A Comparison

All this week, I've been sharing school-related things.  On Monday, I shared the Top 5 hits from 1988--the year I started Kindergarten.  Tuesday was my classroom set-up for the 2014-2015 school year.  Wednesday was my book review of The Chronicles of Narnia, and yesterday, I shared some tips that parents should know about teachers.  Today, as I'm mere days away from returning to my 6th grade classroom, I thought that I would share some of the differences and similarities between being a first grade teacher and a sixth grade teacher.

Note: ALL of the following pictures are from Pins I've pinned to my "The Life of a Teacher Board" on Pinterest.  You can find the links to their original homes there.  

Some things are true of teaching both 1st and 6th grades:

Yes, this happens to me, and yes, it happened in both first and sixth grade.  And yes, I usually immediately regret this decision.  Therefore, I almost always pick partners FOR my students, thereby crushing their hopes and dreams.... ;0)

Here are some things that are true of teaching first graders:

Celebrating the 100th Day of School is a BIG deal in first grade!  It was always a day of fun activities.  In sixth grade, I acknowledge the 100th day of school, but the day continues as usual.  I do, however, start my end of school countdown on this day!

That would be "hand sanitizer" in case you don't know.

I loved doing cute and fun science lessons with my first graders.  I thought this one about the butterfly life cycle would have been really cute!  I am not (and do not want to be) the sixth grade science teacher.

This was one of my first grade pet peeves.  I would often tell students that I would call on students who were sitting in their seats quietly with their hands raised.  In contrast, sixth graders would prefer that I stay as far away from them as possible.  ;)

I do miss teaching first grade sometimes.  I miss how excited they are at Christmastime.  My last year in first grade, I had an Elf on the Shelf, and I had so much fun placing him in the classroom for the kids to find when they arrived.  I miss that I could use the simplest gifts as rewards, and they thought they were absolute treasures.  I miss that they loved me unconditionally!  But I don't miss runny noses, the reading curriculum, or how I had to go-go-go to be "on" for these little ones.

I like that sixth graders are independent.  They don't need me every single second of the day.  I like that they can work independently with mostly guidance from me.  I like that we can carry on great conversations and that they understand my sarcasm.  I do wish they cared a little more about their grades, and that I didn't worry they may call me nasty names behind my back when they're unhappy with me.  But overall, I am truly happy to be preparing these students to head off to junior high.

Stuff & Things: Teacher Edition

My last week of freedom summer vacation is almost at an end.  As I head back to work next week, here are a few things that teachers want parents to know and keep in mind!

1. Teachers are HUMAN.
This means that we will make mistakes.
We can't see and hear everything that happens every minute of the day.
We can't read minds.
We care about your child or we would not be in the teaching profession.

2. Teachers DO have your child's best interest at heart.
We know that your child is the most precious thing in the world to you.  We know that you are trusting your child to our care, and we will do our best to be kind, courteous, respectful, and to teach them what they need to know.  In return, we expect that your child will be kind, courteous, respectful, and to work hard to learn what they need to know.  We also need your support.

3. If there is a problem, let the teacher know.
Remember up there in #1 where I stated that teachers are human?  Remember where I said that we can't see and hear everything that happens?  It's really, really true.  If something is going on with your child and he or she doesn't tell the teacher, how can the teacher help?  Please don't assume that we are just ignoring the problem or not doing anything.  Contact us and let us know about the situation.  Odds are good that we don't know about it.

Did we make a mistake?  (See #1...again)  Let us know.  We have a lot going on.  Mistakes are bound to happen.  Be kind.  Be gentle.  Make us aware, and give us time to fix the situation.

4. Please, please, please, don't go over the teacher's head!
If there is a problem, ask yourself the following question:  "Did I talk to the teacher about this?"  If the answer is, "No."  See #3.  If, and ONLY if, the answer is, "Yes," should you go to the principal.  Talking to the teacher's boss is the same thing as a child tattling to a grown-up before trying to resolve an issue on his/her own.  If you haven't spoken to the child's teacher about the issue, please do so.  If you have spoken with the teacher, and you are still not satisfied with the results, then it's ok to take it to the next level.

5. Be respectful! 
If  you come into a conference with your mind set on raising hell, no good will come of it.  Did your child fail a test or a class?  This is not the teacher's fault.  We don't fail people for fun.  We don't like to see our students fail.  Students fail as a result of not doing the work required of them.  Please don't be these parents:

If you are respectful, your child will be respectful.  If you are respectful, WE will be respectful.

6. Together, we can help your child to have a successful school year!
Teachers and parents are NOT on opposing sides.  We ALL want your child to have a fun, successful, and wonderful school year.  We ALL want your child to learn what is required.  We ALL want your child to feel loved, safe, and to be happy.  If we work together, communicate respectfully, and remember that we are all human, this school year can be amazing!

Transformation Tuesday

As I mentioned yesterday, this week is my last week of summer vacation.  To "celebrate" going back to school, this week is full of school related posts.

