Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Please Respond: Who Was the Best Teacher You Ever Had? Why were they so special?

      Not one teacher is made exactly alike.  Some teachers are strict, others are not.  Some teachers are organized, and some aren't.  Some teachers are energetic, while others seem tired.  I've been thinking a lot lately about my favorite teacher.
     Her name was Joanne Goodmunson.  She was my 2nd grade teacher in Minot, North Dakota.  I loved attending Mrs. Goodmunson's class every single day.  She was infectious.  When she read "The Boxcar Children" to the class, I was amazed.  I felt like I was Jesse in the story.  I truly experienced everything those children did in my mind's eye.  Another thing that I loved about Mrs. Goodmunson is how she made each of us feel so special on or around our birthdays.  If you had a birthday that month, Mrs. Goodmunson would take you to the cafeteria and help you back a small cake while the other students were at lunch or recess.  We had to move in April of that year, just before my birthday.  Mrs. Goodmunson knew how much I had been looking forward to that cake so she surprised me--"Big Time"!  While I was outside at recess, she and a few students decorated the room.  She brought in a cake, big enough for the entire class.  When I walked in the room, I spotted a giant card that said, "We will miss you!"  If that wasn't enough, she gave me a gift; it was a children's book, The Runaway Flying Horse by Paul-Jacques Bonzon.  On the inside cover she wrote, "Dear Tonya,  You will be greatly missed.  I hope you enjoy reading this book on the way to your new home in Alabama!  Love, Mrs. Goodmunson."
      I knew from the minute I was in Mrs. Goodmunson's class that I wanted to be a teacher.  I have personally tried to be a positive role model for my students like Mrs. Goodmunson was to me.  I wonder if she knows what a difference she made in my life?

--Tonya Davis

P.S.  The picture I have attached to this post is my 2nd grade school picture.  Wouldn't it be something if Mrs. Goodmunson found this blog?

     

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Check Out My January Teacher Products on TpT!




    I have been busy creating some fun things for classroom teachers for the month of January.  They are available at my TpT store (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Tonya-Davis).  I hope you will check them out and leave me feedback.  See a few of the activities (January 15:  National Hat Day, January Writing Prompts:  Birthdays of the Rich and Famous, Celebrating Betsy Ross's Birthday, and Kid Inventors' Day:  January 17) listed above.  Other January activities include a Martin Luther King, Jr. Tic-Tac-Toe differentiated activity and "I Have a Dream" Word Search and Maze Fun.

One Devastated Teacher...Can't Go to Japan

      Well, one reason I started this blog was because my family was scheduled to go to Japan this month for 2 1/2 years.  My husband is in the U.S. Navy so we all supposed to move as a family.  My family was uprooted from Florida to move to California for 4-5 months to prepare for the move.  Just a couple of weeks ago, I learned that I was "denied" to move to Japan because of my asthma.  I was quite devastated because I left a job that I loved to support my husband overseas.  Now he is going to Japan alone and my daughter and I are going to be moving back east, but not to our "home city" (because our house is being rented for 2 years).  Instead we are going to be staying in a small town (near Pensacola) where most of our family lives.  After my husband returns, hopefully we can all return home.
      The good news is that I have some new job prospects--one is a possible return to the classroom and the other is working for a virtual school.  I would love to do either one and will let you know... In the meantime, my daughter and I have to prepare to move across country.  I dread saying goodbye (for now) to my husband, but I know this is going to be a great experience for him.  I will definitely fly over to visit him later this year.