Not that kind of plug . . .

I named this whole thing "Plug-n-Plan" because my eventual goal is to provide you with units that will include various materials you might need for a unit so that all you'll have to do is just plug the pieces into your lesson plans.

Well, the post you are about to read is not that kind of "plug".  (Now say it with your best Southern accent: "Oh, my!  Well, I'm just not THAT kind of plug!"  J/k!)

If we were studying dictionary skills right now, this might be definition number 2:

plug: 1. (v) to insert or drive a plug into, 2. (n) a shameful, unabashed promotion

I'm not sure who reads this blog (if anybody), but I have got to shamefully, unabashedly promote 2 of my dear friends.  These 2 ladies are some of the most creative, hard-working teachers I know.  We've taught together in 1st grade for years.  It has been such an immeasurable blessing to be part of a team with these women.  I strongly doubt (but would be pleased to be proven wrong) that there many teams out there like the team we have together.  We share everything, encourage and support one another, and even spark up some good ol' healthy competition! This past year one of them was moved to 3rd grade, but we're still a team nonetheless!

Both of these ladies have quickly spiraled into a full-blown Teacher Blog addiction.  It's seriously out of control.  They dove head-first into this online world and are sharing some great stuff!  (Trust me, we trade stuff all the time and the materials are quality!)  Here's a little bit about them.  Please check them out!

The 1st plug goes to Dana who now teaches 3rd.  Walk into her room and you'll want to ban anyone from ever seeing your room again.  She's super organized and clean.  When we worked in 1st together she would crank out those assessments for us to use.  Between the 2 of us, we filled up our school's shared drive with Reading Comprehension sheets to go along with the leveled readers in our bookroom for Guided Reading.  The files are still growing.  Please check out this dedicated teacher at http://3rdgradegridiron.blogspot.com/.  She pours her heart into everything she does . . . above and beyond.

The 2nd plug goes out to The Lesson Plan Diva.  This hard-working woman is known for her creativity.  If classrooms were closets, then she'd be like the sister I share clothes with.  We go into each others' rooms and grab resources and lessons from each other all the time.  Somehow she is able to raise standards in her classroom and then go home to work a second job making the most amazing up-scale stationary for celebrity clientele (no really . . . celebrities).  And now she has added blogging and cranks out really cute teaching resources on top of that?!?!  Once I get into the Summer days and I can stay home with my adorable, teething 9 month old, maybe I'll be able to crank out the units I wanted as well!  In the meanwhile please check out http://lessonplandiva.blogspot.com and snag some of her simple, to-the-point, and yet so cute and creative materials.  (Then hit up www.jshawdesigns.com to see her more sophisticated art work!)

Hope that wasn't an overload, but I can't just give you their links . . . I've got to brag about my friends.  If you knew them, you'd understand why.  Love you ladies!

So what's this all about?

 Welcome to Plug-n-Plan!

Seeing as how this is a brand new blog, I thought it might be a good idea to explain why I started yet another teacher blog . . .

My name is Melissa and I've been teaching 1st grade for 9 years now in Gwinnett County, GA.  For years I put in endless hours in the classroom, coffee shops, and home working on lesson plans, grading papers, creating centers, drawing up worksheets, etc.  You know the drill.  Then 7 years into teaching I got married, and I kept up this same routine only this time I'd bring stuff home to work on while my husband studied or worked on stuff for church.  Now in my 9th year we've added a beautiful baby girl to the equation!

Life has definitely changed.

I'm still doing all I can, the best I can but I try to make it a point NOT to take stuff home unless there's a really big deadline.  (I've got to put my family before my professional life.  Priorities, right?)  So that means that I'm squeezing in as much as I can into every "spare" second of the day.  Not everything gets done, and a lot of things don't turn out as well as I would like.  It can be pretty exhausting.  You can relate, can't you?

Ready for a confession?  I haven't been fully satisfied with what I do at school.  I know that I can do better if I had more time.  I know this because I know what I used to do. Factor in a teacher's tendency towards control and perfectionism and you can imagine my frustration.

I know I'm not the only one out there who wishes they could make the creative centers they imagine in their heads, plan effective lessons, gather/develop practice sheets and assessments, AND still have a life outside the classroom.  This is why I've started the blog.  It's my goal to put together packages for specific skills that include all these things so that all you have to do is just "plug" the pieces into your own lesson plans and save yourself some time!

So in the spirit of saving time . . . let's start with a file folder game on TIME!

(Complete unit to follow shortly . . . check back soon!)