Change

I hope that everyone is enjoying their fourth of July.  No picnics, barbecues or fireworks for me- the husband is away for work this month and I am left to my own devices (muahahahaha)! My poor dog just can't handle the fireworks and I didn't want to leave him home alone on the worst day of the year for him!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am leaving my school and making the leap to a new school and a new grade level.  It was not an easy decision for me and I must say that even after I had signed on the dotted line a part of me wanted to take it back!  I was lucky to spend a day observing at my new school and met my kindergarten team and that really quieted any fears that I had.  Now, I am in full excitement mode.  Change is good.  I read this quote recently:

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”--Maya Angelou

That truly sums up my decision to change.  I needed a new experience. I need a new challenge.  I hope I can remember that when my little kinders arrive on the first day of school.  I hope I can remember that change was my decision when things are done differently or I am not sure how to do the basic things that came as second nature at my old school.  I want to be able to remember that I asked for this change, I wanted this change and in order to grow as an educator- I needed this change.

So- to help me remember, I created this 4 x 6 subway art that I can frame and keep on my desk.  I uploaded it to a google doc so you can grab it too (for free) if you are interested! 

An update on joy

I am finding it!!  I want to sing from the rooftops!!  Believe me, teaching phonics and struggling readers is not easy, and there are days when I want to pull my hair out BUT each day has gotten a little bit better.  One of the things I wanted to share with you all is my reading schedule for each day.  For my lower level readers I need STRUCTURE and I am finding that their attention span is so short that if I just keep us moving along, things go much easier.  I have a 90 minute reading block each day.  I try to keep those 90 minutes packed full!
9:00-9:15 whole group phonics lesson
9:15-9:30 centers/daily 5-rotation 1
9:30-9:45 rotation 2
9:45-10:00 rotation 3 or second whole group lesson depending on the need/the day
10:00-10:15 rotation 4
10:15-10:30 read aloud

For my first whole group lesson I have been using phonic poems, rhymes and songs (thank you Kaitlyn) that I have found on the internet as a class warm-up.  We have used wikki-stix to identify words with short a and long a sounds.

During rotations or centers students have the choice or read to self from books that are just right for them, listen to a story, word work (continuing our phonics practice) or a computer program called Imagine Learning- it's awesome.  While the students are working on one of those things, I have a group with me and we are working on decodable books.

My optional 2nd lesson is usually a vocabulary or sight word lesson
For my read a loud I am trying to follow along with our basil but jazz it up a little bit.  This week second graders are reading The Mixed Up Chameleon so we have been looking at a variety of Eric Carle books. 

Now that I have a structure in place I feel like a much more effective teacher.  I still have days where my expectations are too high but I am getting somewhere.  In my short time with this group I have already seen some progress and that is so uplifting!

So my question to you is, what is the structure of your reading block?  Do you have a group of struggling readers, what do you do with them?

Finding My Joy...A Call to Help!

Hi blogging friends!  I am happy to be back "talking" with you after what feels like a long time!  Please let me explain my absence...school started and WHOA!

I am hoping that I can recruit you to help me out with teaching struggling second grade readers.  Do you have any books you suggest that I read or lessons or tips that I should try?  I am teaching the struggling reading group this year and I am not finding the joy---YET!  We all have those things about teaching that truly bring us joy- something that you can cling on to even when the rest of the day doesn't go as planned.  For me, this has always been helping children discover that they LOVE reading.  It might be guiding a student to a book that they can't put down, or helping a student find an author that they love so much they go out and read every book that that author has ever written.  I have never found that same joy in helping students identify letters, letter sounds or rhyme and that is where my group is at right now.  I am so anxious to get them to the next step that I don't feel like I am giving my best instruction.  So- please, point me in the right direction, help me find that joy in these struggling readers!

Why I became a Teacher

It is teacher appreciation week! I am excited, even though my school doesn't do anything to celebrate.  I usually like to take time this week to reflect on why I became a teacher.  I thought I would share my journey with you and if you are so moved, I would love to hear all of your paths to teaching!

