Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Well.....hi there!

Hello blogging world! Whew, I feel like we're old friends, even though you have no idea who I am. Let me formally introduce myself :)

My name is Natalie, or Mrs. Lemacks to my firsties. I am in my second year teaching a first grade class. I teach at a public charter school in Georgia. I absolutely love teaching first grade, and firmly believe that I am meant to stay in first. Want to hear my life story? I didn't think so....sigh...so instead, here are just some random facts that will help you get to know me better.

  1. I like making lists (but what teacher doesn't?!?). And crossing things off of my list :)
  2. I am 26 yeras old, soon to be 27. I know this is relatively young; however, probably 95% of the teachers at my school are under the age of 25, soooooo.....
  3. I have a wonderful hubby of 4 years. Tomorrow is actually our 8 year anniversary of being together! Love him.
  4. No youngins of our own...yet...so instead we have 2 fur babies. Abby is 8 and super cranky. Dude is 2 and is the goofiest, sweetest, most lovable dog EVER. Both are long-haired chihuahuas and, of course, are adorable. See exhibit A.
  5. I have been blog stalking for quite some time now, and muling over the idea of creating my own. So many amazing blogs out there have made me a much better teacher! I was going to wait until the summer to start, but Tanya over at A Class Act gave me the inspiration to start. She started her blog just last month and already has 70 followers! Way to go, girl!
Anybody reading this yet? Hmm...well, I guess I'll have to get my name out there. So how about a linky party? My first ever...whoo-hoo! And this one seems so fun! So I'm linking up with Mss Klohn over at Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher.


So here is what a typical day in my shoes would look like.

5:00 am- First alarm goes off. Ha, not getting up yet! Hit snooze.

5:15 am- Second alam goes off. Not a chance. Hit snooze again.

5:30 am- Third "I MEAN IT, GET UP NOW" alarm goes off. Fine, I'm up. Stumble to the shower, contacts in (I can see!!!), and brush my teeth.

5:45-6:25 am- Hair and make-up. Yes, it takes me a long time. You would think the end result would be spectacular.....so not the case. But I do my best.

6:30 am- What to wear, what to wear? Why didn't I lay out my clothes the night before? Curse myself silently and throw on something that looks half way decent.

6:45 am- Finally out the door and on my way!

7:00-7:20 am- Get morning work out for students, clean up any messes I left the day before, chit-chat with my team, get my coffee, and heat some breakfast.

7:20-7:40 am- Mrs. Lemacks! Mrs. Lemacks! I lost another tooth!!! I made butter last night! My brother broke his arm! etc, etc, etc,

7:40-8:00 am- Students complete morning work, and I turn on quiet piano music. This is probably my favorite time of the day. All of my students work so hard in the morning, and I get to breathe before the mass chaos of the day begins.

8:00-8:45 am- Reading class. Our students switch classes for reading, and I teach the advanced first grade class. We have an amazing reading curriculum, so our class is jam-packed with phonics, comprehension, fluency, building words, vocabulary, and so forth.

8:50-9:35 am- Specials. This is when I make my massive stack of copies for the team, grade papers, team meetings, SST meetings, write lesson plans, etc. The only time I actually get anything done, planning wise.

9:40-10:15 am- Reading centers. We always do a spelling center, phonics center, guided reading center with me, and then either a vocabulary or computer center.

10:15-10:40 am- English. We alternate between grammar and writing units. This week, its writing, so my class is super quiet....ahhhhh.

10:45-11:15 am- LUNCH! Yes, I know it is an early lunch, but believe me, I am starving by this time, and so are the kids! I usually starting getting the "When is lunch?" questions around 9-9:30! They have finally realized that it is at the same time every day, don't ask me again, look at the schedule, check out the clock and figure it out.

11:15-11:35 am- RECESS! Since there is only 3 first grade classes at my school, we all have recess duty every day. But I honestly don't mind, I enjoy being outside and forcing myself to not be productive for 20 minutes :) It's like a break from myself for awhile.

11:40-12:00ish- Read aloud (usually Junie B. Jones) and finish up English.

12:00-1:10 pm- Math. To be honest, I hate our math curriculum prefer other math curriculums, but what can you do? This is my least favorite time of the day. Does anybody else hate teaching math, or am I totally crazy?!?! I think it's because math was always such a breeze for me, so I feel like it's so simple and get frustrated when they don't understand on the first try.

