I got my job as a first year teacher!!

So June 25th, I had my very first teacher interview. I was so nervous! Who wouldn't be! Anyway, my interview was in a small town in a coffee shop. Not what I expected, but it made me a lot less nervous. The interview was very casual and the principal was very laid back and easy to talk to. I was nervous for nothing! He offered me the job at the end of the interview!! Then he tells me he used to coach my husband when he was in high school! I am so excited!! 

I will be teaching kindergarten, along with 4 other kinder teachers. I am going Thursday this Thursday to get the key to my very first classroom!! I have been on Pinterest looking for ideas to put into place in my classroom! So many awesome ideas!! I think I'm going with the owl theme! :)

As soon as I start getting my classroom together I will post pictures of my new adventure as a kindergarten teacher!! 

Vanessa

June

Currently....

Thinking: I really need to put together my teacher portfolio to take to my teacher interviews. 

Hoping: I get some phone calls for new interviews.

Missing: My students I student taught. I will never forget them.

Listening: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... My daughter Kaeli never gets tired of watching.

Loving: The warm weather, despite the tornado warnings and thunderstorms. I love warm nights and mornings. 

Wanting: A new lap top. I prefer a Mac since every other lap top I have ever owned has failed me. I love my iPad but doesn't quite do everything I need it to do. Besides, I really want to fancy up my blog. 😜

Wishing: This summer will contain many memories and blessings for my future.

Needing: Dinner and laundry to do itself. 😁

Vanessa

How my child likes to watch cartoons. 😆

Interview

So now that I officially have my teacher certification, I have applied in several school districts. I had an interview with Amarillo ISD personnel; however, now I am waiting to hear from principals for a position. School is over this Friday so I am hoping I will be notified for interviews for my first teaching position. I am really eager to begin my career. I am really nervous and scared about not getting a job this time around but I am willing to do whatever it takes to help me achieve my goals. I have been reading a book to help ease my nerves about any upcoming interview. I don't think my interview I had with AISD was great because I was so nervous and not as confident as I would have liked to have been. The book is called, "Ace your Teacher Interview," by Anthony, Fredrick's. It has been a great read so far, I just need to practice my own answers so I will be well prepared for my own personal interview.

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Substitute Teaching

Now that I have completed my 12 weeks of student teaching, I currently got hired at Amarillo ISD as a substitute. I have been subbing at Puckett Elementary mostly with the first grade students I have had the pleasure of working with all year. It brought so much joy to the students to see me back in the classroom and I have really gotten attached to them. I miss being with them everyday. I have grown so much as a teacher/student and I loved going back to hear some of the things they learned from me. Such a rewarding experience and makes me feel wonderful as I am making a difference. They truly have the love of learning as I hope to continue to achieve with all my students in my future career as a teacher.

Author Study- Mem Fox

I really enjoyed the many author studies we did each week. We did an author study on Mem Fox and did many activities that I wasn't able to get pictures of but I have a few.

Below are a few of the stories we read by Mem Fox. We focused on characterization and comparing characteristics between these stories.

With"Feathers and Fools," we focused on the characteristics between the two birds in the story. We created a Venn Diagram as a class and discussed similar and different characteristics! They did such a great job!

With "Hattie and the Fox," the students individually created a graphic organizer to list character traits. I traced the cover of the book and gave students construction paper to tear an glued onto their hen. We used a googley eye which was a cute touch!

The last story was "Boo to a Goose." Instead of character traits on this book, I decided to have the children write something they "would do,but wouldn't do." In the story, the author writes silly things like, "I would......, but wouldn't say, "boo to a goose!" The ones the students wrote were hilarious!

State Sybols

We also learned a lot about our state symbols. I created a Power Point, but I'm not sure if I can post the attachment from my iPad so I will have to look into that. I am still new to blogging, so I will figure it out eventually.


We learned about the Texas Flag, state mammal, state tree, state flower, state song, and much more! They loved it all! I wished I would have gotten more pics of the things we did but below are a few pics of the blue bonnet. They used paint and their thumb prints for the petals.

Since this was Texas week, we had the students take home a Boot to decorate however they wished. I read a book called "Armadillo Rodeo"! The kids loved it just as much as I did! ;) After the story the students described their boots on paper, but without telling each other which boot was theirs! For example, my boot is smooth, shiny, and colorful. The students had to guess whose was boot whose! The kids really enjoyed this because they really had to use good describing words so their classmates could figure it out without giving away too much!