A little Christmas Project

Every year my mom always buys a 15 dollar box of sees candies forceach of our neighbors... not only does that add up quickly, but I was also not getting a cheery sincere feeling taking around the boxes. This year I found some great little ceramic pots at the dollar store and used some sharpies to put the last names of our favorite neighbors and baked them up so they would be permanent! Gotta love pinterest! I filled them with a simple basil plant and think they really turned out pretty cute! Plus I was able to use a bit of my creativity, which has been put on the back burner throughout this incredibly hectic first year of teaching... hope you like them! Merry Christmas!

Science Notebooks

Absolutely my saving grace as far as keeping this insane year somewhat organized... Having my students keep up these notebooks has been a major part to any success that I have had this year. I use a very specific organization method and definitely have to be sure to repeat it again and again... not just in the beginning of the year but daily. I spend almost an entire day setting them up during the first week and when I grade them I take the time to not only fill out the rubric but also write notes throughout (it is tedious but I feel the students really appreciate it and acknowledge the fact that they are meaningful). I have everything including my intro powerpoint, rubric, and the reflection that I have them complete on my TPT Site

Seating Arrangement

This small detail is seriously KEY it is really important to create a seating chart that you are happy with and benefits your students best. Be sure to check out the IEPS to see if there are any special needs and if you are able to speak with parents before school begins (like I was lucky enough to get to) be sure to take down some notes about little things that they say. So and so can't sit next to each other, my child needs to be up front. Just try to ensure that those first day go as smooth as possible. For me groups just seemed like too much of a distraction for the first couple of weeks so they were in rows. Once we got started with labs and more group work the tables changed to accommodate that. I also really liked labeling the desks. I had four rows which each had the same color labels and I numbered the desks with that color paper and a number 1-8. It made for a quick calling random calling system and also made it nice to dismiss by which color row was ready. I really liked it and the labels stayed on until I switched into groups and took them off so it totally worked for me!

Lab Safety

I absolutely love this activity for the first week or so of school!

First I showed the students this video that I found on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJG0ir9nDtc
which I uploaded into a powerpoint by using keepvid.com which is amazing! It makes showing clips so simple and quick!
 Then I had the students choose one rule and illustrate a do and a don't for each... Here are a few samples! They also make for a really great bulletin board to take away some of the blankness from the beginning of the year!

Classroom Jobs!

All I can say about this is I wish I had done it sooner... Such a time saver and really gives the students a sense of responsibility. I had then fill out applications, make silent appointments to interview one another, and even vote for who would get the job after they explained their qualifications. The eighth graders were not all about the whole activity but they are more than willing to help out with the jobs.

Haha who was I kidding???

I can't believe that it has almost been two whole months of teaching! What a wild wild roller coaster! I can't say that I have loved every minute but at this moment looking back I am really happy (good thing you didn't ask me a few days ago). Definitely no time to keep up a blog, which I really shouldn't even be on right now!
But no matter how difficult it is and how thin I feel that I am being stretched, I know that all of my kids deserve even more than my best so I have to keep trying the best I can. 
Plus, somehow they always bring a smile to my face. 
Teaching three grades, going to school full time, being in charge of student council, helping out with this that and everything in between, while still trying to be myself somewhere in there is A LOT! But hopefully I will make it through and only cause minimal damage.

     

Between some energy boosters, vitamin c, snacks, and my students silliness everyday... I think I just might be able to make it through the year! We might even have a little fun and learn something along the way!

Even though I did not have time to actually post... I took tons of pictures along the way. So now I  will backtrack a bit and overload the blog with my first couple months of teaching!

First Day!

Nerves, excitement, stress, fear, more excitement... Pretty much every possible feeling rushed through me as I stayed up all night and then finally entered my classroom for the first day.
Are they going to like me?
Will I be able to get through to them?
Should I be myself or try to be tough?
Did I really prepare enough? HAH never!
All of these questions and emotions, but somehow you make it happen...

