Happy Days in First Grade

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July 19, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Dear New Teachers: An Open Letter to New & New-ish Teachers Starting Out

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11 years ago, when I was hired 15 minutes before Meet-the-Teacher Night, I was overcome with excitement and honestly, pure terror. The teacher, who was assigned to my classroom had decorated it with the cutest decorations and sent out postcards to the kids to introduce herself, decided that she wanted to transfer back to her previous school that morning. And so, I walked into a fully decorated classroom and met students who thought I was someone else.
The night actually turned out great and my excitement helped calm my nerves. It was only until the next day that it hit me. My classroom was completely EMPTY except for the furniture, the mandatory school signs, and the name plates that were left behind. 
Everything that I had bought and saved up from the Teacher Section at Dollar Tree was in a big plastic bag and that was it.
Teachers from across grade levels at my school then began dropping off decorations at my door, and I happily and gratefully hung them on my walls. No specific theme, just whatever that worked to help run an organized classroom.

Those were the days of NO PINTEREST, NO FACEBOOK GROUPS, and NO INSTAGRAM. There were few teacher blogs around, and seriously I didn’t even know of them because I had not even of such a thing until much much later (silly me). But with the limited digital and instant source of ideas at my fingertips, I didn’t really feel pressure one way or another my first year of teaching to buy or have much.
My classroom was decorated, but according to today’s standards, it was pretty empty and plain. However, I had one of the most memorable years in that classroom with my students and wouldn’t change it for the world! 
For new teachers today, it’s different. Way different. And I get it. While it’s inspiring and exciting to see so many ideas for your classroom, it can literally be OVERWHELMING! Everywhere you look, the bar for teaching has risen so high with so much talent, creativity, and innovation, that you can’t help but to question your own talent and creativity. I know, because even after all these years I still doubt and question my own ability. 
But, what I want you to know is that you are ENOUGH. Yes. YOU ARE ENOUGH. 
Beautiful decorations are nice to have. Bright colored bins are pretty and eye-catching. Laminated colorful supply labels make your classroom very organized. But none of that can replace a GOOD teacher. To get to this point in your life, you have had to complete hours of observations in the classroom, hours of volunteer work with children, passed amazingly hard college and state exams, and jumped over unbelievable hurdles to receive your own classroom. You GOT this. You are ENOUGH.
Don’t feel overwhelmed and intimidated with what’s out on only display on social media. Know that what is posted on teacher accounts and profiles mostly relate and pertain to ideas and resources for all teachers because they are afterall, teaching accounts. You do not have to have all those things to be a GREAT teacher. 
You just have to do the best you can everyday with your own students. That is the most important thing of all!
So don’t feel intimidated or pressured in anyway. You GOT THIS. You really do.

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Hello There!

My name is Ha. I am a Primary STEM teacher from Texas, a passionate educator of little ones, a teacher-author of interactive educational resources, a lover of Makerspace and STEM, a mother to two, a wife to my high school sweetheart and a forever learner. Welcome to my site!

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Ha ~ Happy Days in First Grade
🚨FLASH SALE for 24 hours!!! 🚨 Get a head st 🚨FLASH SALE for 24 hours!!! 🚨

Get a head start by snagging up this EDITABLE Farmhouse Slideshow for your Meet-the-Teacher Night and Back to School!!! 🥳

It has all the slides you need to introduce yourself to your students and it’s EDITABLE!!!! Buy now, edit later!🪴 

Snag it up now while it’s on SALE!!!Link in bio! https://bit.ly/3uqvW5T
Are you planning on doing a photo op for your stud Are you planning on doing a photo op for your students on Meet-the-Teacher Night?! 🌟

📣If so, here’s a fun and easy hack! 📣

Turn your anchor chart rack to a cute and easy photo op for your students using a glue stick and streamers! 🍎🎉

Pair with these FREE Speech Bubble Props for PreK-5th Grade! Link in bio! https://bit.ly/3jNdpMl
May we always carry the ideals of what make Americ May we always carry the ideals of what make America loving, kind, generous, and inclusive with us wherever we go and pass it onto our future generations. 🇺🇸

For a more perfect union, we will continue to put in the work, stay informed, and vote for the future that ALL of our children deserve. ❤️🤍💙
I believe in a loving and generous America- the Am I believe in a loving and generous America- the America that opened her arms and provided refuge to my family and allowed us to start anew and build our own American dreams.

I believe in the freedom that is the cornerstone of our democracy and the belief that we are all born FREE to make our own choices, walk our own path, and choose our own destiny wherever it may lead us.

I believe we are better when we are together, UNITED, and accepting of all Americans. 

I believe in these ideals that built our great country and the belief that ALL are welcome.

May all of our students always feel this way in our classroom and and in our schools. 

These activities can be found in the link in bio as part of the Back to School Activities currently on SALE. https://bit.ly/2TfR0w5
This activity right here is one of my favorite act This activity right here is one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the year! 🌟

I make a BIG speech bubble out of black butcher paper and cut out yellow circles for Emojis. ☺️😀😍🥳🤩😟😫

As one of the things on our class Scavenger Hunt during Meet-the-Teacher Night, the kids are asked to take one of the yellow circles and draw the face of an emoji that best describes how they feel about being a first grader. 

This activity is so simple and fun but gives me such information on how the kids are all feeling even before the first day of school!

Using this simple tool, I am able to address any anxiety or stress that they may have during our FIRST Morning Meeting! It’s so powerful to know even before school begins what I need to do to help ease them into first grade! 💕 

We also use the data collected for a graphing activity and then discuss what we can do to help make everyone feel happy and better. 

I love this activity and will definitely be doing this again this year! Swipe to see the before picture.

For the more Back-to-School activities, you can click to the link in bio to grab them on SALE for a limited time! https://bit.ly/2TfR0w5
One of the best things I did a couple summers ago One of the best things I did a couple summers ago was that I made these privacy folders before school started! 🎉

The kids absolutely love the positive sayings and I love that it allows them space to focus on their own work. 

Swipe to see the full tutorial then click to the link in profile to grab the posters on SALE for 24 hours! https://bit.ly/2TfR0w5 😊📚
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HAPPY DAYS IN FIRST GRADE