Welcome!

Hi everyone!  I am a first grade teacher from Wisconsin, and I've created this blog to share what's happening in my classroom with my teaching pals and bloggy buddies!  I have taught for over fifteen years, starting out in middle grades, where I thought fifth grade couldn't be beat, and then in first grade for the last seven years, where I have more fun than should be allowed :).   I was fortunate enough to take a seven year break when I became a mother.  Well, actually when my first child turned one, I took a one year leave of absence, and after that, resigned.   I have two children, a son who is 16 and a daughter who is eleven.  They are almost five years apart (both their bdays are in April).  I went back to work when my daughter was three and my husband's job was eliminated.  He became Mr. Mom for a year, and then began working part-time, which he still does.  Meanwhile, I got a job in fifth grade... for ONE year.   Then they needed me to move to first grade.  I was a bit nervous, but with my reading teacher's license, thought I could handle it.  Ha Ha!  And my principal said I could go back to fifth if I didn't like it.  So, I said I'd do it.

Well, I thought I'd die those first few months.  After fifth grade, it seemed like first graders couldn't do ANYTHING alone!  I don't think I really liked it until after Halloween, when they were becoming a bit more independent.  By January, I was hooked.  I laughed ALL THE TIME at the funny things they said and did.  And the hugs, let me tell you, the hugs are unbeatable!

Our school's mascot is the husky.  Last year, to help our introduction to PBIS, our PBIS team created a superhero husky named "Top Dog."  Hence the name of this blog.  Our phy ed teacher, a young man adored by all 500+ kids at our school, wore a headband with gray husky ears, a blue felt mask over his eyes, a blue cape with a red letter T on the back (electrical tape), and another T on his t-shirt.  The team made awesome videos to share with students about how Top Dog keeps his cubby neat and organized, uses a quiet voice in the bathroom, picks up his garbage in the lunchroom, raises his hand in class, etc.  You get the idea.  So this year I am going to do a lot of Top Dog work on my classroom.  I think the kids will love it!

Catherine