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What I Love about Teaching - Keri


Hey friends!

Today I am excited to let you in on just a few of the reasons that I love teaching.


I love that I can work with fantastic friends. I seriously have worked with some of the MOST creative people. They don't blog. They don't sell anything. They create because they love what they do. They love their kids and want the best for them. I love that the teaching profession is one where we all feed off of each other's ideas and help to make this thing we do every single day easier for each other. It feels good to know that so many other people can relate to all of the emotions that I have in relation to my job. I have made some AWESOME friends in the process.

 I LOVE MY CURRENT COWORKERS!!! I especially love my kindergarten team.



It really is a blessing to work with people that all have the same goals. The children come first and it's all about them.


I love being able to watch my kids LOVE. I love to watch friendships grow. I love to watch them learn from each other. This year is hands down the BEST class I have ever had. All of their little personalities click so well. They rarely have disagreements. They love learning.


I love watching best friends being made. How sweet is it to watch littles find a true friend? Two of my sweeties from last year were inseparable. I love their friendship.




I love resources. Hence, I love teaching because there is a such thing as TPT that makes my life and yours EASIER. I could go on there and find ANY resource that I need at any time on any skill. If this place didn't exist, I'm pretty sure most of my lessons and resources would be subpar.

With that in mind, here's a quick and short freebie to show my love for teaching.



What I LOVE About Teaching!!! Small Group Reading ~ FREEBIE TOO!


Hello Friends~

It's Dianna here with you today to tell you my absolute favorite things about teaching... Small Group Reading Time!!! Yup, all of my years in the classroom this was my favorite time of day & where I felt most effective. Now as a Literacy Coach, I feel most comfortable in other teacher's classrooms when I am with a small group. I just LOVE being able to connect with the students in a small setting. 

I have some "MUST-DO'S" in my small group meetings:
[click on the photo above for your own copy]

Here are a few snapshots of some work I did in a 1st Grade Classroom, I have so much fun! I LOVE it! [Sorry in advance for my camera phone pics!]

Guided Reading & Writing:
At this point in the lesson, we were on our second meeting of the text. After reviewing our high frequency words & content vocabulary during our warm up, the students had a chance to re-read the text before we got into the comprehension piece. They LOVE using the laser fingers!

I have a number of "pointers" or "trackers" whatever you prefer to call them, but the kids always go for the laser fingers! You can find them at any store with a party section usually. I've seen them at party stores, Hobby Lobby & more!

This photo is of another group, it was also their second meeting with me over the same text. So we started some written comprehension after our warm up activities & re-reading of the text.

My Traveling Reading Cart @ School:
I love when I get a chance to work with students in the classroom setting! It is therapeutic to me to put my other hats on the shelf & just be a teacher again! 


What I Love About Teaching - Planning a Unit!


Hey everyone!! 

I hope you are having a warm and lovely February!  I so love this post.  It's really nice to stop, take a breath, and think about what I really love about teaching.  There are so many things that I do love...love notes and hugs from my students, positive feedback from parents and my principal's praise.   The smell of my classroom, crayons, and erasers are unforgettable, and I love walking into my classroom in the morning no matter how tired I am. Oh my...these things are burned into my heart!   It makes every hard day worth it!!!!  


BUT....the one thing that I love the most about teaching is actually kind of mundane.  


PLANNING A UNIT!!!  

I LOVE sitting down, researching my material, and creating an entire unit for my grade level and my students.  We all know there is a lot of planning that takes place before we present a lesson.  But to the students...it's magic! 

Okay...okay...there are times I don't always LOVE it.  I get frustrated with it and wonder what in the world am I going to do with it.  I think HOW in the world can I make this better for me and my students? How can I give them the very best possible learning experience and where in the world am I going to find learning resources to give them that experience? (TPT of course!)

This year I was fortunate enough to work on our Project-Based Learning unit for our grade level.  We decided as a grade level to help create a beautiful environment for our school by cleaning up the flowers beds, and planting flowers and seeds.  To do that we had to learn about plants, what plants need to grow, and how plants grow from seed to plant. 

For me, the author of our lesson plans and schedules, it was very daunting at times. I had to make sure we had significant lessons, proper activities, and garden time to ensure our students received the best hands-on learning experience.  They had to get dirt on their hands and they had to love it. Challenging!! 





