End of the Year Reflections

This is a perfect post to do on my last day of teaching here in the bush!  Thanks Miss Lifesaver for creating a chance to link up with other bloggers.  I might be a little obsessed with blogging after this year's blogger experiences!  I'm totally okay with that.

Without further adiue:

1. What was the biggest professional challenge you faced this year?
   My biggest professional challenge was implementing my own version of writer's workshop.  As a second year teacher, with LOTS of room to do my own thing in the classroom, this was an amazing opportunity.  It was also a very difficult experience because I don't have much experience with the Writer's Workshop model.  And... to top everything off... I work with students who have had K-2 experience reading and writing in the Native Alaskan language of Yup'ik.  On the bright side my kids and I have grown exponentially this year from this.  They are all able to write a paragraph that makes sense and is on topic!  Yay!
   
2. What was the biggest personal challenge you faced this year?
   Wow.  This has been quite a year of growth personally for me.  I guess the biggest challenge for me would have to be making the choice to move back to Indiana.  There have been lots of health issues my dad has been facing in the past 2 years, my little sister is expecting her first child, and I just found out my sister-in-law is battling breast cancer.  Not to mention handling a long distance relationship for 2 years has been another reason for coming home.  I can't wait to finally be there for my friends and family again.
   
3. How do you think you've grown from your experiences?
   I think I'm a smarter, more mature, and interesting person because of all that has happened to me this year.  Getting to teach in rural Alaska has changed my life in more ways than I can explain.  I am no the same perosn that I was last year or when I started this job in Alaska.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about what's in store for me.  (Where will I be living?  What job will I hopefully get? Etc.) But, I have faith that my God can move mountains and has great things planned for my future.
   

You Are the Dancing Queen...

It's been a beyond crazy past week here for me with Prom, Graduation, and end of the school year fun times.  If I were to tell you everything this post would be a million miles long.  I won't bore you to tears, so I'll just post pictures and a quick blurb about each of them.

Prom

In our village the school hosts a prom for the 7th-12th grade students as well as the community.  Yours truly becomes a dancing fiend  chaperone for the night as well as the decorator extraordinaire! This years theme was Rouge Dream... very girlie with pinks and purples.  The kids did a great job getting the gym ready and making it look like a different place.  The night of prom I hosted a girls afternoon and ended up curling not only my own hair, but 7 other teens!  My oh my did my fingers hurt by the end of the night.  Once everyone was ready and the music began there was lots of dancing and giggling that filled the night.  I am sure going to miss going to prom every year when I move.

Awards

Look at my kiddos!  I was seriously blessed with this class this year.  Our behavior went from second grade all the way to soon to be fourth grade material.  Many of us were struggling readers and are now able to decode and comprehend with ease.  Most importantly we love to learn and know how a community of people work together to make things better for everyone.  At our Friday assembly I had passed out two kinds of awards to reward my classes efforts.   The first was student chosen (These came from Primary Paradise TPT  HERE) and the second was picked by me.  (I got them from Mrs. Parnell's TPT store HERE )  Both of these were perfect for what I wanted to say to each child.  Also, my entire class  placed on the AR reading race against the 4/5 grade class we have been competing with, so everyone got a ribbon, certificate, and pencil.  To top everything off I had several kids that acheived honor roll and perfect attenance which means they were put in a drawing to win cool prizes.  And low and behold one of my kids won both a perfect attendance AND honor roll prize.  WOOT WOOT!

Graduation

Friday was also graduation day for our three seniors at the school.  This year I was close to the two girls because I was lucky enough to be their FEA (Future Educators of Alaska) Adviser. I even was able to take the one in  pink to Anchorage for the first time in her life for a pre-teaching conference.  I think that made this year's graduation all the more special.  I clapped and hollered when I heard their accomplishments named, cried with pride, and celebrated their movement to the next step of their life.

Alright back to the grindstone.  Two more days until school is out and only 6 until I get home to Indiana!

Indiana Bloggers Blog Hop

Thanks Mrs. Rippy for having readers make a "pit stop" on my page.  Hahaha. Get it?!  Race humor.  What can I say I work with little kids who love my terrible puns.

