Teacher Talk Tuesday- Advice to New Teachers

Tonight, I am giving advice. The funny thing is that I am having some of those new teacher feelings! I taught first grade for 11 years and am now teaching second grade (which I am LOVING!!). The last few days have been a whirlwind and I am definitely on a learning curve!

 My advice to new teachers would be:

Study your lessons and know what you are teaching BEFORE you teach the lesson. There is a lot of studying that needs to happen so that you feel prepared.

Ask questions....lots and lots of questions.

Find a friend on campus that will make you laugh, wants to hear about your day and can give sound advice.

Beg, borrow and steal (fabulous ideas)!

Be willing to learn from the wonderful and experienced teachers around you. The best teachers always learn something new everyday.

Breathe.

To all the new teachers, welcome to one of the most amazing professions that exists. Teaching is a calling. Listen to your heart and remember that everyday is an opportunity to touch the life of a child. You DO make a difference.

Are you Blog Hoppin'?
Check it out for more fabulous words of wisdom!

Meet the Teacher: Ms. Morgart

Welcome!

I'm Ms. Morgart and this is my little blog, Curls and a Smile! Today was the first day of school and although I am exhausted, I just had to participate in Teacher Week 2011 at Blog Hoppin'!

Here's a little about me...

Today began my 12th of teaching! I taught first grade for 11 years and this year started my new adventure in second grade. My class is so sweet and I am amazed at how mature they become over one summer!! When I was going over procedures (such as how to put your backpack away) they didn't ven skip a beat! They were pros! This first day has to be the easiest that I have had in a long time....I think I am going to love second grade!

Something that you might not know about me....

I am a proud penguin! When I was in college, I pledged Kappa Delta Chi (a service soroity) that allowed me to provide community service to the Bryan/ College Station area , gave me opportunities to develop as a leader and where I created lifelong friends. As an alumnae, I hope to become more involved with the soroity on a national level and continue to find new ways to serve my community.

What I have Learned From Teaching...

Teaching students has taught me patience, compassion and faith in each one of the children that I am blessed to have in my class. One of the most amazing feelings in the world is watching a young child develop the ability to master skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Watching a child read for the first time is inspiring and reminds me of why I became a teacher.

A few other things I have learned...

Always be prepared (great tool in classroom management)

Always be willing to grow and learn as a teacher. The day you feel you know it all, it is time to retire.

Practice what you preach.

Don't be afraid to tell your students that you love them.

You may the only adult that they hear that from each day.

Enjoy what you do. Your joy will radiate through everything you do in your classroom.

I am so tired but extremly happy to have had a successful first day and I am looking forward to a wonderful year full of amazing memories, new ideas and great new bloggie friends!

A new adventure with Me and My Gang!

I am so excited to announce that I will have the complete honor of being an author for a new and fabulous blog! This is a wonderful group of teachers that are working on great ideas to share with our readers!

Mrs. McCumbee of

and

Mrs. Schroeder of

are the wonderful teachers behind this new blog and are also looking for additional teachers to author creative and unique ideas for Me and My Gang. If you are a k-3 teacher and are interested in participating check out their blogs and join in on the awesome blogging!!

Come by and check it out!!

Color Chart Clip Board

Earlier this summer, my wonderful former teammate Alyce, create a super cute clip board version of my behavior color chart. It is a great way to have a portable version of a color chart that can be shared with your partner teacher, teammates or specials teachers. Here is a set-by-step of how it was created:

1. You will need a clipboard, scrap booking paper (in the colors that you need for your color chart), Modge Podge, sponge brush, and a title/picture to name your chart. Pictures from google images.

2. First glue your scrap booking paper the way that you would like for it to look on the clipboard and allow that to dry so that the paper doesn't move when you are covering the entire project. Glue from underneath the paper...don't try to cover the whole clipboard at one time (the paper tends to shift and bubble).

3. Add the title/picture label on top of your scrap booking paper. Let dry.

4. Once everything is thoroughly dry, it is time to cover the entire project with Modge Podge. Use even strokes. from left to right, until the whole clipboard is covered. Feel free to use the Modge Podge as needed because if your sponge is not wet enough, it tends to pull and give the clipboard a "streaky" look.

5. Allow it to dry completely.

6. Now you are ready to make your clips! These numbers were purchased at Hobby Lobby and are used for calendars. All you need to do is peel and stick!

                 

Here is the final product:



This one is a little different than the original post. The stripes really give it a a nice touch!!

I am currently working on some cute titles for you....so tell me, what are your themes?

Linky Party Fun!

Are you decorating up a storm in your room? Have you created a new space or implemented super cute ideas from other bloggers? Does your room look FABULOUS!! Join my linky party and show us all the hard work that you have done to transform a plain old room to an amazing place to learn!!

Make sure to grab my button and tell others about the linky!!

Click here to join in the linky party!

Before and After Classroom Linky Party

Hi everyone! I will be back on contract and getting ready for my new class on Monday but before then I want to see all your classroom makeovers and fabulous ideas for making your room an inviting learning enviroment!

As I work on my room, I will post pictures and share how I oranize and decorate my room. Here are a few pictures from my first grade classroom last year.

This was my calendar and carpet area ....

This is a picture of part of my reading station...I took this pic as I was packing up so the pillows and books had already been put away. The pictures that are on the wall are from a children's literature calendar. They worked out PERFECTLY!

As I start to get my room ready, I will post pics of my new monster themed classroom...but for now, it is your turn!!

Link up, grab my button and tell others!

Need some inspiration? Check out the TBA Ultimate Linky Party!

A little help from her friends....

Brenda, over at Primary Inspired, has a wonderful project that she is trying to get funded through 

 Let's help Brenda and her sweet little kiddos get a FABULOUS easel to use during instruction!

Here is how you can help....Brenda is offering everything in her TpT Store for a $6 donation to her project (just leave a comment on her blog when you make a donation and don't forget to leave an email address). 

Her products are amazing! Here is a sneak peak at what you can receive:

You get great products and most importantly you are helping out a fellow teacher and her class. What could be better than that!