We Work For Food

We walked into OCA with the smell of frying bacon, sausage and fresh hot biscuits. We knew this was going to be a great and delicious day! We were greeted by the amazing principal and staff. We instantly felt at home. The nerves were swept away by the yummy breakfast.

Then it was time to get our presentation going. We were on a roll (no pun intended). As the presentation was going on, we were being filmed for Coach B. Since we are rookies, we have to watch our presentation and discuss our areas of improvement and strengths. Well.....let's say some areas of improvement are chunking more and.......let's also say the video DOES add 10lbs...right?
Speaking of those extra pounds, the awesome OCA staff made us a home-cooked lunch. Therefore we DO work for food!!!

All in all, we had a BLAST and can't wait to do more presentations! We are on our way up the Super Improver Wall, improving in ALL areas.

Oh, my Sweet Wonderful Class!

August 19, 2015, 22 first graders walked into my classroom. Some were shy. Some were bouncing of the walls. Some were scared and some were eager to see what first grade was all about. We sat down at the carpet, introduced ourselves and began our Whole Brain Teaching year. Immediately I could tell who would strive to become a Living Legend on the Super Improver Wall and who would benefit from the amazing ways of WBT. I was ecstatic that this would be THE YEAR to become certified. The months went on with learning. The Power Pix Wall began to fill. The Brainies Wall began to become a huge part of our oral writing. We practiced and practiced with Teach-Okay. Did many 5 -Step Lessons but all the while having a blast! My smarties were becoming experts at WBT. Then came THE VIDEO. We were determined for our video to become exemplary and it was. THEY worked hard. It's all because of their grit. Not once did they whine when I told them, "one more time."

Now tomorrow is the last day of school. There will be MANY tears as these smarties head onto second grade. I know they will take all their WBT strategies with them and will succeed. However, I want them to know that although I am supposed to be making a difference in their lives, they forever changed mine. I love you my sweet, oh so sweet wonderful class, forever and always.

Forever a Legend

It's been a fast year but a great learning one for my smartie, Jarin! (I have permission from his mom to post about him). Jarin came to me in August, eager to learn but there were challenging days. As I got to know him, I knew he needed to have something to work towards. That's where the Super Improver Wall helped tremendously.This is one my favorite aspects of WBT. It gives each student something to work towards and encourages them to improve.

I gave Jarin one behavior goal to work on a week. I explained to him that if he improved on his behavior goal, he'd earn a star. For every 10 stars each student earns, they move up a level on the SIW. There are 10 levels with  Living Legend being the highest. He was determined to be a Legend in my class. After a while he started to earn stars for an academic goal. For example, every text level he went up, he'd get a star. It amazed me how hard he tried to improve...just for a star! I could see a change in Jarin. He grew in confidence and his behavior began to improve. I'm so proud to say that Jarin did it! He achieved his goal by being a Legend! He will forever be a  Living Legend in my classroom and when my next group of smarties enter the classroom, there his picture will be hanging on the wall. Jarin- Forever a Legend