Common Core and Such!

Wow!! It seems like forever since I have posted!  Last week I had training overwhelming instruction on curriculum.  We had a group of teachers attend the Common Core Training and they came back to us and shared what they had learned.  It was very interesting but having to change our curriculum maps made it very overwhelming.  I have been the team leader for the last six years and this year I am not, so it was difficult for me because our new team leader couldn't attend so I wasn't for sure how much she really wanted me to do.  I didn't want to step on her toes for make her feel like I was.  

Anyways, the training I thought made complete sense and why on earth haven't we been teaching this way?!!  We learned that with Common Core your lessons should be integrated.  You shouldn't have a Social Studies block and a Language Arts block.  You should combine everything.  I am super excited about this!!  This is how I was taught to teach.  I am pretty sure probably everyone learned to teach this way but using a basal is so much easier convenient, not necessarily better.  I am so excited because I can also go back to teaching Daily Five!  Wahoo!!

It is strange to me that 10 years ago when I first started teaching, (gosh, that makes me sound old) that I had to go to training for Literacy Collaborative.  I also remember going to meetings about making essential questions.  I am confused why 10 years ago we were doing this, but it just now came to Florida or the rest of the country?  Was Ohio ahead of the game?  

Common Core will be very interesting to apply this year.  I don't feel the standards in kindergarten really changed that much but the writing I saw in the Common Core training book, Oh my!!  They wrote a paragraph.  Yes, I said a paragraph.  My goal was for my students to write a sentence.  I see I will be working hard on the literacy and writing this year.  Also with Common Core 50% of your texts should be nonfiction.  I will be working on adding more nonfiction to my teaching.  This year will definitely be a year in progress with the change, but I do feel overall that it is a great change.  Let teachers escape their basal and bring meaning to teaching!!

I started The Book Whisperer last week!!  I LOVE this book!  She makes so many great points.  I would love for my son to be in her class.  She is all about giving the great gift of loving to read to all of her students.  I am very inspired!  If you haven't read it, you need to.

Well, I want to congratulate you for reading my post this far! :)

One last thing for today.  I have the reply link right under each of my comments.  I LOVE getting comments and I really try hard to write back.  I am now realizing that every single one that I have replied to, if the person who left the comment doesn't come back to that post they are not getting my reply!!!   What is the point of having the reply button on here if the person I am replying to isn't getting it?  Have you had this problem?  What is the solution?  I know people were talking about having an email assigned to your account so they could reply that way, but I guess I am confused on that too.  Help!!  I don't even remember how I put the reply on each comment.  

P.S.  I am working on a tutorial for the chairs.