Welcome. Bienvenido. Herzlich Willkommen. добро пожаловать.

That is how you say, 'welcome' in all of the languages that are spoken in my classroom. You might have guessed that this a culturally diverse classroom, and you'd be *ding, ding, ding* correct. Too bad I can only speak 25% of those languages fluently/at all. 

Who would've thought that in the suburban area of Utah where little to nothing exciting ever happens I would have such a diverse kindergarten class? Yep, Kindergarten. 

I teach Special Education Kindergarten in Utah county. This is my 3rd year as a professional teacher. I graduated from Utah State in December of 2014. (2 years ago this week!) I guess time flies when you're having fun. Or collecting gray hairs. 

My niche is Autism. I've worked with it for the last 8 years and I love it! I love the new challenges that is brought with each individual. Somedays it feels like I have the attention span of a goldfish. But working with these kids keeps me on my toes all day. I'm constantly moving to keep up with them. (Hmm...maybe that means I should be skinnier than I am...) Admittedly it's not always easy. And somedays I am SO happy I get to go home to my quiet house, but I want to make my point clear. I love working with these little individuals.

This year there was a change on the district level and with the changes I had a new adventure. I am still teaching an Autism Kindergarten class like my previous years, but only in the morning. Now, my afternoon class is what they call a "transitional kindergarten". Basically it's for students who are delayed in some way, but they aren't sure the best placement for them. Should they go to general education in 1st grade? Should they repeat general education (gen ed) Kindergarten? Should they go to a Special Education class in first grade? There are a plethora of possibilities. And honestly, it's stressing me out. 

Special Education teachers have a unique job. The goal of our job is to put ourselves out of a job. In Special Education the ultimate goal is to be able to get the students back to a general education setting with their typically developing peers. Granted, that doesn't always happen, so although  I don't have a good salary or benefits, I do have good job security.  

So for better or for worse, this is the rollercoaster ride I've chosen to hop on. 

That's the background on me and my class. The point of this blog is a place for me to pass along fun ideas I've had about teaching but mostly to share funny anecdotes about my job. Because, although it may not seem like it, 5 year olds are HILARIOUS! They are all so different, but together they make my life brighter. That's why I love the motto, 'Together We Fit'. 

Enjoy!