Hall Passes and Aprons

All students in the AfterSchool Program have to have a hall pass to get a drink or to use the rest room. It doesn't matter where you are or what age of kids you have. Most schools require hall passes. Well my supervisor bought us all hall passes at the dollar store. They were defiantly worth only a dollar. By the third week of program, mine was no longer laminated, the whole had been ripped through, (three times) and it had been ripped in half. Granted everyone elses was looking better than mine but not by much. I was done with it. So this weekend I made new hall passes for all eight teachers. They are just two pieces of felt sewn together with a piece of ribbon between the two pieces. I then took a sharpee and wrote on them. They work much better. Here. Have a picture.

Now, I was also tired of carrying everything around in my pockets or in my cart. I hate when I need something and I have to go all the way to my cart to get it. So I made this.

Yup. I made that. And yes it is an apron. I love it. And so does my supervisor and my co-workers.
I used this tutorial/pattern with only one small change. I didn't use the interfacing and it seems to be working just fine.

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand.

Miss Hadleigh

Why I do what I do

Some people have asked how I can manage to go to work and pretty much babysit kids all afternoon. Others ask why I decided to go into teaching. Well, here it goes. I am finally going to try and put it into words. Words on paper.

I love kids. I love playing with them and helping them have fun. Most days I have a lot of patience. This made me a good candidate for the job I have now. It also was good because I plan on being a teacher. That is what I am going to school for. Now why did I pick that? I didn't want to be like my mom. Or my sister. Or any of my friends. Every other career choice I made, no matter how short it was for, was because my mom, sister, or friend wanted to do it. One day I finally decided not to be like everyone else. I realized my love for children and teaching while I was working on my senior project at a preschool. That was when I knew. When I knew I wanted to teach. And wanted to teach little kids. Like really little. I decided then to open a preschool. I originally started my degree in music education but learned I was tone deaf, so I switched to elementary education.

This brings me to my job. I love my job. If I can I will stay at this job until I get my degree. May or may not happen. Why do I love it so much? Well for starters I love my students. They are some of the sweetest kindest and most polite kids I have ever met. I love watching them learn. I love teaching them new things. I love seeing when something finally clicks for them, or when they think something is cool. I love when they look up at me and say "OH!!! I get it!!" That is the best feeling ever. When something finally makes sense.

I do what I do because I love it. I love watching them learn and play. I love helping them learn and have fun. That is why I do this, and why I always want to do it.

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand/

Miss Hadleigh

My Weekly Plan

Every week is exactly the same. We do the same activities every week. I think this set up would be good for home-pre-school, so I thought I would share.

My day starts with an hour of homework. Every day.

Then we have a snack and recess.

Followed by twenty minutes on the computer. The students are only allowed on educational sites. Such as pbskids.org, coolmath.com, starfall.com or hoodamath.com. Starfall is great for younger kids.

Then we have twenty minutes of PE. This is different from recess because it is organized and they have to play the game we are playing.

The last thing we do each day is "rotation." This activity changes depending on the day of the week.
Monday: Prevention. This is typically a lesson on a social  or life skill such as bullying, or being healthy. After Christmas we start with anti-drug with older children.
Tuesday: Science. This could be any kind of science experiment, lesson or activity. Currently I have done sound, volcanoes, and airplanes.
Wednesday/Thursday: Arts and Crafts. This typically goes with our theme for the week. ie This past week was Hispanic week, so we made pinatas and colored sugar skulls that they then put glitter on. Sometime we just color.
 Friday: Creative writing/Math: I switch weeks with my co teacher. Sometimes we just hand out math work sheets and other times we play a math game. Or we may give them a writing prompt and have them write.

Fridays are longer than the rest of the week for after-school program.  So we also have "sports" which I just let them have an extra long recess and every other week we have yoga. A yoga teacher comes in and teaches kid friendly yoga to the class. If we don't have yoga we have computers. Also on Friday we have "club." This doesn't go over well with my students. I make them play a game with me and then they have free time.

That is how my week goes.I don't plan or teach all the lessons because I have a team teacher.

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand.

Miss Hadleigh

About Me!

My name is Hadleigh. I am an After School program teacher. I teach second and third graders this year. I love my job. I am an elementary education major and have about three years until I get my degree.

I love to read. I'm usually reading two or tree books at a time, and depending on the book I can read a a book a week. I also LOVE music. Whether its playing or reading I really can't get enough of it. I play the viola and the upright string bass, as well as the baritone and the tuba. I spend a lot of time at school and work.

I decided to start this blog partially for me and for other people to see what I have done and so they can use my ideas. I did it for me so I have a place to put all of my ideas and lesson plans that doesn't have to stay at work.

Enjoy!!

Miss Hadleigh