Meet the Teacher Monday!

Today I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Meet the Teacher Monday!

How fitting since today was the first day of school! It was fabulous by the way... I was so nervous. I don't know why I stress myself out. Oh well! On we go.....

I just love this picture! I have it on my edline page :)

Tell us a little something about you...

I'm Jenna. I teacher 7th & 8th grade math this year. I just got home from my first day of school & it was GREAT! I love fireworks, the beach, and a good book. I went to Miami University, and I'm currently in graduate school there as well. I have a boyfriend named Brad & we've been together for 3 1/2 years. I love my family very much. I have one brother who is 21 but still wishes he was a kid. I have two dogs that I am in love with. Moose is a 13 year old black lab/golden retriever mix, and Bubba is a 2 year old black lab/german shepherd mix. Random fact about me: I've had over 14 teeth pulled & I have broken my nose 5 times. (Yes I stumped my students with those facts today)

How long have you been teaching?

This is my 2nd year teaching! Last year I taught 7th grade math. I had three classes of regular 7th grade math, and one class of 7th grade honors which is 8th grade math. This year, I am traveling around the school on my fun little cart that is difficult to steer. I am a specials teacher for a class called Interactive Math. This is offered to 7th & 8th grade students who need a little reinforcement in their regular math class. I also teach the 8th grade math curriculum to students with support ed's. A bit change from last year, but so far I'm loving every minute of it :)

You might not know...

My first major is college with High School Life Science Education.... Then that changed to Middle Childhood Math & Science which is what I have my license in. When I was applying to colleges, I almost went into Pharmacy. It would have been a good job, but I'm SO glad I didn't make that decision. I love my kiddos too much. Something else you might not know.... well I just used that random fact in my about me so I've got nothing...

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

Being able to use new ideas I learned over the summer in grad school. Being a first year teacher last year I was surviving. After this summer, I was able to regroup & think about what I really want to do. Yes this year is something totally different, but what I learned in some grad school classes can be applied much easier now. I'm also looking forward to not being the "new" teacher anymore!

What do you need to improve?

I need to improve my assessment abilities. I need to be better about tracking the progress-especially with the group I have this year. A lot of my students feel very unsuccessful in math & it is my goal for them to see success. I also need to plan more than one day ahead. Again, last year being my first year I was stressed and sometimes didn't have everything ready. This year it is my goal to have everything planned & copied at least a week in advance. So far so good!

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

I'm a bullet list person so I'm switching it up now....

• Good pretty dry erase markers!
• My big purple coffee cup 
• Post-it notes of every color
• Organized binder with my teaching life/student info
• Sharpies in all colors of the rainbow
• Individual dry erase boards for students
• Music
• BINDERS-I have a binder for everything
• Smartboard/airliner-I use this everyday for agenda, homework, brain busters etc. Pretty much a necessity. 
• Fun paperclips & binder clips
• Stickers! Yes 7th & 8th graders still get excited over a sticker :)

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Happy first day of school to all you teachers out there! Link on up with Blog Hoppin' to share your Meet the Teacher Monday!