Kindergarten Common Core

As you can clearly see I have been busy busy with the beginning of the school year.  It has been fun but chaotic and exhausting too.  I know the beginning of the year is always like that, but I feel like it has been extra crazy because 1) I am now team leader = extra responsibilities and 2) we had to create 2 new kindergarten classes and hire 2 new teachers after the school year started due to an overwhelming amount of late starters/registers.  Anyway, it has been great getting to know my new colleagues, kiddos (boy do we have a young K bunch this year), and administration.  I just know this year is going to be great!  

I have been keeping up with reading many blogs and see that many of you are just starting the common core this year.  Fortunately we implemented them last year, but our curriculum is constantly being adjusted because the materials/resources we have to use do not necessarily align with the common core standards.  Our fool proof lesson plans still have to be adjusted, but we are getting there with the help of all sorts of training and resources.  

One particular resource that I would love to try is the Kindergarten Common Core Workbook!  

This book contains over 600 posters, worksheets, and activities that align with both the Math and Reading Common Core Standards.  What a great resource this would be! If you're interested in learning more click the hyperlink above and enjoy!

Overwhelmed

Well since my last post I have been reading more and more blogs to try to prepare mine.  This just led to a lot of procrastination to keep mine rolling.  I admire many of you who have clearly spent so much time to make your blog look so nice.  I'm also not sure that I know where to even begin to make mine look as nice as yours but then again, that is not really what this is all about right?!?!  I guess as a kindergarten teacher you want everything to look cute and colorful and eye-catching.  So that is where my frustration lies right now.  My blog is not fancy at all!  I'm also not sure how to get followers so any tips out there (if someone is reading this) would be greatly appreciated!

If the blogging situation hasn't left me overwhelmed (it is peanuts in this great big circus after all) than you will certainly understand why I am overwhelmed with the news I'm about to share next... New Administration.  At the beginning of the month we were notified that our AP was transferred to a different school and last week our principal notified us that she took an assistant superintendent job in a different county.  Ahhh!  It is always a bit scary when one new admin. comes in but both changing...crazy!  It is especially hard when you really love your admins. too!  So needless to say this shall be an interesting, if not slightly chaotic, year.  I'm actually quite interested to get to pre-planning (starts next week) to see what everything is going to be like and how these new admins. are like/thinking too!  Wish me luck!

Finally, I wanted to take this time to post about a blog giveaway that you may be interested in entering:

You can enter it by clicking the picture above.  You may also be able to find further instructions on their Facebook page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/teachingheart Good luck!  

Something New

Well, I finally decided to start a blog.  I figured that I spend enough time reading other blogs created for and by teachers that I could probably offer a tip or two myself.  I also feel that this blog will be a great way to chronicle some of the happenings in my classroom.  This year will be my 5th year as a teacher and my first as a team leader.  These are 2 awesome milestones, in my opinion, and I look forward to the new experiences they will provide me.  I had no idea when I started my teaching career that I would still be in FL (I thought I'd be out of state for my husband's job) and teaching kindergarten for 5 years!  I could not be more excited about both of those facts as I love FL and I love being a kindergarten teacher!  With exactly one month to go before I report back to school for the 2012-2013 school year, I am feeling great about what the year has in store.  Thanks to the blogs I've read by other great teachers, and of course, Pinterest, I have many new things to prepare for my classroom and share with my new kiddies!  Here is to a great year ahead!