New Year, New Theme, New Enthusiasm
We're only a week out until classes begin! I hit the classroom for the last two days, and now I am really looking forward to the year ahead. I'm not new, so I am not just along for the ride this year. I have a solid grip on the steering wheel, have my maps out, and am ready to be back in the driver's seat as a teacher who feels confident in what she's doing. I still have a few new things to navigate this year, like teaching more subjects--but I'm so glad to be more than just a reading/writing teacher! I can't tell you how much I missed teaching Math last year and just having some variety in my day (and a longer time period with the students in front of me). I have a Legado teammate this year (my sweet friend from church), and we have created a unique schedule that allows us to teach our own homeroom students for half the day and then each other's students for the rest of the day (but in the opposite language).
I ditched my old Alspaugh's Army theme finally and decided to create an atmosphere that felt inviting to me (and also to my students, of course). Since I would love to. own my own coffee shop someday (previous post), why not turn my classroom into one? I'm thinking for rewards, I might just have to offer cups of hot cocoa or something. I had a lot of fun playing around with new programs on the computer to create the graphics I wanted for the walls, along with some hands-on craftiness that I like to dabble in a little bit every summer.
Got my flags and my pink lights up!
I have my own bathroom with a magnetic door, so I had fun putting up a few magnets to decorate it. The students don't use the classroom bathroom, so it's mostly just for me and for storage. I do keep extra sanitary supplies in there for girls who get a surprise "visitor" during the day and extra shirts, sweaters, and pants for kids who are cold, who break dress code, or who have an accident of some type at school.
My classroom ended up last on the list for the floors to be waxed, so I couldn't get in to work as early as I would have liked to. But yesterday I worked one very long day and made a lot of great progress! It really helped clear my mind (and the growing piles of "things for school" in my house) so I can focus on the littler, more tedious things to be ready for school on Wednesday.
My main color themes are blue/green for English/Spanish, purple for bilingual time, and pink, well, because it's just a necessity.
The door so far (The language sign flips for English time)
The entrance
The front of the room
The Reading "Café for Spanish reading with lots of menus for learning throughout the year. I also put a Colombia scarf on that giant bear to show that he's bilingual and likes to travel, too. :) Plus he takes up so much space on the bench that I won't have to worry about kids sitting too close together. There's just room for one kid. I was shocked last year to see so many 11 year old boys flock to sit with the bear (who was on the floor last year). Those are all coffee cups on the bulletin board that I still need to write all of the kids names on.
The flag wall, where we'll add a new flag and study a new country each week. We're starting Week 1 with Argentina because it's first in the alphabet. I had a vision for this last year that I never did implement well, so I'm looking forward to a second chance to see the kids engage in this cross-cultural learning. I can't wait till we get to Puerto Rico since several kids are already signed up to go and have even started their fundraising!
Small group area with a travel wall and a Math wall. I purposely left these bulletin boards pretty bare because this is where I will keep a lot of my anchor charts and resources for whatever we're learning at the moment.
The area behind my desk. Last year my desk was up front in the corner of the room, and it just felt so cramped and crowded. Then at the end of the year, I decided to move my desk to the back of the room by the windows, and what a difference it made!! I had space to move and breathe, windows and sunlight to cheer me up, and easy access to the bathroom. And I had a better view of those mischievous sixth graders who weren't always on task.
My personal space to put pictures, etc.
My little zebra board holds pictures of my very first bilingual students that I taught as first graders in Warsaw, my Pre-K students that I taught in Colombia, two high school age girls that I met in Guatemala (one who had to drop out of school because she couldn't afford books), and two cousins from my first fourth grade class in Garland, one who was killed a year or so ago. I even taught his daughter in Pre-K. Those pictures represent my WHY.
The English reading area Spanish books are in the front of the room, English books in the back--hopefully they won't get so mixed up this year. The turtle has a Colombia hat on to show that he's also bilingual and loves to travel.
The "coffee shop" area.
So, its a new year, I have a new theme, and I have renewed enthusiasm and excitement. When I was in the Dominican Republic on spring break, one of the missionaries prayed with us on our last night as we prepared to return to our own mission fields. Often times I've struggled to leave a mission trip because I felt like I was just getting started. But I remember feeling so clear that night about the mission field God has put me on, the American public school, specifically working with bilingual children and families. I mean, I had just found out that my friend from church decided to move up to sixth grade and be my teammate, specifically talking about how we could pray for our students together. Meanwhile my other new coworker who started going to my church had just visited me at Freedom Christian School right there in the Dominican. It was pretty obvious that I'm directly where God has placed me. It's not at all the mission field I had envisioned when He so strongly called me to make the move to Columbus, as I truly thought I'd settle in at New Song and stay for a long time. But it's beautiful to see how He's woven things together to put me where I am, to draw me to my church here that would continue to connect me with the people He intended me to work alongside.
