Ok. That is just weird to say. It’s been weird around town. How do you like your new job? Teaching? I have been giving a few blank stares back. Blink. Blink. I’ve been teaching for 15 years.  I try to remember or hope that they are asking  – How do I like teaching at Neskowin Valley School.

So that’s my new adventure news to my faithful readers here – I’ll be a part time teacher at Neskowin Valley School!  It is an adorable school about 14 miles north of my home up Hwy 101, then two miles up a windy creek road to an old barn that was rebuilt into a schoolhouse. I taught Creek Exploration last year and shared some with you, and this year I have been substitute teaching off an on for all three classes. (Pre-K, K-2, 3-5) I get to start a new class – K-1. So far all of my students are 1- 2 level. I love the integrated classroom. Classes cap at at 10 students, and right now I only have 4-5. It’s like teaching a tiny lil co-op.

I’ve spent a lot of time on Pinterest – you can follow some of my NVS posts here: Angie’s Pinterest – a few of you have already messaged me my complete switch in posts from high school to early elementary.

Although we are an Accredited School, and keep a mindful intent at hitting the CC benchmarks, we are not bound by a curriculum. I’ll be teaching Language Arts and Math in the mornings until lunch, and then the kids will switch teachers for Science and Social Studies. I am pretty excited to create a first grade curriculum out of all of my favorite experiences and vendors.

My Spaulding Phonogram cards will come in handy, and the school has about 10 sets on the shelves round and about. They have the Spaulding teacher’s manual, but I will use Wanda Senseri’s Spell to Write and Read, the guide for smaller groups to tackle the Writing Road to Reading.

I’ll be going back and forth from Ambleside Online’s list to Sonlight – to well, whatever sounds good that day for literature reading lists.  Ha. We’ll keep a Charlotte Mason, Notebooking, Lapbooking, Journaling approach to the Language arts part of the day.

I’ll be dusting off my Timberdoodle.Com games. I’ve already browsed the site and picked out some new selections. I’m also going to use quite a few of their First grade resources. The Daily Traits books are already at the school and we’ll use those in our morning circle time along with the phonogram cards.

I’m ordering the Harmony Fine Art’s first grade Art and Music curriculum to do on Wednesdays and look forward to getting back to the Outdoor Hour Challenges on Fridays with the Handbook of Nature Study.

The school uses Singapore Math and I’ve spent time over the years looking it over. I like that it is close to Math-U-See with the emphasis on Base 10. The school has about 2,300 sets of Cuisenaire Rods, ha. I’ll keep my Miquon beginning ideas in mind and may even order a few of the beginning books for morning time play. I think I have the 1 year journal for Miquon still. Oh how that booked helped me 14 years ago with a little boy, playing every day with the blocks. I am so thankful for the start in math vocabulary that Miquon gave our family.  I’m looking at a few games from Timberdoodle as I could only find one younger elementary game left. I have quite a few card and dice games in mind that we still play even just for fun around here.

So – you will start seeing me go back and chatting about my first grade adventures.

Yes, yes I do love my new teaching job – but I have adored, loved, embraced, cried over, prayed over, researched, shared, etc ect – my 18 year teaching career. This school – these kids – will get a bundle of all of my learned experiences and the best of the information in my head from years and years of research.

I am super stoked for a new adventure. 

I still have a 10th grader at home, and will have two boys living here, one his 1st year of college, and one his 3rd year – so helping with online work and essays and will share that adventure, too.