Belonging, Significance, and Fun

What do these three words mean to you? They took on a whole new meaning to me after attending my first ever Responsive Classroom training this summer. It was the most amazing and beneficial training I had ever been to! Not to mention that it was timed perfectly to me starting my kindergarten journey. If you have never heard of it, you are so missing out. It is very hard to put RC into a nut shell, but basically it is a philosophy of teaching that helps you understand how to provide those three basic needs of human life into your classroom. Belonging, Significance, and Fun! I always thought I had those things in my class, but my whole teaching philosophy has now changed and I can't wait to implement it fully in the classroom this year. If you want to learn more about it, you can visit https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/ and here are some great books to get you started on your path, but if you ever get to go to the week long training, it is a must!

First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete
Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4–14  by Chip Wood
Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete
Power of Our Words Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn
by Paula Denton, EdD

These are some things I made after the training to get me started. I also made a power point after the training so I wouldn't forget all the amazing things I learned. I will see if there is a way to post that on here for you. If you are a Responsive Classroom teacher, I would love to hear any advice that you may have for me.

Saying Goodbye to 5 and Hey to K!

When I got my degree 10 years ago, I just knew I would be a Kindergarten teacher. I just didn't know I would have to wait 10 years to get my chance. I have been on a roller coaster leading up to this point. I graduated from the U of M, and immediately moved to Florida. I took the job over the phone and was told I would be teaching 5th grade even though I had made it clear I really wanted the younger grades. I taught that for 2 weeks and was moved to 1st grade due to an overflow of students. My family thought I should be thrilled that I was getting what I originally wanted. However, you guys know that we teachers put our heart and soul into getting our rooms and MINDS ready for the coming year and being moved after the start of the school year brought me to tears. After the shock wore off and I packed up all my chapter books, I did love that grade. After that school year, we moved back to Memphis and what grade did I get? 5th for two years until I switched from private school to public. Then I got my shot at 3rd. It was a perfect blend of what I loved about 1st and 5th. I did that two years and then asked to go to 2nd. (I just didn't want to get stagnant in my teaching.) Then I was asked to go back to 3rd. I negotiated and went to 3rd along with all my 2nd grade class! Looping was such an awesome experience. So after two more years in 3rd, I asked to go up. Yes, you heard me right. Up! I wanted a chance to be departmentalized, SO back to 5th I went. I loved teaching reading ALL day! I even got most of my looping babies back for a third year. But the next year, we were not going to be departmentalized, so I asked to go back down. Preferably to K or 1st, but she asked me to stay. What's a teacher to do when her principal has faith in her abilities and needs her in a certain grade? I tell you what. She stays in 5th grade. But....It was time for her to have faith that I could do great things in kindergarten too, and I am so happy to say that she took the leap of faith and I will be teaching K! I have had so much fun getting ready this summer. I went to the Responsive Classroom Training and it was FANTASTIC!! I participated in a Daily 5 book study with other teachers in my district. We had so much fun learning from each other. I have not officially taught one day in K, but I think I am here to stay!! 

 Good Bye to 5!

Hey to K!