Show & Tell

Being a teacher has got to be one of the best and most rewarding jobs in the entire world.

My classroom is very goal driven. I have taught my students about the reward of working hard and always doing their best. It was such an incredible experience today to allow their little minds to enter into my world and show them how I am just as much of a dreamer as they are.

Today I brought in the Miss New Mexico USA crown and sash. I introduced the concept by explaining that I had recently been selected for a new job and that I even had a uniform for it. I explained how I had to answer questions that allowed me to display my intelligence and that because of how hard I worked in college I was able to do such. They caught on to the concept very well, I was very impressed ( though they never seize to amaze me).

I pulled the sparkly sash out of it's box and watched as their faces lit up, it was so sweet.....

a.m. class

p.m. class

 Then we passed the crown around, all of my students were able to touch it and feel it. It was a lot of fun....

Next, I let them all try it on, they LOVED this so much, even the boys got really into it!

And finally we took a few group pictures, everyone took turns holding the crown or the sash....

a.m.

a.m.

p.m.

p.m.

I am so lucky to be their teacher. They are magnificent little human beings and it is such an honor to be trusted with their education and their futures. I can only hope that they never lose sight of their big dreams and that one day, many years from now, they will think back and remember that their quirky pre-k teacher knew that there were big things planned for their futures.

It's going to be a great year.

"With a Little Help from My Friends"

(Photo Credit: Sandra Deming, Model: Brooke Boswell)

I can't explain how imperative it is to surround yourself with the most incredible and supportive people. Every angle of your life should involve amazing and inspiring people who fuel your energy and enhance your life. Most importantly, you should always consider yourself lucky and grateful to have their company as an ingredient to your world.

On Saturday October 23rd (the night of the Miss New Mexico USA pageant) I was shocked at how unbelievably calm and relaxed I was, of course I was a nervous wreck and was so surprised and delighted by every advancement I had made throughout the event (top 10 to top 5 to the crowning), but for some reason I was oddly calm. As I stood backstage I asked myself "Brittany, why are you so calm? Do you for some reason not want this?" I was very confused. Of course this was something that I wanted, for the past six years this has been at the top of my mind and the underpinning of my dreams.

I reflected on this unusual calmness even further, and then, all of the sudden it came to me. I was so calm because I was so completely content. I was content with the people in my life and the life that I was leading. I had over 50 people who had traveled from all over (L.A., Denver, Las Vegas, El Paso, Gallup, Las Cruces, Colorado Springs, Farmington) just to show their support. Not to mention the overwhelming support I received via Facebook, Twitter, email, phone calls, cards, flowers and so forth. I was so touched and humbled by all of this. I knew that even if I walked off that stage with nothing more then 10 sore toes from the high-heels and 3 layers of butt glue on my tush that I was so incredibly lucky to be  supported and loved by so many magnificent people. I knew that I would have been perfectly satisfied because I would gracefully have walked off stage only to find myself surrounded by all of the people who had come so far and invested so much just to support little ole' me.

I have no idea why my life has been rewarded. I have no idea why I am so lucky to know so many phenomenal people and I am able to call them my family, friends, co-workers, roommates, sisters, students and so forth. What I do I know is that this is the very element and foundation to all of the success I have found in my life.

Surround yourself with positive, inspiring, and supportive people and constantly cultivate gratitude of such. You will never live a disappointing life if you do this, I can promise you that.

Dream Big

Well, it's time for a major update.

As I was driving back from Ruidoso, NM (more on that later) I was reflecting on all of the ways I can potentially share joy with the world. I immediately thought of this blog and how many people have told me how much they love reading about my experiences in my classroom. I thought I would capitalize on that and add even more about my experiences even outside of my classroom and how everything correlates.

In my classroom we have a little saying, I say to my students every morning "Why do we come to school boys and girls?" and they reply with "To make our brains grow!!!" then I say "Yes! Because if your brain is big that means you are smart, and if you are smart what can you do?" and then they respond with "ANYTHING YOU WANT!!" and they just love this. Every morning we do it and every morning they act as if it is the very meaning and drive to their little lives. Well, now Ms. Toll finally has some concrete proof for them.

