My Teacher Story And the lessons learned

This year I start my 12th year teaching and have felt like maybe I was at a crossroads with teaching. I have been on maternity leave since Christmas break. I love being home with my daughter and thought maybe it was time to say goodbye to teaching. But after a lot of praying and studying, I am returning the classroom. It isn't possible financially for me to stay at home but more than that I still have work to do as a teacher. A few months ago, I was participating in a Bible study on the book What Happens When Women Walk in Faith by Lysa TerKeurst. Through this study I knew that God was still calling me to be a teacher. I feel pretty strongly that teaching is a calling from God. Part of why I was thinking of leaving teaching was because of all the difficulties we are facing in the classroom these days. My class size and responsibilities are growing. My freedom to really teach is slowly being taken away. I left in December feeling pretty beaten down. Of course the pregnancy hormones probably played a big role in that. I am participating in another Bible study from Proverbs 31 ministries and this morning my reading got me thinking about my journey as a teacher. The things I have been through that have led me to where I am now. I thought I would share and maybe it would encourage a new teacher or remind a veteran teacher of what it was like to be a new teacher. So here is my teaching story. It is a long story so grab a coffee and settle in.

I went to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The teaching program at UT is a five year program. You major in something else besides teaching and then complete an extra year getting your masters and doing your student teaching. I student taught in first grade and learned a lot. I learned a lot about school culture because we started on the first inservice day and ended on the last inservice day. I learned about needing a best teaching partner and about not eating in the teachers' lounge. I learned about trying to do what was best for our students and what was required of us. But it still didn't prepare me for my own classroom.
I decided that I was moving to Nashville after I finished my masters classes. Several of my friends lived there and my extended family was there. I got an early contract saying that I would have a  job come August. I remember my first interview just like it was yesterday. My mom and I got up early and drove to Nashville so I could interview at this middle school for a job that I knew I didn't want. But I was too scared to say no to an interview. I was offered the job but declined it because I knew middle school teacher wasn't for me. Eventually I returned to Nashville over the fourth of July and interviewed at a couple of other schools. By this time I had a lease on an apartment and was excited to interview at a fairly new school not too far from my house. I was interviewing for a first grade position which seemed perfect since I had done my student teaching in first grade. I returned home without knowing whether I had gotten this job or not. A few days later the principal called me and said she was in Knoxville, could I meet her to discuss a different position. We met at Macalisters on the strip and she offered me a third grade ELL position. I had no idea what she was talking about but I liked the idea of being at a fairly new school near my house. So I accepted the position. The first time I went to see my classroom I was so disappointed. Here I was in this school that was only a few years old and I was in a portable. And it was a disgusting portable. And it was no where near any of the other third grade teachers. They were all inside on the second floor. I was smack in the middle of fourth grade. But I made that room as homey as I could. This was before Teachers Pay Teachers and creating my own classroom materials. I quickly found the closest teacher supply store and found things to make the room better. This first year was definitely a learning experience. Being an ELL teacher, I had a self contained classroom of third graders who English was not their first language. I was suppose to have a small class. But instead I had 21 students. 3 spoke no English at all. 19 of them were boys. I was in way over my head.

This is me on the first parent night ever. I was so nervous and really had no idea what I was doing. While I thought this was the hardest thing I would ever have to do at the time, looking back on it I have such fond memories of this first class. My grandmother would come in once or twice a week and work with my kids that didn't know much English. I made great teacher friends who I could cry with and grade papers with and plan with. My best teaching memory from this year was a student who came in not knowing any English and being terrified. He would meltdown and refuse to move like a preschooler regularly. But I learned that he had just come into the country to live with his mom who was living with an abusive boyfriend. We worked through all that and at the end of the year he stood up and read a three paragraph paper about his favorite things in third grade. That is one of those moments I hang on to when teaching gets hard and I feel discouraged. Here's another picture of me that first year and my lovely room. 

The next year I was moved into the school building with the other third grade teachers. My best teaching friend and I planned together a lot. I had so much freedom with what I was teaching and I loved it. If there had been teacher blogs and TPT then, I would have been all over them. I was open to anything new. This picture is of the girls in my class and me dressed as Junie B. Jones. 

