Budding Bloggers Showcase {Sarah from Mrs. Jones Teaches}

Y'all, do I have a treat for you today!?  I'm extra excited about this little showcase today because it is Sarah.  Seriously, she has to be one of the sweetest bloggers EVER!  We were SLANT partners one month last year - so much fun!  But then...months later...when it was teacher appreciation week, I got a little happy note in the mail from her.  She has NO IDEA how much that note meant to me.  It was such a a great little pick me and surprise that really touched my heart.  I know you'll just love Sarah as much as I do, so read on to learn more about her and then hop over to her blog and welcome her as a new blogging friend!

Hello! I am so thankful to Amanda for allowing me to be featured on her amazing blog. I've admired from afar and was super excited when she was one of my SLANT buddies last fall.

My name is Sarah and I've been blogging for quite a while on my personal/family blog, typing family recipes and events. About a year and a half ago, though, I decided to plunge into this lovely teacher blogging community because I love getting to "show and tell" with other educators. I think there is so much good that comes out of getting to collaborate with other teachers, whether they are at my school or on another continent.

I currently teach 2nd grade in central Kansas. I am also currently the person who writes out the elementary lesson plans for the ESOL paras in our district. {I should make myself a cool job title for that...} I can't believe this new school year will be my 9th year of teaching. It's gone by so fast, and I feel like I've learned so much in that time. Yikes! My very first class of 3rd graders will be in 11th grade this year... and my first 5th grade class will be graduating. Oh my!

     

My husband and I don't have any children. We will celebrate 8 years in September. We do have Goliath, who provides adequate entertainment, when he feels like it... (fellow cat owners will understand that). By the way, it is absolutely amazing that I got this amazing selfie with Goliath because he usually wants nothing to do with pictures and camera-like devices.

I think my favorite subject to teach is Math. I often feel less confident with Reading. When it comes to Math instruction, though, I tend to be more of a risk taker, trying out new things and pushing my students to where I know they can go. With Reading instruction, I tend to play it safe. Hopefully my journey through grad classes will change that! I love learning new things!

     

When I taught 5th grade, I think I also gained a new love of history. I loved our 5th grade curriculum, teaching about how our country became a new nation. Teaching about cells was fun, too. I sure did learn something each year in 5th grade Science and Social Studies!

If you popped into my classroom, we might be having a discussion as a whole group or in our table teams. We might be enjoying a book or using our poetry journals at the carpet. We might be spread out at different centers. We might even be working on our Sid Shuffle, one of my favorite get-up-and-move dances. If you look around, the counters, shelves, and my desktop might not be neat and tidy, but you will be able to tell that we're hard workers.

We all know, some days are rough. Last year I seemed to have a lot of those because I wasn't prepared for some of the issues I had to deal with. I love a quiet, dimly lit classroom at the end of the day, when I can play whatever music I want to and decompress. Some days it helps to go to our local Y and walk or jog for a bit with my earbuds. There's nothing like a little ME-time after a long day!

At the beginning of last year, I participated in a blog party where I shared a few of my favorite {teacher} things. You can read about it here. If I had to choose one resource I can't teach without, I would probably have to say my laptop, just because it seems like it is another appendage. I use it to work my projector, look up definitions, play our get-up-and-move videos, and all the normal things teachers do, like attendance, email, etc. I can't go a day in my classroom without it!

During the school year, all the To-Dos seem to take over and I don't write as consistently as I would like. I would like to do better this year. I've noticed that some bloggers seem to plan ahead or keep a calendar schedule. Sometimes my problem is that I don't get pictures taken, and sometimes sharing pictures can be more meaningful than text.

My other blogging goal is just to feel more confident. I tend to be shy and reserved in most situations, so I'm not always sure that other people will want to read what I have to share. I'm not a natural risk-taker, but I need to find more opportunities to step out of my box.

Thanks for reading! 

Come on over and visit me at Mrs. Jones Teaches!