Being All Official and What-Not

So I think I knew on some level that accepting a teaching job meant that I was gainfully employed, but it wasn't really until TODAY that I FELT employed! We started new teacher training for the Achievement School District on Thursday (there are 75 of us from 5 schools) and got all pumped up about being a part of the movement to move the bottom 5% of schools to the top 25% in Tennessee.

(Courtesy of ASD's fb page)

Then, today I filled out all my paperwork with HR, got my badge, and was given my school laptop and email address! It was all so exciting (except maybe some of the paperwork).  It's actually starting to feel real, which is simultaneously exciting and terrifying....

I am SO pale in this picture!

I'm excited to have my own school laptop, so I won't have to carry mine back and forth. Rumors are floating around about classroom iPads so more on that later.... As far as technology goes, our school doesn't have a traditional website, so I'm considering making a class site using Wix. I'm just not sure if the families would be interested or not. Maybe a class blog so my fourth graders can broadcast their voices!

Sticker on the bottom- see, it's mine ;)

Perfect background

This past week has been really productive! Once training started on Thursday, I was pretty much done with Institute. We had our last day with the kids on Wednesday and got to go to the zoo. They had so much fun! It was hard seeing them go, but not as much for me, because I'll get to see a lot of them this fall =] I just can't believe Institute is already over! Not that I'm complaining ;)

Our favorite exhibit!

I started buying some furniture for my bedroom, set up our cable/internet plan, and started moving some things out of the dorm and into the apartment. Another perk of last week was getting to see a children's performing arts group called Watoto Memphis practice and they are INCREDIBLE! They focus mainly on dance, but also work with the students academically, having them research the music and time eras and write about it. Some of the schools have already partnered with them to do some after-school or even during-school arts programs and I am so on board!! It was such a boost to see these kids go all out dancing to African drums, Hairspray, and then Justin Timberlake. Such talent!

incredible

Well, 2 and half days till my momma gets here! Can't wait to see her and move everything into my apartment =]

A Spirit of Justice

Well, I made it! I'm in Memphis now and have already finished two full days of Institute! I had a really good drive here with all good weather and no car trouble. I also got really into the new Jodi Picoult book I downloaded on Audible and am now wishing I had it in book form so I can see what happens next!

You're the only TEN I SEE [wink wink]

Sunday was dominated by driving from Atlanta to the University of Memphis and then moving alllllll my junk up to my dorm and unpacking. Lets just say I don't pack light ;) Then dinner downstairs and an early bedtime. Yesterday, though, we heard some really great talks from our executive director and then from some Memphis experts! The opening talk was so inspiring as it focused on the spirit of social justice. Our director talked about how as a teacher in an inner-city school, you stare injustice in the face every day. One of my favorite quotes from a speaker was "I'm a teacher because I'm an activist" and that we need to be relentless as we answer this lifelong calling, regardless of if that means in the classroom as a teacher or doing something else.

My new home =]

That's when it dawned on me that TFA is so much more than teaching, it is answering the call to social justice that I have had since my time in Gainesville. This is such a passion for me and I consider myself lucky to be answering it through doing something I love to do- teach.

University of Memphis Tigers
Ain't nothin' like a Gator though...

So yesterday and today were long days- breakfast at 7am and then coming back to my dorm around 8pm. BUT, I've gotten to hear some really inspirational people, meet my small group of 10, go visit the area of Memphis I'm teaching next year (and this summer), talk with some people in the community about what they want to see in their children's teachers, and learn more about what I've signed up for. I'm optimistic and excited to see what happens over the next seven weeks!

PS: today was the last day of school for my babies and I already miss them terribly =[ HOWEVER, I am very much enjoying the "fan mail" I've received since giving out my email address! Shout out to St. Johns county kids enjoying the beginning of summer!

Winding Down

Wow my internship year is officially coming to a close and I am moving to Memphis in four days. My last day at school was Friday and I'm going back tomorrow for the end-of-the-year party and to say goodbyes =[ This is by far the most attached I've ever been to a class before (I've been with them since the beginning of October!) and they were so sweet to me on my last day. They had their big play (The Frog Prince Continued) and then we had a surprise ice cream party (yum!) with lots of homemade cards and gifts from my teacher, the teacher next door, and the parents. I feel so loved! I gave each of my kids a personal note and a crazy straw with Kool-Aid that I saw on Pinterest.

So cute right? 

This weekend was chock full of family and friend time. We had a big BBQ with my dad's family on Saturday and then with my mom's on Sunday. I was basically out by the pool from Friday when I got home through last night. It was so fun spending time with everyone and hanging out with my friends. I am definitely going to miss everyone and I feel like I did 5 years ago when I left home for UF [sigh].

My crazy friends

So this is my ONE week of summer and boy is it a busy one. I'm packing up twice: one set of stuff/boxes for me to take in my car on Saturday and one set of stuff/boxes for my mom to drive up in July. I'll be staying the dorms at University of Memphis from when I drive up there this weekend until July 19 and then I'll be moving into my new place with Meghan! We signed a lease [hooray!] and my mom will drive up the weekend in July I move out of the dorms and into the apartment.

