Welcome to the 21st Century!

This summer I am preparing for my twelfth year of teaching primary school.  (Well, actually I am resting from teaching eleven years of primary school, too!)  The first five years of my career I taught ungraded primary with a Kindergarten/First Grade split class and then a self-contained first grade class.  The second five years of my career I served as my school's Title I Reading and Math teacher.  I love this position!  I was able to take on some leadership positions in my school, make a difference with struggling learners in grades K through third, and take more time to focus on my family at home.  This past year I was disappointed that budget cuts and increased enrollment meant I would have to leave my intervention position to return to the classroom.  I chose to teach Kindergarten and was pleasantly surprised to find a renewed love of teaching, learning, and creating with my young students.  I was also surprised by my own third child at home!  Jude rounds out our family of five and is adored by his big sisters Eve and Leah.  My husband, Jay, and I have a passion for education in our close-knit Murray, KY, community.  He is a preschool teacher and assistant basketball coach for our district.  We have been actively involved with ushering the 21st Century into our classrooms.  Smartboards, document cameras, iPads, differentiation and standards-based instruction/assessment have become integral parts of our days. 
Through this blog I hope to share ways that I am incorporating the new Common Core standards, 21st Century Learning, and College/Career Readiness into my Kindergarten classroom.  I would also love to hear from other like-minded primary teachers who believe that this new generation of students has different needs, they are never too young to learn and work at high levels, and that teaching must reform to provide the best education the 21st Century teacher has to offer!