February Currently - Oh Boy First Grade Linky Party

I know it is a little late, but I didn't want to miss out on the February fun!

Listening:

Yes I know it is sounds crazy but when I started teaching my Preps I decided to start every day with Circle Time. The first song we learned to sing was 'Wash your face in orange juice', and since then the kids have been asking for it every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! This week I thought I would give them another Peter Combe song to learn, so we started Juicy, juicy green grass. And we STILL demand 'the silly song EVERY DAY!!!!!! But hey, at least I have happy little 4 year olds who love their morning Circle Time.

Loving:

I have spent exactly 11 days teaching Prep now, and I honestly think I have found my place in this world. I am loving it! Well, I mean, except for the constant smelling of 'number 2's' in my room...

Thinking:

At school we have adopted ASOT (Art and Science of Teaching) and our central thing is learning goals. Our kids are each given their own personal learning goal and we track how they progress. I do love them because we can arrange a goal to suit everyone, and allow all of our kids to celebrate some success. We have also now been given some cool button badges for the kids to wear when they achieve their learning goals.

Wanting:

I don't know why, but both my hubby and I are great at creating mess in the kitchen, and lounge room, and bedroom, and bathroom - ok, pretty much the whole house. In fact, my 13 year old son's room is cleaner than ours! I definitely need a house that can clean itself!

Needing:

This year, the big difference for me has been not having any idea of who I had coming into my classroom, or what their skill levels might be. I have been spending every spare second I may have - while my absolutely amazing TA Jenny keeps our kiddos on task - doing letter recognition, number recognition, counting, name-writing, and every other assessment I can think of to get a clear picture of what I am supposed to target this year.

Pageant Title:

In Prep, from the time my kids walk in the door at 8.40am, to the time the last child leaves after 3pm, I do not stop. No kidding. Sometimes, I don;t even manage to fit in a toilet break before home time. So, this seems like a suitable pageant title - Don't Stop.

Happy Learning!

January Currently - Oh' Boy 4th Grade Linky Party

Well, on Wednesday night my family and I welcomed in 2015 at the local Bribie Island fireworks. 2014 was a huge year for us. We got married and I 'offically' became step-mum to my 2 teenage boys (slightly difficult for me to wrap my head around this occasionally given that I am only 24 myself! Joys of marrying an older man ;), and saw my sister get engaged to her man. I struggled through a very tough year with a very tough class of Grade 1s only to be told in November that I will be kicking off 2015 by teaching Prep. And my husband and I kissed goodbye to 2014 by going to see 'The Lion King' on stage in Brisbane - a musical I have dreamed of seeing for 10 years! It has been a big one!

So I have decided to kick off 2015 by linking up with Farley over at 'Oh Boy 4th Grade' to join in her January 'Currently' Linky Party.

*Listening - Yes I am in love with Taylor Swift's music at the moment. I might be driving my family nuts listening to it all the time, but hey, it makes me smile :)

*Loving - I love my job, but seriously, who wouldn't be enjoying having 5 weeks to relax, unwind and spend time doing the things you just don't have time to do during school term. I have finally caught up on reading 'Sapphire Skies', the latest book from my favourite author, Belinda Alexandra. I have had a chance to take out the pencils and sketch a bit, and even catch up on some fun resources I have been wanting to create for ages.

*Thinking - I swear I spend every waking minute about my new classroom. I am constantly changing my mind on how to decorate it, arrange it, organise it, the list goes on... I KNOW this one is driving my hubby insane :)

*Wanting - I have sooooooo many resources to print and laminate before the beginning of school, and all I can think is how much it is going to cost in ink and pouches...and how broke I am at the moment *sigh*

*Needing - I stepped on the scales yesterday... Time to get back to the gym!

*Yes - Soooooooooooooooooooooooo need to get myself organised this year. Last year was just exhausting and alot fell by the wayside. Time to get on top of things - starting with my new teacher binder I am creating.  

*Maybe - Need to work out a balance where I can take some personal time every now and then to indulge in my favourite things.

*A Wish - I am not the most confident of people. I definitely need to start believing in myself more. It is definitely scary moving to a new year level, but I really want to make my mark and create a niche for myself with my new year-level team.

Click on the link below to see more January Currently posts