Exciting Photography News!

So my blog title is Teach-Laugh-Photograph for those who know me well already know of my Photography business even in it's early beginnings.  But for those who haven't seen my work yet I am excited to share the link to my new photography website though!  Finally official with my own domain and hosting! 

Click Here 

To check out my photography :)

Is it Spring Break yet?!?

Happy Monday! 

This is my last week before Spring Break/Easter and I am soooo looking forward to the break!  

I am starting to see the finish line for this school year and with that come a lot of emotions and some slight anxiety.  I am handing out report cards today from 3rd quarter which means 4th quarter has already began.  I cannot believe how quickly this school year has passed.  Only 38 more school days and I have officially survived my first year of teaching.  

I have been incredibly blessed this year and so thankful for the opportunity I have had to teach in a Christian School.  Thankfully no horror stories yet from my first year of teaching.  I know some of you veteran teachers out there may have some stories.

Anyway, I have a fun Easter math activity to share with you:

This was from Pinterest steal and it was such a clever and easy math center to create.  Plus my kids love it.  We are currently multiplying up to 3 and dividing by 0, 1, & 2

I also made addition and subtraction up to 10 for my Kinder friend Mrs. Platts!   

She has a very fancy blog you should definitely check out at:

 http://read-write-sing.blogspot.com/

Isn't my Mom sweet!? She bought me this book and stuffed Horton for my classroom.  Love it!

 I hope you all have a blessed week and for those already on Spring Break enjoy it!

 

Things just got better....

I wanted to share one of my favorite signs that I have posted in my room.  It is a sign that was posted in one of the classrooms I student taught in and I just really thought it was meaningful.  

In teaching one of the most valuable things I have learned is how important it is to build relationships with your students.  It does not take much to win the young ones over either. :)  I think any time you can make your students feel important and valued they will respect you as their teacher and love you.  

Even when this sign catches my eye it helps me to remember to take the time to enjoy my class and remember that my time with them is limited.  I only have a short amount of time to impact their lives each day and encourage them.  I want them to know they are all very special to me.  

This reminds me of this quote from the movie "The Help" 

Brain Break!!

This was my project today!  I haven't tried all of these with my kiddos yet but so far "Name Moves", "Trading Places", and "Line up challenge" have turned out successful.  I plan to add more into the mix that are shorter such as 10 jumping jacks, push ups, stretches, or other physical activities.  Anytime I can add in skip counting or subject matter questions into the brain break time it is really rewarding.  The kids love when they get to try new things, compete in games, and simply get out of their seats to use all the energy they have stored up!  Sometimes these can make the room a little rowdy but I have found it truly helps the students to focus more on their work when they get a chance to shake their energy out and have a break. Plus it only takes 1-5 minutes to complete most brain breaks so it does not take much away from your valuable instruction time.  

Take a look:

Feel free to comment and share any brain breaks you have used or know of!  

I am ALWAYS up for new ideas! 

Happy Wednesday,

Mrs. Utt

Add the word "party" to the end and it's a win!

Whole Group Behavior Incentive:

Over Christmas break I found this idea on Pinterest and decided to try it. 

The kids are working towards a Hot Chocolate Party!  They think it's going to be way more exciting then it will be but that's ok.  Like I said in the title if you add the word "party" to anything the kids think it's going to be great!  This is a good trick because our hot chocolate party will only take about 30 minutes out of the academic day but they will get rewarded for their good behavior by enjoying a nice warm cup of hot chocolate during this wintery weather.  I'm thinking we will do some sort of writing activity with it as well.  The kids earn marshmallows by lining up correctly, being on time, working hard as a whole group, and when they get compliments from other teachers.

Happy Teaching!

--Mrs. Utt

 

Hello Again Blogging World...

I recently found/remembered I had blogged during student teaching.  It has been a while and I am not the most consistent blogger but I would really like to start it up again.  This year I have been teaching 2nd grade. It has been an incredible experience and I am so excited to be doing something I love. 

 I am teaching at a private christian school in the Saint Louis area.  The community I am able to be a part of is incredible.  The school year is flying by and honestly it feels like I have been doing this my whole life.  When I was student teaching and thinking about having my own classroom I was really nervous and wondered anxiously if I could handle it and what it would be like.  It is an extremely challenging career but it is such a rewarding experience.  There have been many days where I have to stop and pray for patience and wisdom but the Lord never fails to provide those for me. 

On this blog I am going to share my daily challenges and rewarding moments.  I will also share activities we are doing as a class.  Many of my creativeness comes from Pinterest but I will be glad to give credit to those who deserve it and occasionally I will have time to come up with an original idea.  

Please "join this site" and become a follower of my blog.  I would love any advice or comments you have regarding my posts.  Thanks you for reading.  :)

--------------->Mrs. Utt

Finishing up...

Finishing up my first 8 weeks!!
I am really excited to say that I am almost at the halfway point of my final semester!  It is hard to believe that in about 2 months I will be walking across the stage graduating!  This 8 weeks has been a really good learning experience.  I taught 5 days without the cooperating teacher in the room last week and that was really neat but scary!  There were times where I really was not sure how to handle certain students but I tried my best and definitely learned a lot from it.  It is very much an artificial environment since it is not actually my classroom and the students are not used to my teaching style.  I tried my best to build relationships with the students but it is difficult to when I only get to spend 8 weeks with them.  I cannot wait until I have my own classroom and get to start from Day 1 with the students.  

Tomorrow I will teach my last lesson at this school and my supervisor will be there.  Hopefully I will do a good job with the kiddos and finish this 8 weeks with a good evaluation.  I am looking forward to the next school I will be at.  I will be in a 2nd grade classroom and that will be a totally different experience.  There are 25 kids in this classroom I will be in next.  

Unfortunately I will have about a 30 minute drive to my next school but I have been spoiled this last 8 weeks being next door to the school.  

64 days until graduation! :)

I will try to keep you posted throughout the rest of the semester but it will definitely be busy!  God Bless!

Mrs. Utt