Check it out.  Here is a video about Gorillas from the explore.org site:

My First Year as a Teacher is a great compilation of twenty-five teacher’s stories about different things that happened during their first-year of teaching. These stories reveal all the wonderful and difficult things that happen to teachers when dealing with a variety of different types of students.

As a new teacher I found this book to be an invaluable one to read before I begin my first teaching job. It reminded and reassured me that I am not alone as I embark on this new experience. Many have come before me and many will come after, but it’s hearing other amazing teachers stories that invigorates us to be the best teachers we can be for our students.

The activity starts out with a read aloud of the book, The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The Kissing Hand is about a young raccoon named Chester who does not want to go to school but would rather stay at home with his mother. His mother tells her son that she has a wonderful secret that will make his time at school “warm and cozy” just like his days at home. The secret involves Chester’s mother kissing his palm and telling him to press his hand to his cheek whenever he is sad or lonely and Chester quickly learns the power of that kiss. This wonderful story can help sooth the nerves of our young students during their first day of school.

After reading the book you can have a discussion with the class about being nervous for the first day of school… this is a good time to let them in on a little secret which is that teachers are nervous too!

After the class discussion there are fun art activities you can do as well. I’ve seen a few ideas but the one I like best is having the children make a handprint in red and then on another piece of paper draw a picture of their family. Then you staple to the two together and have them glue a heart in the middle of the hand. This is a great present for their families after the first day of school. Another cute idea is to have hand shaped cookies made and let students put Hershey’s kisses in the palm. Of course please make sure your school allows you to serve students food and make sure there are no allergies!

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

An adorable tale that follows Miss Bindergarten as she prepares for the first day of kindergarten and the arrival of her 26 new students (one for every letter in the alphabet) who are preparing for the first day as well.

Miss Bindergarten has a whole series of books that would be a great addition to any class including a book about going on a field trip, the 100^th day of school, and the last day of kindergarten. There is also a cute Miss Bindergarten doll to go along with the stories.

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come by Nancy Carlson

A fun tale about little Henry who is so excited about kindergarten he forgets to do all the important things we need to do in the morning like get dressed, brush your teeth, and eat breakfast! Henry becomes a little overwhelmed when he finally makes it to school and realizes it’s a little bigger then he expected, with the help of a new friend he quickly realizes that kindergarten is fun! (Also available in a Spanish edition)

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

A twist on the traditional tales about the first day of school jitters. The book takes us through the tale of Sarah who is nervous and anxious about the first day of school. All along the reading is thinking it’s the student who is worried about how school will be; we find out in the end that it is actually the teacher. This is a great story to read to students who might have concerns about the first day; it shows them that even the teacher can be nervous too!

I’m going to check out the one in Anaheim, CA the first weekend in August so I will report back on how it is… I’m excited though!

http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/

The CBEST consists of three sections: reading, mathematics, and writing.

The Reading Section contains 50 multiple choice questions and is assessing your ability to understand information that is presented to you in written passages, tables, and graphs. There is no outside knowledge required for this portion of the test, all of the questions are based of the passages and can be answered with the information read.

The Mathematics Section contains 50 multiple choice questions as well. Most questions are presented as word problems and they come from three major skill areas: estimation, measurement, and statistical principals.

The Writing Section contains two essay topics and assesses your ability to write effectively. You are expected to answer both questions.

Here is the link the CBEST website for more specific questions.

http://www.cbest.nesinc.com/index.asp

In my personal opinion this test is fairly simple. I did get a study guide and found it helpful in order to effectively review the material that would appear on the test. Below are two study guides that I think are the best to help prepare for the CBEST. Hope this helps!

First Book Recommendation…

Inside Mrs. B.’s Classroom : Courage, Hope, and Learning on Chicago’s South Side by Leslie Baldacci.

This true story follows the tales of Mrs. B as she makes a huge career change and leaves her job at the Chicago Sun-Times to join a “Teach for America” like program in urban Chicago. Mrs. Baldacci is given a teaching position at a challenging public school and is given little to no training before entering the classroom.

The book documents her first two years of teaching and the trials, tribulations, and triumphs she experiences in the classroom. As a new teacher who will soon be working at a low-income urban school that probably faces some of the same challenges as the school described in the book I was inspired by her tales and her courageous outlook on teaching. I highly recommend this book to a new teacher, a veteran teacher or anyone interested in the teaching profession!

As I find books that I think will be interesting or useful for new or veteran teachers I will share them here. I am always on the look out for good books that will help me along the way as I become a new teacher so if anyone else has any great books please share with us!

I had a great time getting some art supplies for my class and I only spent about $60 total on all the stuff I got (detailed below). Now, they are generic brands but kids don’t know if the crayons are Crayola or not so I figured what the heck, as long as they color it works for me.

I took a picture of everything I got, I guess it doesn’t look like as much once I crammed it all into the storage container (also from Big Lots) but after looking up prices of similar name brand items I definitely think I got a great deal!

20 pairs of scissors

20 boxes of crayons (24 pack)

10 packs of colored pencils

20 water color packs

10 bottles of regular glue

15 glue sticks

2 containers of colored chalk

1 plastic storage container

It's actually really fun to shop for school supplies again!

If you want to be eligible to receive money from APLE you must agree to teach in one of the following teacher shortage areas for FOUR years:

Mathematics (Grades 7-12)

Science (Life/Physical) (Grade 7-12)

Foreign Language

Education Specialist Instruction

Business (Grades 7-12)

Agriculture (Grade 7-12)

Reading

Low Income Area Schools

Schools Serving Rural Area

State Special School

School with a High Percentage of Emergency Permit Teachers

Low Performing School

Music

There are of course other requirements and logistical information in order to be accepted into the APLE program and receive loan reimbursements. It is a great program and I do know people who are currently in the program and receiving money towards their student loans.

Here is the link to their website where you can find out more information on specifics. If you are currently in a credentialing program you should also talk with your school advisor who can help you figure out the steps you need to take to apply to the program.

http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=111