**Edited to link up with 3-6 Free Resources and their Show Me Sunday Linky!

I come from a family of teachers.  My dad is a vocational arts teacher in a very tough middle/high school just outside of Detroit.  My mom is a preschool teacher. My older brother is a teacher.  I was certain that I would never be a teacher!  I always enjoyed learning and I was an avid baby-sitter when I was young, but  I liked goofing around with kids, and I knew enough from my parents to know that being a teacher didn't have much to do with goofing around!  I also didn't like school very much.  You never would have known it- I tried to keep it a secret- but I didn't like my teachers! I knew that it was rude of me not to like them and I wanted to do well in school, so I pretended.  I wasn't the type to draw pictures for my teachers or bring them little tokens of my affection.  I just came to school, was quiet, did all of my work and was respectful.  I did well through high school and then went to college where I did well but I didn't know what I was going to do when I graduated.  I had my first thoughts of teaching when I was fortunate enough to work in an orphanage in Peru.  Even then, my thoughts were of travel and not teaching so I explored teach abroad opportunities that didn't require a teaching certificate- but it wasn't right for me.

Then I took a job as a nanny.  It was a difficult job for me, not because of the little boy that I was in charge of, but because I struggled in my relationship with his mom.  This little boy was in kindergarten and just going through the process of being diagnosed with autism.  It was a stressful time for his family and since I was the one with him most often, I was the one who received the brunt of the stress.  He definitely had major sensory issues that caused him to lash out at school.  When I first began working for the family,  he went to a private school attending half-day kindergarten.  His teacher used a microphone in the classroom, when she was asked not to use it because of the sensory issues my little guy was having, she refused.  It was disheartening to see how this school and this teacher could so overlook a child that needed her.  I would pick my little guy up from school everyday and everyday I would get the same negative report.  I truly felt like he couldn't do anything right at this school and he and I were both miserable!  After a couple of months at the private school, he was kicked out because he hit the teacher.  It was a sad day for my little guy and his whole family but they decided to send him to the public school near their house and they asked me to attend school with him everyday as a *volunteer* in the classroom.  This is where I first thought seriously about being a teacher.  My little guy had an amazing kindergarten teacher.  She was so accommodating to him- and in allowing me to be in the classroom all day!  He was allowed to stand up and move around when he needed to, he was allowed to complete his work in a marker which felt more comfortable in his hands, she spoke softly to him and didn't get angry or take it personally when he had his meltdowns.  The problem was that even though his teacher was fantastic, the principal and specialist teachers weren't quite so accommodating.  One day when my little guy was in art class (I stayed in the classroom to help the teacher) he had a meltdown.  No one really knows why, but he did.  He ran from the classroom and ran out of the school.  I saw him running and called him back into the building- only to have the principal run out in front of me and grab him in a very forceful way.  Putting your hands on him when he was in that anxious state wasn't the best idea and so he started to try and squirm and pull away.  This only caused her to put him in to full restraint.  I stood there and watched him and I saw the way his teacher was able to stand down the principal and calm down the little guy who was so shaken and upset and I though- I have to do this.  I have to be a teacher.  I have to be there to help all the other little guys/girls that come into my classroom because every child is special and every child needs a little special something to get them through the day.  So now I am a teacher in a high poverty school where I can be the positive spot in a little person's life and I love every minute of it (most of the time)!

*phew* That was a long (and dramatic) post! I would love to hear how everyone else decided to become a teacher- leave a comment or make your own post! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Third Grade Advice

I don't have any fun pictures to share today, I just have some advice.  Advice from my third graders.  They wrote letters to our practicum student whose last day is tomorrow.  Their advice was so genuine and so insightful that I just have to share- enjoy!

“Be happy with yourself and the kids”

“First, give them hope.”

“Be patient”

“You need to learn a little about them”

“you might need to help some kids a little more than others.”

“You need to be aware of what people in the classroom are doing.”

“Have a great imagination.  Go outside a lot and go on adventures with your class.”

“Give the kids a chance to figure things out by themselves.”

“Be nice to all the students. Especially, the needful ones.”

“To be an exceptional teacher you need to show the students how to respect others.”

“You should always have a smile for the kids”

“have a good sense of humor”

“take on challenges”

“You will be amazing when you help them to be amazing”