1:10-1:30 pm- MORE RECESS!!! My students take their snacks outside and eat for the first few minutes, then play for the rest of the time. Again, another break from myself :)

1:35-2:10 pm- Science or social studies. Today, it was shadow centers and BOY did my firsties love, love, love me! More on that tomorrow :)

2:15-2:20 pm- Pack-up and dismissal.

2:25-4:00 pm- This time really changes everyday for me. At our school, we are required to sponsor two afterschool clubs and tutor one day a week. I tutor on Mondays, sponsor Puzzle Club on Thursdays, and sponsor Fashion Club on Fridays (really? a fashion club in elementary school? yes....really). I am also the grade level chairperson, so those meetings are on Tuesdays. Oh, and don't forget our bi-weekly staff meetings every other Wednesday. Sprinkle in carpool duty 3x a week.

4:00 pm- FREEDOM!!! Ha, no not really...well, maybe. As much as I love my babies, I am out the door at 4:00 sharp. If it doesn't get done in time, I save it for the next day.

4:15-9:30 pm- Play with the pups, blog stalk, facebook, cook dinner, run errands, catch up on my DVR, become a coma in front of the TV. My hubby and I usually head up to bed at about 9:30, which makes me feel sooooo old but I usually don't fall asleep until 10 or so.

Whew! If you made it this far, give yourself a medal! Sorry for the long post :)

11 comments:

  1. WELCOME! Thanks for the shout out on your blog. :)

    I'm your first follower! Remember me when your blog famous. :)

    I started teaching in January 2010, so it's been two years for me too. I'm 25 and unlike your school, I'm the youngest at my campus. lol. I don't mind though..I've always been an "old soul."

    I laughed when you mentioned going to bed at 9:30 and feeling old because of it. Most nights I'm lucky if I make it to 9:30. I have ALWAYS been like that. My family call me "Grandma." I remember being in middle school and my MOM bribing me to stay up late with her and watch those insane Lifetime movies but I wouldn't. Geek at heart I suppose. :)

    Welcome again!! :)

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  2. I love making lists and crossing things off too. I get such satisfaction out of it! Anyway, welcome to the world of blogging. I'm sure you'll love it! (Follower #2)

    Tammy
    Forever in First

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  3. Wahoo! You now have 3 followers! I am excited to follow another 1st grade blog! I saw your comment on Cara's blog and had to come check you out! Yes, I read ALL comments! =)

    You will love blogging and what a supportive community this is! I LOVE it!

    I would love for you to visit me when you have time! I have TONS of *freebies*!

    I love the picture of your fur babies! My fur babies are a kitty and a bunny!

    Heather
    Heather's Heart

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  4. Newest follower! Atalanta is about 2 hours give or take from Birmingham. We'd love to have you join us if you want to make the drive! =)
    Jennifer
    First Grade Blue SKies

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  5. I love your furbabies! We have two of our own too instead of kids! They are our dog-sons! :)

    Christina
    Mrs. Bainbridge's Blog

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  6. Great job, sis! I am very excited for you and can't wait to read more. Though I am starting to think poor Abby is cranky because you keep putting her in clothes! :) I know how lucky those kids are to have you for a teacher - you are awesome!

    I love you,
    Suzi

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  7. I'm your newest follower! WELCOME to the blogging community :)

    Color Me Kinder

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  8. You make me want to be a first grader again! You sure have yourself a packed day. We eat brunch at 10:45 twice a week too and I love it!

    Thanks so much for linking up!
    Miss Klohn
    Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher

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  9. Thank you all for the sweet comments! Not sure if I'm just an idiot, but I can't figure out how to comment back...it seems my "Reply" button does not work.

    Thank you all for following me! I am so estactic that people actually read what I wrote...ha! I am now followers of you all as well :)

    Natalie

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  10. Natalie, I'm your newest follower! I am new to blogging too - come on over for a visit!

    ✿ Kaleigh
    Kaleigh's Klassroom

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  11. Your blog is so cute! I'm glad I found it. I just started my blog today, misskailibug.blogspot.com. It's really plain and ugly still, but I'm working on it. Consider yourself having one more follower! Come check out my blog and let me know what you think!

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I LOVE reading your comments!!!

Natalie