Welcome to It Takes Two Teachers!!! First off we would like introduce ourselves. We are best friends who are both teachers. We met in June of 2014. Our first meeting was quite unique, but as soon as we met, I (Holly) hoped that I would have a chance to work with her (Kim).
Holly's Story:
So it was the end of my fourth year and North Carolina had decided to introduce the Read to Achieve program (which my principal had chosen me to be a part of), so we had to be in search of another teacher who we thought would be a good fit to work with me (not the easiest job in the world).... So we held interviews on a Saturday and as I sat and listened to all the teachers who wanted a chance to work at our school, I wondered when I was going to find... THE ONE... I know that's a weird comparison, but when you are talking about the person you have to see almost every day and work with them on a daily basis, I can't think of a better term than... THE ONE. Kim walked in and as I looked at her I could tell she was nervous as all get out, which is so much like me, no matter how well prepared I am. So the interview started and we went over the usual, how do you plan reading stations, how do you handle discipline problems, you know the usual interview questions. Then it was over and she was gone! I wrote on my score sheet that I would like to work with her... and then I handed it over and didn't hear anything until it was time to start Reading Camp 2014 (NC's summer initiative to help struggling students)... The principal smiled at me and said, "I'll do my best."
Well what I'd thought would take maybe a day or two turned into weeks as we waited for the budget to be released. Finally she handed me Kim's number and said, "Call her and make her feel welcome!" I was super excited... I called her right away! The rest is history!!!
SO fast forward 9 months later and here we are. Two crazy crafty ladies who LOVE teaching fourth grade.
We have recently started our own Teacher's Pay Teacher's store and have items that are free and for sale. Sometimes I feel like it takes us forever to make new products, but we are so meticulous... Plus almost everything that we make is used in our own classroom. Sometimes we feel that some of the things we see on TPT are questions that could fit with any book and pretty graphics. That's not what we are aiming for. We are working to make resources that are Common Core based and that are truly pushing children to think outside of the box. We also like to make products that can easily be differentiated.
Let me share a little about our classrooms as well. We are teaching a 3/4 Transition Class, which our school choose to name Reading Intensive Classrooms. What does that mean??? Well, all that it means is that we spend a large portion of our day focusing on reading. Our focus on reading includes many things from phonics instruction to literacy stations. Our classes have a 90 minute uninterrupted reading block, which at times still feels to short... The rest of the day we work with math, Hill Rap (a reading achievement program based in Durham, NC), and alternating between Science and Social Studies (4.5 on, 4.5 off). The kids in the classroom are the best part. Out of my 5 years teaching I have never met kids with personalities like these. They truly keep us entertained. Even though they struggle at times it is nice to have children who just love when they learn. We could never replace them.
Well that's our school life, but that just scratches the surface of who we are... We will be blogging about our classrooms, cooking, life, and anything else that strikes our fancy that day. Soon we will be posting about our own lives so you can get to know us better. Thanks and follow us to see our updates! See you soon!!!
