What's it like in First Grade?

So... I decided that I had to share what my classroom looks like. I took some pictures so that I could take you on a tour of my classroom. I hope you enjoying seeing into my first grade world where I spend many hours these days!


Welcome to Ms. Petersen's Classroom (soon-to-be Mrs. Juola)


Here's looking at the front of the classroom. I have a huge whiteboard!


And as you turn to the right, here is what you see: ELD Focus Wall


And a Math Wall.


A place for student's writing.


This is my favorite part of the day: Language Arts!

Then, if you were to look at the front of the room and turn to the left, this is what you would see:


Unfortunely, you cannot see the pictures the students drew to map out Setting, Characters, and Beginning, Middle, End of the Story. But just know they are pretty cute! And I forgot to take a picture of our vocabulary with GLAD... oh well.

Then for the back of the room: DATA WALL!


This is exciting! The students love seeing their clothes pins move up the Rocket as they master their math fluency. And the clouds show how many high frequency words they know.

And notice the colorful detail flowers which tier up vocabulary into Kinder words, First Grade words, High School Words, and Scholar words. They are so proud of themselves when they can use a "scholar" word in their writing. For examples, "One scorching day..."

Finally, I have some thinking maps hanging around the room. Our district loves thinking maps and I do too!



And oh yes, cannot forget the GATE icons... icons which promote higher level thinking.

Notice the lips. Lips is the icon for Language of Discipline.

And don't worry, I do have a science wall, too. Can't forget science!


Lots of components to make up a classroom! This is my little world of teaching.

Days of {Rest}

I am thankful for days of rest. I am thankful for 2 days off of school to give me a four day weekend! I got to sleep in until 7 this morning and choose when I wanted to wake up. And yes, I will be enjoying a leisurely nap this afternoon. So far, I have been very productive this morning! I have graded tests and finished most of my lesson planning for the next two weeks. And had a nice chat with Brian on the phone. I love being able to have the chance to talk to him in the morning when that is my favorite time of the day! He is the bright spot in my day. And I got to talk with my family who also has the day off. Gotta love the school system with the wonderful holidays and breaks.

...Sunday mornings...

Once again, the weekend is here and I find sometime to post on my blog. I love being able to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate or some good music and just write. Writing is quite enjoyable when it is for my own personal desire and not a crazy 20 page paper. Interestingly enough, it is very soothing. Only thing that would make my day better is if I had a pumpkin spice steamer or Chi tea... I have been craving those two lately.

Yesterday, I was feeling very overwhelmed and distraught over all that I had to accomplish this weekend. Brian and I went on a walk and my mind could not stay focused on our conversation. My brain would jump from one thing to the next and my anxiety would increase. So what did Brian and I do? We decided to spend a half hour working and then we put everything away and went hot tubing. We needed to relax and worry later. We ended up having a very pleasant evening before I had to head home. Then, I woke up this morning, rejuvenated and ready to tackle the world! Or at least my weekly lesson plans, ELD monitoring tools, and sub plans. Success! My weekly lesson plans are completed, the sub plans are ready for final tweaking, and my ELD monitoring tools are on their way. Could Sunday morning be any better? Yes, because now I will get to go to church and praise God for the joy of work without anxiety! And... there will definitely be a nap in store for me.

Best thing about this week: Veteran's Day which equals no school Thursday and Friday!! And a four day weekend to share with friends and Brian. So maybe I will get around to posting on Thursday or Friday.

Oh, and if you need a good song... try "Happy" by Never Shout Never. I found it on Pandora one morning while I was working at school. Part of my routine is to get to school around 6:45-7:00am, put on Pandora and get everything ready for the day. Love it!

Enjoy your week! I know I will.