Tell us a little something about you
I'm Kim, and I teach Kindergarten. I've been married for 19 years, and we have 3 fabulous boys, ages 14, 10 and 9. We love us our football in our house. Two of the 3 boys play, and we are loud and proud Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans (well, the boys and I are. My husband watches the games at the neighbour's house, because we are too loud!)
How long have you been teaching?
How long have you been teaching?
I've been teaching since 1993 (does that sound better than saying I've been teaching for 18 years?!?!) Actually, even though I had my B.Ed., I spent the first four years working as an EA. After I took a few months off to have our oldest son, I had the opportunity to teach half time, first in grade one, and later in Kindergarten. We are a mainly rural school, so our Kindergarten is all day-alternate day. We rotate days on a 6 day cycle. Last year, for the first time since my oldest was born, I had the opportunity to teach full time. I teach Kindergarten in two different schools, in two different communities, within the same school district. It was crazy and hectic and a lot of work, but I loved it, and am continuing the adventure this year!!!
You might not know...
that I've wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. My most memorable Christmas present as a child was a big (to me) chalkboard. I would take it down to the basement, and line up all my dolls in rows and print math equations, and assignments on my chalkboard. I could spend the whole day playing teacher (plus that way I wouldn't have to go outside!!!) Also, considering how disorganized I am (see a little further down, where I write about what I need to improve), I like things orderly. I like all my classroom containers to be the same, lined up the same way on the shelf, labelled with the same labels. I'm fussy about things like bulletin boards, games, activity sheets, etc being straight, the same size, etc. Mis-spelled business sign are a pet peeve of mine.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
Several of my friends' children are in my class this year. I'm excited about interacting with them in a new way, and watching that "light bulb" moment on my little ones' faces is always great. I'm also looking forward to implementing all of the FABULOUS ideas that I've gleaned from the blogosphere over the summer.
What do you need to improve?
ORGANIZATION!!! I tend to forget deadlines until the office starts asking for whatever it is I should have handed in. I'm a "big picture" kind of teacher, and sometimes the details slip through the cracks. I've spent my summer creating a plan that I THINK will help in this area. I'm going to plan for a month at a time, ideally also copying and making anything that I need so that everything that I need for the month will be ready before the month actually starts. This is quite ambitious for me, so we'll see how this goes. Of course, I also have to be flexible, so that I can implement the tons of ideas I'm sure to find throughout the year.
What teaching supplies can you not live without?
I LOVE my colored dry erase markers. I guard them very carefully, so that they last me the whole year (or longer!) I COULD not teach without my computer, internet access and my printer. Coke gets me through the day, and my Mailbox books and magazines are my "go to" resources.
So that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about me. If you haven't done so already, link up and join in. It's a blast!!!
