Meet the Teacher

“I still want one.”

July 13, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 6 Comments

Well, no one (as of 11:18pm) guessed my favorite Oz character correctly! I’m not totally surprised, because it’s an unusual preference. So let me explain —

I’m a sap. A total sap.

I tear up at the national anthem, I tear up looking at museum displays at the Smithsonian, I get choked up without fail at every single Olympic event.

I. am. a. sap.

Because of this, I remember connecting so much with the Tinman’s character when I was little. I felt everything in the world so strongly that it absolutely destroyed me to think that there could be someone that couldn’t feel at all.

The Wizard says to the Tinman, “As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.” The Tinman replies, “But I still want one.“

Tears. Here they come.

Having a heart means that you feel joy and you feel sorrow. You feel.

I’ll never forget the “warning” I received about becoming a teacher — that my heart may be broken on a regular basis, and why would I want to do something like that?

I totally understand the Tinman. I relate to him.

There are many disadvantages to choosing teaching as your profession. Those disadvantages often times turn people away. I turn toward them, because teaching makes me feel. My heart is never so open and free as it is when I’m teaching (and learning).

So there you have it. I have an unusually soft soft-spot for our galvanized friend.

I’m still choosing a winner, and going with the person that guessed my second favorite Oz character — the Cowardly Lion — Storie! You are right, his “aw, shucks!” quality is what makes me smile anytime he is on-screen. Check your e-mail shortly for your copy of the binder set!

I’ll be back tomorrow with some new classroom decor, and a freebie (or two)! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!

My Ruby Red Danskos + A Freebie!

July 5, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 10 Comments

I wish. I totally wish I had a pair of ruby Danskos, or that this post was about me finding out they even make a pair of ruby Danskos — nope! This post is actually about my metaphorical ruby Danskos, or what a day in my life was like as a student teacher.

For reference, these would be the actual Danskos (my feet are so big and awkward I have to buy the men’s) that graced my soles:

5:00 a.m. – Alarm goes off, depending on how much sleep I’ve gotten (assuming I’ve gone to sleep at all, hah!) I may or may not hit snooze. I shower/get dressed/put finishing touches on lesson plans and materials.

6:45 a.m. – Wheels up and out of the driveway.

8:00 a.m. – Drop William off at daycare. (Depending on traffic, we have about an hour commute to his daycare!)

8:30 a.m. – I get dropped off at my school and Mr. Plum drives to his two miles away. (Both of us completed our internship at the same time — a mere two miles apart in the same school district!)

8:45 a.m. – Shovel a hardboiled egg down while writing the morning message and laying out the days’ materials.

9:05 a.m. – Kiddos walk in, announcements start, and I pretend I am well-rested and totally energetic!

9:25 a.m. – Language Arts block starts; guided reading happens, center rotations, mini-lessons, etc. We do a big word study focus on Monday, and then are pretty flexible the rest of the week.

11:25 a.m. – Science or social studies starts, depending on the day. About half the time these two subjects gets integrated with language arts, which I loved doing.

12:20 p.m. – Time for lunch! I drop the kiddos off, heat up my lunch (assuming I didn’t leave it in the car — which is two miles away — d’oh!) and eat lunch with the kiddos and my cooperating teacher.

12:50 p.m. – We head out for recess (and I try not to burn with my near-translucent skin).

1:20 p.m. – We head inside and start math, and try not to roast like chicken in our un-air-conditioned hotbox. Sometimes we’d do centers or small group, but this bunch of kiddos responded best to whole-group math instruction.

2:20 p.m. – SPECIALS TIME! I do a happy dance and hope the kiddos don’t see.

3:05 p.m. – I pick ’em up from specials, we wrap up with some fun activities, and do a few administrative tasks (notes, signing agendas, reviewing homework, afternoon annoucements, etc.).

3:30 p.m. – I wave bye-bye and get some much-appreciated hugs from the kiddos.

4:30 p.m. – Mr. Plum picks me up, and we swap war stories from the day on the way to pick up William.

5:00 p.m. – We pick up William, he immediately demands snacks, and we oblige. If we’ve remembered them. Hopefully.

6:15 p.m. – We roll into the driveway, and immediately collapse. Just kidding.

