I love to crafting, cooking and baking in no particular order. 

5. When I am stressed I get delve into in any of the activities in #4to help relieve my stress.  

6. I LOVE dolphins.  Hands down the most beautiful creatures.

7. One of the best moments in my life was dancing, hugging, and swimming with dolphins on vacation.

8. I secretly want to be a cashier for a day so I can use the scanner.  PS: I love the self checkout lane!

9. I am named after both my parents.

10. I have watched every episode of The Golden Girls.

11.  I refuse to sing or dance in public.  

Questions for the Bloggers I Chose

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What do you find most rewarding about being a teacher?

3. If you could go anywhere, where would you choose?
4. How do you spend your free time (outside of the classroom)?
5. What book/movie title best represents your life?
6. What one thing is a must to make it through the school day?
7. Name a famous person (past or present) you would like to meet. Why?

8. What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
9. What do you like best about the age group you teach?
10. If money were no object, what is one thing you would get for your classroom?
11. Who is one influential person in your life?

WOW...that was a lot of typing, but well worth it to make new friends in the blogging world!  If you stuck in there and read all of this, thanks. I'm off to contact my nominees.

Monday Made It

Today I am excited to link up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics to share some of the things I have made over the summer.  Many of these are from earlier in the summer.  All of these ideas came from other blogs I have visited.  Now that I am blogging I'll try as much as possible to remember and link back to sources when I can. Hope you enjoy! I know I enjoyed making them, so therapeutic for me!

Made It #1:

Sorry there are no erasers, but I made this to store my erasers.  This was super easy and cheap because the gumball machine has been housed at my mother's house for many years.  I know she was glad to get rid of it.  I spray painted the top and base, then used modpodge to stick the eraser on it!

Made It #2:

To be honest I have no idea how I am going to use this, but this was a summer project I did with some kiddos and I had to make one for myself too!  Hopefully by next week I'll have an idea of how to use it.

Made It #3:

This is an attempt to keep myself organized.  I am the teacher who can never find pens, post its, or markers after they have been opened or used a few times.  The tricky part will be to remember to return things to the right place.

Thanks for checking out my Made Its for the week!

 

10 Things I've Learned from Teaching

As a teacher I can say I have learned at least one new thing every day.  Most days I learn much more!  Today I am linking up with Miss Kindergarten to share 10 Things I’ve Learned from Teaching.







  

1. You can never over plan.  Lessons won’t go as planned, technology will fail, and students will finish early.  Have some group math or reading games students can do if a lesson ends early. 

2. Be flexible.  There will be interruptions like assemblies, announcements, student conflicts, and drills there may be days that you don’t cover everything you planned.  It will be okay, try again tomorrow.

3. Growth, not perfection is what makes a good educator. 

4. Put children first.  They are the reason we are there.  So no matter how many bad days occur, they deserve the best at all times.

5. Little ones believe EVERYTHING! I am sarcastic by nature, but 6 and 7 year olds don’t understand sarcasm.  One year I told my class that the pencil fairy was concerned students were eating pencils because the pencils kept disappearing.  For the next few days students were searching for the student who ate all the pencils!

6. Build good parent-teacher relationships early in the year. 

7. Show parents you care about their child.  Find the positive in the student who won’t sit still and struggles to follow directions.  When talking with parents, stress all the wonderful things about their child.  Parents will be more willing to help address the concern, when they know you also see the positive in their child. 

8. Find a teacher you can confide in.  Preferably one that will keep your confidence, let you vent, and then help you find the bright spot or simply move on.  Continuing to focus on the bad will most likely make you bitter.

9. Laugh often.  Find reasons to laugh throughout the day.   Show students learning can be fun!

10.  Take time for yourself!  Don’t let school consume your life.  Relax and enjoy life.  Do what makes you happy.

 

Really?!? Fourth Grade!?!

Hi! I am Ms. Polk.  This will be my first year teaching fourth grade.  Since I found out I was teaching fourth I have experienced anxiety, horror, doubt, and excitement.  WOW!! It was this post from Funnies in Fourth  that made me decide to start blogging.   

 

My story aligns so closely with Tessa's.  Although I wouldn't say I was mad, I was definitely devastated and sad when I heard of my move.  I  taught first for 5 years, then second for 4 years.  Why in the world did anyone think I would be good in fourth?  

 

I was definitely in denial.  Denial meaning I avoid the topic at all cost, but for some reason EVERYONE wanted to talk about this AMAZING change.  I was 100% confident it was not what I wanted and this was the WORSE possible time in my life for this to happen.  I mean, I am a perfectionist who had finally gained enough confidence as a primary teacher not to second guess myself a million times a day!  The only thing I knew about fourth grade was that there was very little I knew about the students or the curriculum.  (Probably not completely true, but definitely how I felt.)

 

I have finally come to the place where I am able to accept the move.  I can start looking at the curriculum and planning for next year.  Best of all I can talk about fourth grade without crying.   YAY!!!  I will do my best to make this a great year for my students as we learn and grow together.

 

Hopefully I can help someone, or if nothing else, I know writing about my experiences will be therapeutic.  I am excited to share my journey this year in fourth grade.