I can't believe that I really made it through my first day. I must say it gives me a feeling of accomplishment and excitement that I have never felt before. All this time I have worked so hard, but now it is REAL!

I do not think that you can possibly plan out your first day perfectly but the more you plan, the easier it is to make adjustments. Be prepared and also be flexible and ready to meet your students where they are with the constraints given.

Basically, I had them come in the room and handed them each a pencil with a little tag that I made. Once they came in there was a survey for them to get started on. We went around the room and each student shared one question and answer from their survey. I introduced myself with a small powerpoint that had lots of pictures. They asked me some questions. Then I showed them a funny lab safety video and had them create a do and don't paper for lab rules.


I also got to go out and hang out with the students at lunch while they showed me how to play double-dutch and basically just got to know them a little bit better.

I could probably write an entire blog just covering first days but I will stop here with some pictures and on the TPT site I have uploaded all of the activities that I took them through along with the actual "lesson plans." However, be aware that because the school that I work at is very CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE these documents fit our specific curriculum and as with anything need adjustments depending on your site and your style. I feel that many of the viewpoints and theories that CLAS implements are positive and could be used throughout a variety of educational settings but I will leave a post covering more of that for a day when I am less busy and more knowledgable.

The first day was awesome! I love my students! Can't wait for a great year!

Science Classroom Set Up

Yayyyy! My very own classroom!

As anyone who knows me should know... I tend to go a little overboard on decorations and such for parties and I am also a little "OCD" when it comes to organization.

My classroom was definitely not going to be any exception to these personality traits.

When I first walked in it is safe to say that it was an absolute MESS as far as I was concerned. Not only did it lack that certain amount of BAM that I wanted to bring, it was pretty filthy and unorganized. Trash and old projects lined the rusty dirty countertops, science materials spilled out of the cabinets, desks were all shoved to the back of the classroom, and it looked much more like a junk room than a science classroom.

After a couple of days of scrubbing and organizing I finally felt that I could begin decorating! Luckily, I  decided to have a Mad Scientist graduation party so many of the decorations from there fit perfectly! I set up a few boards to display student work and also created displays featuring the CLAS content that is culturally responsive and necessary in my fabulous school! Anyways, a week and a half later, by the time Open House rolled around, I have to say I am pretty happy with the way that my room turned out! Check it out, give me feedback, and feel free to steal some ideas!

My huge room! Super intimidating!

Some of the mess...

My door! One of the first things I decorated... Thanks to Pinterest!                                   Some more decorations finally feeling like a classroom

Kale Chips!

Kale Chips Recipe

(2 servings)

1 bunch fresh kale (or 1/2 pound)
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt to taste

Heat oven to 500 F. Line rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Tear the leaves off the thick stems into chip sized pieces. An easy way to do this is to fold the leaf in half and just rip toward the stem. Put in bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt to taste.

Bake 5 minutes or until edges are brown and kale is crispy when moved in pan.

The idea here is to make clean up easy (just toss the paper and then you have less work to do).

For one serving = 90 calories, 5.2 g fat, 10.1 g carbohydrates, 3.3 g protein, 2.0 g fiber, 121 mg sodium, 1 PointsPlus

I got the recipe from the following site, which also includes the nutritional facts. The pictures were my own though.

Kale Chips Site

Hip! Hip! Horay!

Yay! Finally, a job! I've been placed at an awesome school in Westchester, Los Angeles called CLAS (cultural and linguistic academy of success)! I will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science! Yikes... Nothing like diving right in. But the staff seems incredibly supportive and I got a really good vibe while I was there. So excited to embark on this wild year ahead of me! Wish me luck!

Click here to see where I am working at!

French Macaroons

Yummmm! I have seriously ALWAYS wanted to make these little beauties but always been to scared. Finally, since I haven't found a teaching job yet and had some extra time on my hands I decided to dive in. They are definitely a time consuming pastry, but well worth the extra time. 

Number one piece of advise... don't try to rush through it. If it says let your egg whites sit for 24 hours, don't make it 23.... Patience is KEY! 

