Meet the Teacher!

I decided to join the Teacher Week linky party from Blog Hoppin'! Day 1 is meet the teacher so I thought I'd share a little about myself. Hope you enjoy!

Tell us a little something about you...

I'm Kim, a 25-year old 1st grade teacher from Austin. I work at a charter school and LOVE IT! I am about to start (IN ONE WEEK!) a masters program at the University of Texas (Hook 'em!) in curriculum and instruction with a focus on language and literacy. I went to undergrad at Southwestern University in Georgetown,TX. (I went from the smallest school of all time to the biggest!)

I'm originally from Ponca City, Oklahoma but I have also lived in Houston/Katy,TX and Lake Charles,LA. My parents are currently living the sweet retired life in Katy. :) My (not so much anymore) little brother goes to college at Oklahoma State where he is rocking it as a senior chemical engineer major (following in the footsteps of our dad).

My family :)

Me and my two best friends

How long have you been teaching?

This is my fourth year teaching. My first year I taught a multi-age kindergarten/1st grade class. My second year I taught 1st grade and last year I taught kindergarten. This year I am back to 1st grade and with my same students from my third year. I love having my students for two years. It's incredible to see them grow so much and it saves so much time at the beginning of the year.

You might not know...

I have wanted to be a teacher since I was 4. My grandmother was a teacher for over thirty years and she was my major inspiration for wanting to become an educator. She passed away in 2010, but I was so thankful she lived long enough to see me become a teacher.

Granny and her grandkids

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

All the growth my kids are going to make! I already see it and we have only been in school a month. 1st grade is a HUGE reading year and I know we have a long way to go, but my kids are such hard workers I know they will get there!

I'm also looking forward to working with my team (as always). This is our third year to work together and I am continually BLOWN AWAY with their awesomeness. Not only are they amazing teachers, but they are amazing friends! I love to hang out with them during and out of school. :)

What do you need to improve?

My main focus this year is on language arts (reading/writing). I wanted my focus in grad school to be in literacy mainly because I feel like its the area I need the most improvement in. I love teaching math and science. They are fun and easy to plan for. I also love reading and writing but I struggle with planning for all my kids individual needs. I started using the Daily 5 in my classroom and it has been fantastic! :) I can already see growth in my kids in their ability to read to themselves, work on their writing independently and read with each other. It's exciting to see them grow as readers and writers.

What teaching supplies can you not live without?

My computer. :) I love making spreadsheets, looking at teacher blogs and publishing my kids' work. My computer can do so many wonderful things!

My doc cam...it has made my life SO much easier. My kids are so much more focused when they have my example displayed where they can easily see it.

Sharpies and labels and binders and post-its....I love school supplies, especially ones that help you organize!

My plan book...I have started typing my plans on the computer, but I still use my plan book faithfully because I just don't feel prepared without it. HOWEVER there are always those weeks when my plan book is empty on Monday morning. ;-)

BOOKS! I have hundreds and hundreds of childrens' books and I don't plan on stopping the collection any time soon. I love to read and I want my students to love it just as much as me! I want them to be surrounded by books so I have been collecting books since I started college. Many of them are very worn-out and falling apart, but that just means they are being loved. :)