End of the Year Brochure

I absolutely cannot believe it.  School is over on Friday (on FRIDAY!) and I'm not quite sure where my first year of teaching has gone.  There were plenty of times this year that I felt like I wouldn't make it and now I don't want it to be over!


Tomorrow we are supposed to take a field trip to a one room schoolhouse but it's looking like we might be rained-out.  However, I am actually excited to potentially have the extra time in my classroom with my kiddos because I just bought this fabulous end of the year packet from Little Lovely Leaders.

I already printed class sets of four activities from this packet and I am crossing my fingers that I have the time to get to them.  There is one activity that I am going to have my students do no matter what, though - a class brochure!

The entire packet can be bought here.

I think that this brochure is a perfect way to let my students (and me) reflect.  It gives my students an opportunity to think about their favorite activities and it gives them a chance to share their knowledge with the incoming 3rd grade students.  I'm really excited to see what they have to say and see what has stuck with them this year.  Honestly, I think it's an even better opportunity for me to reflect on the year! Although I am kind of scared to see what some of them have to say... Eek!

Plus, how cute will it be to have next year's class walk in and see these?!

Clearly, I'm hoping for bad good weather tomorrow! ;)  I'll be sure to post pictures of some of their masterpieces when they are done!

No Day But Today!

So here it goes...my first post!  I know many of you are probably asking yourself "Why is she starting a blog now?  Isn't the school year almost over?" and my answer to the latter is yes, yes it is.  In fact, the last day of school is Friday!  So why am I just starting a blog now? Well, in order to fully understand why you need to know a little about me.

First things first, I am a first year teacher.  I graduated from Marquette University in December 2011 and got my first job working in an early childhood center.  Then, in July 2012, I received a phone call from a school district offering me my dream job.  I can now proudly say that I am a recently graduated, employed, fourth grade teacher! :)  However, if I'm being honest, I should say that I am a recently graduated, employed, fourth grade teacher who during her first year of teaching also bought a house, got married, and became a mommy to the world's most perfect puppy!

I mean, really, if that's not perfection, what is?!

If that is not reason enough as to why I am just starting a blog now, I can and will use the excuse that because I am a first year teacher I had essentially no idea what I was doing!  Even though I received a phenomenal education from Marquette, there's nothing that can truly prepare you for everything that you encounter in your first year of teaching.  And let me tell you, I encountered a lot more that I ever could have imagined in my first year.  However,  I'll get into that later.  But for now I'll share some of the things that I consider to be lifesavers: amazing colleagues, a very supportive family, an extraordinary cooperating teacher (during my student teaching), fellow bloggers, some great text books, TeachersPayTeachers, and last but not least, Pinterest!

I once read a blog that talked about how to "more than just survive" your first year.  That thought stayed in the forefront of my mind this entire year and I wanted to do just that.  I wanted to do more than just survive.  Unfortunately, there were plenty of times this year that I felt like I was just surviving. Now that I am one week away from saying "Have a great summer!" to my first class, I am reflecting, reminiscing, and thanking God that I've made it!

My goal is to share some of my trials and tribulations, as well as some of my greatest successes, of my first year with you this summer.   Hopefully some of you will find it helpful because I know that it will help me reflect on what was single-handedly the most difficult year of my life!  For now though, I am going to enjoy a Memorial Day barbecue!

Congratulations to all of my fellow teachers who are nearing the finish line!  Happy Memorial Day!