Back at Home...Again!

Well, I finally did it...and here I am!  I have been wanting to share my journey as a kindergarten teacher for the past three years...but just couldn't seem to find the time outside of graduate school and work!  I'm sure you can relate.

I taught kindergarten in Spring Branch ISD (Houston, Texas) for three years and truly had some of the best times of my life.  I got involved with the EdTech team and piloted interactive whiteboard technology for the district's kindergarten program...and discovered a new passion:  teaching primary teachers how to use technology in the classroom.  And, to make a long story short, in the fall of 2010 I was presenting at the district's annual Early Childhood Conference and a teacher raised her hand and said, "You know, you ought to pursue this...you love this.  You are in your element.  Have you thought about graduate school?"  And to be quite honest, I had given it some thought here and there, but didn't really see myself going back to school for a while.  That afternoon, I went home and did some research...

Fast Forward to the Spring of 2011:

I found out I was accepted to the Instructional Technology (now called Learning Technologies) graduate program at the University of Texas in Austin...I was elated!  But...it meant that I would have to leave the classroom.  Was I ready?  Would I teach in Austin?  What would this "new life" look like?  Well, I told my principal about my new plans, got a new dog (one of my kindergarteners rescued!) found a house in Austin, and moved two weeks later...so, as you can see, change, change, and more change!  Again, in between unpacking boxes and going to new student orientations, I would stop and wonder, "What was I thinking?!"

One of my graduate advisors encouraged me to submit my resume to the College of Education EC-6 program because they were needing supervisors for several cohorts that fall.  I interviewed and started supervising elementary student teachers in September...and wow!  This was clearly a change from teaching kindergarten!  I had one student teacher who was placed in a kindergarten classroom and I loved going to see her!  It felt like home to me...

Although I loved working with my student teachers, I missed being in the classroom more than anything and I knew I had to get back in the classroom...the kindergarten classroom...fast!  And to make another long, long, long story short, I accepted an offer this summer from Eanes ISD...and here I am...back at home...in kindergarten...and in a FABULOUS district!

I am in the process of completing my graduate coursework (only one more class in the spring!) and as a part of my Teaching and Learning with the Internet course this fall, our goal is to become a participant in the Internet...and, this project is what has finally got me blogging (thank you, Dr. Hughes)!  As I mentioned earlier, I have been wanting to share my journey as a kindergarten teacher for a long time...and so it begins...