These Fickle Colorado Winters

Today I finally brought out my camera! I forgot what it was like to capture real beauty and enjoy a crisp winter day. After our blizzard last night, I bundled up this morning and ventured out into the sunny Colorado tundra. A simple 5 minute drive to Cheyenne Mountain State Park turned into a icy 10 minute drive but it was completely worth the extra time. I followed rabbit tracks on an otherwise freshly snow-covered trail and captured as much of the beauty as my frozen fingers and stinging hands could stand. Here are a few of my favorites from today:

Enjoy!

How To Make First Graders Fall In Love With Math: Take One

It's no secret, I love math. I have been gifted in mathematics since I can but I never really loved learning about it in school. This year I have made it my goal to get my students to learn and LOVE mathematics.

It all starts with the large group lesson at the beginning of my 60 minute math time. Today my students learned about tens frames. I mapped out two tens frames on butcher paper and allowed my students to work as teams to make the numbers I gave to them. Since we were using only one tens frame, I asked the children to create numbers (in no specific order) from 0 to 10. They went bonkers!! Firstly, the activity got them out of their seat and had them all participating and, secondly, they were enthralled in the spirit of games and competition! These kiddos have so much fun being kids and learning at the same time.

Then our last 30 to 40 minutes is devoted to math workstations. Currently, my students are working out of three drawers of differing subject areas all containing 3 to 5 "games" for the kids to play. Our counting drawer currently hold Skip-bo, 2 boxes of Chutes and Ladders (which involves counting forwards on a hundreds grid) and skip counting pages. My student think that they have died and gone to heaven whenever I announce that it is workstation time. "Yay, I love playing games Miss Post!" is what they always tell me and boy to I have them fooled!! My next drawer contains Tens and Ones Place Value "games" that I found on TeachersPayTeachers, My students play memory all while learning fundamental number sense skills. My final drawer is strictly devoted to comparing number (greater than, less than, equal to). The card game War is a clear favorite amongst my kiddos. Did you know that you were comparing numbers when you played that game as a kid?!?! Neither did I! They also love working with their "alligator" mouth (Popsicle sticks which are colored green topped with googlie eyes) in workstations.

"Can we play now Miss Post?" I love that they are always asking to work in math workstations even if they think that it is playing, I know that they are learning way more than they could ever imagine!

I'm back!

Well, it has been almost a month since I last posted and it doesn't feel like it has been that long. In fact, I've been living in Colorado for a little over 2 month! (WHAT!?!?!) My Michigan days seem like eons ago and I can't remember a time where I wasn't teaching students.

Let's talk Colorado for a minute, I am in complete love with this state. We enjoy all four seasons here with almost 100% sunshine! There are people here from all different walks of life, all different state with completely different backgrounds that all seem to coexist in one city. And there are niches to fit all of these walks of life. While the Springs can get tiresome after a long week at school, a drive to Denver for Taste of Colorado or Breckenridge for Octoberfest can be just the remedy you need!

I have also been completely blessed with new-found friendships this past month. It's hard to move far away from home and these friendships that I have made have lessened that hardship. These friends that we make become our family, our stabilizing beacons in these unfamiliar places and for that I am every grateful.

Oops...I should probably mention my classroom and teaching as of late. As I was told to expect, I have had more students move in and out of my classroom this past month than I have had in my whole semester student teaching! I have dropped 3 students and added 1. Now I am not going to sit here and GUSH about how amazing my students are like they were perfect angels, they are kids. But I will say that I always wake up looking forward to school in the morning and seeing my students. They challenge me, oh do they challenge me! One "Hulked-out" on my classroom, many cry every day, some days I have students who are downright mean to each other but they all have hearts of gold and are incredibly intelligent (although some showcase this talent more than others). And I can confidently say that I have created a LOVE of math in my students. YAY!! That was my one goal this year and to have the kids so excited about math so early is incredible. Tomorrow's blog will be my insider tricks to inspiring the love of math within my First Graders. Until then, stay classy!

The Math Guru

It's been a few days since my last post and I have decided that I need to be more faithful about posting because many things have happened in my school world since our last dialogue. The most exciting being that my first Springs friend, Cassie, has been called up to the big leagues of First Grade.

I had been struggling last week when I first was presented with my class list--32 first graders would grace my classroom this school year. I panicked, as any right minded individual would I would like to think. So I began thinking where I would place all these extra bodies, being that I only had 27 desks in my room. Soon my teammates, colleagues and family put a stop to my worries and promised that everything would work out AND IT DID!!! (My class list is currently down to 22 students) I am beyond excited to be working with one of my closest friends in the Springs, although I know that it shocked her a bit at first, she is going to do so well this year!

