Saturday, August 24, 2013

Back to School and Feeling Refreshed

Hello Blog Family,

I hope everyone has had a terrific summer. Mine has been great. I didn't get the break I probably needed though, because I taught a reading/Social Studies class this summer. The highlight of this class was that my students got to make butter! That was really fun and watching their faces light up as the cream actually turned yellow was a delight! It also gave me a new appreciation for elementary teachers. I taught fifth graders and its shocking how different they are than sixth graders. It's true what they say, middle school really serves as a transition for these kids!

I have decided to blog a lot more... mostly in part to my feeling much more comfortable this year than last year. I felt like last year I was trying to play catch up the whole time; this year I feel like my head and possibly shoulders are above water! It's amazing what a summer of planning and creating materials can do to make a person feel secure! Later this week I will be posting my "after" picture of my classroom. Before I post the "before" pictures, I want to give a brief summary of my room/ school. My school was built in the seventies as an open concept school. The classrooms had no walls! Once they decided that was a bad idea, they added metal walls to section off classrooms. ( This means we have no windows in the entire building. My classroom feels like a prison box and it requires a lot of love.
This is the view from my desk. Note the hideous orange bulletin board! Whoever thought that was a wonderful color, IDK! But I will say the custodians did a great job making my floors shiny and new!!
This is the back wall. I hate how plain it looks! Don't worry, that too will be fixed. Now I realize that middle school teachers don't really do themes, but I will be spending a lot of time here, so it will be fixed.

 And finally the front of my room. We have a whiteboard and chalkboards. I don't like chalkboards so I have a plan for them! Stay with me as my journey progresses!!
 
Always Faithful,
Toni