Oh hey, University of Memphis

I'm also working on my last online class (which ends in late June), getting everything set to move, trying to visit with EVERYONE, and, oh ya, relaxing during my week of summer.

The beach house a bunch of us rented two weekends ago.
Heaven.

That's a bit of an update with me. I'll be keeping my blog because I'm teaching fourth grade again next year, but it will no longer be an intern blog. It'll be a first year teacher blog!

Teacher Binder Revisited

Happy Thursday! We had Monday and Tuesday off this week and, ya know, I think EVERY week should start on a Wednesday- just a thought ;) This week I wanted to focus on organizing so get ready for an overload of pictures:

One of my most popular post is this one on my "ultimate teacher binder". Unfortunately, once I started my internship, I accumulated a LOT more papers and soon, my cute little binder ripped :( Instead of buying a new one, I decided over winter break to break up my one big binder into five small ones! You ready for this??

My first binder has three sections: Important Info, Weekly/Monthly Lesson Plans, and Example Lesson Plans. This is where I keep all our schedules, school maps, phone numbers, etc. I created my own weekly lesson planner, then, I used the monthly lesson calendar I found at KindergartenWorks for a big picture. I also keep all my observed lesson plans in this binder. This way, if I need to plan, I only need to bring home one binder!

You may also notice I changed the cover- different school, different binder cover!

My weekly template

Monthly planner. I go back and highlight everything at the end of the week.
Everything gets color coded!

The next binder I made is Student Info, Course Info, and Meeting Notes. This is where I keep all my records on the kids (testing, scores, growth charts), all my course info for grad school, and the meeting note template found on the Ladybug Teacher Files blog. I bring this one to meetings and conferences instead of having to bring all of my stuff.

Pretty self-explanatory

The next binder I made is my Standards and Assessments binder. Here, I have the Read Naturally assessments for 4th grade, the spelling lists for the year, the 4th Grade FCAT Specifications for language arts and math (it's all here if you want to print it out), and the 4th Grade Common Core checklist (we bought it here). This is also mainly a reference binder, so I can leave it at school if I don't need it. Score!

This is what we bought on TPT

This is an "I Can" checklist for all the standards

Finally, I have a binder of lesson plans that my mentor teacher gives me. Basically, every time we have an extra copy of something, I put it in that binder. Never hurts to have some extra stuff stored up! Especially because my mentor teacher is fabulously innovative so these are not your run-of-the-mill worksheets, but fabulous units and lessons!

Every subject has a tab!

Ok, so that's it! Hopefully all this info helps if you're trying to get organized. The pictures are also kinda fun if you just like looking at other people's organization ;) And where do I put all these binders?? In my new teacher cart I got for Christmas! Thanks daddy :) Remember, if you're curious about how I made the covers of these binders, you can see on my original post for the links.

Everyone come see how professional I look! hehe

I'm Baaaaaaack

Please tell me you read the title of this post in a sing-song voice. Because that's the way it was intended ;) Well world, I'm back! Did ya miss me? You did? Aw shucks. Well a LOT has happened in the last month. We had our two week winter break (hooray!), celebrated Christmas and New Years (double hooray!), I turned 23 (what?) and I accepted an offer to teach in Memphis for the next two years with Teach For America (hooray!). So, like I said, A LOT HAPPENED. And I'm not even mentioning Les Miserables coming out, which was, um, life changing. Picture tiiiiiiime (also in sing-song voice)

Jess, Matt, me and my mom on Christmas Eve

My dad, Matt, Jess and me on Christmas Day
(notice I'm always shoved in the front)

Sweet puppies! Sabre and Sadie on Christmas

This pretty much sums up my Christmas- lots of family time and puppy time =] And then it was Les Mis time. If you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT.

The key is to see it with people equally obsessed ;)

Then came my birthday, which I celebrated multiple days in a row with multiple groups of people. It's birthmonth, people, I do what I want. When we went back to school, I had a surprise for me! A giant chocolate cake and 22 precious handmade birthday cards. They are SO sweet and remind why I do what I do. Also, those kids gorged themselves on cake like they'd never seen chocolate before in their lives. It was terrifying.

If you can't read it, the top right card says:
Dear Ms. Douberly, First of all you are the best intern ever. You are very nice and kindhearted. I hope you had a great birthday with lots of cake. Have a marvelous school year. PS: Boo Gators!

And the sweet child's hope came true. I had a great birthday with lots of cake. THEN, I came home and found out I was accepted to TFA: Memphis to teach elementary school! What a whirlwind.

Eeeeeek!

After thinking about it a lot (Atlanta was the only city I imagined being accepted to), praying a lot, and talking with friends that live in Memphis and TFA staff people, I decided to take the leap! A verse that came to mind and really encouraged me was Deuteronomy 31:8 "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." A guaranteed job, the TFA network, perks of Americorps, and a built-in community in a brand new city sound very appealing as a new teacher! I'm so excited to start this new adventure in my life =] I'll be going up there for Induction and Institute (training) at the beginning of June and I'll have my own classroom this fall.

