Middle School vs Littles

Now that I've ventured in the K-1 teaching realm.... I have now taught every grade from k-8 except for 2nd grade. I have some experience in just about everything. But, I've spent a lot of time with the middle schoolers, and so on my very first day with my 12 little K-1 children it was pretty different. This inspired me to write the differences I've noticed (so far) between middle school and K-1 kids:

1.) K-1 will tell you how much they like you and tell you you're pretty. Middle Schoolers will never do that! Or if they do it's meant as a joke.
2.) K-1 will eat up every little thing you say. Middle Schoolers like to scoff at every little thing you say. Which actually I kinda like... :)
3.) K-1 cannot read the board and just do what it says. Middle Schoolers can read the board, but rarely follow what it says! :)
4.) K-1 can't do anything themselves... and if they do do it by themselves (you just read do do haha) it takes FOREVER! Middle schoolers they can do most everything alone (if they read the directions...)
5.) K-1 give you hugs!!! Middle Schoolers....
6.) In K-1 teaching you have to discuss things like peeing IN the toilet, washing your hands after you go potty, and dealing with the occasional pee pants situation. Middle School... I wouldn't have the conversation with them EVER... gross!
7.) K-1 kids LOVE LOVE LOVE their teachers, and they usually LOVE coming to school! Middle Schoolers, they may kinda like their teacher (depending on the day) and school is not on their list of loves... at all... and they will show you that with the way they sit, raise their hand, oh! and by the fact that they just say... I HATE SCHOOL! To you.
8.) You cannot joke with K-1 students as much. And when you do, you are risking the fact that they might not get it, and you're gonna be the only one that laughs! Middle Schoolers are SO MUCH FUN to joke around with. They are great, and most of the time laugh with you (or at you). So you are rarely the only one laughing.

All in all... I've loved all my teaching experiences. I've loved the middle schoolers and I'm loving these littles. If God has not taught me patience yet (PS- He hasn't because I'm still pretty impatient), He will be getting through to me by the end of this school year!

Blessings teachers as you begin your year!

Hello, my name is Andrea and I have a problem....

I'm ridiculously addicted to: teaching blogs, teacherspayteachers.com, pintrist, and fountain soda...

Let me walk you through this:

If you are a teacher you know that the summer is all about planning for the next year. Getting new ideas is the most important part! Well teaching blogs are pretty much the most amazing thing there is since sliced bread. You can go to a site and they have a list of subjects that you can click on (ex: Dr. Suess, Writing, Math, 100's day...) and then you can see all the cool things they did in their classroom that year. THEN, once you are done looting their blog they will have a list of blogs THEY follow. So all you do is move to the next blog and loot their site. It's so amazing. For me it is extra special because I don't really have a cooperating teacher to help me. So this is a good way that I can get new and creative ideas for all parts of my classroom! Sometimes they even give you free stuff to print and use in your own classroom (this is SUPER dangerous for me... you should see my google docs!). As amazing as this is, it also takes me away from doing things like CLEANING or writing THANK YOU NOTES or actually cutting out laminated items I need cut out for my actual classroom! :) It is also bad because I get SOOOO many ideas and I want to do them all... like NOW! Husband makes fun of me because I'm so stressed out about the new school year and he attributes it a little to the fact that I'm filling my head with too many ideas. He's right.. but as I mentioned before... I'm addicted and try and stop me! On that very same note.. I feel like now I should do my own teaching blog (like I have "extra" time between a child, husband, dog, workouts, making workouts for others, Praise band, 2 small groups, youth group stuff, and scanning other people's blogs)

NEXT ADDICTION;
Teacherspayteachers.com. If you are a teacher you need to go there stat. It's a great way to get classroom activities, and they are made by teachers so you know they are classroom tested. Also, they have a lot of free stuff you can download and print off for yourself. I know I have! It's amazing and wonderful! Problem with it?!?! See above.. same as the blog!

NEXT ADDICTION:
pintrist.com I'm not kidding when I say it is amazing. It is where you can pin your favorite things. pictures off the internet. I pin things from teacher blogs I like (It's a crazy cycle). I also pin food that I want to try or clothes I wish I could by. There are cute crafts to do. lots of DIY stuff that is SOOO cute and not too hard. I pin stuff I want in my home. Stuff I want to use when parenting. It's pretty much the best. You should also visit.. then follow me! I shall lead you in the right direction! :) HA!

LAST ADDICTION;
fountain soda has been a long time addiction that never fades. One of the hardest things about being prego was having to drink less soda or none at all. It was HORRIBLE!!! But since the summer has kicked in... and it's hot... I drink it a lot. I also like it because I can kinda substitute it in for a desert or snack... because it is so tasty. But, I'm not just talking soda here.. I'm talking fountain soda. There is something about fountain soda that is so amazing.

Anyway... I need help! You can help me by also becoming addicted to these things so that we can talk about it! :) haha

What are your addictions right now?