An Introduction

Introducing Me…

So let’s start off with an introduction. My name is Michelle Martinez and I am married to the love of my life, a truly amazing and talented chef, Manny. We are a blended family of one daughter (mine) and two sons (his). Our kids are 13, 13, and 11 (almost 12). Having kids so close in age should be extra fun when we have 3 new drivers or 3 new college students all at the same time!! We adopted our gorgeous German Shepherd dog, Brinkley, one year ago to make our family complete.

Why Teaching?

I have been teaching for over 25 years. I graduated with my teaching degree in December 1991, subbed for a bit and then was called to interview for a position that had been created by some grant funding. I was hired to do Chapter 1 (now called Title) Math for 1st – 6th grades. Because it was a grant position, it was only for that semester, so after the school year wrapped up, I moved to a new city and worked in a preschool with 2-5 year olds.

Before going to my current school, I taught in the town just over from my hometown for six years (plus some subbing). I taught first, fifth and fourth grade during my tenure there. I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Reading and after graduating in May 2000, I made the move to my forever home of Bloomington, IL and Sheridan Elementary, where I currently teach. I call my classroom “My Happy Place.” I love that room so much for so many reasons, but classroom design and organization is one of my favorite topics, so look for plenty of posts on that! It is actually my seventh classroom in my school!

I taught third grade for five years (in 3 different classrooms), fourth grade for seven years (2 different classrooms) and kindergarten for the last six years (1 classroom—I think I see a pattern here…). During all that time, I have had the privilege of helping many new colleagues, student teachers, clinical students and volunteers to grow and learn about the teaching profession.

What are your greatest challenges?

I am so excited to be able to share more here on this blog. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what your greatest challenges are and what you would like to learn here.

That’s all for today…so happy to meet you and welcome to my little slice of the internet! My greatest wish is to be able to help you. I’ll be sharing my ideas for classroom management, curriculum, assessment, engagement, décor, and whatever else serves your needs. Don’t be shy! Introduce yourself and let me know what your greatest challenges are so that we can work through them together!