Preparing for School Linky Party

Mrs. Crouse is having her  first ever linky party and she's looking for participants!

Click here to join the linky party

There's 3 rules:
1. Post about this linky party on your blog
2. Follow Mrs. Crouse's blog ({6th Grade} All-Stars)
3. Answer the following 5 questions (include documents if you have them):

 

- What grade do you teach?

***I'm teaching 4th grade this year. 

- What is the greatest advice you received during your 1st year of teaching?

***Pick one thing and one thing only to focus on--if you have too many goals for yourself, you'll become frustrated, stressed, and your to-do list will never end. (Even now, after 9 years of teaching, my to-do list still doesn't end. But I've learned to balance work with the rest of my life. Before work was my life.)

- Do you have a checklist that you follow when preparing your classroom (include the checklist)?

 ***Unfortunately, I've never used a classroom checklist to prepare my room. I've learned to take pictures of the classroom in June, so I can think about what I want to do with it over the summer.  

- What are some must haves in your classroom that you cannot live without (ex. items, books, posters, management strategies)?

***I must have A LOT of books for my kiddos to read! I also cannot live without fabric, which I use to cover my bulletin boards and those unsightly tops of closets that store all my teacher stuff. I definitely cannot live without a glue gun!! I hot glue EVERYTHING!! The best part is that it peels right off and if it doesn't, the kids love pulling it off the wall :o)

- What is something that all teachers should have in their classroom?

***I have a lot of inspirational quotes in my room. This year, a student I had in my test prep class, said to me, "You must be really proud of your students. I can tell you really believe in them." I asked her how she knew, and she started reading off some of the signs I had up in the room! It was sweet :o)

(Another reason why I have so many quotes, I figure when they stop listening to me, they can look around and read the valuable life lessons on the wall :o)