I found the recipe HERE! and it also includes a video which I found super helpful! Enjoy! I made the regular cookies (but just had to make them pink) and used the vanilla filling! 

Reflecting...

Taking time to look back on all that you have learned and how you have changed is such an important part of life. With today being our last real day of class we participated in a reflective activity and I a so thankful for the experience I have been through over the summer. Time flew by incredibly fast but I have learned an enormous amount and grown in both professional ad personal ways. I am thankful or the great administrative staff that I have to lead me and mostly the diverse teachers who are going through this experience with me. Although we all have such different opinions, personalities, perspectives, and pasts... We all have the same heart for teaching and passion to help our future students achieve greatness...

Tonight I am just thankful.

The Job Search Continues

Ughhhh!

Let's just say I am a bit discouraged... I have honestly turned in about 25 applications and have yet to receive even a bite. Honestly, I think it might be more exhausting than going on interviews and being denied... It makes me feel like maybe it just won't happen. It is really tough to WOW someone and prove to them what a great teach I would be just by squeezing it into a single piece of paper...

Hopefully there will be a post later (soon) that is completely different and excited about my new position...

But if not I just have to stay positive and realize that, NO, the world actually will not fall apart. This might not be my ideal plan... But I know everything will be okay.

Make health a priority...

So I am honestly the last person who should be giving advice I this and I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog, but let's face it...
1. Students and colleagues will have a better opinion of you and respect you more if you are fit and taking care of your health.
2. You will have more energy and be able to get lots more done when you are healthy!
3. How are you going to encourage your students to live healthy lives and make good choices when you aren't doing it yourself.

It is way too easy to put health last among the plethora of other responsibilities that I am surrounded by right now. I really want to make an effort though to make it a priority. So I went to fresh and easy and loaded up on some healthy eats for the week!

I also cooked brown rice, chicken, and prepared fruits and veggies for the week so that I can just grab and go! Hopefully I will have time to do this again next weekend because I really do think that it is important. As teachers we need to teach the content, but we also have a responsibility to model positive life choices and behaviors! Oh and hopefully my dress size will be a bit smaller too!

Everything else...

So I am at a point right now where I feel like I don't even have time to have any sort of personal life. It has been a little difficult for me because I feel a bit like I am drowning and losing of sight of who I really am.
I completely understand that doing this takes a lot of effort and that for the time being, my passion for teaching needs to take priority over the rest of my life. However, I absolutely do NOT want to become some sort of teaching robot, which is the way I feel lately. I feel like being an effective teacher takes a lot of skill with balancing because while I feel that I want to plan everything out completely and think of every single possibility so that I make no mistakes in this crucial first year, I also want to be a happy well rounded example of a person for my students. (oh and for myself)
So no, don't give up on trying to create structure and planning as much as possible. Just make sure that you don't burn yourself out... Take a deep breath, ENJOY the people in your life, and take some time for those important things that just make you happy to do sometimes.

Plan, plan, plan, and plan a little more!

Honestly, I kind of wish that I was one of those fly by the seat of your pants kind of people and that I could teach amazing lessons at the drop of a hat... Maybe one day. But if we are being real, I need some serious structure! No I definitely don't want my students sitting silently with their hands crossed on the desks like little robots. However, when they are running around, having intense conversations, and blowing things up (hey it's science) I want to make sure that I have organized it in a way that they will truly benefit from. Oh and yes I realize I just might make mistakes from time to time. But I sure as heck am not going to make those same ones again next year!

Anyways, I created this planner to help with that and keep me organized!

I bought a binder from target and created the pages inside in an excel document. I also bought some really cool tape to put on the edges, I feel like it just gives a nice pop of color and finishes it off. I have not yet put in the cool little tabs that I made and it is not complete but I really like it so far! There is a place for my agenda, a to-do list, a place for notes, "other", and best of all a place to keep track of changes to make for the following years to come. I am sure it isn't perfect but it works well for me.

