Hi everyone, I'm Sara from Frampton's FUNdamentals, I have been blogging since the beginning of 2014. I never found myself to be much of a writer, however I am loving this forum. I love talking to teachers that I never would have had the chance to talk to without this blogging world! It has helped me to become a better teacher, and I can't thank everyone enough.
I have lived in Newtown, CT my entire life! I love the hometown feel and the people of my town. I have a really close knit family, and I know I couldn't be luckier. My parents love and support me in everything I do.
My older brother, Richie.
My younger brother, Willie.
I have 2 brothers, who are typical brothers. They are a pain in the butt, however they will be the first ones there for me when I need it. I get along really well with my brothers, especially my younger brother. He is 8 years younger than me, but we have never been closer.
I have 2 dogs, Daisy and Penny. We bred Cocker Spaniels for a while, we had Daisy and Donald, Penny is actually one of their puppies. On the top Daisy is on the left and Penny on the right, on the bottom it is the opposite way.
Lately I have loved riding my bike (it is summer when I am writing this, and I live in New England, so depending on when this is published I may not be actively riding). I try to ride as much as possible when the weather allows. I also like creating things on the computer and physical items. I am usually up to making any kind of craft item, as long as I can give it away when I am done. I love anything techie, especially Apple. I also have the Lego EV3 Mindstorm set and enjoy building the robots. I really want to learn to program so I can make a custom app for my classroom. One thing that I don't do enough that I really enjoy is taking photos with my good camera. I have gotten so used to my iPhone that I forget about the good one, hopefully by the time you read this that has changed.
For the next part of the post I decided to use the questions Amanda sent to me and do it Q & A style
How long have you taught? I am on my tenth class! Wow, I can't believe I have been teaching that long!
What is your favorite subject to teach? My favorite subject is reading, I love the Daily Five we have set up in the second grade. I also love when the students get off topic and we end out exploring things off of the lesson plans, sometimes that is the best.
What would we likely see if we popped into your classroom unannounced? If you popped in unannounced you would see a room full of students working on their own items at their own speed. If it is snack or a non work time you would probably be greeted by students who would want to hug you and share what ever is on their minds.
What gets you through one of “those” days? The students get me through "those" days, just look into their eyes and that is all I need to do. Or a student or many will sense I am off and they will try to make me smile, I am lucky to have them.
What is one “can’t live without” teaching resource? My coworkers, they have taught me more than any book or college class ever could. When I am having trouble, they are there for me, and I am there for them. We have an excellent support system at our school, it really is a giant family.
Give us a glimpse of your teaching style by sharing a brief summary of a favorite classroom activity/project. My favorite classroom activity is the Daily Five. I love the authentic learning that is taking place, and I love making the activities to go along with it. Last year was my first year teaching it and I can't believe I haven't been doing it for years.
One project I really loved was one that wasn't planned, and student initiated. Last year my students were so into the Who Was series that we turned the back bulletin board into a giant timeline. That was a lesson that was never planned and will never be forgotten. The conversations I over heard from students discussing people and dates were priceless.
This was before we had all the dates up, we added them as I got the books. By the end of the year I had the complete series.
What is one of your blogging goals for this year? My goal is to blog more than once a week, it gets crazy when school is going, but I feel it is important for me to be an active part in the blogging world. I am also hoping to save up to go to Vegas and meet so many bloggers that I feel I already know.
Final Thoughts:
I have always felt honored to be a teacher, we have the greatest responsibility in the world. We are shaping the future one child at a time. I have never taken this fact for granted, I do everything I can for my students, they are my children and the know it. When all the terrible things happened in my town that December day, I was nervous going back to school Monday, I was crying all weekend, and didn't know how I was going to handle it. Everyone knew I was from Newtown, my kids knew I was upset and something was wrong on Friday, and I didn't know if I could handle the questions. I was told I could take as much time as I needed but, going back to school Monday was the best thing I could do, I stepped into that classroom and felt this is where I am meant to be. I helped my students, I talked with the older students and staff, by helping them I felt I was doing something. There were many things I learned from that experience, the thing I try to teach my children is to be kind. We had so many random acts of kindness shown to us, that I feel I need to show my students to do kind things for others. I have always taught this, however now it has a different meaning, now I know what it feels like on a massive scale to have someone across the world say a pray, to say a kind word, or to give a smile. In a day where there are so many material goods, I want my students to know the most valuable gift is that given from the heart.
Please take a moment to stop by my blog, somewhere in the design there is something hidden to honor the Sandy Hook Victims, they are so much a part of me I had to honor them, see if you can find it. If you find it you can send me an email, please don't post a comment saying where it is, I want others to be able to find it as well.
Thank you Amanda for helping out new bloggers, a little kindness goes a long way and I am grateful to you for helping us.
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