Pre-service Training

     This whole week we spent at the community college reviewing all our policies and procedures. We have a major push to incorporate more exercise, healthy eating, and promoting healthy living with our I'm Moving, I'm Learning initiative. We will be required to do a minimum of 1 movement activity per day and they are making more healthy improvements in the food we serve our students. On Thursday, we had a big surprise when Kathie Dolgin (aka High Voltage) made a quick guest appearance to discuss the dangers of excessive sugar consumption. She was a spark that really lightened the room! I was so impressed I bought her book from Amazon and am going to her lecture on Sunday!
     I was over-joyed when I was told my Smart Board was repaired and would be in perfect working order! I have so many high hopes for a great school year this year. Last year at this time, I was just meeting my co-teacher, Reneé, and all my new coworkers and trying to orient myself to my new classroom and supplies. This year, I'm focusing more on all the details! Throughout the year there were many things that Reneé and I said we wanted to implement in the future, so that time is now!
     Next week will be busy with room decorating, classroom labeling, and planning for parent orientation!

Last Day of Summer Vacation

     This has been, technically, my first summer off! Last summer I tutored a lot and previous summers I worked. When I was teaching in Utah, we had school year-round so I had 3 weeks off at a time, but it was spread out over the whole year (which I miss because that was awesome). With the new school year approaching, I feel comfortable knowing I have all the back to school supplies I need, although some of which are still in the mail from Amazon. I spent a large part of the summer on a job search that resulted in approximately 6 interviews, but no job offers. While disappointed initially, I am now excited to go back to preschool and step it up a notch from last year.
     My plan is to document in detail the learning journey, for myself and my students, on this blog. While classroom photos can be tricky because you can't show students' faces, I will get creative! I usually take about 400 or more pictures of my class per year. While I haven't been able to get into my class and start working on my room yet, I found this old picture of my first bulletin board from Rosamond Elementary and thought I'd share (this was before I added pics of everyone next to their name).