If you want the editable excel workbook just download it from my TPT Site!

A wonderful new perspective...

I honestly had a really great day today! It was my first day at the Lab School that we are doing at Gage Middle School and I absolutely LOVE being back in the classroom. I must admit I have been a bit overwhelmed by the information flowing into my mind lately and the process of trying to figure out exactly how I want to run my class. But being with the kids and experimenting with them and seeing them learn really lets me know why I am working so incredibly hard.
I also had a really great class session. Our instructor really put things into perspective for me. There have been a few issues and people have been getting upset about them. But he pretty much told us that one way to deal with situations such as the one we currently have is to give them time. During that time you will more than likely realize it is pretty insignificant. I have a major problem with that and tend to become overly emotional and act on impulse. People tell me similar things but for some reason the message really stuck with me this time.
I have yet to even step into the classroom, but yet I feel like I am already growing and learning so much. It goes much deeper than content knowledge and pedagogy. The lessons I am learning truly apply to my whole life and I am so happy to be entering this journey with the support staff of my program as well as my whole cohort of wacky, stubborn, creative, incredible future teachers.

Just try your best and be willing to acknowledge everyone's opinions as valid. Because no ONE of us is better than ALL of us.

Teacher supplies!!!

Yessss! It is that time! Teacher supply sales! Honestly, I cannot STAND Walmart because they ruin it for small businesses and the people who work there are completely useless for the most part. C'mon I know you have all seen the people of walmart pics! haha... BUT a poor teacher who really wants to create an awesome classroom for her kids, has got-to-do, what she has got-to-do! So yes I cleared off the shelves and left that store with EIGHT bags stuffed with supplies for my kiddos and only spent a total of about $50! So this is definitely my tip #1 stock up during this time! School supplies are not cheap and definitely add up!

A bit more about ME!

Alrighty, so you all know that I am aspiring to be a teacher... This August if all goes according to plan! But to get a bit more detailed... I will be teaching Middle School Science in the Los Angeles area where I will try my best to have a positive impact on some students who are going through a tough time in life surrounded by an even tougher environment. I worked at Bethune Middle School as a teacher's assistant all last semester with an AWESOME first year lead teacher who taught me more than I ever thought possible and some really tough but wonderful middle school kids.
I am currently in a the TTT Program at California State Dominguez Hills and have no idea what I would be doing without this great program. The support I am provided makes it so much easier to focus on getting ready for my students next year and trying to create a really solid curriculum as well as a framework to build a successful learning community within my classroom.
Okay, so aside from teaching I have many other interests as well. I love taking photos but am in no way a pro. I also enjoy crafting and baking although I haven't found much time to do those things lately. I most definitely wear my heart on my sleeve, not in the romantic sense, but just because I want to believe and trust in the people around me. I try to live a healthy lifestyle for myself and the health of the world. I am a member of greenpeace and definitely think that more people should be made aware of the impact that we are currently having on the world around us. Although those parts of my life may not be directly connected to teaching, I really hope to bring those elements of my personality into my classroom.
So hopefully I inform you of some things that I find work in my classroom and others that didn't work so well. A lot of my posts will be coming via iPhone since life will surely get a bit overwhelming in the near future. But feel free too comment, give advise, or ask for some. Also, anything that I do in my classroom or put up on this blog you are free to copy and if you want my copy just e-mail me. I really believe that the internet is an overwhelmingly awesome resource, especially for teachers, and if I ever post something that needs to have credit given to someone or that someone wants me to take down, please let me know and I would be more than happy!

Just the beginning...

Finally, I am about to really start my teaching journey! I am really excited about being able to be able to live out the one goal that I have always had and gas really lead the journey of my life so far. Although I am often nervous facing new things... In this instance I feel completely ready and confident! I want to keep this blog because it is most definitely going to be the most meaningful experience of my life and without someway of recording it all I am sure it will just fly by... Maybe I can even offer a bit of my experience to help someone else out! Wish me luck!