Preparing for school LINKY PARTY!

I decided to join in on a linky party hosted by Mrs. Crouse at {6th Grade} All-Stars. Feel free to join in as well! Here are the rules:

1. Post about this linky party on your blog
2. Follow my blog (Go 4th: Teach ALL the Things!)
3. Answer the following 5 questions (include documents if you have them):

- What grade do you teach?

 I will be teaching 4th grade in the fall! I'm so excited. I taught 1st grade for the last half of the past school year, so I'm technically still a new teacher.

- What is the greatest advice you received during your 1st year of teaching?

 The greatest advice I've ever received...hmm. I had so many awesome people that I learned from! I don't know if there's just ONE thing, but here are a few:

*Make time for yourself and your family

*Try hard not to take tons of work home (that is YOU time)

*Don't be afraid to make mistakes, especially in front of your kiddos

- Do you have a checklist that you follow when preparing your classroom (include the checklist)?

Well, not necessarily. Since I'm still new at this, I just kind of go with the flow with the understanding that everything will fall into place. I don't want to stress out too much about it.

 

- What are some must haves in your classroom that you cannot live without (ex. items, books, posters, management strategies)?

I found out real quick that it's necessary to have an "Oh, no!" kit for personal needs. I had stuff like headache meds, allergy meds (mine are ridiculous), tampons, Airborne, Emergen-C, those little packets of flavoring you can toss into water bottles, a spare pair of black flats (they will go with anything!), Vaseline and q-tips (you can give it to your kiddos with painful chapped lips), chap stick, lotion, band-aids, healthy snacks like nuts, an extra pair of sunglasses...I could go on and on! I also had to have a Scentsy and speakers for my iPod :)

 

- What is something that all teachers should have in their classroom?

This is a hard one because every teacher is so different. I would have to say that all teachers should have created an environment where all kiddos feel safe and appreciated, as this will help foster their learning.

Don't forget to add your link and put your answers in a comment!! :)