Whitney's Weekly Planner- FREEBIE

I decided to try and create my own planner template this year since none I have found fit my needs.  I like it to be simple and to the point...no fluff.  Because I only teach Reading/Language Arts, these are the only things I included to plan for.  However, everyone may be interested in the opening page for each 9-weeks that has places for dates that are important when planning.  I am not sure if it will be successful, I just wanted to try it out.  I used PowerPoint to create it, and I am not very savvy on the "how-to's", so I had to make every page sideways.  My neck hurt for hours after I finished, lol.  My dog Millie kept staring at me with her head sideways,too.

Just to explain a few things-  My small group assignments are on the bottom of page 1.  I saw a list on Pinterest (Insert heavenly angel chorus) that gave the students a "Must Do" and "May Do" list every week while I met with groups.  I loved this idea, and am going to try and use it this year.

We only assign homework on Mon., Tues., and Thurs.  Because of this, the next page has only those days listed under Homework.  Just in case you were wondering.  This is Brenda's idea that I took on and it works really well to only have those nights.  Students, and parents, know to expect an assignment then which makes managing homework so much simpler.

Finally, I have a section labeled ClassWorks. I DO NOT LIKE THIS PROGRAM.   This is a computer program we have to attend 30 minutes a day, and it has taken some getting used to.  I finally got into making my own assignments on it, so I made a box for planning it as well.

Okay, I'm a little nervous, hence the ramblings, to put it on here.  I hope you can use it, or at least get some ideas from it.  Any comments or questions, as always, are welcome!
Weekly Planner- FREEBIE

Let's Get Acquainted Linky - Tic-Tac-Toe Style

Boy this summer is flying by!  I can't believe that in 25 days, we have to be back at school.  So much to do, and so little time! 

Latoya is hosting another great linky party: Let's Get Acquainted Tic-Tac-Toe.

To participate: Answer 3 in a row on the tic tac toe board.  Then go link up with Latoya!

I am doing the middle horizontal row.

My first year teaching: 
My first year teaching was not a good experience.   I was hired to teach at the school system where I went to school.  This was a difficult system to get a job with when you were a "straight-out-of-college" teacher.  I was beyond excited.  I was hired to teach Kindergarten.  I was at the same school with my mother (she taught  2nd grade), so I knew a lot of the people.  I had a great teaching partner and aide.  I was ready to begin.  As with most Kindergartens, we had a week of testing where the kids come in one at a time.  During this week, my principal came to me and told me that is was a possibility that I would have to move to either 2nd grade or 5th grade due to numbers.  But then he also said, "I'm supposed to tell you that, but it probably won't happen.  I wouldn't worry about it."  So I didn't even think twice about it.  I finished getting my room fixed up and decorated.  I was ready for those sweet kids.  I got all of them tested and ready for their first half day of school. 

My first day with a small group of kids, my principal comes to me on the playground during morning recess.  He tells the other teacher to watch my students, and he takes me into a meeting.  I was officially moving to 5th grade (in another building).  I was to be out of my classroom by noon and report to my new school. 

School had been in session for almost 2 weeks at this point, and they were forming a new class for me in 5th grade.  So, the teachers got to meet with me, and pick 2 kids to put in the new class.  Now, we are all teachers and they have an opportunity to give 2 kids that they have had for 2 weeks to a new teacher.  I'll leave it to your imagination as to the types of students that I got! 

I made it through survived that first year.  Thank goodness, I was moved to 4th grade...and I have loved it there ever since!

My favorite School Memory as a kid:  
I have several favorite school memories.  I was a very quiet kid in school, and I didn't "come out of my shell" until about 7th or 8th grade.  High School seemed like a daunting place, but I was ready for it.  I knew in high school that I would be able to participate in FFA just like my 2 older brothers.  Imagine my excitement when on the first day of high school, my ag teacher asked me to participate in some of the teams for our chapter!  That set off my high school experience right!

Books I'm Reading: 
Hi, my name is Brenda...and I have a problem!  I start too many books at once!  These are the ones going right now:

• The One and Only Ivan
• Second Honeymoon by James Patterson
• Wonder
•  The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs
• Love You More by Lisa Gardner
• Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit

Don't forget to go link up with Latoya so that we can learn more about each other!

---Brenda