Busy As A Bee

Like most of you, I feel like I have been going non-stop. I started off the school year as an Instructional Aide in a Kindergarten classroom. We sang, we danced, we practiced our letters and numbers, and getting into a routine. Four days into the year I was pulled out of Kindergarten and moved into Fifth Grade. I knew this was coming, so over the summer I met with the fifth grade teacher who I am covering for while she is spending time with her new little bundle of joy! I felt that after meeting with her a few times I was prepared. Let me rephrase that.....I felt prepared enough to get by until I actually got my feet wet. We've all had that felling right? I've been in fifth grade for about 3 weeks now! I absolutely love it. Everything is falling right into place. I get to teach Literacy and Social Studies to 52 kiddos plus I get to work with some amazing teachers! I have to admit it is totally different from my first placement and last year's placements in kindergarten and 2nd grade. I have to remind myself that these kids aren't going to appreciate all of the "cutesy" stuff. Notice I said all....they still like some of it. During my first week in fifth grade, I had a student asked me if I was a music teacher. My response back was: No, what makes you think that? He told me it was because I sing everything. I just started to laugh at myself. 1) because it was true and 2) because I am a horrible singer. It was then I knew I'd be taking a different approach on my teaching. Don't get me wrong....I still sing. I swear it keeps them alert and interested.

While I've been MIA, I've been working on lesson plans, lesson plans, and lesson plans. Did I mention I've been writing lesson plans and trying to make them exciting and fun just like all of you? I also have been trying to give my husband as much attention as I can in the evenings and on the weekends. Hence, why I haven't been posting. Does anyone else's husband have a hard time adjusting to a new school year. Don't get me wrong Josh is so supportive of my late nights and homework, but he is also use to having all my attention all summer long that when school starts it takes some time to adjust. On another note....I've spent a lot of time on TPT. Sometimes it is just easier to use the brilliance of someone else. I would love to be able to create everything I need by myself, but let's face it----not always going to happen. So thank you to all of the brilliant and creative educators! I truly appreciate all of your hard work. One thing I have created is for writing workshop. It is just a simple clip chart that students will use to let me know where they are in their writing. Usually I would add some cutesy clip art, but I stopped myself.

Here's to a great year :)