Ok so now you're updated. Haha hope your last month has been as wonderful as mine's been! Enjoy your long weekend =]

Back in the Classroom

People. I'm back in the classroom. I'm waking up at 6 again. Woohoo! Believe it or not, it's actually really nice to be back in an energetic classroom full of life and positivity and watch kids try and succeed.

To recap the week, I went to my new school Tuesday afternoon to meet with my supervisor, mentor teacher, and principal and I just loved getting to talk about new ideas and how they are applying them to the school. They have a big focus on research and being a reflective teacher. I went home with a stack of books and the challenge to start reading!

Starting with Love & Logic! More on that soon...

I started Wednesday and spent the last three days watching my fantastic mentor teacher, getting to know my sweet kids, and chatting with my friendly coworkers (including another intern next door!) Some of the highlights this week include:

• Watching the kids write their own reader's theater for the Greek story of Demeter and Persephone and then act it out
• Doing the Cupid Shuffle to "get the wiggles out"
• Being asked every Gator question imaginable: Do you know any Gator athletes? Have you met Albert and Alberta? Are you going to the LSU game? 
• Receiving homemade "welcome to the classroom" cards 
• Answering questions about math during recess because they were so curious about it

How super sweet is this?

To sum it up: I'm in love. Also, bookmark this new page. Cus' now we're snapping for fourth grade!! Keep up people! Time's flying!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

When I posted on Monday, I thought I would be back in the classroom by Wednesday, tops. Well, it is now Thursday night and I will not be seeing the inside of a classroom until Monday at best. While many of you would be jumping for a week off (and don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the down time), I have spent the week checking my email every five minutes, doing course work that isn't due for weeks, explaining to my professor why I won't be able to post about trying something new this week, and racking my brain thinking about what I should have done different in my last placement and questioning whether I did the right thing in leaving early.

Well, after worrying and worrying, I finally came to my senses and went to the Lord with it. I did a little quiet time and scripture reading and, hey, what do you know, look what just happens to be one of the verses I read:

"I wait for The Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for The Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning" - Psalm 130:5-6

A verse about waiting. And of course, once I finally gave all the control over to God and stopped worrying, I woke up to an email saying that a school in Ponte Vedra will take me for the semester, maybe the year =]  They want to put me in 4th grade Gifted, which I'm very excited about! One reason my supervisor thought my last placement wasn't a good fit was because she thought I'd do better in upper elementary, so boom, let's do it. May have to rename the blog..... I'll keep ya updated ;]

Changes/An Ode to Morning Meeting

I've been slacking! I'm sorry it's been almost two weeks since my last post, but things have been crazy lately! To start with, I have some news: Thursday was my last day with my mentor teacher at my previous school. From the beginning of the semester, it was clear that we had very different styles, but I met with my UF supervisor and had her come to the classroom and observe. We talked about it and it was decided that (with such different styles), I would benefit from being in a different classroom, possibly in a higher grade. This was a difficult decision to make, especially since I'm only 5 weeks into the school year. Right now, I'm still waiting to hear where I'll be next. I'm hoping St. Johns county will have another placement for me, but you never know. As soon as I know where I'll be, I'll share it here!


Onto more fun things! Before I left, I got to try doing a morning meeting with my students two days in a row. For those unfamiliar with morning meeting, it's basically composed of 4 things: a greeting, share time, a game, and news/announcements. They're done every morning (hence the name morning meeting) and usually last 20-30 minutes. It's such a great way to build classroom community and teach vital social skills!

In our classroom meeting, we started with a simple greeting. Everyone stood in a circle and the first person walked up to someone else and said "Good morning, [name]", then the person responded "Good morning, [name]", then they high fived and switched places and the first person sat down. The second person then approached someone else and repeated the process. They kept going until everyone was sitting and everyone had been greeted. We focused on eye contact, appropriate distance from someone, and speaking at the right volume. Some things have to be taught!

We did a quick-share next, with each student getting 10 seconds to share something. On Monday, they shared what they did over the weekend and on Tuesday, they said what their favorite place to go was and why. I counted down 10 seconds on my fingers and when I got to 0, that person was done! Even my quiet kids had something to say and the kids had a chance to share with me, which is hard to find time for during a busy day.

Then, I went through the daily schedule and what we were doing in each subject, as well as which special they were going to (art, music, etc.) and any other updates they needed to know.

Finally, we did a fun activity: a listening activity with a coloring worksheet. I only said the instructions 3 times and they were things like "Color three leaves green and two brown". The activity can be education or just plain fun. Ours was a mix. This wrapped up the morning meeting and we got on with our day!

Overall, I noticed my kids had such great attitudes. They loved getting to share with me and each other, and they loved greeting each other. I heard less questions throughout the day about the schedule and they kept asking if they could do this every morning. I would definitely try to fit a morning meeting into your schedule if possible!! What do you think? Do you do a morning meeting?