Secondly, I was asked to be the "Math Guru" for our first grade staff, which is also exciting in its own way. I have always loved teaching math and have a passion to teach young children to love math as well. My mantra for my students "We Love Math!!" (shout out to my mother for coming up with that one). I have spent almost the entirety of the weekend looking up resources to pull for our upcoming math unit because our school currently does not provide a math resource for us to follow. I'm excited for what this math journal-less year will bring. I hope to teach the kids, not only the academic subject of math but, to love math as well.

Lastly, tomorrow night is our school's Ice Cream Social where I will meet my students and their parents for the first time. I am surprised at how calm I am feeling. I know that many of my new teacher friends are caught up in their nervous excitement and might focus on their worry but I am completely the opposite. I know that this year will bring challenges but I welcome them, for it is with challenges that we grow as people and as teachers.

The Final Countdown

The countdown to the final days of summer is here, my current count: 0 days left of summer. Tomorrow we begin professional development as a staff and I must be one of those blissful new teachers that is excited for the year to begin! (I have my outfit all picked out and lunch packed--it's like my own First Day of School!) I have to admit that my excitement also stems from being reunited with the third member of my team--our little Firstie family is becoming complete! While I have missed her, I have treasured that time I have been able to spend with my other teammate. I am incredibly privileged to work with both of these ladies--I know that they are going to make me a better person and teacher. (I needed to brag up my teammates)

Now that the clock has struck midnight and the schooling hour looms nearer, it's time to get down to some planning. Like many starry-eyed new teachers, I already have my procedure list complied, 4 anchor charts that we are going to complete and cute "First Day of School" sheets printed out. Thank goodness my teammate brought me back to the real world! Our social contract cannot be completed in a day while trying to teach them about tattling vs reporting and doing all core subjects--that is complete madness! So instead, my "first day of school list" has slowly expanded to a "first week of school list." It's always better to be over prepared than under prepared, right?? Well that is the theory that I am sticking with!

#TeacherTroubles (Bulletin Board Edition)

One week until school begins and my classroom is finally complete--I may retract that statement in the coming weeks but as of this moment, I'm sticking to it. As I began to tie up all of the loose ends of my classroom theme, I began to remember all of the troublesome things that have plagued my decorating experience. But before I share those troubles, let's take a look at my classroom!

My library or "reading nook". My board that is split in two houses (left) my subject area goals and (right) my mathematics glossary for the students to reference during math workstations.

"Hero Approved" work will liven up my walls and gives the students an area to show off their work. I simply attached metal tacks to clothes pins which allows me to hang their work without damaging it. 

This board showcases our CAFE area.

Calendar math and jobs at the back meeting area.

Being the only whiteboard in my classroom, this board contains all things transient and magnetic: our Objectives & DOLs, Daily 5 workstation rotations and daily schedule.

I can't wait to fill up these cabinets with words for my students to reference.

Now that we've gone on a partial tour of my classroom, let's touch on the #TeacherTroubles that I have recently come up against.

TROUBLE 1: Let's talk about a little thing I like to call butcher paper. Now I'm sure all of my teacher friends understand when I say those two words. (For those of you who aren't up-to-date with the latest teacher lingo, butcher paper is the paper that teachers use on their bulletin boards.) It's very cumbersome to put up because it is never, I mean ever, the correct size to cover a standard rectangular bulletin board. If schools buy it specially for their teachers to use on bulletin boards, it should be made a little bit wider to cover the entirety of the board. 

TROUBLE 2: Speaking of bulletin boards, the boarder. Dare I say, we encounter the same problem as with the paper. Instead of using exactly 2 or 3 pieces to complete the board, a teacher must use 2.3678954 pieces to complete it. I did get a little dramatic in the before mentioned sentence but it's a daily struggle. 

Really, I must admit that I struggle with bulletin boards specifically, I would have benefited greatly from a college course strictly on bulletin boards but I know that it's something that every teacher faces at some point in their careers.

 As the time goes on I cannot wait to post of my adventures in the teaching world, especially planning for the first week of school! I'm excited to meet my students and begin on our great adventure together!

And In The Beginning...

Every adventure has a beginning, whether it's earth-shattering or a simple series of events leading to something that seems completely out of character for the story's protagonist. That rings true for all great adventures and let me tell you, I am embarking on one of the greatest adventures of my young life! I accepted a teaching job last February in Colorado--simple event number one. I never expected this insignificant event to change my life plan, my vision, my life-long dream: Charleston, SC. But here I find myself, 18 hours of driving and 1,253 miles later, in Colorado. Thirty days into my adventure and I cannot believe I ever lived, worked and enjoyed anywhere else. So here is where I plan to chronicle my journey, my great adventure in life and teaching. And in the beginning, it was pure bliss.