Weekly Highlights

Hi Friends,

I hope you all had a productive week. I had a pretty busy week myself. This week was full of meetings, planning interventions, and working in classrooms (my favorite). The highlight of my week was our first huddle. We discussed flexible grouping in reader's workshop. Many teachers even came up with great ideas on how to organize flexible groups in writer's and math workshops. If you need any more information on some of the ideas we discussed, just let me know. Next week, we will discuss literacy and integration stations! I can't wait. I work with the best teachers in Walker County. What is amazing about our teachers is that they take regular ideas and make them fabulous ideas. I hope your week is full of great teaching and learning experiences.

Your friend,

Karen :)

Hi Gator Gang,

I hope everyone had a fabulous first week of school. I know that I did. This week has been very fun and challenging for me. The week has been fun because I have learned many new things with my new job. Everyday, I am trying to write down all of the new things I am learning so that I can look back and see how much I have grown as a teacher. If any of my former students read my blog, I want you to know one thing: new experiences are scary because you are out of your comfort zone; however, they are so worth the butterflies in your stomach. It has been a challenging week because......well.....I miss having a classroom......I miss singing "My Country Tis of Thee." I miss the hugs each morning. I miss reading stories to my boys and girls. I miss telling my students they are the smartest kids in the world. However, even though I am doing a great deal of missing, I am also gaining a great deal, too. I love hearing Mrs. Massey read stories. Mr. Lemons has been a big help to me setting up my computer to talk to other coaches. Ms. Marshall has helped me with questions about interventions. Mr. Hayes and Mr. Harris have answered lots of my questions about my new job. Mrs. Frances makes sure I have a snack each day. I even got to each lunch with Coach Neal one day. My new neighbors have welcomed me with open arms. I get to go into classrooms and learn, learn, learn from every teacher at Gilbert. I also get to be apart of each grade level every Thursday during Huddles. You could say I am one very blessed teacher. I will end this week's post on this note. When I became academic coach, one of my sons said, "Well mom, I guess you are not a teacher anymore." The comment caught me off guard and made me quite sad. After I thought about it a minute, I replied, "No son, a teacher is someone I will forever and always be."

Looking Back & Getting Started

I hope everyone had a fabulous summer. I know I did. It was incredible. I went on a mission trip to Honduras with some friends from my church. I had a wonderful time and made many new friends. The picture on my blog page is of myself and my new friend Shirley. She teaches 3rd grade, too. I was able to go into three schools on my trip. One of the highlights of the trip was when I met the little girl my family adopted. I will try to post a picture of precious Estephany. I hope that I can go back next summer. I would love to take my whole family. We have had a pretty productive summer. I tried to get Coach to do a few projects around the Neal house, and I managed to take Jake, Josh, and Jonah swimming at the F.O. Pool this summer. We are going on vacation during fall break......Nickelodeon Resort here we come! My whole family is looking forward to being slimed! The worst thing that happened this summer was when Jonah and I were attacked by a dog (that we know)! I am telling you that everything is a story around our house! The good news is that Jonah and I are okay. I also got the opportunity to start a new job as the academic coach at the best school in the whole wide world. I will definitely miss Mrs. Caissie. She has taught me so much during these last four years. I am so excited to get to work with each grade level. This might sound a little corny, but I feel that a little bit of me will get to be apart of everyone's grade level! If there is anything that I can do for you, please let me know. Please come by and visit me soon. I hope you have a great start to a wonderful year.