Oh boy what a day I had today! I cried 2x…yes twice over a VERY DIFFICULT parent! I love my job, I love my job, I love my job. That is what I keep telling myself every day. And when I wake up in the morning I say a little prayer that this tyrant mother will leave me alone for the day & I also remind myself that each & every one of my students are in my class for a reason & I am going to make a positive difference in their lives & that is all that matters. I don’t do well with criticism & bullying & I just need to have a thicker skin & let it roll off & continue what I do best & that is….TEACHING! I know I am not alone in this…am I? Do any of you have this problem this year??? I am so grateful for my job & especially grateful that I have been gifted with a wonderful student teacher. She is a natural & has been a God send to me & my students.
Now onto my original blog post…just had to vent a lot little. You may have seen this idea floating around crack Pinterest. I am truly obsessed, I almost had to ice down my wrist the other day because I was pinning like a psycho pinner! My wrist was sore…how pathetic is that!?! Do you follow me btw? If not, click here & join in on my obsession! Ok, Houston, Mel D has a problem..I just visited my 62 boards & I have over 4,200 pins…Ok I need a pintervention! Speaking of an intervention……You know you need a pintervention when….
1. You pin on the toilet
2. You pin & get a charlie horse in your wrist
3. You pin while you’re supposed to be listening to your husband
4. You pin in bed while under the covers so you don’t wake up your husband with the light on your iphone.
5. You’re blogging with one hand & pinning on your phone with the other.
Yes, all apply to me…I need help!
Seriously, now onto Daily 5 writing…..
Here is a heart map that I created….feel free to “pin” & download for FREE!
And here are some pictures of what I did with it to use during Daily 5…….
This is one of my future Illustrators filling up her heart map with all the things she is interested in…all her favorite things.
Now a few close ups….
I should have done my own first & I will next year but I did a mini lesson on what I would put on my heart. I told them I should be able to look at their heart map & be able to tell everything I want to know about them & what they are interested in.
Another great heart map! You can use these perfect example to show your students what you are looking for. I used some from Pinterest but they weren’t as good as these :o) My student’s tuck their heart maps into their monthly writing journals & now they have a ton of prompts they can use….ownership friends…it’s all about giving them ownership.
Now on to promote my oh so cute Halloween addition & subtraction center games that I created.
All you need is one dice (die?) & I used some some spiders & bats I had for the game pieces. Print on cardstock, laminate, cut & TA-DA! I just gave my kids a fun learning game instead of boring old flashcards. I am planning on creating addition & subtraction games for every season with sight word center games as well. With the response I got from my kiddos, it’s well worth my time & will be used for years to come! Who says they can’t learn & have fun at the same time! Let me know other centers you would be interested in!
Check out my Halloween subtraction center game at TPT OR TEACHER’S NOTEBOOK!
Ok, now back to some pinning & blog stalking! Show me some comment love my bloggy friends!
Hang in there Mel!!! You have the biggest heart I know and if anyone can make a difference, you can!!!
I just came across this post and you are definitely not the only one. I am having a tough year for a variety of reasons and am trying to remember the mantra of "I love to teach." I always say, be like a duck and let it run off your back, but I know how hard that is. It is difficult not to take a job that you love so much personally when times are tough. Keep on plugging away and focus on your little ones – I'll be doing the same.
Best wishes!
Christine
hoppingintofirstgrade.blogspot.com
Girl, I know tough parents can be so frustrating. Hang in there, you're a great teacher and like you said, you're there for those kids for a reason!
Thanks for the super great pin, the heart map, for daily 5. I'm always looking for meaningful activities and this is perfect for all readers and writers, they can do what they can! I'm a fellow Pinterest addict – sksturzen. See you around the pin boards!
Also, thanks for such a great blog, I enjoy reading it and getting great new ideas for my first grade kiddos!
Hi Mel! I just joined your blog, I am not a teacher but I have 3 little girls and you have fantastic ideas! I love browsing your blog!
xo
Try not to let the turkeys get you down! Maybe you could have your principal or assistant principal sit in on a discussion w/that difficult parent. Sometimes we all need a little support! It's times like these that I pull out my "Happy File" full of sweet notes from students and kind words from parents and remind myself of the good times. :0)
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