New Discoveries...

I am a teacher blog addict. I miss teaching so much and just can't imagine never going back to it. Crazy that I would even think of going back since my greatest desire was to quit 3 years ago! eek! Teaching has changed so much just within the past 3 years! There are so many new creative ideas rolling around out there and so many ways for teachers to share ideas. When I was teaching, it was just a natural part of my daily routine to seek out advice and share ideas with other teachers. Some ideas failed and others helped spark new ideas. I loved being a part of such a tight knit group of teachers at the school I taught at and I loved working within a "team" setting. I can't help but approach parenting with a little bit of a teacher mentality. Some of you know exactly what I mean and probably think it's completely normal while others think I'm crazy. ;o) Ha! There are several teachers (mostly k-2) who have started blogs and share with the world what they are doing in their class. Some of the lessons are wonderful and some of them aren't, but that is the great thing about teaching....trial and error. ;o) Last week, I came across a blog called Teachers Pay Teachers and all I have to say about it is....where was this website when I was teaching? As I was looking through some of the lessons, ideas, curriculum, etc. I came across a blog that just made me want to jump back into teaching next week! It reminded me so much of the lessons and things we used to do in our first grade classrooms....it made me miss the "teaching" aspect of teaching. The teacher of this blog uses a lot of techniques from a book called Reading with Meaning. She also uses a lot of ideas from a book by Debbie Diller called "Literacy Work Stations." Debbie just came out with a new book called Math Work Stations which I haven't read yet, but it looks awesome! Check out this blog ;o) Mrs. Jump's Class Don't you just love it! ;o) I'm a dork, I know! ;-p
Some other things I have discovered in this past week...
pinterest don't know yet if I will be joining this...not sure I can keep up with another thing
Teachers Pay Teachers
iBooks and a ton of iPad Apps: My favorite for Presley is the Elmo's ABC app. AWESOME! It kept Presley and Reid busy for hours in Colorado one night when Sara and Brian were out on a date...and there was no fighting between the kids!! Imagine that!
Teaching Blog Addict
Head Sprout (thanks Sara!)
Jones Design Company