A new school was built down the road that was opening the next year and some of the students from our school were being moved to this new school. That meant some of the teachers would have to leave too. My principal that I worked for was not always on the up and up with us. In fact, we were a pretty tight staff because we had to stick together. She wouldn't tell me if I was the last one hired or not. So when the principal at the new school contacted me to interview for the third grade ELL position, I jumped on it. She was your dream principal and I ended up taking the job at this brand new school. The school wasn't finished until the week of inservice. The school wasn't even approved for kids until 7 am the first day of school. It was such a cool experience getting to start a new school. I loved it. I loved my principal and assistant principal and I loved my teammates. But I started to miss my home in East Tennessee. So at the end of this school year, I packed my stuff up and headed home. In case you are counting, this would be the fourth time I packed up my classroom and moved to a new one. Thanks to my aunt and uncle and then my dad. 

Now when I moved back home I had no job just some connections. I also had no apartment. I was moving back in with my parents who didn't really have room for me anymore. My sister had just graduated college and was living back at home too until she got married in May. But I felt like this was where I was suppose to be. I went to a job fair for the county and was basically told they couldn't hire anyone anytime soon. I left and cried. I had left a job I loved and tenure to come home to hear there are no jobs. I was told not to worry about it that there were jobs and come July they would be hiring. And that was right. In July I got a couple of calls for interviews. I ended up interviewing at my old elementary school that was down the street from my parents for a kindergarten/first grade looping job. I really didn't know anything about kindergarten but accepted the job when it was offered. I spent the remainder of the summer reading about kindergarten. I was so excited to start my new job but terrified. My sister helped me get my room ready and I met a new teaching friend who was also new to teaching and new to kindergarten. I love my school that I teach at now. I've been there for going on 9 years now. But that first year was hard. There hadn't been very many new young teachers in a while and there was a lot we had to figure out on our own. We did a lot of things wrong because we were told wrong or because we weren't told the right thing to do. 

My first day of school as a kindergarten teacher was a blur. The only thing I can distinctly remember is the student who was crying and singing "If you're happy and you know it." 

Remember how I said my first year teaching was the hardest thing I ever thought I would have to do. I was so wrong. My first 6 weeks in kindergarten was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Part of it is just how kindergarten is. The first six weeks is the hardest but a lot of what made my experience so hard could have been prevented. 

I truly had no idea what to do with kindergartners. I had zero experience as a kindergarten teacher and how much they didn't know. I'm also not the smiley, warm and fuzzy type. I love my kids but it takes a lot of effort on my part to be smiley and upbeat. I live in a small community and it didn't take long before some parents were complaining about me. (In fact, I had a parent call and complain on the first day of school because I wouldn't let her son play with the counting bears. Of course the fact that he was throwing them at other students wasn't mentioned at all)  I was struggling and I was mad at myself for struggling so much. I am an overachiever and I'm use to succeeding and I was drowning. In the middle of the day, I got called to the principal's office for a meeting with my principal, assistant principal and the teacher next door (Who I had known since I was in 7th grade). This caught me off guard as they told me that parents were concerned that I wasn't warm and fuzzy enough for kindergarten. Of course I cried and really didn't know what to do. I was prepared to fix my teaching but how do you fix your personality. Luckily, it wasn't just a meeting to tell me what I was doing wrong, they had some ideas to help me connect with the parents better . I was crushed though. I went home and cried to my dad and really didn't know what to do. I'm so thankful that I have parents who believe in me and a dad that knew that I just needed to cry. (As I write this, I still cry a little over it.) 

The assistant principal set up a visit at another school for me so I could get some help. It helped a lot to visit this other classroom and in another school where my troubles weren't so widely known. I also held an open house and took the opportunity to interact with the parents in my class in a less stressful environment. But the damage had been done. I really doubted myself and probably still do doubt myself as a kindergarten teacher because of this. I was also told by someone from central office that I didn't have the personality of a kindergarten teacher when he came to observe me. He had nothing negative to say about my lesson. But thought I wasn't warm and fuzzy enough with the kids by not letting them talk to me during the lesson about whatever they wanted. My opinion then and now is that during teaching time is not a time to share and let students hang all over me. If you wanted to see how I interact with the kids like that, come during recess or free center time. Those are the times when the kids come and talk to me and tell me what is going on with them. 

