A Day In My Shoes

I am linking up with Miss Klohn at The Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher to share my day in second grade. It's been so fun reading about everyone else's days as superheroes teachers. So here's my day... 

5:00 My alarm goes off and I get up right away. I am not a snoozer. Most days I actually wake up before my alarm goes off. Then I get ready. My dogs are so nice and keep me company while I get ready and listen to the news. 

5:30 Feed the dogs and myself breakfast. I have the same thing every morning- Red Berry Special K. The dogs get kibble every morning. Yum!


5:45 Take the dogs out for a walk.


6:15 Leave my house. It takes me about 20 minutes to get to school and there's never traffic. I always talk to my mom on my way to school. And I usually get to see a really pretty sunrise! 

6:40 Arrive at school. I'm usually the first one there, so there's no one to talk to or side track me (yet.) I am always frantically running around making sure everything is ready for the day. I also run around putting together and prepping any new ideas I had in the middle of the night...does anyone else randomly wake up in the middle of the night with awesome teaching ideas....???  


7:00 Down to the lounge to sharpen pencils and make copies. Also say good morning to the janitor and office staff and anyone else.  


7:30 Back to D8 to welcome the kiddies. School doesn't officially start until 7:45, but there are almost always kids in my room by 7:30. Since we have a very regimented schedule with NO wiggle room, I usually take this time to just talk to the kids and say good morning.  


7:45 Power Writing (love this!!!) 


8:00 Writing block. Our school follows a writing program called Learning Headquarters. Our writing block includes demonstration/shared writing, then individual writing, and guided writing groups. If the kids finish their writing "Must Dos", they can move on to their writing "May Dos." 


8:45 Universal Access. Kids are moving in and out of our second grade classrooms according to their reading level. This is the first year we've done UA and I LOVE it!!!! This time includes literacy work stations, guided reading groups, and our Houghtin Mifflin curriculum from, like, I dunno, 1995. Seriously. We also use our iPod Touches during our UA rotations for fluency and comprehension. 


10:15 Recess time. I run around and prep everything for math. Occasionally I am lucky enough to use the restroom. Most days, not. Then I regret it for the next hour and a half. I'm sure you've been in that boat, right?  


10:30 Math Racers, everyday


10:40 Math block. My math block includes math work stations. The kids move through three, 20 minute stations while I meet with groups. Again, this is the first time I've done groups during math time like this, and I love it because I get to meet with each kiddo every day based on their needs. 


11:50 Lunch. This is when I usually shove Gatorade and M&Ms or anything else I can find in my mouth and run back to my room to grade/prep/clean up/check emails/etc. There are also usually kids in my room with me doing random things. Sometimes on the computers or iPods, sometimes reading, sometimes finishing work, sometimes dancing.... I figure we don't really have time in our curriculum anymore for art or music or dance, so why not let them dance around at lunch time...? 


12:30 Planner time and homework check. Every grade level at our school has planners- these are given to the kids at the beginning of the year. We write our assignments and important reminders in them everyday! This has been a great tool in teaching the kids organizational skills. It's also a great communication tool between teachers and parents.  


12:45 Depending on what day it is, we are doing science, social studies, or P.E. rotations. I am in charge of teaching the 2nd grade science rotation.  


1:45 Clean up and our end of the day circle meeting (if there's time). It's mostly just me running around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure everyone has their homework, floors are clean, jackets are accounted for, and desks are organized. We play Secret Trash everyday. Does anyone else play this...? I LOVE it!!! On the days we have time for our end of the day circle, we sit in a circle and pass a special ball around. Whoever is holding the ball gets to say one thing they learned today and one thing they are excited for tomorrow at school. This is always my favorite part of the day.  


2:05 Kiddos are dismissed. If it's Tuesday or Thursday, our struggling students stay for an extra hour for tutoring. I teach one of the after school 2nd grade classes until 3:00. Every other week, I have duty :-/ at the back gate. It is universal? Does everyone dislike duty???? I really want this shirt I found on Pinterest :)

3:00-4:30 Clean up our classroom and do my best to prep everything for tomorrow. It never ALL gets done though. Does anyone else have this problem..??? This is also prime time for wandering around the school talking to teacher buddies and sharing stories and ideas from the day. I absolutely adore the people I work with- they are amazing!


4:30 Head home to drive through Taco Bell make dinner, do chores, play with the puppies, and blog stalk. Next week I will be heading back to school for my last semester in my Masters program. Not so excited about this :(, but I'll be super excited to finish in May! 


9:00 Night night!!! 


Thanks for reading about my day! 


Also, don't forget to sign up for Ms. Preppy's Valentine's Day exchange! It sounds like so much fun! You have until the 22nd to sing up!





Enjoy your well-deserved day off tomorrow!