Am I ACTUALLY excited to teach math?!

I have been so lucky to experience two very different but equally effective Math Professional Developments in the past couple of weeks. As some of you know, math has always been the area that I lack a bit of confidence in. As a history major with a Canadian Students background, I took my one math class so that I could check that requirement off; it was relatively painless! I've always had a bit of anxiety when browsing through with Alberta program of studies (which I've been doing a LOT in the past few weeks!) but in the last few weeks, I've gained some really great knowledge, valuable resources and strong guidance and for the first time in my life, I'm actually excited to teach math!
Last Tuesday, a fellow classmate and I attended a Power of Ten Workshop, run by the inspirational and BRILLIANT founder, Trevor Calkins. The workshop was a K-3 overview of how to implement the power of ten theories in the classroom, through building foundations and solidifying the concepts with games and activities. My friend and I were mind-blown, to say the least. After 4 months of learning about the math curriculum in University last term, I thought I had a decent grasp on how to translate the curriculum into workable classroom activities that the kids could relate to. This workshop made me re-think everything I've learned thus far. It's amazing how simple teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, the foundation of all future math endeavors, can be! I don't want to give too much away, because I think this workshop is valuable to all of you teachers out there; old and new! Check out Trevor's philosophy and upcoming workshops here: http://www.poweroften.ca/
I also had the privilege to attend an all day workshop on Mathletics by Rene Burke. Mathletics is a really interactive math program that my new school is implementing this year. It's all about keeping kids engaged, practicing both skills/concepts and curriculum objectives. There are so many great options for students; they can play live math games with other kids (of the same ability!) around the world, they can work through the curriculum (or whatever the teacher sets, which would obviously correspond to what he or she is teaching in the classroom) and the best part, they can log in at school AND from home! Kids earn rewards for participation and mastery, which is a great way to get them excited to play and, therefore, practice valuable math skills! I look so forward to using this program school wide this year - it'll be really cool to see how each grade utilizes its many facets! There isn't much you can do on the site without paying for membership (prices vary depending on how you purchase - board or district wide, school wide, individual classrooms or individual students). Regardless, you can check out the program here: http://www.mathletics.ca/
I've been so caught up in my newly discovered excitement for math that I forgot to talk about my FIRST DAY AT MY NEW SCHOOL! It was phenomenal :) Maybe it's something that is unique to teachers; when I walked in the classroom for the first time this morning, I got this warm, mushy feeling and knew automatically that this is the perfect place for me! I always saw myself as a division two teacher who would thrive in 4-5-6. But after today, I'm realizing that perhaps, my calling is the younger children! The kids don't start class until Tuesday, September 6, so it's been great getting to know the staff outside of the classroom, get more familiar with the school, and begin planning, planning and more planning! I'm going to be doing a lot of team teaching with my partner teacher, which will be an amazing experience! I know it'll be very different from last year, when I taught grade 4 in a large school board, with three other teachers and 90 children! But it will be a great year! It's very nice working in a smaller town, for a closer knit school board and I cannot wait to keep you all updated on my progress as a new grade 1 teacher :) 
My next blog is going to be all about the first day of school plans, so if you happen to be reading this, please leave a comment - let me know what your plans are for first day activities!

Imagination is everything...

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions"
- Albert Einstein


When I first created my personal iGoogle homepage, I placed the "inspirational quote" gadget front and centre. I figured a few words of encouragement every time I logged on couldn't hurt. Although I can usually relate to most of the messages of inspiration posted each day, this Albert Einstein quote really struck me this morning. As I spent the day at my summer job, mindlessly filing papers all day long, I began thinking about how I can go about fostering rich and imaginative learning in my classroom this upcoming school year.


I truly think that this is the most excited I've been as a student teacher so far! The prospect of investing so much time and energy into planning the year is SO EXCITING! I have already begun compiling my resources, using all the ideas I've gathered from my classmates and partner teachers over the past year to create my own special learning environment. I have SO MANY IDEAS that it is somewhat overwhelming. I saw so many amazing lessons and have so many great resources from last year that I feel like I want to do them ALL this year! (Obviously an impossible endeavour, I know!) I can't wait to take a few days to sit down and map out exactly what I want to do this year and what I want my students to learn and experience. I also can't wait to finally meet my students so that I can really get a grasp on what they need from me as a grade one teacher this year (18 days until the first day of school - not that I'm counting :) ) 


Next Tuesday, I'm attending a Power of Ten workshop. For those of you who are familiar with Trevor Calkins' Power of Ten method, you know how amazing it is and this is nothing new to you! My new partner teacher recently introduced me to this way of teaching numeracy and other mathematic skills and a few of my colleagues and I immediately signed up for one of these great workshops! I can't wait to let you all know what I learn... I'm sure it will be quite eye opening. Any chance I find to gain some direction in teaching math is more than welcome! As you wait for what I'm sure will be a lengthy review, check out the webpage at: http://www.poweroften.ca/


Hope all you teachers enjoy your last few weeks of summer before kicking into back-to-school mode!! :) 

My first-ever BLOG!

As I begin my LAST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY (I may be more than a little excited about this!), I've decided that maybe now is a good time to start documenting all these so-called "lessons" that I've been exposed to and lived through. I can't even begin to explain all of the things I learned in my first year as a student teacher in grade 4. I'm so grateful for the formal education journals that we all had to keep as part of our University curriculum. (Although, God knows I'd never forget what to do when a child pulls the fire alarm on a field trip at a provincial park, or when a nervous child throws up during your classes turn to sing at the school's Christmas assembly!) But documenting these observations and how they will help me become a better teacher is really NOT the point of this blog. This blog is not for my partner teachers or my professors - it's really not even for my university classmates for that matter (although I'd love a few comments from some familiar faces, of course!) In all reality, this blog is for all of us out there who are going through the stress of being a new teacher in the ever-changing realm of elementary education in Canada. It's going to be my place to laugh, cry, vent and freak out over the inevitable stress that will ensue as I enter a grade one classroom for my last practicum! In just over a week, the professional developments begin and we start getting back into the school frame of mind and I must say, I CANNOT WAIT! Although I will once again have to adjust my lifestyle and adapt to weeks full of planning, grading, organizing and more planning, it's going to be an amazing year! 


The back-to-school commercials are beginning and the excitement is building. Can't wait to share it all with you bloggers :)