Back to School...Back to School...To Prove to Dad That I'm Not A Fool!

Ok, so I know I didn't blog alllllll summer (#sorrynotsorry) but let's see if we can start this school year off right. I've been in my classroom since August 1 trying to make it look just right and didn't officially start back until the 15th. But that's ok, because by the time we officially started back, my room was 80% done and I was able to focus more on the team meetings and planning aspect. Was I prepared for the first day of school today? Can I get a big NOPE! I felt totally unprepared this morning as students came strolling into my room at 7:40- BUT everyone ate, told me they didn't want to go home, and went home with the right people- so I'm calling it a successful day! Of course, I completely forgot to take any pictures of my classroom before the kids got there...so I took them this afternoon (pardon the supply bag mess- I promise, all the supplies are organized and stowed away now). Enjoy my 2016-2017 2nd grade class reveal!

This is what I started with....just a pile of stuff everywhere. And some of it belonged to the teacher that was in there before me (who was in Jamaica at the time...). It was a pain working around her stuff because I didn't know what she was going to be taking with her or leaving behind.

This was the first project I tackled (with my best friend's help- HI MICHELLE!). I love portable word walls for so many reasons, but their space-savingness (yes, I made that up) takes the top spot! And as Michelle can attest- this took a lot longer than any sane person would have spent on it...I mean about 4 hours (with a lot of taking it down and putting it back up to make the spacing line up). Trust me when I say my best friend is better than yours. :)

Writing area! This will be a Daily 5 rotation area with plenty of writing papers for students to write whatever their hearts' desire.

Cozy little reading nook. My students are already arguing over who is going to sit where (which being the first day of school, I'll ignore...but tomorrow- no arguing!) The supply buckets will hold any and all materials that my students will need for an Daily 5 rotations (or modified Daily 5 as it will most likely end up being)

Small group reading. Ignore my mess of supplies, please!

Classroom library (I promise I have color-coordinated boxes on the way!) and what will be Learning Scales (Please, don't even get me started on those things :( )

Front of the room with WBT rules, thinking maps, objectives, and a Mimio (*squee!!*). My desk area is off to the left of this picture.

Gathering area. We use this for calendar math, read-alouds, and during Daily 5 rotations for quiet reading areas. Also, my 1:1 technology cart (*double squee!*).

Book Boxes and my "Jazzy Work" wall. I love, love, love how this wall turned out and can't wait to start putting up my students' best work! :)

It was a lot of sweat and tears (thankfully no blood), but it's done. The kids love it and it's home now. On a side note- they told me they didn't want to go home today (and my incredibly-hard-to-reach-been-warned-about-this-kid-by-numerous-adults student told another teacher he likes me!) so I must have done something right with them (or it could be the fact that I let them play with play-dough this afternoon lol).

Welcome!

Welcome! I've been thinking about starting a teaching blog for quite sometime and now that it's summer, I figured I would try it out. Before I start, here's the explanation for the title of this blog: In American Sign Language (the primary mode of communication I use to teach) the letter "X" is used to create the sign for "apple". It's also the title of a book I wrote with a good friend for my master's degree. I hope one day we can actually publish it!

So, here's a little bit about me: I'm 29. I live in South Florida with my amazing boyfriend, 1 dog (hopefully another one soon!), and 4 cats- I know! It's a zoo around here. He's obsessed with cars (specifically Subaru WRX) and lots of other random things (he's pulling apart an old TV as I type so he can melt the copper into bars...). I love him though. In addition to teaching, I like to read (anything and everything), watch movies, cook, clothes (though I can rarely afford to buy stuff), and makeup. My God, do I love makeup- but I'd rather sleep an extra 20 minutes in the morning than wake up early to put it on :).

I have been teaching for 5 and 1/2 years at the same school in the same classroom. I teach Kindergarten through 2nd grade Deaf/Hard of Hearing students. It's as tough as it sounds. I love it, but there are many days and some school years that don't end soon enough. Many of my students function well below their listed grade and so I've taught students all the way up to 5th grade. Primarily my students function between the ages of 3 and up to about 8 years old. Their abilities vary depending on the day and subject area. It's tough, and not to toot my own horn, but I sure as heck don't get enough respect and/or appreciation for all that I do on a daily basis.

I hope that by creating this blog I will hold myself more accountable for the things that I do with and for my students in the classroom. It's my intention to showcase interesting activities and stories that happen daily or weekly (depending on my mood and ability to remember to update this blog) and to upload as many teacher-made products as I can to help out others. I'm a firm believer in "work smarter not harder."

Thanks for reading and come back for more updates!
Megan