My life is changing big time in two weeks.

I am marrying sweet Alex.

I am moving to Oxford.


I am beginning my new job as a FIRST GRADE TEACHER!

And with all of those big changes, for some CRAZY reason, I decided to try blogging again. :)
No, it's not crazy. It's an outlet... an outlet I will need this year. Plus, I want to be a little more tech-savy! It's ridiculous for a 25 year old teacher to NOT blog. There's so many wonderful resources out there I could be utilizing... not to mention, I should be sharing some of my own ideas!

My goal this year as a first grade teacher is to implement technology big time into my classroom. I was thrilled when I found out my classroom comes with a smart board & six iPads. My goal is also to dig deep into Common Core and find ways to make it engaging and fun for six and seven-year-olds.
I have a sneaking suspicion I won't return to Kindergarten after this year. I loved all three years of teaching K but going back each August to "babies" is tough. I love the "know-how" first graders begin the year with and how far they progress in one year.
I also have to figure out a way to **simplify** my classroom. I have accumulated a lot of STUFF in three years, and I don't want to overcrowd my classroom yet again. I want to stream-line and keep it clean this year. I want my students' focus on learning and not on all of the wild colors and posters all over the walls.
At my last school, we had an amazing second grade teacher... who was also the only male teacher in our school! He literally had 3 posters in his classroom, and his students grew in knowledge, maturity, and their test scores more than any other classroom at our school. Now, being me... I'll have more than 3 posters, but I like his mindset. "I am here to teach you. I will do what I can to reach you. The focus here is YOU... not on STUFF."

So... let's do this thing!