For Music Monday, I shared some songs from 1988, the year I started Kindergarten!

Today, I'm going to show you my classroom set-up.  I was chatting a bit about school with my friend, Ashley from A Party of Four, and she mentioned seeing my classroom set up.  So, at the very least, I know that she will appreciate this post!  Haha

Just in case you're new around these parts, last year, I moved from first grade (after 6 years) to sixth grade.  I will be continuing in 6th grade this year.  I will teach one math class, a language arts (writing) class, and all of the sixth grade reading classes.

Let's start in the hall...

I like to start the year with a welcome back bulletin board.  I just think it's fun, and frankly, if I didn't, this bulletin board would be blank for awhile.

This bulletin board changes each month.  For this one, students will write (and color/illustrate) the title of a book they read over the summer on a blank picture of a book.  In October, they'll do a book they recently read on pumpkins.

This welcome sign is on a support pole outside of my classroom.  The circle and stripe design is a theme in my classroom.  Last year, I became obsessed decided I really liked the idea of my classroom accents matching.  This theme is called Calypso.  It's from Carson Dellosa.

This set-up is right inside my door to your right.  It's all taped to the wall, and it's cleverly covering all of the ripped off paint spots that they never seem to fix.  The calendar, birthday chart, and class chart (that I'm using to keep track of AR- Accelerated Reader points) are from the Calypso Bulletin Board Set.  Students actually start school on August 27th, but I just go ahead and set up the calendar for September so I don't have to change it on the first Friday back to school.  The border is orange on the back.  

When you enter my room, and turn left, you will see these pencil punctuation guys!  This wall also has unsightly chipped paint spots.  Since I'm teaching Language Arts this year, I decided that they would be useful for more than one reason.

Above the cabinets next to the wall with the punctuation pencils, I have some storage boxes.  Some of them are empty, and others hold holiday decorations.  I was so tired of looking at ugly cardboard boxes so I bought some fun duct tape, and voila!

This blank poster was part of the Calypso Bulletin Board Set.  I decided to use it for writing the classroom rules, and I took down the one I had that didn't match the theme! :)

This is the only thing in my classroom that isn't totally finished yet.  I have to create the chart that I'm hanging here.  It will be a classroom reward system.  Students who earn a 100% on a test or receive a good behavior slip will get to sign their name in a binder, and choose a square from a 10 x 10 square.  Each square will reveal a small individual or class prize.  When they get 10 in a row, we will have a big class reward like a pizza party or a 30 minute extra recess period.  The border is purple on the back.  (You will see this shortly).

Here is the view of the front of my classroom.  (The 100 Club bulletin board is cut off on the left.)

The smart board from the above picture used to be on this side of the room for some insanely stupid reason.  I requested that it be moved to its current location for this school year.  To cover up the horrible mess of a wall now that it's moved, I taped white paper to the wall, framed it with the purple side of the polka dot border you saw before, and hung up this reading strategies set.  Below this is my mail center.  The white paper has my students' names with their assigned number.  The mailboxes are numbered from 1-20.  I used black binder clips, cut white file folder stickers to fit, stuck them to the binder clips, and labeled them with numbers.

I learned a lesson last year about the classroom computers...particularly during recess.  The same students use them all of the time, and I can't keep track of it.  Therefore, I created a sign-up sheet.  (And at some point, I hope, my monitors will be returned....)

Here is my classroom library.

Here's the striped border AND its reverse side.  This is my supply station.  When I started 6th grade, I wanted to still have students do classroom jobs without them seeming baby-ish.  Student earn points that they can use in my classroom store.

The bottom shelf has items that students can "buy" with their points in my classroom store: erasers, notebooks, pencils- regular & mechanical, pens).

I used my fancy panorama feature on my iPhone to take this view of the seating arrangement and front of my classroom.  I decided on this arrangement so students can easily see if I'm teaching from the smart board or from the white board at the back of the room.

So there you have it!  What do you think???

Music Monday: Back-to-School Edition

This week, my blog is all about going back to school.  This is my last week of summer vacation, and I thought I'd get you all myself in the right frame of mind.

I promise you that I am not going to talk cheesy school songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" or anything.  Actually, I thought I'd take you on a trip down memory lane to 1988.

I began my school career in the fall of 1988 when I started Kindergarten.  Since then, I have only had ONE year in which I did not have a "back-to-school season."  (That was in 2005.  It was my first year out of college, and I didn't have a teaching job yet.  I started subbing in October of the year.)

In the spirit of my 26th anniversary of starting school, I thought I'd share the Top 5 hits from the year I started Kindergarten.

#5 "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns 'N' Roses

#4 "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley

#3 "Got My Mind Set on You" by George Harrison

(And yes, that's former Beatle, George Harrison.)

#2 "Need You Tonight" by INXS


#1 "Faith" by George Michael

And yes, I know every last one of these songs.  
What year did you start school?  What's the #1 hit from that year??  Please share it with me in the comments! :)