I'm so excited to be joining up for my very first blog hop.  I was invited to collaborate with fellow Hoosier bloggers by the lovely Brenda from Primary Inspired. I couldn't say no, especially with my big move back home to Indiana is happening in only 8 days!!!

Feeling like I'm missing out on all the Indy 500 spirit that I see pouring out of friends and family back home I decided to make a few pages to help students practice writing their numbers to 100.

There are three pages to practice different skills.  Since this is my first freebie, please don't judge the cute factor. I made this because even though I teach 3rd grade I still sometimes have my kids asking what comes after 76 or 53... Summer isn't even here!! Ah well.  Practicing never hurt anyone...

With that this teacher needs to go to bed... but not before I send you on your way over to the wonderful Jodi at Fun in First Grade!  I'll be racing right over there myself in the morning!

Budding Blog Link Up

http://iheartrecess.blogspot.com/2013/05/may-budding-blog-linky.html

Since I've got way less than 200 followers I decided to participate in another linky party.  Thanks
I {Heart} Recess for coming up with a way to help out little blogs like myself.  :)  I will totally be checking out other bloggers through this.


1. Why did you start blogging?
I actually started blogging for the purpose of keeping people updated on my experience teaching in rural Alaska.  When I graduated from University of Indianapolis, my amazing alma mater, I was looking for adventure and applied to a school district in southwest Alaska.  I was contacted all of June and the day before I took a mission trip to Mexico I got the call offering me my dream grades 3/4.  Because all of my friends and family wanted to keep in touch during my adventure here I started this little blog.  Now it's also blossomed into a way to network with other teachers and become inspired to be more creative in the classroom.

2. What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

My favorite subject to teach hands down is reading.  I LOVE to teach reading for all sorts of reasons.  Seeing the light bulb go off for emerging readers.  Gauging student growth.  Tying all sorts of other subjects with reading. Introducing students to new worlds such as Narnia, Wonderland, and District Twelve.  That you can escape everything going on and escape with a book.

“At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book—that string of confused, alien ciphers—shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader.”  -Alberto Manguel

3. Describe your teaching style.
That's absolutely the hardest question to ask me, because daily I think it changes.  As an indvidual, I'm a person that is not very structured, silly, and spontaneous... but in the classroom I'm the opposite.  I have specific times and routines that my kids have come to love and implement when I'm gone.  I love when my kids look at the clock and tell me it's time for AR reading time.  Or that it's time for us to do our science experiment.  How I usually instruct in my current position is using the "I Do, You Do, We Do" method, but I'm flexible with my kids needs. I personally enjoy being a facilitator rather than an instructor.  Finally, I make it a goal to have my class thrive on group work because I was blessed to have teachers and college professors that exposed me to classrooms that had a great sense of community.

4. Give three interesting facts about you.

• I know 3 different languages pretty well.  Yup'ik, sign language, and Spanish pretty conversationally fluently.  My ASL and Spanish are a little rusty after 3 years.
• I read magazines from the back to the front.  I started doing that when I was in high school because I got tired of flipping through a million ads.
• If I hadn't been a teacher I would have been a wedding/event planner.  I love finding ideas for baby showers, birthday parties, and weddings.  ESPECIALLY on Pinterest.  It's kinda my favorite thing to do other than teaching.

5. Do you have a TpT store?
I do have a TPT store, but I have yet to utlize it.  That's a goal I have for this summer and next year.  I will actually be creating my first freebie this weekend!  I'm super excited.  Stay tuned!

Five For Friday

Does anyone else feel like these last few weeks are going by SOOOO slowly?!  My goodness.  In the classroom time goes by at a snails pace, but once the bell rings it zooms by in a rocket.  Probably because I am still in the midst of packing and applying for jobs.  Yay for linking up.  Thanks again Doodle Bugs Teaching for connecting everyone.  Here's my week in about 5 sentences.  I'll start out with the bad and end with the good.

