Meet the Teacher

Tell us a little something about you...

I'm Amanda, and I am so excited to be joining such a FAB group of authors over at Blog Hoppin'!  I am going through at least 856,345,321 changes in my life right now.  Haha!  Okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but you have to admit that switching districts and buying a new home in the same month is pretty crazy.  Both moves have my mind reeling, but it's a really exhilarating time of my life, and I am soooooo excited!  Thanks for popping by to learn a little more about little ole' me!

How long have you been teaching?

This is my sixth year teaching.  I started out teaching Title I Reading in an inner-city behavior school with kids from 3rd to 8th grade during my first year.  After that, I moved into a more rural district where I worked for a year as a Title I Reading tutor for 1st and 2nd graders before landing a position in third grade.  I taught third grade for three years in a wonderful district, and now I'm starting a new school-year TODAY in a NEW place!  So far, I really love my new school-home, and I am excited to grow roots there professionally and personally.  :)  I will be teaching third grade yet again, but this year I will be departmentalized.  I will only be teaching Language Arts & Social Studies.  I have to admit... they are my favorites!  I will miss teaching all subjects and being self-contained though.  Maybe not all of the planning it entails, but I love the community you can build with one group of kiddos. {I'm going to miss all of my MES friends though!  Hope you have a great year!}

You might not know...

I am currently working on my Masters in Literacy Curriculum & Instruction.  This degree is basically like the song from Lambchop & Friends... remember it?  Seriously, this is the degree that never ends.  :)  I love my classes, but I took last summer off for our wedding, and I have not been able to take a class for two consecutive semesters, because they are either full or not full enough.  This endeavor has taken three years so far, and I still have four more classes to go.  Hopefully I won't have any more setbacks, because I would love to wrap it up!  My ultimate goal is to eventually work as a Reading Coach or obtain my Doctorate in Literacy.  I keep thinking how great it would be to work at the college level, but I have NO idea when I will feel like I'm ready to move out of the elementary arena.  I just love precious children WAY too much to leave the classroom anytime in the next ten years, at least!

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

I am looking forward to meeting my sweet classes tonight at Meet the Teacher, and I am so excited about cultivating a new community of learners within each group!  It's crazy to think that I will be working with about fifty kiddos this year, but I just know that I am going to LOVE them!  I'm also looking forward to working on the Ohio Improvement Process team at the building level, because I was so sad to walk away from leadership positions at my old school.  I am so fortunate to be given an opportunity to get involved right out of the starting blocks!  The third thing I am really looking forward to is working with my awesome new teamie Stacey.  Seriously, we are going to be great together!  We both drive Nissan Rogues, our birthdays are a day apart, we both coached cheerleading... I'm telling you... it's meant to be.  Haha!  Anyway, my whole third grade team is wonderful, and I can't wait for this year to get rolling.  {Dear summer, I will still miss you... and sleeping in too.} I'll

What do you need to improve?

I am continually trying to improve my classroom management techniques.  I feel like this has to change and adapt with each group of kids.  I am always looking for new ways to organize my times and materials more efficiently.  You have all helped me immensely with this! I probably also need to stop being so hard on myself.  I am way to much of a perfectionist sometimes, and let's face it, I am so not perfect.  So, I tend to be my own worst enemy a little too much! 

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

I couldn't live without chart paper, markers, a timer, Pilot pens, cute notebooks, binders, and sweet tea. 

Now it's your turn folks!   Hop over to Blog Hoppin' to share your life story!  I'm going to hop to Convocation!  I can't wait to read all about you!  Thanks for participating in our linky party!