New Prezi Presentation

I will show you my classroom this week, but I have been so busy lately! I started school this week, so my free time to peruse the internet has ended! Here's the latest Prezi presentation I created! Enjoy learning about the basic principles of government!

Fired up!

Two years ago I worked in Flowing Wells as a high school World History teacher. It was my first public school job (worked three years at charter schools) so I was really nervous for the school year. Three weeks prior to school starting they ushered all first year teachers through an intense training program that completely changed the way I teach. I learned so much, but still felt confident I could use the techniques I learned in the classroom. I also met the most wonderful people there. The teachers were excited about their jobs, genuinely liked the kids and were involved in sponsoring extra-curricular activities (we had to, but most seemed enthusiastic). The principals were supportive and the counselors were helpful. It was the best school year I have had in my career. That may have changed as time went on, but I truly loved that job.
I still do love teaching, but it is not the same as working at Flowing Wells. This year we have a new principal, but I am cautiously optimistic. Our school was hit hard by poor leadership, infighting among the office personnel and a general feeling of malaise among the teachers. I will take the optimism Flowing Wells has for its school year with me and try to be the best I can be for myself and these kids. Watch this video! F-Dub it up!

Moving

I'm having a serious case of the blah's whenever I think about school. We are moving out of the house we are living in now to a new house that is much older, but closer to where everything is in Shreveport. The bathroom was neon orange, so I spent a day priming and then painting three coats of paint around the bathroom (Thanks Erin!). I also painted the dining room a bright blue in place of the dark green walls. The other rooms are also hunter green, but I don't have the desire to paint anymore. I painted and decorated the two most visible rooms to where I want them and I will have to leave it at that. We are still moving this week and will finish next weekend. Needless to say, school has taken a back seat. I will show up on August 16th for in-service training and then we will start August 18th. I'll be fine, but I have to get over the "blah, blah,blah's" before then. I promise more positive blog posts next week!

New Dress for the First Day

I want this dress for the first day of school! It's from Anthropologie which means its way too expensive for me, but I love it anyways. I can imagine myself walking on air through the aisles of desks, bringing my students to tears of gratitude as I inform them of the rules and procedures they will always obey and follow. Then I remember what it's really like: I usually trip over someone's bag in the aisle, the kids' eyes glaze over about halfway through my presentation and I smear dry erase marker on my dress...probably, embarrassingly, too close to my bust. No Mr. Holland's Opus here. Only Mrs. McCall stumbling through the classroom in a more sensible $25 dress from Target.

Prezi

I created this in my class today. I took the PowerPoint presentation I did last year for the beginning of the year and then made it into this presentation using Prezi. The questions "Who are you?" etc. will be answered by me during the presentation, so there are some holes...but you get the general idea. It snazzes up presentations a little, don't you think? I was most impressed by this website, but I will continue to share more in the coming days! You can get an educator account for free on www.prezi.com or you can play around on a more basic level. Tomorrow I learn about SmartBoards!

Classroom Decor during the Weekend!

I will only allow myself one more week of classroom decoration, then I'm taking two weeks off. No classroom work, lesson plans, decoration...nothing. I need some time off before school starts. Plus I'm going to move into a new house and I want to focus my creativity on a new space for a while. This weekend I took sheer white curtain panels and sewed some fabric panels on them for the two windows in my classroom. I also covered a wooden board with some batting and fabric for my "media cart" (an overhead cart sans overhead). Both projects were not difficult, but I have not sewn in over a year. It took me over three hours to complete the panels, but I think the turned out well! I'm excited to hang them up in my classroom. I will show you the "after" pictures tomorrow! P.S. The photo is a little dark and the curtains look crooked because I couldn't reach the curtain rod!

Working for the Weekend!

I worked a few hours today on the decor of my classroom. The decal took about two hours to get up, but I think it was well worth it! I love the way it looks alongside everything else. I also finished the M-F folders on my wall. I found some Martha Stewart travel stickers at Michaels today, and put those alongside the folders. The stickers kind of look like exploding candy from far away, but I still like them. I was also pleased with the way the luggage tag "days" turned out.
I'm going to make signs tonight labeling one of the boxes "Bellwork" and another "No Names." I'm ready for all this decor to be finished, so I can focus on lesson planning and teaching in a few weeks!