This class was the most difficult class I have ever had. They continue to be a difficult class and teachers in other grades can't believe the mix of kids I had for two years because I looped with them. But I learned a lot those two years and am a much better teacher because of it. But I believe some of this could have been prevented. Here's what I hope you take from my story:

- Reach out to new teachers in your grade and in your building. I have made an effort to do this since I had this experience. If someone had reached out to me, I think I could have had a better year. There were so many things that I didn't know about the school culture and no one told me. In fact, one of my co-workers was doing everything she could to prevent me from having a good year. 

- If a teacher is struggling, don't talk about it with the parents in your community. Talk to the teacher, see if you can help or stay out of it. 

- If you are starting your first year, it will be hard but you can get through it. Find a teacher to be friends with. 

- IF you are starting your first year, don't be so hard on yourself. You will struggle and it's ok. 

I'm starting my 9th year at this school and in kindergarten and first grade this fall. I still am not a smiley person but I have learned how to put on a smile for my kids. I know the first 6 weeks is going to be hard and I can get through it. I know that if I spend more time enjoying my kids and less time worrying about other teachers, things will be good. I have also learned to ask for help and to offer help. 

I would love to hear your teacher story.  Grab the button and link up with me. 

Using Alphabet Books and a Freebie

I have planned on posting all week long but it just hasn't happened. My sweet girl has had a difficult week. She has decided that she no longer wants to sleep longer than 2-3 hours at a time at night. She had been sleeping for at least 5-6 hours at a time for a while so this has been a difficult adjustment. She also has decided that she wants to get up early. Usually I get up by 7 so I can have my quiet time, start chores and do whatever else before she gets up at 8:30 or 9. This makes posting and updating things difficult. I'm working on updating some old units that I have on TPT. I'm kind of embarrassed by some it. Right now I'm working on my Cupcake Math Unit and giving it a complete overhaul. This was my first unit I ever created and I did it on publisher. I don't have publisher anymore so I'm having to start from scratch on ppt. But I'm really pleased with what I've been working on. I can't wait to use it this fall when school starts back. Here's a sneak peak:

I love this clipart from Creative Clips. I plan on overhauling a lot of my activities with new clipart, fonts and activities. But first I need to organize my clipart. Currently is by artist but I have a hard time knowing what I have so I need to work on a different way.
I'm linking up again with Reading Toward the Stars for her weekly Book talk party.

Last week I wrote about what I've been reading. I've finished a book or two since then but I wanted to blog about alphabet books. I try to read a book or two to Sweet girl everyday and every night her daddy reads to us before bedtime. We've been reading The Chronicles of Narnia during this time and are on the 5th one I think. I know it's advanced for a 5 month old but I love this time as a family and we've enjoyed it. 

I had a Hawaiian themed baby shower at my school because that was the theme we were going with Sweet girl's nursery so she got several Hawaiian themed gifts. One was an awesome alphabet book. 

Animals Sing Aloha

I love this book because it is like the traditional alphabet book that has a letter and then something that starts with a letter but it also has the sound as part of the song and letters kids can trace with lines for how you would write the letter. Obviously my 5 month old is not doing that but we are talking about the letters and their sounds in a fun way.
We also got the Dr. Seuss ABC book.

It is another fun read with alliteration and silly animals. This one is just a fun one to read and gives another opportunity to talk about letters.
The last one I discovered accidentally. It wasn't a gift at a shower but a book I already had and hadn't read. I love Sandra Boyton's books. They are perfect for little ones. Her A to Z book is no different.

This book has an animal that starts with the letter and then an action word. The animal is doing the action. I could see a lot of potential for this book in the classroom. There is another book that is similar that is animals and adjectives.

What I love about these alphabet books is that it gives us the opportunity to talk about letters in a fun way.  A friend of mine is working on her phd in reading and she read that reading alphabet books at home is one of the best ways for kids to learn letters. Because at home they have the opportunity to talk about and interact with the letters. So that is now her go to gift for new babies and kids.
I have a freebie to share with you that is a couple of activities to do after reading some alphabet books. They aren't earth shattering but they could make a neat class book.  Click here to get the file.

What are your favorite alphabet books and what do you do with them? If you download this file, I would love to hear about it.

