Hi! It has been WAY too long since I've blogged. A lot has changed since my last post. Last year I decided to make a switch to kindergarten. It was wonderful! I've decided this might be a good long-term position for me. This year I will be starting year two in kindergarten. I learned SO much from my team last year.
Why did I make the switch? Although I absolutely loved 1st grade (and my 1st grade team), I felt a calling to try something new. When a kindergarten position opened up in my district it felt like it was meant to be. There's something powerful about the idea of working with children through their first year of school (in elementary - several of our students attend the wonderful preschool/head-start programs in our district.) My decision to switch to kindergarten was mainly for the opportunity to give children the best first experience in school that I can. My hope was/is to instill a love for learning that will last a lifetime. Turns out, it's instilling an even deeper love for teaching in myself.
Another big change that happened within my classroom was CO-TEACHING! I was given the opportunity to co-teach every day with our kindergarten ESL teacher. For years, our amazing ESL teachers have given us guidance, support, and information on how to accommodate our growing group of english language learners. I'll admit, I tried the best I could. But it wasn't until I was able to teach alongside my expert ESL co-teacher that I truly learned how to reach these children. It was such a great learning experience for me and I am happy to share that we will be doing it again this year. :)
This coming school year I will also get the opportunity to teach with two teachers who are new to the district. It will be such a rewarding experience to learn alongside these incredible educators.
Lastly, this year I will be starting graduate classes to earn my ESL endorsement.
My goals for the blog this year include:
Why did I make the switch? Although I absolutely loved 1st grade (and my 1st grade team), I felt a calling to try something new. When a kindergarten position opened up in my district it felt like it was meant to be. There's something powerful about the idea of working with children through their first year of school (in elementary - several of our students attend the wonderful preschool/head-start programs in our district.) My decision to switch to kindergarten was mainly for the opportunity to give children the best first experience in school that I can. My hope was/is to instill a love for learning that will last a lifetime. Turns out, it's instilling an even deeper love for teaching in myself.
Another big change that happened within my classroom was CO-TEACHING! I was given the opportunity to co-teach every day with our kindergarten ESL teacher. For years, our amazing ESL teachers have given us guidance, support, and information on how to accommodate our growing group of english language learners. I'll admit, I tried the best I could. But it wasn't until I was able to teach alongside my expert ESL co-teacher that I truly learned how to reach these children. It was such a great learning experience for me and I am happy to share that we will be doing it again this year. :)
This coming school year I will also get the opportunity to teach with two teachers who are new to the district. It will be such a rewarding experience to learn alongside these incredible educators.
Lastly, this year I will be starting graduate classes to earn my ESL endorsement.
My goals for the blog this year include:
- Sharing pictures/projects from my classroom throughout the year.
- Sharing information learned through graduate classes.
- Sharing effective teaching strategies.
- Sharing any fun/exciting developments throughout the year.
- Sharing challenges I face throughout the year and what I was able to learn from them.
Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who take time to read my blog. I am excited to share more consistently throughout the year as I embark on year 2 in kindergarten and year 6 as an elementary educator. 💗