This past weekend I was in Ruidoso, competing for Miss New Mexico USA 2011. After six years of preparation it all finally paid off and I became Miss New Mexico USA 2011 on Saturday October 23rd. I attribute a lot of my successes to my education. I have worked extremely hard throughout my educational career and especially during the four years I was in college. I also attribute my success to the incredible people in my life who support me and help me be the best me I can be, many of whom I met in school or at college. Not that my students every doubted me, but hopefully it will be as real as ever to them. I am Miss New Mexico USA because I worked very hard, and now I have been able to be "anything I want."

I hope that my influence with my students doesn't just stop in the classroom. I hope that as Miss New Mexico USA I can motivate and inspire people to work hard and set their minds on "anything they want." I know the world is full of endless possibilities and I want to help empower others to want and earn success. Hopefully this blog will be the very beginning of that.

Please stay tuned as I hope to share many experiences on here as well as other great things that I find to be contributors to a successful and joyous life. It is my hope that everyone has the opportunity to experience greatness and love.

Now go on.... enjoy a cupcake....

Hello Hello

Oh my, it's been far too long since I've written about my wonderful life as a teacher. So much has happened it's unreal, but the good news is... I'm madly in love with my students. I was afraid that I would forever love last years students more, but nope! I love them all equally!

Here are some pics, because I want to share the love....

The bunnies get plenty of attention, as you can plainly see, and my students LOVE them. :)))

Love and Learning,

Brittany

Oh... PS.... Cameron said that he brushes his teeth with "Hot-Cheeto" flavored toothpaste! Oh my gosh! Where can I get some??? Yum!!

Obama said it....

2 hours away from the classroom and school that I teach at every day Obama said this:

"The No. 1 issue in terms of us succeeding as an economy is going to be how well we educate and how well we train our kids," Obama said. "Nothing else comes close."

I firmly and whole heartily agree with this statement. I believe that in order to overcome poverty all students need to be given the same opportunities and education.

This is why I serve in the location and job that I serve every single day. I feel that with my impact, hopefully this country is one step closer to overcoming poverty.

frenzied

Trying to re-cap my crazy week. As much as teachers NEED Labor Day weekend, I really need even more time to recover and get my life back in order. My closet is just a heap of stuff. I spent 10 minutes yesterday just trying to find one sneaker. Thankfully I cleaned off my desk, which at least helped me sleep much better last night. My house is a disaster, but even more of a disaster was my classroom, and I just don't mean the "room" but even the little children that reside in it for 3 hours a day. In fact, even Cocoa and Carrots (the class rabbits) were running wild around the classroom (out of their cage) today when I arrived.... yup, this is going to be a MAJOR recovery weekend.

One thing that was super awesome about school this week was learning about and celebrating Eid al Fitr (an Islamic holiday) with my students, and enjoying the scrumptious cake that Amena and her family brought in. It totally put so much into perspective for me. No one ever taught me about any other holidays other than Christian holidays and one Jewish holiday. I'm now super revved up about introducing my students to as many different holidays and cultures as I can. I'm really excited about this.

Oh, and today, when each child went around in a circle to say what they wanted to be when they grow up, Alicia responded with "I wanna grow up to be a Brat" luckily, with my large knowledge base of children's likes and dislikes I was able to figure out that she was referring to a doll brand (similar to Barbie). It was still really funny though. Oh, and how do you tell a boy that he can't be Iron Man? Or a little girl that she can't be Tinkerbell? Tough. Especially since I have burned it in their teeny tiny brains that if they "work hard and get smart they can be anything they want to be".... oh, did I say "anything?" Shoot.

Mr. Toll

How can I get Antonio to stop calling me Mr. Toll? I can't decide if I dislike that more than "teacher." At least he has the "Toll" part right.

