A Teacher's Prayer

Maybe I'm just having an emotional night, but this really got to me. As I've been trying to prepare for this new school year, I stumbled across this prayer on Pinterest (I couldn't find the original location). I don't think I could have said it better myself. I wanted to share this, simply so that others may benefit from this prayer's honesty. Most importantly I want to be a light for the Lord. Even if I can't pray with my students or share my beliefs, I want to live for the Lord each and every day. I want to make a difference in a child's life. After all, that's why I became a teacher. May I always remember this prayer, each and every passing day. 

Starting 2013 Off Right!

I have new classroom pics! 

I'm currently working on getting the classroom up to working order before we start back next week. I decided to work late into the night, with the help of my wonderful fiancé (at least he knows what he's getting himself in to!), but I finally am happy with where am at! Am I finished? Umm, no! But at least I can say, I can see the end in sight. 

So here it is Ms. Johnson's (soon to be Mrs. Parrigan's) classroom!

My (almost complete) job board. My thought is that my students will create their own superhero characters to place here after the first day of school. Then, after my classroom jobs are assigned, I will list them on this board as well. I will post pictures when it's finished. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

The front of my classroom. Notice my newly painted wall!!! I'm in love with it!

Teacher small group area. I still have more work to do here! 

Knowledge is power board. This will be my students' progress monitoring board

 Classroom overview. 

My reading center. This is my fourth year teaching, so my classroom library is still growing. However, looking at pictures from my first year, I'm pleased with the amount I've added since then! Hopefully this will continue to grow and grow and grow!

Challenges

Re-Discovery

This blog was a project that I took on one summer, and to be completely honest, I forgot all about it. The other day I was browsing Pinterest, when I saw my very own bulletin board! I was astonished that something I had created was actually considered worthy to re-post several times. I noticed that who ever had originally pinned my bulletin board, was on my blog! I couldn't believe it! 

So in order to continue sharing my thoughts and ideas when it comes to teaching fifth grade, I thought I'd dig up my old password, and re-blog! Here it goes!

Challenges

This school year has by far been the most difficult year I've had yet. I've constantly struggled to keep my endurance, enthusiasm, and creativity from hitting an all time low. Due to many circumstances, I've actually had to reconsider the reasons for going into teaching. Teaching was my passion. I lived for coming up with innovative and interactive lessons that truly engage my students in their learning. 

Recently, I've been hitting my knees a lot and asking God for guidance. I know that I was placed in my school for a reason. My students are not an easy demographic to teach. There personal lives are a strong factor to overcome. Some days it gets me down. There have been nights that I can't sleep, weekends I can't enjoy, and days that I just break down and cry for some of my students. Learning is one of the last things on some of my students minds, and that makes my job difficult. 

Re-Invention

With that all being said, I decided that I have to dig down deep and find every bit of enthusiasm that I have. I know that I have the ability to be an amazing teacher. I have a lot of learning to do; I'm completely aware of that. I'm ready to learn. I'm ready to teach. I'm ready to make a difference. Here is a post of my favorite lessons this school year. Get ready for new and great things to come from me. 

Historical Hero Cereal Boxes

I absolutely love this lesson. Not only do my students get to dive into research, but they also get to let their creativity run wild, and create something that everyone know about, cereal! To begin this lesson, I bring in a box of Wheaties. 

Did you eat your Wheaties?

As a class, we then discuss what attributes a person must have in order to be considered for the cover of the famous Wheaties box. Most popular answers ... strong, confidant, athletic, determined, etc. 

Then we move into a discussion of the many historical figures we've talked about in our Rising Conflict in Boston chapter. This leads us into the lesson. I'm working on adding my instructions, research guidelines, and rubrics to teacherspayteachers.com. However, until then, I'll give you a sneak peek at one of my student's final projects!

Thomas Toasties ... A Bit of Independence in Every Bite !!

Amazing, right? The front of the cereal box is to consist of a picture, a cereal title, and a catchy slogan. The sides have nutritional information (40g of bravery, 12g of creativity, you get the picture), and fun facts. The back consists of a biography. However, we don't write boring essays in Ms. Johnson's class! We disguise our biographies in crossword puzzles, and word searches. These projects turned out amazing! Check out a few more of my star students. 

Franklin Berries ... A Berry Saved is a Berry Earned

Reverie'o's ... No "tea"ing. These O's taste good!