School Year Happenings

     Being it was my first year teaching, I did not have a moment to breathe for myself! It is only now, during these already relaxing weeks of summer that I have been able to do things FOR ME! However, even with all this {ME} time, only two weeks into my summer break my mind is back on teaching, my classroom, the kids, and mental preparations for all the fun stuff ahead of us. And so it is with teaching forward on my mind, and lots of extra free time, that this blog has come into existence.
     This past year I had a wonderful group of students for my first year. We do SO many fun activities and I built such an amazing bond with all of them. It truly was a most memorably year. I feel that, although I know it is summer, bear with me, I must share some of the learning adventures that took place in my classroom this year...
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Autumn is such a fun time to be in a classroom. There are so many fun fall activities, donuts and cider always hit the spot at school functions, and the chilliness of the weather makes everything about the classroom so much cozier. Plus, the year has begun and there are just so many possibilities ... everyone is happy!

In 5th grade Social Studies is American History and so we began our year with the Native Americans and then to the Age of Exploration (sadly, the photos from these units were lost). From there we scouted out Jamestown with John Smith and landed with the Pilgrims at Plymouth just in time for Thanksgiving.

(I have a back table that changes with our Social Studies unit theme)

Here is a view of my classroom early in the year. My classroom theme was {PIRATES} which is evident in some of the decoration around the room (flags/palm tree/signs). It was not quite as "flashy" as I had intended ... currently working the mental gears for next years theme ...