Smiling:
When I asked the afternoon class today what made them laugh 3 hands went up....
Viviana said "Church makes me laugh." Another little girl raised her hand and said the same thing. Then Elijah B. said "You make me laugh Ms. Toll."

I think that was more flattering then if he had said "you make me learn Ms. Toll." I think it's important for teachers to be so well rounded and to build unique and positive relationships with their little ones. Of all of the people he could have said made him laugh he said me. Day 4 and I have already earned their friendship. I'm beyond honored.

Boys...boys....boys

Out of 33 students, 22 are boys. The Universe is trying to tell me something I think.

The funniest things were happening all day. I am still trying to figure out the little nose pickers, but oh do they crack me up and make me very happy.

In the morning class when we were playing “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?” we were passing around a VERY SMALL green beanbag, and one student picked Ethan to toss to. Well, it wasn’t really a toss, it was actually a chuck right to the head. I figured it couldn’t of hurt, but then he instantly smacked his hand to his forehead and put his head down and held his breath. He covered his eyes with his other hand. For two minutes I tried to make sure he was okay and comfort him and he wouldn’t drop his hands or say a word. I looked at my assistants and none of us knew what to do, all of the other students were just watching… then, he lifted his head and said “It hit my toy!” and he held up his miniature Iron Man figure that was in his hand at the time of the incident. My assistants and I instantly started laughing so hard (possibly the hardest I have ever laughed in front of my students), which created the rest of the class to laugh so hard too. We then moved forward with our game of “Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?”…that had to be one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

I think I should propose that a production crew make a reality tv show out of my classroom. It would be unlike any other reality show… Like Kate+8 but times 5, we could call it Ms.Toll+33? Stupid name, scratch that… I’ll keep thinking about that one.

Oh, and oh my gosh I totally forgot? You want to know a secret? My students are really flippin’ adorable and here I am on day two, sigh, already in love with every single one of them…. Even Cameron…. Who threw his backpack at me today and kicked Miss Mandi because he didn’t want to come to school. He was fine though after I taught him how to dunk his chicken nuggets into the gravy on his mashed potatoes.

1st day, year 2

Today was a long day. A very long day.

My kids are amazing (duh) and I can't wait to watch them grow. It's crazy that my last class was at the same level as my new students and they grew so much. It was hard to not miss my former students, things just got so comfortable, but I have faith that this new batch will be just as awesome.

My afternoon class was OVER capacity which made things crazy. Not to mention we had like 5 cryers in the afternoon and 2 in the morning, which is 6 more than I had last year. However, I was please to have, this year, a student who cried actually when it was time to go because she didn't want to leave. :)

On a flattering note, I have a student who is in my class because I was highly recommended as a teacher and they only wanted the best for their 4-year-old. So that in itself reminds me of how hard I worked last year and how hard I know I can work this year. Funny thing about this little girl is every time I gave her a direction she responded with "Are you nuts?" Okay Michelle Tanner, that was cute the first time, but by the 12th time I had heard it I was not feelin' in. Oy. Kids.

I really felt the love and support today, which was awesome. Thanks to all of you who were supporting me and have continually supported me on this journey. 

Day by day. One day down, one day easier.

Keep Calm and Love On

Gosh how did it happen so fast?

7:30 a.m., 32 eager little 4-year-old will be inhabiting my classroom. I'm so excited to meet these new characters, but frankly I'm not ready to get use to a new batch of youngsters. I'm afraid they'll make me miss my former students.... who I loved so terribly much.

I can't wait to start teaching and learning. I can't wait to get to know them and to share the next 9.5 months of my life with them.... we'll, actually less because of vacation time. Oy. It's going to fly by.

Be ready for documentation of all the quirky and hilarious things that they say and do. :)


Oh.... and on Wednesday.... if you happen to think of a little ole' pre-k teacher in Gallup, NM say a prayer for her and send her some good vibes because believe me, she's gonna need it.

Love and Learning,

Ms. Toll