7:00 p.m. – We eat dinner… well, William eats dinner. Mr. Plum and I just try and stay awake. I most certainly drink coffee.

9:00 p.m. – William hopefully is in his room, putting himself to sleep. I’m starting to sift through my massive to-do list, finish writing another four page lesson plan (torture, I tell you!), grade student papers, and write a reflection for each lesson I taught that day.

12:00 a.m. – Snack break. I’m probably on my second episode of Hoarders on Netflix by now.

2:00 a.m. – Generally finished creating/writing and printing, and now just laminating. I’ve moved on from Hoarders, and am probably watching Toddlers and Tiaras so that my outrage keeps me awake.

2:45 a.m. – Finally in bed. Usually.

By the time the weekend hit, both my husband and I were beat. Totally wiped out. When I look back on my final semester of graduate school, I honestly marvel at how we did it because the entire thing was one long blur. I do remember thinking about mid-way through that the days were just melting together and that it was best to “go with the flow.”

One thing is for certain — the experience solidified just how much I love this profession and could not possibly do anything else for the joy it has given me. Despite the complete and utter sleep deprivation (which I know everyone has experienced — a rite of passage!), I never wanted to give up. I never felt like the tasks before me were insurmountable, or dread getting up in the morning. That was a great feeling.

Now it’s your turn — tell me about a day in your shoes! Head on over to Ingles360 and link up as a part of TBA’s celebration of International Blog-Hopping Day!

And while you’re at it, you may as well head on over to my TPT store to grab this:

I’m celebrating with TBA by posting another freebie from my stint during student teaching! This freebie is a teacher “big book” and student booklet that can be used as basic reference or review for plane and solid geometric figures.

Do you have a freebie you’d like to share? Head on over to Kreative in Kinder to link up and share one!

Teacher by Design

June 30, 2012 by Sarah Plum(itallo) 5 Comments

Teaching has always been in the cards for me, thought I didn’t recognize it until after I started college and began to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It shouldn’t have taken me that long because from an early age I was obsessed with two things: learning and office supplies. (Seriously, I spent my birthday money, allowance money, tooth fairy money, and lemonade stand money on office supplies.)

I was that kid that — with near-perfect handwriting and a box of organized-by-color crayons — was waving their hand in the air, desperate to contribute to class discussions. I simply couldn’t get enough knowledge stuffed into my rather large noggin’. The subject matter didn’t much matter (though I am a bit of a bookworm and science nerd) so long as I was learning about something.

I wasn’t born this way. (Insert Lady Gaga anthem here.) I didn’t come pre-wired with the incredible thirst for experiencing the world and constructing knowledge. I didn’t even come pre-wired with the organizational skills of Martha Stewart (contrary to what my friends and family might secretly profess).

I was molded. Molded by teachers; in-school, and in the home. I was encouraged to question everything around me, and I was indulged when the questions kept flowing from my very curious brain. I had teachers in early elementary that absolutely made a mark upon the core of who I am, so much so that in my late 20’s I have very vivid memories of what it meant to be a learner in their classroom.

And so when I finally realized that I wouldn’t be happy in any career that lacked a constant growth in knowledge and understanding… well, I realized that I had to be a teacher. I had to be a teacher because I couldn’t nurture my curiosity as a life-long learner any other way. But most importantly, I had to be a teacher because I wouldn’t be able to make sure there are other children-turned-teenagers-turned-adults like me — that love to learn for the sake of learning — if I didn’t do the teaching myself.

Here I am, a recent graduate with a Masters in Elementary Education about to embark on my first full-time teaching position in second grade come September. I’m overwhelmed in the best possible way by what lies ahead, and couldn’t be more thankful that I woke up and smelled the fresh box of crayons and followed my passion a few years ago.

I decided to document this journey and be a participant in this teaching blog community for many reasons, the greatest of which is it’s the single best professional development tool I’ve taken part in. On any given day I read hundreds of posts from men and women that have become mentor teachers to me — though we may not have directly communicated — and it’s made me a much better educator.

While I’m the new kid on the block, I hope to bring something to the table and contribute to this incredible community of dedicated teachers. There’s honestly nowhere I’d rather be (okay, okay, if Hogwarts was real I’d rather be there… but you would rather be there too, and you know it!).