Hi there! Thanks for clicking on my brand new blog!
This year has been an fantastic start to the year. I have an amazing team, that I'm really enjoying working with. They are all incredibly supportive and fun to work with.
I have one teacher in particular to thank for getting this blog off the ground and that's Miss Scarth. Even though I've been teaching for longer than her (not that much longer, I might add), I have already learnt a lot from her about not doubting myself and putting myself out there. For that, I thank you, Miss Scarth!
I'd like this blog to be a bit of everything- fun classroom lesson ideas, sharing classroom experiences, shameless product promotion (but in a helpful, 'Here's how I used it', kind of way) and sharing my thoughts on various things. I hope it also provides a means for me to be reflective on my own teaching practices. I guess I'll figure all that out as it goes and hopefully have fun doing it! For today, I just wanted to introduce myself.
My name is Heather Whitty and I was born and raised in Melbourne, VIC. I continue to live and work in the south eastern suburbs. I was recently married to an amazing man down in Phillip Island. Our honeymoon was one hell of an adventure! From exploring my favourite city in the world (New York City), to being immersed in Icelandic culture and even sleeping in a Finnish snow hotel, my new husband and I had the best time. Check out some of our pics below!
I grew up wanting to be a teacher, although at times it was interspersed with wanting to be a marine biologist, because I thought it meant playing with dolphins all day. My Grade 3 teacher, Mrs Bertram, and my Grade 6 teacher, Mrs Douglas, were hands down the two best teachers I had throughout my primary schooling. There was just something about the two of them that made everything so much fun. I honestly enjoyed coming to school everyday, which is what I wanted my classroom to be about. A place where kids actually want to come and learn. A place where you have to duck as you walk around because student work is hanging from the ceiling. A place where kids know they can have fun and laugh, but still know respect, manners and boundaries.
This year I'm teaching Year 3 and am team leader for the 4th year in a row. It has been a great challenge being team leader, with its definite ups and downs, but I'm enjoying the learning curves it has taken me on so far.
I started my teaching career back in 2009 and have been teaching at the same school throughout. I have taught three years in Year 1, one year in Year 2, two years in Year 4, two years in Year 5 and now my first year in Year 3.
Having taught so many different year levels, I often get asked, "Which year level do you like teaching best?" I find that to be a really tough question to answer, because each level has its pros and cons. I really enjoy the innocence of Year 1 & 2 and the repertoire of Maths games I had for teaching basic number facts. Teaching Year 4 & 5 was a stark contrast, particularly in the level of independence the students had. I loved this particular aspect because we were able to do a lot more self-directed learning projects. I also love how I could joke around and have a lot of fun with the students, in a more 'adult' kind of way.
Coming from Year 5 down into Year 3 has been eye-opening, to say the least. I've said this to a few colleagues of mine and they would tend to agree with me, but I have found it a lot harder to come down to a younger year level, than two of my team members, who have come up from Prep. There are things that I expect the students to be able to do, but they can't as yet. This has been a big adjustment, whereas my other team members came in with little expectation about what the students would be capable of (in comparison to Prep students), so they have been pleasantly surprised. I, on the other hand, have found that to be the most challenging aspect of all. I say 'challenging', but not an unwelcome challenge. Change is always good, just a little scary and overwhelming at times!
Something new for me this year, was branching out into the world of Teachers Pay Teachers. I have always been told by colleagues and friends that I should sell the resources that I make, but never felt confident enough in myself or my abilities to do so.
This year, I threw all those fears out the window and posted some products on my brand new TpT store! It wasn't long before I had my first two sales!! I was so proud of myself and I think I ran around the house for about an hour on such a high. Since then, I've posted some more products on my page. I think this is one of those scary/overwhelming changes I mentioned earlier, but in a good way! No doubt on this blog, you will see some product promotion, but hopefully it's something worthwhile for you or someone you know.
I hope this blog comes as a scary and somewhat overwhelming change too, because they are always the best challenges. They are the ones that have helped me to learn the most about myself. I look forward to sharing my teaching journey with you, come what may! Until next time, keep smiling!
Check out my TpT Store (Mrs Whitty's World): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Whittys-World
Follow me on Instagram: @mrswhittysworld