1. On Monday I got a phone call in the middle of the day, which is never a good sign, and was told to call my brother back when school let out.  That feeling something was wrong ate away at my stomach until 3:45.  I gave my big brother a call and my heart hit the floor with the news I got.  His beautiful and amazingly kind wife of only 3 years had been diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma.  The news didn't hit me until the next day after a particularly rough day at school.  I was a puddle of tears for about an hour, until I noticed how my brother and his wife are taking the news.  My brother has created a Facebook support page that has nearly 100 followers and is all about kicking this cancer's butt.  My sister-in-law is as amazing as ever with positive thoughts and posts about the news she's receiving almost immediately after she finds out.  So... instead of being sad and scared I've adopted my brother and sister-in-law's new motto of being WENDYSTRONG.
   
2. Mother's DayHas anyone else read Mama, Do You Love Me? to their class this week?  It was perfect for Mother's Day and relatable for m y 100% Yup'ik classroom.  The story is about a Native Alaskan Inuit mother and daughter who discuss the conditions of love as only a young child and mother can.  My class LOVED reading the story!  They were proud to see their culture represented.  They loved it so much that I decided to have them use art to represent themselves as the little girl/boy asking their own mothers!  Here's what we created.
3.  Moving/Packing
   Boy oh boy do I hate packing.  There's only 16 days left until I go home.  I changed my flights to an earlier flight, costing myself 200 dollars but saving myself 2 more days with everyone in Indiana.  On the downside that means I really have to get busy with my packing.  I absolutely abhor packing... Any suggestions on how to make it easier and/or more fun??
4.  Warm Weather
   I know I know I know, it's almost half way through May and it is warm everywhere... except in Alaska.  Recently we had such a warm up that I went to the village store and picked up ICE CREAM! YUMMY!
   

   

   The Atmau Teacher Family goes for ice cream!

   
   
   With the warm weather brings melting snow and ice, as well as the kids staying out to play later and later.  Yesterday I was sitting in my classroom minding my own business doing something productive (Shocking, I know!) and all the sudden I heard "SPLAT!!!" and giggling outside my window.  It was several of the little girls in my class throwing snowballs at me.  :) Definitely made me smile!
   
5. TPT Sales
   I recently posted on my FB that I will at some point end up selling my first and second born children to TPT because there is always such good stuff!!! You can never have too many good resources.  This summer one of my goals is to try to be better at creating my own stuff to sell and give-away on that awesome website!

CURRENTLY: I will always come right back to you

Linking up again with the infamous Farley for her Currently Link Up.  It might be my favorite post I do all month.  :)  I love the teacher blogging community.  I'm super mad I never joined up in the fun last year.  Oh well... se la vie!

• Listening:  Where We Left Off by Hunter Hayes, might just be the quintessential long distance song.  Found it this weekend when I was in one of those ready to be home with my S.O.
• Loving:  TPT/Blogger are my two favorite things to check when I come into the school daily.  Since I live so remotely, I go over the school for more than just work purposes... and some how these two websites end up being part of my fun time.  No complaints here. :)  I love teaching stuff even when it's the weekend.
• Thinking:  GRADES will be due soon and I've completely been dropping the ball.  Grr.  Don't you hate when you are doing so many engaging and relevant lessons that it becomes tedious to grade?  Oh well... That's what my netflix and spotify accounts will be useful for these next 6 hours.
• Wanting:  I think there is a pattern  here.  I NEED MY DIET COKE FIX.
• Needing:  Mother's day is only a week away.  This year I will not only be buying for my own mother, but also for my little sister.  She's expecting her first bouncing boy in August.  What to do when you 4000  miles away?!
• Summer Bucket List:  
• First and foremost I will be participating in the Color Run 5K that will be taking place at Downtown Indy.  I'm super pumped to do it, since my best friend and I LOVED it last year.  It's also part of another goal for the summer, which is to drop at least 20lbs.  I'm not obese by any means but a good portion of self discipline wouldn't hurt my health. :)  
• Second goal, but is my first priority, find a teaching job in Indiana.  I'm super excited to be making the transition  back home, but would feel even better if I knew I was going to be teaching in the fall.  PRAYERS, TIPS, and SUGGESTIONS are welcome!
• Finally, I can't wait to spend time with my boyfriend.  Yep! 2.5 years together and 20 months of that have been spent 4000 miles away... we're done with being the Long Distance Couple.  Ready for some QT with my cutie.  (Terrible pun, I know!  But I just couldn't resist.)