I'm A FRAUD!

I'm a fraud...a faker!  My brand/blog name is so WRONG.  I'm definitely not Mrs. D anymore - I haven't been since 2013.......and now I won't be teaching my sweet firsties anymore, either!  Since my divorce in 2013, I've contemplated switching my blog name but got overwhelmed with the amount of time that would take.  But, now that I'm switching grade levels to Kindergarten, none of the parts of my blog name are true anymore.... I feel like it might be time to switch?  Maybe?

Nah...too much work.  You all won't judge, right?

Anywho, I've been working on all things LETTERS.  I know one of my biggest hurdles will be making sure all of my sweet Kindergartners learn all of their letters and sounds.  I have so many great letter identification activities, games, and centers (in my head).

Here's a little freebie for ya... just for fun.  I plan on using these for letter identification in my sensory bin.  You could use them as flashcards for beginning of the year assessments/data, for a write the room activity (when students are identifying letters), or add them to your alphabet anchor charts.... they're pretty simple and versatile! Enjoy!

0

Am I Crazy?

I've taught first grade for the past 10 years.  I've been lucky to not only be able to stay in the same grade level, but I also got to stay in the same classroom for that time.

BUT....I offered to move down to Kindergarten for the 2017-2018 school year!  Not only will I be switching grade levels after 10 years, I'm also switching classrooms.

I already moved all of my stuff down to my classroom.  Thank goodness for my little first graders who love helping.  They were like my little minions on the last week of school!   But, GEEZ, I didn't realize how much stuff I've accumulated over 10 years in first grade.

So...the idea of teaching Kindergarten KINDA gives me anxiety.  I'm confident in myself as a teacher, but the change freaks me out.  In first grade, I had the standards memorized...I knew what to teach and when to teach it - whether or not I had a pacing guide.  I knew how to differentiate all of the lessons and, with so many years of teaching the same topics, I was able to easily think on my feet and switch it up when things weren't working for my students.  I knew little tricks to teaching certain things.  I knew what worked for those little 7 year old minds.

I won't have the same experience with the content in Kindergarten - but, at this point in my career, I needed a change that scared me a little - which is why I offered to switch grade levels.  But, some days I'm like WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF!?!

Help me out - any amazing Kindergarten teachers that I should be following?!  Any awesome must-have Kindergarten resources on TPT?  Any advice from the veteran Kindergarten teachers??

0

A Summer of HOUSE, HOUSE, HOUSE.

It's officially summer break!  I've spent it (so far) by working on my house.

Last year, I had the foundation on my house rebuilt.  Whew, it took all summer and was a WAY bigger project than I ever expected.  Three walls were completely rebuilt, everything was waterproofed, front steps rebuilt, and the sewer pipe was replaced.  With those GOOD things came a lot of mess - they "leveled" the front yard - they just spread clay dirt all over the front yard...ugh.  I didn't have any a/c, most days/nights I had a basement wall completely missing, no kitchen sink for a while, and no washing machine for the summer.   They also had to take down the brick from the side and back of the house because the walls were so cracked- it would've been dangerous to try to hold it up while they rebuilt walls.  So, after everything was finished, my dad and I had to put siding up on the side and back of the house.  No fun at all.

Since everything was torn up - all the flower beds around the house and the entire front yard, my boyfriend and I have spent the last few weeks making it all pretty again.  Thank goodness he's so handy!

Here are pictures from when they were working on the house... oh memories.

 No more front steps!  They also had to replace that patch of brick because it was so messed up.

 That's the corner of the house.... no front or side basement walls.  Thank goodness I live in a safe area because I slept without basement walls MANY nights! Hah.

 This is from the basement, looking outside.

 Enjoying the sunshine and breeze from inside the basement.  ;-)

 This is the front of the house... the part that we've fixed up this summer!

Oh boy....where are the basement walls?!

Now here are some pics of what we've done so far....:-) :-)

 Ignore the sidewalk covered in dirt and mud.  :-)

This little bed needs more mulch, but everything is planted.  Grow bushes, grow!

Next up: paint the shutters, get river rocks delivered for the side by the driveway, and then it's time to work INSIDE the house!

I'm having someone come out to measure for new kitchen cabinets this weekend.  SO.. get ready to see some fun pictures of the kitchen.  You'll love my current 1950's cabinets.  ;-)  Ugh, I can't wait to get rid of them.

I hope you're having a productive summer, too!

0