So here's to stepping in to Year #23 on the mission field, AKA the American public school! I love looking at these pictures and seeing so many artifacts/gifts that bring back memories of other years. That's what makes teaching feel so rewarding. Students touch your heart and stay with you wherever you go.
I ditched my old Alspaugh's Army theme finally and decided to create an atmosphere that felt inviting to me (and also to my students, of course). Since I would love to. own my own coffee shop someday (previous post), why not turn my classroom into one? I'm thinking for rewards, I might just have to offer cups of hot cocoa or something. I had a lot of fun playing around with new programs on the computer to create the graphics I wanted for the walls, along with some hands-on craftiness that I like to dabble in a little bit every summer.
Got my flags and my pink lights up!
I have my own bathroom with a magnetic door, so I had fun putting up a few magnets to decorate it. The students don't use the classroom bathroom, so it's mostly just for me and for storage. I do keep extra sanitary supplies in there for girls who get a surprise "visitor" during the day and extra shirts, sweaters, and pants for kids who are cold, who break dress code, or who have an accident of some type at school.
My classroom ended up last on the list for the floors to be waxed, so I couldn't get in to work as early as I would have liked to. But yesterday I worked one very long day and made a lot of great progress! It really helped clear my mind (and the growing piles of "things for school" in my house) so I can focus on the littler, more tedious things to be ready for school on Wednesday.
My main color themes are blue/green for English/Spanish, purple for bilingual time, and pink, well, because it's just a necessity.
The door so far (The language sign flips for English time)
The entrance
The front of the room
The Reading "Café for Spanish reading with lots of menus for learning throughout the year. I also put a Colombia scarf on that giant bear to show that he's bilingual and likes to travel, too. :) Plus he takes up so much space on the bench that I won't have to worry about kids sitting too close together. There's just room for one kid. I was shocked last year to see so many 11 year old boys flock to sit with the bear (who was on the floor last year). Those are all coffee cups on the bulletin board that I still need to write all of the kids names on.
The flag wall, where we'll add a new flag and study a new country each week. We're starting Week 1 with Argentina because it's first in the alphabet. I had a vision for this last year that I never did implement well, so I'm looking forward to a second chance to see the kids engage in this cross-cultural learning. I can't wait till we get to Puerto Rico since several kids are already signed up to go and have even started their fundraising!
Small group area with a travel wall and a Math wall. I purposely left these bulletin boards pretty bare because this is where I will keep a lot of my anchor charts and resources for whatever we're learning at the moment. 
The area behind my desk. Last year my desk was up front in the corner of the room, and it just felt so cramped and crowded. Then at the end of the year, I decided to move my desk to the back of the room by the windows, and what a difference it made!! I had space to move and breathe, windows and sunlight to cheer me up, and easy access to the bathroom. And I had a better view of those mischievous sixth graders who weren't always on task. 
My personal space to put pictures, etc. 
My little zebra board holds pictures of my very first bilingual students that I taught as first graders in Warsaw, my Pre-K students that I taught in Colombia, two high school age girls that I met in Guatemala (one who had to drop out of school because she couldn't afford books), and two cousins from my first fourth grade class in Garland, one who was killed a year or so ago. I even taught his daughter in Pre-K. Those pictures represent my WHY.
The English reading area Spanish books are in the front of the room, English books in the back--hopefully they won't get so mixed up this year. The turtle has a Colombia hat on to show that he's also bilingual and loves to travel. 
The "coffee shop" area.So, its a new year, I have a new theme, and I have renewed enthusiasm and excitement. When I was in the Dominican Republic on spring break, one of the missionaries prayed with us on our last night as we prepared to return to our own mission fields. Often times I've struggled to leave a mission trip because I felt like I was just getting started. But I remember feeling so clear that night about the mission field God has put me on, the American public school, specifically working with bilingual children and families. I mean, I had just found out that my friend from church decided to move up to sixth grade and be my teammate, specifically talking about how we could pray for our students together. Meanwhile my other new coworker who started going to my church had just visited me at Freedom Christian School right there in the Dominican. It was pretty obvious that I'm directly where God has placed me. It's not at all the mission field I had envisioned when He so strongly called me to make the move to Columbus, as I truly thought I'd settle in at New Song and stay for a long time. But it's beautiful to see how He's woven things together to put me where I am, to draw me to my church here that would continue to connect me with the people He intended me to work alongside.
So here's to stepping in to Year #23 on the mission field, AKA the American public school! I love looking at these pictures and seeing so many artifacts/gifts that bring back memories of other years. That's what makes teaching feel so rewarding. Students touch your heart and stay with you wherever you go.
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