Book Talk Thursday

If you know anything about me, it is that I'm a reader. Reading is about like breathing to me. If I'm not reading at least one book, I feel a little lost. One of my coworkers told me that would change once I had a baby. But that's not the case with me. Since being at home in January, I have read about 30 books. What has changed is how I read books. At first, I couldn't read books that required two hands. My phone, kindle, and iPad have been my best friend. It was nice to have my books on my iPhone while I was in the hospital having Sus. She was in the NICU so our stay was a little different than I was expecting. I was glad to have something to attempt to distract me from wanting to have my baby with me and be at home. I get a lot of my books from my local library through Ereads and the app Overdrive. If you like to read ebooks you need to see if your library is a part of this. I have to wait some for more popular books but it has saved me so much money. There are a lot of audiobooks as well (or as I call them. Books on Tape). I just started listing to the audiobooks. It isn't my favorite way to read, but I listen to them while Sus and I take our walks. It takes me a lot longer to listen than it does to read them. I've been trying to come up with things to blog about and books I'm reading is always a good topic. So I was excited to see this linky party from Reading towards the Stars.

So here are some books that I've read lately. 

First up is this series by Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs. 

This book is set after World War I in England. The main character is a psychologist/investigator. I'm on book 6 of the series and am loving it. I'm all about England during this time period right now and there are historical elements along with a mystery. Maisie Dobbs is a very intriguing and lovable character. 

I read this book Family Pictures by Jane Green recently as well. It was a good read about family dynamics. Nothing earth shattering but  an easy read.  Same with All Fall Down. It is the story of a mom who has a drug problem. 

I've been reading Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody series. They are set in late 1800s England/Egypt about an archeologist and her family's adventures. I love mysteries and these are a mystery without a lot of gore. 

Still Live with Bread Crumbs is the story of a photographer who moves from New York City to the mountains and the changes she goes through. 

The last two are books I read a while ago but they were good. I listened to Bringing up Bebe a month or two ago. It is the observations of an American journalist raising her children in Paris. I found it completely fascinating about how Parisians raise their children. So interesting!

The last one Mr. Churchill's Secretary is the first in the Maggie Hope series. This series is set in England during World War II. Maggie Hope is the main character and she starts as Winston's Churchill's secretary but by the end of the book she is spy. 

So those are my books I've been reading. I like a wide variety of books and would love to hear about what you are reading. 

Kindergarten Tips

So I guess I have been in denial these past five months that I'm going to be returning to the classroom in August. So with that denial came neglecting my blog. I have been very focused on being a mom to this sweet girl.

But now that summer is here, I am coming to terms with having to go back to school in August. Not that I have a child care situation yet or is Sweet girl taking a bottle yet. But it will be here before I know it.
I will back in kindergarten with a new set of kids and I really enjoyed reading the blog posts from Mary at Sharing Kindergarten's Linky party and thought I would join in.

My husband is dreading my return to kindergarten until October because it is so hard and I'm so stressed. But I have learned that if I take my time and focus on procedures and management pieces then the teaching of the academics will come much easier. I always want to jump into the reading and writing and math but I try to focus on the making a line, sitting on the carpet, behavior during lunch, not getting up and wandering around the room first.

When I first started teaching kindergarten, I'm not sure that I really understood five and six year olds. But after 8 years in kindergarten and first grade, and 3 nieces later, I have a better understanding of the kids. I was criticized my first year teaching for not being touchy feely enough and I still think that there is a time and a place. During the middle of the lesson is not necessarily the place for stories and hugs. But I always try to listen to them during recess, lunch and other down times. I always start the day by greeting them at the door with a good morning and a smile and we always end the day with the kids choosing to give a hug, high five or handshake. I'm not a hugger by nature with adults and try to respect kids that might not be huggers either.
So those are my tips! I'm not looking forward to leaving my sweet girl in August. I have enjoyed my time at home with her more than I ever imagined. But I'm hoping to get back into reading blogs, writing blogs, and creating new activities this summer. So check back again! Meanwhile, check out the other great Kindergarten posts here. 

What's happening in my classroom

It has been forever since I've blogged. I have had a hard time this year getting into a groove and remembering to take some pictures so I have something to blog about. I keep meaning to link up with Five for Friday but by the end of the week I only have a couple of pictures. So I'm going to share all the pictures I've taken and give you a little update about my class. I have 22 first graders which is more than I've ever had in first grade. There were rumors that we might get a co-teacher in first grade but our numbers didn't quite grow enough for that. So one day I got 3 new students. It was challenging to have that many new students at one time. I think we're finally getting into a groove. Of course last time I thought that, then we added our formal RTI and things had to start over again. We've had a hard time getting into an independent routine. I know that is normal for the beginning of the year but I loop with kids so 16 of my students were with me last year. But I think we're getting there.
We finally have read to self up and going. It took a while to figure out a good schedule. But we read at the end of the day and it is my favorite part of the day. I love seeing the kids engaged in reading.

