Ms. M's Tales of a Teacher: My Personal Teacher Blog

 It's that time of year friends! This year I'll be moving back to first grade so that means new students, new standards, new curriculum, lessons, and... a new classroom. This is my third move in my current school that I've had to make, and being a seasoned teacher I must admit... this is tough! It's true that we get comfortable in our spaces and the daily flow of the classroom we are in. I equate this to people who move around a lot, or even our students. The adjustment can be tough, and for me this is the most difficult one I've had so far.  Getting adjusted to a new landscape of a classroom always throws me off at first. I think I even walked into the closet door the other day because in my old room, that's not where the closet was! When. you're not changing rooms it's easier because you can always leave some things where they are, but this year I'm unpacking everything from my Home Depot bins, and frankly, I don't recall where anything is! Th

 It's with great pleasure I can finally share with everyone some exciting news... It is an honor to announce that I will be serving as the 2022-2023 Middlesex County Teacher of the Year. This past year has been a whirlwind as I navigated through the application process. At the start of the process, I wasn't sure what to expect. Now I have a clear picture, and although the process required a lot of moving parts (essays, resumes, videos, etc.,)  it was well worth the effort.  I decided to share this news not just to explain the process or make the announcement, but to share my message. As I've shared, the three loves of my teaching life are special education, literacy, and teacher leadership. Literacy is the cornerstone of equity, and working with pre-service and early educators to learn best practices has been a highlight of my career. I feel that all three are truly intertwined, and teaching is not just a job, but a life's calling to a noble profession in sharing a love

 In the summertime one of the things I enjoy doing is meeting up with colleagues. This could be a lunch date, phone call, FaceTime/Zoom, or even go back to school shopping together. The past few years I've selected summer reading books to read with colleagues or teacher friends, and we had informal book clubs (and we've also done this throughout the year too!)   Summer also provides time to attended professional development (or in my case sometimes, presenting at PD.) In my opinion, the best part of any workshop is the people with whom you share the time with. Last week I attended a two-day workshop summit that was just the ticket I needed to feel re-energized and ready to start the new school year. Although I would've enjoyed taking this workshop in any style or format because I enjoy learning about the topic, I realized the time spent with my grade level team talking about writing workshop, sharing ideas, and creating curriculum was the highlight of the day.  I admit that

 As we enter into early August, there's no time like the present to begin thinking about the upcoming school year. If you're starting your first year of teaching or you're changing schools, grade levels, and/or subjects, you might be wondering "Where do I start?" I've been there, and in fact I'm changing grade levels again for this new school year also. As many times as I've done this I still ask myself the same question every time. Then of course, I revert back to the starting line... vision. Although there is no right or wrong way to begin planning your new year, (even if you do not have a change) I personally feel we all have to have an overall vision of what we want it to look like, and for me, this starts with my classroom itself. It is after all where we we live for most of the day, and we should be happy with it. Changing classrooms, schools, or grades is an opportunity for a clean slate (and again even if you're not moving, don't hesita