May 18, 2013

Budding Blog Linky

Jess over at I {Heart} Recess is hosting a Budding Blogger linky this month for anyone with less than 200 followers. Since I'm well under that limit, I'm adding my blog!

1. Why did you start blogging? My first exposure to the blogging world was through all of my friends from college who were sharing pictures and stories about their children and upcoming weddings. When I started my blog, though, I didn't really have much of a focus and my readers were pretty much limited to my mom and grandmas. It took a while before I started to look for teaching blogs and realized that I could be part of a community of bloggers. Duh!

2. What is your favorite subject to teach and why? I'm an ELA teacher, so that's obviously my favorite subject, but I can break it down even further and say that I love to teach reading. Some of my favorite moments in the classroom have been when my most reluctant readers proclaim, "That was a great story!" 

3. Describe your teaching style. I am a firm believer in teaching students as whole-persons. For me, this means I have spend a lot of time building relationships with my students. I've always been a people-pleaser and am willing to go the extra mile for people I like. I think students are the same way. If they like you as a person, they're willing to work harder for you and show you more respect. Does that mean I have fantastic relationships with all my students? Of course not! But I try to reach as many as possible. 

It's pretty much a given that there are students in my classroom all day long, even during my planning time (we can excuse them from ancillary classes). My coworkers laugh at me when I have a trail of 5 or 6 little ducklings following me down the hall because I need to use the bathroom during one of my preps. It's hilarious!

When it comes to teaching, I use my knowledge of my students as whole persons to make connections between them and the content before they can do it themselves. When I introduce a new concept, I try to make it relatable by giving examples from their lives. 

I believe in a good mix of teacher-directed and student-directed learning. My schedule on a typical day in my classroom is as follows:

Whole Class Mini-Lesson & Guided Practice
3 Rotations of Centers (15-20 minutes each)
Trade & Grade

Sometimes I work with a specific center and other times I float between them all. It really depends on the needs of my students.

4. Give 3 interesting facts about you. 1. If I were rich - like really, really rich - I would spend my life traveling to different places and learning about other cultures. I want to live in their homes, eat their food, wear their clothes, speak their languages, visit their sites. How fun would that be?!

2. I once broke my big toe by tripping UP the stairs (both my sister and I have a terrible time with stairs) trying to get to my phone as it rang. It was bad. Not only did I stub my toe incredibly hard, but I also landed on my kneecap on the stair. I screamed so loud, my dad was convinced I broke my knee and needed an ambulance. My mom, however, knows I can be a drama queen and told him to get me some ice. I couldn't wear high heels for like 2 years without excruciating pain.  

3. I actually went to college with the goal of becoming the next Oprah. Part of the reason I chose my school was the location in the city where I planned to intern at Harpo Studios. My plan was to become Oprah's favorite employee so she would just turn everything over to me when she retired. Not too lofty, huh?

5. Do you have a TPT store? I do. There's not much in there, but it's all free. One of my summer goals is to get more posted, so you may want to follow me!


  1. I just found your blog and it is absolutely adorable! I am your newest follower :)
    The Techie Teacher

  2. 1. Thanks for the compliment on my blog.
    2. I love that you have the same want in life to travel and experience everything. I want to do that too... even if I am not rich enough to make it happen. I'll live in a box while I'm home. ;)

    Talk to you soon!

  3. I love the background on your blog, it definitely fits an ELA teacher, or someone like me who LOVES to read. I loved your 3 interesting facts, especially the one about working for Oprah. I'm your newest follower!


  4. I so agree with you about the building relationships with students! This is so true. I tell them so many stories about me and talk about my life freely. If I am going to be out, I always tell them why because I care and they see that! Your tripping up the stairs story cracked me up:)
    Fourth Grade Flipper

  5. Thanks for linking up! Love your Oprah goal...very genius planning :)