It was hard and it was sometimes a challenge finding just what we needed for our unit!  Sometimes the cutesy craftivities were just not enough and sometimes there was just not enough time for the in-depth lessons.  There were outside resources I had to use and thankfully, we have friends at school to direct us!  I had ALL of our teachers in on the lessons.  From our science lab teachers to our art teachers...they all took part in it!  Stressful!




We learned about plant parts, the jobs of plant parts, and the life cycle of a plant.  We had to be experts on the matter!  It wasn't easy going out to work in the hot sun to pull weeds, digging in the dirt, and finding the time to do it.  




But in the end...everyone worked hard to make it happen and the results were beautiful.  Our principal was so proud of our efforts and we were, too. Students and teachers really loved working in the garden!!  WOW! My students still talk about it.  Here are some of our photos...take a look! 


FROM THIS...




...to this...


...to success!!!



First grade did great!!  I was so proud of what we accomplished!!!  They worked so hard to plant flowers and seeds!  And their efforts paid off!!  


They grew lima beans!!


And celery!



And Romaine lettuce!



And they grew a beautiful environment for our school!!!  


So...maybe unit planning isn't sooo mundane after all and maybe that is why I just love it so!!  

I LOVE TEACHING!!  





What I love About Teaching - Aloha To Second


There are so many things I love about teaching!  That is why I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl.

1.  I love the kids! 

That seems like something everyone says, but I feel like my classroom of students are my actual kids!  I do not have any children, so I treat them as if they are my own.  I look forward to seeing them everyday (even the stinkers! 😂). 


2.  I love being crafty!

I really enjoy making things and doing activities with my kids.  I love that I can do creative things to help them learn.  It makes each day so much more exciting! My kids also really enjoy it.  We just finished our summarizing superhero unit and the kids had a blast! 



3.  I love field trips!  

This may seem silly, but I love going on field trips.  I feel that they are a great learning experience for the kids!  They are very exhausting, but I love doing them.  We went to Legoland this year and we absolutely loved it! 


4.  I love the relationships!

I work with amazing teachers that inspire me everyday to be better!  We support one another and truly enjoy eachother's company.  I wouldn't make it through a day without them!

I also love blogging and meeting all my teacher friends online.  This has been a true blessing!  I feel that God gave me the passion for teaching and He has filled my life with other teachers that share this passion with me.  I am so grateful! 


5.  I love learning!

As a teacher, I am a life-long learner!  I am constantly going to professional development events.  I read educational books on my free time.  I use blogs and other teachers as resources.  It is amazing how much I learn.  I am then motivated to try new things in my classroom.  I am a nerd at heart! 


Thanks for stopping by and reading about what I love!  What do you love about teaching?  Please share below! 


What I Love About Teaching - Hands on Learning


Hey there! Amna here from Teach Two Reach!


What I absolutely love about teaching are the projects I get to come up with to teach otherwise dry concepts. I mean, who wants to read about the names of the 7 continents and try to write their names on a map, when you can create a 3D painted globe version? You can get the free templates for this project HERE



How can students learn about fossilization just by reading the steps in order? Instead, they get to create and "excavate," their own fossils from clay and Plaster of Paris. Learn how to do it HERE. 






Teaching about past, present, and future verbs was never more fun than when Angry VERBS were introduced. Students got to pick an Angry Bird and three piggies, choose a strong verb, put it in the three tenses, and write sentences with them. This bulletin board is my all time favorite. 





Spring is coming and teaching time is my next chapter. It can be hard for students - especially the quarter to, quarter past skills. One activity I love for students to show me that they know how to tell time is by making this beautiful butterfly time craft from my TIME UNIT. 




I try to incorporate a project based on almost every skill we do in school. Kids who used to be in my class remember that 2nd grade was the grade with all the activities. I love that they tell me that. It keeps me going in trying to find new projects, keep on replenishing materials (those aren't cheap), and spend time fine tuning each activity each year for the needs of the current group. 

What do you love about teaching?

Are there some projects that you absolutely loveeee to do each year that help students solidify textbook concepts?



