Summertime ...

... and the livin' is easy.

What do you do when you're not in school? I personally wouldn't mind being part of this picture.

Hooray!

I made it! I am no longer a...

First Year Teacher!

But I still plan to keep the blog. Does 'Confessions of a Second Year Teacher' have the same ring? :)

Thank you

For the past three days, I've been living at the hospital. I'll spare you the details. I'll just say my sister is very very sick.

I didn't know she was going to be sick, so I wasn't prepared to be away from school for two days.

I just need to say thank you to the wonderful people I work with. They have stepped in and covered for me while I've been away. I didn't even have to ask before my army of friends moved into action to take care of my class.

Thank you to all of my friends who have sent me messages telling me they're praying for me. Thank you to an understanding principal who told me to take all the time I need. Thank you to a very special person who reminded me that I'm loved and that I make a difference in the lives of the children I teach.

Also, I had a talk with my dad yesterday. He said, "I love coming to your class. You are a wonderful teacher and your kids adore you. I know I asked you over and over as you were going through school if you really wanted to be a teacher. If I ever ask you that again, it will only be to remind myself how dumb I was."

I've always thought that teaching isn't only a job. It's a calling. I was born to teach.

To all the other wonderful teachers I know - thanks for choosing to be a teacher. And thanks for helping me to be one, too.

A little tip

Here's a bite sized tip for those of you who teach in an area similar to where I teach.

Pick up enough Spanish over the course of the year so that when you hear the word 'maestra' come up in their conversation you can turn around and ask, "What did you say about me?"

The looks on your kids' faces will be priceless.

Additional Note

I feel like I ought to be contributing to this.... I do enjoy reading.

I recently met up with some others that I had graduated with a few days ago. Getting together and talking about our first year made me think about this blog. Now, as much as I do enjoy the stories I read, I can't think of anything in particular to share. However, I really felt I ought to. This is for teachers!

I love teaching. I do have days that are really bad that I look forward to ending quickly. I do have days where I feel like I am empowering students and creating future citizens of the universe!

One thing I've really learned this year is that students want to be empowered and they want to be recognized. They don't necessarily believe that is what they want, but it's obvious. I've learned that for me to feel like I am doing my job I need to find a way to meet that criteria in some form and fashion. They learn better when they're empowered.

Also, another HUGE important aspect to 2nd grade....

if it's a song or a game their motivation and desire to learn increases 10 fold. ;)

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Every time one of my students has a birthday, they get to sit on my special chair while we sing them a birthday song. Then the special birthday boy or girl can call on three people to ask questions about their birthday.

Last week, a sweet boy in my class celebrated his birthday. He called on one of the girls who asked, "What would you like for your birthday?"

I thought he would answer like most of my other students have: "A PSP." "A laptop." "A cell phone."

What did this boy say when asked what he wished for most?

A simple answer -

"A birthday cake."

Commemorating the Olympics in Miss Hortin's Class

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!!!

... and I especially love the Winter Olympic Games.

We learned a lot about the Vancouver Winter Games in my class. For homework, my kids brought in newspaper articles about the Olympics. If they didn't have access to newspapers, they could draw a picture of the Olympics and write a sentence to describe what was happening in the picture.
We tallied the gold, silver, and bronze medals earned by the United States.

We also kept a count of the medals earned by a few other countries.

After the Olympics were over, we made a class pictograph about the United States' gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Not too shabby for a teacher with a broken leg, huh? :)