Budding Bloggers Showcase: Searching for Teacher Balance

I'm Marcy, from Searching for Teacher Balance!

Personal info (state/family/pets/interests):

I was born and raised in The Mitten (Michigan).  I now live in Oregon with my husband and dog, Raph.  I am an adventurist inside and out of my classroom.  If I am not cooking up yummy grub, then I am most likely out exploring.  My summer and fall exploring contains hiking, kayaking, and camping.  In the winter, you will find me snowshoeing and downhill skiing.  Most of these activities allows me to carry my favorite beverage, coffee, with me.  

My husband and I the day before our wedding.

My monster, Raph!

I love my sister.  Here we are enjoying the beauty of Mt. Hood.

Grade You Teach:

1st grade

How long have you taught?
This is my 9th year teaching.  My career started in Michigan, where I taught 5th grade.  I then moved to Southern California, where I continued to teach 5th grade.  Several years ago, my husband and I made the move to Oregon, where I started as a K-5th ESL teacher, and have transfered back into the classroom as a 1st grade teacher.

What is your favorite subject to teach?  
This is a hard one.  As a 5th grade teacher, science was my favorite subject to teach.  The way students would light up when they discovered something was priceless.  I have to say, as a 1st grade teacher, it has to be reading.  The smile and confidence that students build as they learn new words is incredible to witness.  

What would we likely see if we popped into your classroom unannounced?
My classroom is a bustling scene.  You would see students spread around the classroom practicing their learning, while I work with small groups.  I do teach some lessons whole group, but 90% of my teaching is differentiated to meet my students' individual needs.  They would probably be working on centers.  My kiddos love centers (it must be the independence piece) so I have incorporated "center time" into each content area. 
  
What gets you through one of “those” days?
COFFEE!  

What is one “can’t live without” teaching resource? 
My go to resources are my mini white board and dry erase marker.  I constantly use them when scaffolding materials for students.  I am trying to transition my iPad to hold the same place in my routine, but I am still learning how to use it.  Any pointers for using 1 iPad with 33 students would be wonderful!

Give us a glimpse of your teaching style by sharing a brief summary of a favorite classroom activity/project.
My most memorable, 1st grade, classroom activity has been teaching my students to write "How To" books.  We read fabulous mentor texts, practiced with shared and whole group writing, drafted, and conferenced.  My students however didn't stop there.  From October through the rest of the school year, I would find students creating "How To" books for the friends, new classmates, pen pals, and even me.  The sense of pride that they showed as writers was extraordinary.  I can't wait to teach this writing unit to my next group of students.
What is one of your blogging goals for this year?
Being new to the blogging world, my goal is to write meaningful posts that provide others with an idea, a laugh, an insight, or a question.