About Me

My name is Megan, and I have been teaching for two years. I graduated from Boise State University in 2008, after deciding that I wanted to teach...AFTER I had one bachelor's degree already. Looking back, I wouldn't take back my first experience at college, but I think teaching is where it's AT!

I teach in an urban school in Topeka, Kansas. How did we end up in Kansas? Well, after being married, we lived in 5 different states before my husband decided to go to law school. Kansas is where we ended up and we love it! There are parts of other places that we miss, but we are happy to be here.

I have taught 3rd grade for both years, and I love it! Sometimes I think I would like to try 1st or 2nd, but I love that the kids come knowing how to read, and that makes my life so much easier!

Teaching in my school is definitely a challenge. Our district has not made AYP that past several years, and that has really trickled down to teachers. We do a lot of test prep, and teaching kids how to "beat the state." It's fun....for about a month, and then it gets old. I constantly have to remind myself to have fun and just enjoy teaching...if I can bring enthusiasm and excitement to the classroom the kids will learn!

Here's what our daily schedule is like in 3rd grade:

8:30-10 Math Block. We use Everyday Math, but right now we are also doing multiplication and test prep. Fitting it all into 90 minutes is REALLY difficult!

10-10:45 Specials...The kids go to Music 2 days, and PE two days. The fifth day alternates between music and PE.

10:45 Science. It's an awesome part of our school. The kids rotate between a desert, rainforest, space, and greenhouse lab. That means that core teachers don't have to teach science in our school. When I student taught in Idaho, I knew what a struggle it was to fit in science, and I'm glad the decision is made for us here! We are a science and fine arts magnet school, so we are the only school in the district like it.

11:30-12:30 Guided Reading. We have to teach all of our kids every day for 20 minutes in small groups. For us, that means four groups of 6-7 kids.

12:30-1 Lunch/Recess

1-1:45 Bathroom/Drink/Last two groups of guided reading.

1:50-2:10 Reading Wrap-Up and Recess.

2:15 Shared Reading/Writing/Social Studies

3:30 Dismissal

I like our schedule, but it is nice to come home and relax. I love spending time with my husband of almost 5 years, Todd, watching TV, reading, blogging, crafting, and sewing. I also play volleyball with a group of teachers on Monday nights, which is a blast!

That's about it!