Last week I decided to do something brave. I decided to stop talking about being a seller on Teachers Pay Teachers and actually do it. So I posted something and people downloaded it. Then something truly incredible happened. I posted another item on there, but this time I put a price on it. I was truly convinced that no one would buy it, but I wanted to try and see. Someone did buy it though and although it is just one person, that one person has changed my life. They have now given me the confidence I needed to post something and know that it is worth buying.
I have taken on the social media adventure with Teacher Happy Membership, Blab, TPT, Periscope, Twitter, blogging and Instagram and I can tell you it has changed my life. I meet other teachers from all over the world and they are not just people I follow they have become my friends. They have become that pat on the back I need when I have had a bad day, that cheer section that listens as I brag about my great days. However the most important thing they are is the supportive group that says stop waiting and do it, stop being embarrassed and do it, stop worrying what others think and do it. They are the kick in the pants I need to become a better teacher and a more confident person.
I am not sure where my social media journey will take me, but I can already tell you that I am a happier and better teacher right now then I have ever been. The friends I have made have made the social media journey so worth it and have made my teacher life so much easier.
So to all of you out there who have ever read my blog, like a picture I have posted, listened to me talk about my day on Periscope or re-tweeted something I say. Thank you for making me see the teacher that I not only want to be, but need to be. Without the support of my new Teaching Family I am not sure how exciting the adventure would be.
Until next time,
Miss. B
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sunday, August 16, 2015
My Three Promises to My Students
Well Friday officially marked the first day back to school. Aside from the lack of sleep and the nerves I was having trouble controlling, it all went down without a hitch. Being that this was my official first day of school as a teacher I was terrified of how the day would go. What if I run out of things to talk about? What if I have nothing for them to do? What if they don't listen to me? The questions floating around my head were endless. However, something crazy happened the moment those new fourth graders walked through that door. Instead of being worried and freaked out I remember I was a teacher and that I knew how to do this job. All of my worries went away and I just did what I was good at, I was a teacher.
I did the normal first day of school rules, consequences, unloaded back packs and did a classroom tour. However I also did something that to me was the most important thing I may do all year. I made promises to my students, three promises that I will spend all year doing my best to keep.
My first promise is that I will never embarrass them for making a mistake, because we all know Miss, Bolton is going to make a lot of those this year. We are a family and family doesn't make fun of mistakes. They learn from them and encourage their family to correct them,
Second promise is that no matter what they are doing in class I will never call them out for doing something wrong. This one is a big one. I caught myself last year, saying across the room Hey so and so stop doing that. Everyone in the room then turned and looked at that student and two things would happen. One they would get embarrassed and then would act out more. Or second they would enjoy the attention and continue to do it. I told them that if I do that I will apologize and try to never let it happen again. In my class I will walk over and only talk to that student so only we know what is being said.
Finally the third promise is that when they walk through that door they are my family and I will always love them. We may not get along, we may drive each other crazy but at the end of the day I will love them. This one made the boys laugh and some of their faces got red, but they understood that in my class they were going to be loved and protected. Hugs will always be given out, Good Mornings will always be said and high fives are welcomed.
My class is my kids since I don't have any and last year I made a lot of mistakes. Embarrassed kids when I shouldn't have and didn't say I love you enough. That is going to change, from now on it is less about being the best teacher and more about being a better human. The teaching part is important, but not as important as the impact I am going to have on my students.
I am going to make mistakes this year and so will my fourth graders, but going into a year knowing this will make us more prepared for the mistakes. We are not perfect and thank god for that. Being perfect is boring and in no way do I want to be perfect. I want to be the teacher that down the road my students remember and not for what I taught them in the classroom, but for how I made them feel while they were in it.
Until next time,
Miss. B
I did the normal first day of school rules, consequences, unloaded back packs and did a classroom tour. However I also did something that to me was the most important thing I may do all year. I made promises to my students, three promises that I will spend all year doing my best to keep.
My first promise is that I will never embarrass them for making a mistake, because we all know Miss, Bolton is going to make a lot of those this year. We are a family and family doesn't make fun of mistakes. They learn from them and encourage their family to correct them,
Second promise is that no matter what they are doing in class I will never call them out for doing something wrong. This one is a big one. I caught myself last year, saying across the room Hey so and so stop doing that. Everyone in the room then turned and looked at that student and two things would happen. One they would get embarrassed and then would act out more. Or second they would enjoy the attention and continue to do it. I told them that if I do that I will apologize and try to never let it happen again. In my class I will walk over and only talk to that student so only we know what is being said.
Finally the third promise is that when they walk through that door they are my family and I will always love them. We may not get along, we may drive each other crazy but at the end of the day I will love them. This one made the boys laugh and some of their faces got red, but they understood that in my class they were going to be loved and protected. Hugs will always be given out, Good Mornings will always be said and high fives are welcomed.
My class is my kids since I don't have any and last year I made a lot of mistakes. Embarrassed kids when I shouldn't have and didn't say I love you enough. That is going to change, from now on it is less about being the best teacher and more about being a better human. The teaching part is important, but not as important as the impact I am going to have on my students.
I am going to make mistakes this year and so will my fourth graders, but going into a year knowing this will make us more prepared for the mistakes. We are not perfect and thank god for that. Being perfect is boring and in no way do I want to be perfect. I want to be the teacher that down the road my students remember and not for what I taught them in the classroom, but for how I made them feel while they were in it.
Until next time,
Miss. B
Sunday, August 2, 2015
My Bulletin Board Reveal
This month in the #2getherwearebetter linkup I am going to be introducing you the bulletin boards that will be in my classroom! I am linking up with Angie from Lucky Little Learners and .Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd. I am not a very artsy person, it is truly one of my weakness. However I have all of these ideas for how I want a board to look, I just am not artistic enough to make it come to life. I have an amazing friend in our school who is a classroom aide and was in the class I student taught in 2 years ago. I have the privilege of calling her one of my best friends and she took my ideas and turned them into something better than I could have ever pulled off.
My first bulletin board will be one that stays up all year. It is right above my classroom library (which is still a mess). The idea is the kids get to break into two teams (they choose how the tgeams are split) and they are competing against one another for what team can get the most readers out of the end zone. I found last year that my strong readers only cared about their reading goal, but I thought making them teams would have my stronger readers motivating their teammates to continue to read so the team could win. This idea will allow the stronger readers to push themselves to try and make the 50, but also motivate those who are my reluctant readers to work hard to make it as far as they can. I have not decided what quarterly winners will get, however I am open to ideas if anyone has any!
See what I mean by having an awesome friend who can bring your ideas to life! I had this imagine in my head, but would never have been able to actually produce this. This bulletin board is actually out in the hallway and it will be the first thing the students see as they come down the hallway. I plan on changing this monthly to go along with our sports themed classroom. Most of my classroom is football, baseball and basketball, however my friend knows how much I love softball and added softballs as well.
Those are my boards so far, but I am going to keep you all updated on the changes I make to them throughout the year. I also hope to have a board added to my room that I can make into a science bulletin board for my students. I can't wait to see all the amazing boards that the rest of the lovely teachers come up with.
Until next time,
Miss. B
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)