Meet Mrs. Snyder

I am relatively new to blogging. I started this little blog in February as I was home on snow day #7,899! I was introduced to blogs by my friend Erin who is an avid blog reader, she kept telling me about this blog by a girl named Abby who not only has the same name as me, but she is a teacher and has a little boy about the same age as C. It sounded interesting so finally I looked her up. Well, needless to say I was hooked! Hooked to Babbling Abby and was immediately sucked in to this wonderful bolggy world!! So hooked that I began my own blog and now it has become my newest obsession. I have so much fun reading other blogs and keeping up with mine.

This week over on Babbling Abby, the other Abby is hosting a TEACHER WEEK. This week teachers from all around are going to share ideas, pictures, and stories in preparation for BACK TO SCHOOL. I could not have been more excited about this since I L-O-V-E to learn new ideas and really there is nothing more fun than peeking into other classrooms!

Today is DAY 1 and it is all about Meet The Teacher. So, I am going to share some facts about me and my day job! I spend most of my time on this blog talking about my adorable baby boy and all things family so I am going to apologize in advance to my dad. He is going to be calling me due to the lack of Clark content in my blog this week. SORRY DAD. You will see him this weekend.


MEET MRS. SNYDER:
(Very random thoughts in no order!)

10- School starts TOMORROW, and this will begin my 7th year in the classroom! As of tomorrow I have finally earned my tenure. I taught my first 2 years in another county at another school so those years did not count towards my tenure. This will be my 5th year at my current school. I teach in the school where I student taught and it is in the town where I live. In the past 7 years I have taught 2nd and 3rd grades. I love them both! I would not be opposed to trying a new grade level, but I am pretty content where I am right now.

9- I earned my Bachelor's Degree in '04. I have since earned my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership in '07, and last year began work on my National Board Certification. I find out my scores in November and once I pass that certification will also count as my Rank 1 (which is a pay increase! ).

8- My favorite part of everyday is when I get to read a book a loud to my kiddos. I love reading chapter books to them and watching them get so involved with the characters and the story lines. I love hearing the moans when it is time to go to lunch and we have to stop reading. I love when they ask for "just one more page".

7- I honestly could not imagine doing any other job. I love that everyday is different. I love that I get to do what I am good at. Not only do I love teaching children and watching them light up when they learn something new, but I love that I get to color, use stickers, have a desk full of post-its, get holidays and summers off, get to read children's books everyday, and be around other people who think all of this is cool too!

6- I could spend hours in my classroom organizing, decorating, and making it a homey place for me and my kiddos to grow and learn. Before I had a child I was there even more than I am now! I mean I spent over an hour and a half organizing school supplies in my closet the other day to get ready for the first day! COME ON- Who does that??

5- I would love to be a school librarian, but do not have the degree and will probably never get it if I get my Rank 1 through National Board Certification. My other goals include writing a children's book and opening a children's book store-(you know, like Shop Around The Corner from You've Got Mail )

4- I am terrible at math. I was not good at it in school, but I LOVE to teach it. I want my kiddos to enjoy it and have a better math experience than I did. I want them to be confident in their math skills because I know what it was like to struggle. (Now, remember I teach 3rd grade- I could in no way teach math much higher than that and still love it! ha!)

3- I do not remember when I decided to be a teacher, but I always knew it was something I was interested in. I had some fabulous teachers and teacher mentors growing up and some I knew I wanted to be NOTHING like. My hope is that I am able to make a positive impact on at least one student like Mrs. Vance, Mr. Stepp, Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Greene, Mrs. McCormick, and Ms. Blevins have had on me!!

2- I have a student teacher this fall that I could not be more excited about. She was a TA in my classroom last year and was WONDERFUL. I am excited to have her and I hope to provide a great environment for her like Ms. Blevins did for me. (She is even coming tomorrow on the 1st day and she came to open house last week their classes have not even started yet- she is great!)

1- I will not sleep tonight! I know that I am prepared. Every pencil is sharpened, morning work is on the desks, books are organized, bulletin boards are bright and cheery, all the lockers are labeled, desks are tagged, plans are done, copies are made, but I will not sleep. It is like my Christmas Eve. I am just TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!!!

A quick pic of my classroom- READY AND WAITING

So, there you have it- I am Abby Snyder, I teach 3rd grade & it was great to meet you!! Wish me luck, tomorrow is the big day. I will be greeted with 24 new little faces (very early)tomorrow morning. They will be all decked out with new shoes, sharp crayons and nervous grins & I can't wait to meet them all!