Hello! My name is Sarah and I am a second year teacher living and working in Fresno, California. I teach 4th grade and taught 6th grade last year. This year I have made it my goal to blog about my teaching experience. I enjoy crocheting, spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading and have a weakness for tea and chocolate.
Welcome to Circle of #Teacherlife! This blog name came about because of my constant use of the hashtag #teacherlife and my love my all things Disney especially The Lion King because lions are my favorite! The song stirs so much passion in my heart and soul about the circle of life and I could not help register that the song was very similar to the story of teaching. Teaching is such a whirlwind of emotions and experiences that we go through, our students go through and the constant change of academics.
I apologize for the roughness of the beginnings of this blog. I realize it isn't engaging but it's coming! My goal is to blog once a week for starters then grow from there!
My First Two Weeks!
My school started school on August 12th. It is amazing what takes place in the first couple of weeks... and what does not take place the first couple of weeks! hahaha I can officially say (I think) that I have made it through the paperwork part and can now focus on having a consistent schedule for my students. I have spent these two weeks going over procedures and routines while also focusing on behavior so that I can lay down a community that is safe and engaging for students. Some things that I have been using are hand signals for basic necessities like the restroom, getting a drink of water, kleenex and other things. It really cuts down on interruptions which really helps me in a fourth grade classroom. I also use a "come back call" to call my students back by having them show me five with their open palms then counting down from five to zero where by zero their eyes are on me and it is quiet. That call back is working great so far but I'm thinking of changing it up a bit next week with a new one to keep students engaged. I have also loved using Class Dojo! If you have not looked into Class Dojo you should! It is a free classroom management system that gives points for positive behaviors and takes away points for negative behavior. I love how quick it is to use and it really does motivate my students! I have it connected to a student store (that I pay for of course) but it worked out well today! Class Dojo also has an option to get parents involved with behavior. They see how their student is doing instantly! I can also send pictures to parents as well as communicate with them via Class Dojo! Teachers Pay Teachers also has great resources to accompany Class Dojo no matter what way you want to use it in your classroom because so many teachers use it so differently.
Curriculum has gotten a slow start because my district has a 1:1 tablet ratio so we have been waiting for the roll out of the tablets. A lot of our curriculum is all online which has made teaching content different just because we have to resort to the previous curriculum we had before the Common Core change. Math is also going along slowly just because it is different curriculum to me because I wasn't taught the way that Engage NY teaches concepts so it has been difficult for students and parents but I anticipate becoming better with Engage.
The beginning of school is always up and down but it's all about making connections and relationships with students! I am in love with my 4th graders!
I hope your years have started well! Cheers to a great year of learning!
-Sarah
