In My Shoes [Great movie, now a linky!]

Okay. No freebie yet. I'm thinking I'll make it tomorrow while the BF is at the Ravens game & I'm sitting on my couch pretending that I care about said Ravens game.

However, there is a fun linky party going on right now! I've read a few of the entries, and I am FLABBERGASTED, yes, FLABBERGASTED at how early some of these teachers start school. I know high schools usually start pretty early. I think I started at 7:20 when I was in HS, and when I was in elem school, school started at 8:45.

Now, as a teacher, I start at 8:10. I hate mornings [reminder: i am garfield], but I think 8:10 is respectable and fair. Well now, I think 8:10 is a blessing! Good lord, Farley starts at 7:20? Bonnie wakes up at 4:20?!?! You'll see what I'm doing right......................

NOW!

5:40, 5:50, 6:00
First alarm goes off. Snooze.
Second alarm goes off. Snooze.
I'MMMM UPPPPPP. UGH.


6:00-7:15
Roll out of bed, long shower [i'm a water waster], watch the morning news and relax for about 15 minutes, get ready, roll outttt.


7:15-7:55
Commute. Blah. My daily dunkin donuts stop is in there, but I'm making a conscious effort not to stop every day and just make my coffee at home. I'm case you're wondering, its not going so well.


7:55-8:09
Turn on all of my technology, make copies for morning work and the rest of the morning if I hadn't made them yet, straighten up the room


8:09
Hear my children barreling down the hall way. I'm all the way at the end.


8:10
Whoever is first comes into my room screaming CAN I HAVE DOG OF THE DAY?! let me explain. last Christmas, my sister gave me this daily pull of calendar

Well, last year the kids liked it SO much, so I left it out on my desk and continue with it for the rest of 2011. Well, I asked my sister for the 2012 edition. She delivered. So they still do it. Is it obnoxious? Yes. Should I control this using some kind of management technique? Yes. But I don't. Maybe next year?

8:10-8:45
The kids are working on their morning worksheet. I make it two sided to keep them occupied. If it is Monday, then they are copying their homework for the week. When they finish this, they are to read independently and take Reading Counts quizzes. But they usually just get into squabbles and tattle. A few times a week I use Class Dojo during this time to keep the crowd at bay and accountable.

8:45-8:50
Live morning announcements. We broadcast the announcements from the library with our school social worker as the normal host, and a teacher guest. You can sign up to be on the announcements. I try to sign up once a month. If you go on the morning announcements, you can bring a few students with you. The students come up with a "morning movement" for the school to do to go along with our PEP grant. On another note, announcements are supposed to begin at 8:35, but never do.

8:50-9:20
Writing block. We are usually working on grammar or are somewhere within the writing process. This week we are going to start a compare/contrast piece. I really want to revamp my writing program, because it is totally lacking in depth.

9:20-9:50
Math RTI time. Our students are broken up according to their ability DCAS test score. Each teacher/paraprofessional has been assigned a topic to teach, as the students rotate through the stations, spending about a week at each. For the sake of length, I won't get into it fully right now. But last rotation I taught multiplication, and this rotation I'm teaching division. Any cute ideas/activities, PLEASE send them my way! ESPECIALLY higher leveled activities for my above leveled groups!

9:50-10:20
Reading RTI time. Same as math, but they are broken up by their DCAS reading score. My topic is compare/contrast, and right now we are contrasting Lon Po Po to the American version of Little Red Riding Hood. Good times.

10:23-11:03
YAY! I made it to my planning time! Students are on a 6 day rotation, either going to library, computers, counseling, PE, music, or art. I'm sitting in a meeting, making copies, or trying to straighten up from whatever destruction happened in my room earlier.

11:03-11:40
I drag myself to pick up my kiddos. We come back to do centers. My centers are new for me this year. No one else on my team does them, but I feel like everyone in blogland does. So I tried them and I love them and other people want to see me do them. Yay! My centers are kind of, not really like Daily 5, but I used that as a jumping off point.

11:40-12:20
Reading block. I'm either teaching from our reading series or teaching important skills or doing Making Meaning. As I've said before, our reading block is crazy right now with all the different programs, different expectations, lack of materials going on right now. But we do our best.

12:20-12:50
Lunch. Everyone other week I have lunch duty. Whenever I don't have lunch duty, I have recess duty.

12:50-1:00
Either finish up something we were working on in Reading or do a read aloud.

1:00-1:30
Recess

1:30-1:45
We are working on fact fluency. Students can either work alone or with a partner to practice whatever multiplication fact that they are on. I test weekly, and if they pass [30 problems in 2 minutes] they move on to the next number. We're doing this for the rest of the year, even though we just finished our mult/div unit.

1:45-2:30
Math block. We're starting our data unit on Monday. Our students are pretty good with data, so hopefully this unit will go by in a flash and we can get started with fractions! dun dun dunnnn.

2:30-3:05
Science/SS. My class and the classroom across the hall switch for this. I teach Science to both classes using FOSS science kits. I love it because all of the materials and lessons are there for you. All I have to do is write my lesson plans in our format. I choose to supplement, but you really don't have to. I'm so happy I don't have to teach social studies. I really can't get into it, but I would make do if I had to.

3:05-3:20
I check their daily planners for signatures, students sign my homework bingo board if they did their homework, and we wrap up our day.

3:20-3:40
I walk my students who walk home out the door, and I take my car riders to the cafeteria. Teachers wait with them until they are picked up. If they aren't picked up by 3:35, they go to the office to wait.

After that it depends on the day. I normally try to pry myself out of my room by 4:30, but I've been known to stay until 5 a few times a week. Then its another 40 minute drive home.

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Well that's it! Go over and visit Katie and link up! It's her first linky! =)

[[[My giveaway ends Sunday around 5pm, so go enter if you haven't already!]]]