Goodbye Hillcrest, Hello Classroom

Hello Friends!

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this thing, it was a busy week! Yesterday was my last day of work at Hillcrest, and I am going to miss it so much! Being the teacher dork, nerd, cool kid that I am, I wanted to do something for the kids and my co-workers for the end of the summer.

I bought some suckers at the dollar store, (a cheap way to win any kid's heart)...

...and I wrote a little note to each kid highlighting what I loved about them, a summer memory, or what I was proud of him/her  for.  It was something that didn't take much time for me at all but I could tell by the kid's faces as they read their cards that they really appreciated the gesture. I will sincerely miss each and every one of these kids and their little quirks. (Like the kid who genuinely thinks he is a cat and purrs and licks his "paws." or the kid who dances to "Funky Town" in an incredibly disturbing, yet funny way).

Of course I had to write a note and give a sucker to my co-workders as well, because they deserved it after a long, tiring, but well worth it summer :)

This summer taught me so much about classroom management, discipline, working with a variety of personality types, teacher/parent interactions, and building relationships with kids. I learned so much from each and every one of my co-workers and they all had qualities that I envied. I feel much more equipped to interview for a teaching position now because I have real life experiences to back up my answers to some of the hard questions a principal will inevitably ask. This summer just made me that much more excited to be out in the teaching world and have my own classroom! Which brings me to my next point.

I am fortunate enough to have a mother who is already a teacher and can pass down many of her things to me! Beyond this, she works with other teachers who are constantly throwing things out and you know what they say...one person's trash is another person's treasure! I was so stoked when I got home from work and found these laying on the floor..

...beautiful blue, in perfect condition pocket charts!! Teachers use these things like they are going out of business and I now have these two thanks to my mom, and an apple pocket chart thanks to Cameron's mom and the gift card she gave me!! I was so stoked to find these alone, but wait...there was more.

TONS of children's books to add to my collection! Beyond this, some of them were hardbacks which I have grown to love because I would love to have a book line in my classroom someday like this one..

I found this on a blog I have started following called 4th Grade Frolics! This woman is so creative and fun, and I have gained so many great ideas for a classroom from her, so education people you should definitely check her out!

Sorry for that bunny track I just got off on, but I just think that book line is so stinking cute for a reading corner! Anyway, all the stuff that my mom brought home made me so excited to add them all to my collection!

As you can see, it was hard for me to contain my enthusiasm!! Basically books, pocket charts, labels, lamps, baskets, anything old that you don't want I would LOVE to take to incorporate in my classroom so don't throw ANYTHING OUT without asking me first ;-)

Stay tuned because I will be writing one last post in the next few days giving you a personal life update before I head to Manhattan for the start of school!! YAHOOOO SENIORSSSSS BABY!! :)

Until then,

Brittany

PS: Going along with the theme of "teaching" that I had in this post, I am thinking about eventually turning this blog strictly into a teaching blog that can be used as an outlet for parents, kids, co-workers, and fellow teachers to use! Thoughts about this? Your feedback is appreciated!!