I love all the great cute things I find on Tpt but sometimes simple things are the best. A few weeks ago we were working on nouns. I gave each kid a half a sheet of white paper cut longwise. I had them fold it twice so they had 4 sections in their paper. They had to draw and label a person, place, thing, and animal. 

This week I did the same thing but they had to pick four spelling words, write them and illustrate them.

There are so many ways you can use this simple idea. They could write first, next, then, and last for stories and books. You could gave them write four facts on the paper about a topic on science or social studies. The ideas are endless. 

Another simple idea but not cute we did this week was in math. We have been working on decomposing numbers and getting ready for addition. I used KinderKraze's decomposing pack the week before and it was great but I didn't have time this week to get it ready. So I took large copy paper and wrote blank addition sentences for the number 9. The kids worked with a partner and used two sided counters to come up with all the ways to make 9. I was proud of how well they worked together. 

Our unit in a Reading this past week was all about neighborhoods which tied in pretty well with our upcoming field trip to Cade's Cove to talk about communities in the past. The kids came up with a list of places in our community and then picked one to draw. I gave them a piece of white paper they had to fill up and use labels. Some of the kids worked on their own and some worked as partners. Two boys wanted to makes the streets. So they cut up white paper and glued it down on butcher paper. Overall they did a great job even though it wasn't to scale of our town. I meant to take a picture but forgot. Maybe I'll add a picture tomorrow. 

So that is a little peek into what we've been doing. Centers are finally starting to run fairly smoothly. I have to work with a group for RTI during this time and haven't been able to take pictures. Maybe this week I'll have a little time. I'm headed into week 26 of my pregnancy and things are going well. My legs and feet have been swelling and I'm exhausted. Here's my week 24 bump picture.

Today we bought this cute dress for my little one. She's not suppose to be here until after Christmas but you just never know. I found this perfect dress at Osh Kosh so of she comes early it is a little Christmassy but not too much.

I have posted a couple of things to my tpt store recently you might want to check out. One is Math task cards for comparing numbers with everyone's favorite groovey  cat.  Check it out here! 

Check it out here! 

The next is reading fluency homework for first grade that correlates with Journeys reading series. It practices spelling words, high frequency words, and fluency. It works on the first 15 lessons.Check it out here!

Check it out here!

It is what I use for homework and I think it helps a ton with their fluency. 

Until next time, whenever that might be! 

Meet the Teacher Linky

I am joining the party over at Falling into First for a little Meet the teacher. Today is my last day before school officially starts and I'm waiting on the Air conditioner people to come fix our AC so I thought why not get a few things done on the computer.

I know I shared this picture on Friday, but it's my current favorite picture of me and my hubby.
I'm Kerri and I'm 33. I've been married for 2 years to Chris and we're expecting our first child in December. A little girl. I've entering my 11th year teaching, which I just can't believe. I taught 3 years as a 3rd grade self contained ELL teacher and loved every minute of it. But I missed my family and moved back to the mountains of East Tennessee. I've been at the same school I went to 7th and 8th grade for the past 7 years looping with kindergarten and first. I love my school I teach at. It is unique in so many ways. We're right downtown in a tourist town and we have a wide variety of students. My class the past few years has been over 1/3 ELL students and we have a variety of socioeconomic status. We also have a unique relationship with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and my kids get to go on a park field trip 3 times a year.

A few of my favorite things . . .
God, church, family especially my nieces, friends, reading, books, my local library, coffee, teaching, walking in the woods, the beach

 If you weren't a teacher, what would you be . . .
a librarian (although that might be the same)

3 little words that describe you . . .
driven, loving, loyal

Finish this sentence "_________ said no teacher ever!!"
Sure, I'd love to give a test the first week of school.

It's your birthday and you can invite anyone dead or alive. Who would it be?
Chris's mom. She passed away before his senior year and I never knew her. I wish I did. My famous person I would invite is Agatha Christie. Love her writing!