What I Love About Teaching: My Top 5 Reasons For Why I Teach



For me it's that time of year when we're in and out of school due to snow, mornings are dark and cold, those dreaded testing days are approaching, and we still have over a month before Spring arrives. All those inspiring ideas and lessons compiled over the summer seem to have disappeared - along with my tan. :) No doubt about it, this is the hardest stretch of year. It's definitely a good time for me to recall why I do what I do. Why do I teach? What do I love most about it? Despite my winter slump, there's many reasons why I love teaching!

First and foremost, teaching really is a "calling". I despise that old saying, "Those who can do, and those who can't teach." Whoever said that has obviously never walked a day in my shoes, or any teacher's shoes for that matter. My job is a vocation. My work is not left at school at the end of the day. I'm constantly working from home on new lessons, ideas, and innovative ways to keep my students excited about learning. I take my job seriously, and I'm proud to call myself a teacher!

#1 - I LOVE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

Each day I challenge, support, motivate, and engage my students to do their best. I set high expectations for my students, and they know I expect them to rise to the occasion. All in all, that's my job - right? When previous students come to me and recall old memories of being in my classroom, or tell me that they loved having me as their teacher, or even better, that I was their favorite teacher - then I know I made a difference! There's been days when I've had to pause everything to console a crying child due to a hard home life, fetch band-aids to bandage a wound (as minor as some may seem to me), take feuding friends in the hallway to talk about why we can't get along, or find extra clothes for a child that came to school cold or dirty. Each day brings new experiences and new opportunities for me to make a difference in a child's life, and believe it or not, sometimes it's not an academic difference. 


#2 - I LOVE BEING CREATIVE!

Originally, I didn't go to college to be a teacher. I went with the hopes and dreams of becoming a graphic design artist. Somewhere along the way I got sucked into the teaching world (probably because I attended a "teaching college" - ASU) where I was constantly surrounded by aspiring teachers. Their excitement for teaching intrigued me, and before I knew it I was enrolling myself in my first teaching course. From there, I never looked back! I quickly realized that I loved this thing they called "teaching". I loved how I could make and create my own way of teaching by personalizing what my students were presented with. I now use my graphic design skills to construct new and exciting lessons to meet the needs of my students. Whether it's new task cards to review a specific skill my students need work on, a math game for centers, or a set of posters for my classroom - it's something I've created!

#3 - I LOVE THE VARIETY IN EVERY DAY!

There's literally never a dull moment when it comes to teaching! Of course, I have tough days, and there's those days when I'd rather stay in bed and pull the sheets up over my head rather than go to work. However, no two days are the same. Every lesson is a new journey. Every incident and interaction with colleagues, students, and parents brings about new learning experiences. Every "light bulb" moment has lasting effects for both me and my students. Yes, some days I leave school with my head spinning! Kids are funny (and I don't mean in a laughing sort of way).  Some days I look at them and think, "What planet did they come from?" Other days they do leave me laughing - literally in stitches, and sometimes they just frustrate me! However, there's always bright spots to every day, and students never cease to surprise me if I just take the time to stop and watch!



#4 - I LOVE HAVING CONTROL! (and no I'm not a dictator) :)

No, I'm not a control freak either, but I do love the fact that I have control over my job. Maybe not full control, but teachers somewhat have control over their classroom. To some degree, I can decide what I'm going to teach and when I'm going to teach it. I can decide if I'm going to stay late or take my work home - especially when I can't stand another minute in that room. :) I can decide how I'm going to arrange and decorate my classroom, how I'm going to reward my students for a job well done, or where we're going next on our next field trip. I love the freedom that comes with being a teacher!

#5 - I LOVE MY TEAM!

I feel privileged to work with such an amazing group of teachers. I love my 4th grade team! In 14 years of teaching, I've never found a team more caring and willing to collaborate with each other. They're truly some of my closest friends. My conversations that I have them are passionate and genuine. We are constantly working together to come up with new ideas, share teaching resources, or help each other with the everyday issues and problems that arise in the classroom. We work together to tackle the day-to-day demands of teaching and in return become better teachers, colleagues, and friends! 

Teaching is complex. It's a skill - not a talent. It requires long hours, hard work, and dedication, but to me it's worth all of that when I see children grow, learn, and develop into the best they can possibly be. 

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT TEACHING?