If someone wrote a book about your live, what would the title be?

Life at Full Circle - I feel like my life has come full circle to some extent. I live in the town I went to high school in and am married to a friend from high school. I teach at the school I went to.

You get to pick a Superpower, what is it?

You think I would have this figured out. My hubby is a Geek and we have lots of superhero discussions. I sometimes feel like Penny, from Big Bang Theory. In fact, I found myself explaining something about Marvel, X-men, and Spiderman and their movies to these college kids in front of us in the movie theater. It was definitely a moment. I think I would like to be able to transport myself other places. I'm kind of borrowing from Harry Potter here. I have always wished I could apparate.

Favorite Quote or Saying:

I used to collect quotes in a journal which I'm sure I have somewhere. But now I collect quotes on Pinterest. So here a few of my faves. 

If you had to sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?

No one would want me to sing on American Idol. I sing terrible. It would probably be something like "The Wheels on the Bus" or something like that. 

Morning Person or Night Owl . . .

Morning person - I get tired in the afternoon and evening. Especially since I've been pregnant. I just can't do much in the evening

Favorite Resource on TPT . . . 

It would have to be my Weekly Fluency Homework. This was a labor of love and I firmly believe in fluency practice for homework.  

 Click here to find Part 1.

Click here to find Part 2. 

Something that you might not know about me . . . 

I have no idea what to share here. I think a lot about starting my own school or mother's day out program. It is a thought I have that I continue to do what I love and have flexibility to be with my kiddo. I love teaching but it isn't something that lends itself that well to part time. 

So that's all about me. Be sure to head over to Falling into First and check the party out.

http://fallingintofirst.blogspot.com/2014/08/meet-teacher-linky.html

Five For Friday

Well I set a goal for myself to blog three times a week and this week I just haven't done well with that goal. I'm not even sure what I've been doing this week. Oh yeah! Getting ready for VBS.
I can always count on the Five for Friday linky party at Doodle Bugs Teaching to get a blog post in.

So here's what I've been up to this week.

1. My sister has been working part time since she had my youngest niece, so this summer I've been taking advantage of that and spending Tuesday with my sis and my girls. These two are a mess. Soph is pretty interested in my belly and what is growing in it. She is convinced it is a girl and wants to name her Flower or Rose. Ck has been growing so much this summer. She's five months old and is trying so hard to crawl but instead looks like she's swimming.

2. Vacation Bible School starts on Sunday at my church. We don't do things like other churches and buy a kit for VBS. My pastor and hubby work together to come up with a theme and then Chris writes skits for each night. This year it is all about Sci-Fi with a Doctor Who flair. Monday and Tuesday we worked on decorating our Sunday School room to do some taping for the skits. This is my handiwork, covering the robot in aluminum foil. Chris is trying the costume on. VBS should be a lot of fun. I'm working with crafts so I've been busy with the other group members to get all our crafts together. All I can say is thank goodness for Pinterest. 

3. Our reading outreach program with our public library is going really well this summer. We started with 10 kids the first week and this past week which was our fourth week, we had 20 kids. It has been amazing. I'm am so proud that our local library lets us take books out in the community and allows kids to check them out. I'm also so proud of how the teachers I work with are willing to give up time in their summer to read with the kids.  This little girl is 3 or 4 years old and she has been so interesting to watch. 

 4. I finally finished a Teachers Pay Teacher project for the summer.  If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I loop. Last year I was in kindergarten and we adopted the Journeys reading series. I created materials to use with it for homework and word work. So this summer the plan was to create what I needed for First grade. So far, I've been slow going. But I did get this big project done. It has activities for each lesson and every sight word in the series. You can check it out on TPT here. 

5. I finally finished a project I brought home over Thanksgiving break. Organizing my Kindergarten Journeys materials and my letter work into notebooks. But it didn't happen. I just kept adding to the crate until it was a crazy mess. I finally started the project this past week. I organized all the papers and then this week I put all my Journeys Kindergarten stuff in a notebook. It is organized by lessons with homework and sight word work. I don't have a cute cover for it or anything but I need to!

So that's what I've been up to this week. I've got to get my rear in gear and get some things done today. Like starting on my homework pack for next year and finishing up the bookshelves I was organizing in the soon to be nursery. Be sure to head over to Doodle Bugs Teaching and check out the rest of the party.