Hello and cami (j-my)! Cami means welcome in Yup'ik, the language of the area I teach in. My name is Jessie Jones and I am a second year first grade teacher in Akiachak, a village located in southwest Alaska! I saw this hashtag on Instagram and wanted to join in on the fun!
Here's a bit more about me to go with my #meetmemonday post:
I was born and raised in north central Kansas in a town named Beloit. I have a younger sister named Jamie, who is currently working at a hardware store in Beloit. My mom and dad also love in Beloit. My mom works in environmental services at NCK Tech and my dad is a propane sales and serviceman for Farmway.
In high school I was a cheerleader, played violin in the orchestra, showed and judged livestock through 4-H and FFA, and wrote for the school newspaper. My English and journalism teacher, Jo Dean, my orchestra teacher, Michael Harbaugh, and my ag and FFA advisor, Ed Devore are the people who inspired me to become a teacher.
I attended my dream college, Kansas State University, and they fully prepared me to be a teacher. I enjoyed attending K-State football games, participating KSU's KNEA-SP program, and relaxing with my dogs and husband when I wasn't attending classes and working at Subway.
I have been with my husband, Collin for almost 8 years, and we have been married for 3. He is a substitute teacher at the school I work at. In Kansas he was a welder and volunteer firefighter.
We have 3 dogs: a 4 year old Chiweenie named Hemi, Diesel, a 3 year old Black Lab, and a 9 month old pup we rescued from the village, Windsor. Hemi likes to snuggle under the covers on cold (or warm) Alaskan nights. Diesel's favorite things to do are swim and play fetch. Windsor enjoys annoying his siblings and wiggling.
When I'm not teaching, I can be found reading a book in bed or in the weight room! I have always LOVED reading and enjoy fostering that love in my students. Some of my favorite books are The Hunger Games trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Holes, The Girl on the Train, the Red Queen series, An Ember in the Ashes series, and many, many more. My husband and I started lifting weights last year to get healthy and kill time. I love the feeling I get after a good workout, and it's a great way to relax, de-stress, and focus on myself.
Lastly, here's some more info about where I live! Akiachak is pronounced ah-key-ah-check. It is a village of about 600 people. It is not on Alaska's road system; the only way to get here is by plane or boat. Akiachak is located on the Kuskokwim River, which drains into the Bering Sea. Half of the village doesn't have running water. 99% of the village are Alaska natives. The native have a subsistence lifestyle, which means they live off the land. There are 2 stores here, but getting cargo shipped here is very expensive and the store prices reflect that. It's about $4 for a quart of milk, $10 for a bag of chips, $9 for a package of Oreos, and $4 for a Powerade, just to put things in perspective. I do most of my shopping online. Despite these thing, I have come to love the village, especially the people in it!
I was born and raised in north central Kansas in a town named Beloit. I have a younger sister named Jamie, who is currently working at a hardware store in Beloit. My mom and dad also love in Beloit. My mom works in environmental services at NCK Tech and my dad is a propane sales and serviceman for Farmway.
In high school I was a cheerleader, played violin in the orchestra, showed and judged livestock through 4-H and FFA, and wrote for the school newspaper. My English and journalism teacher, Jo Dean, my orchestra teacher, Michael Harbaugh, and my ag and FFA advisor, Ed Devore are the people who inspired me to become a teacher.
I attended my dream college, Kansas State University, and they fully prepared me to be a teacher. I enjoyed attending K-State football games, participating KSU's KNEA-SP program, and relaxing with my dogs and husband when I wasn't attending classes and working at Subway.
I have been with my husband, Collin for almost 8 years, and we have been married for 3. He is a substitute teacher at the school I work at. In Kansas he was a welder and volunteer firefighter.
We have 3 dogs: a 4 year old Chiweenie named Hemi, Diesel, a 3 year old Black Lab, and a 9 month old pup we rescued from the village, Windsor. Hemi likes to snuggle under the covers on cold (or warm) Alaskan nights. Diesel's favorite things to do are swim and play fetch. Windsor enjoys annoying his siblings and wiggling.
When I'm not teaching, I can be found reading a book in bed or in the weight room! I have always LOVED reading and enjoy fostering that love in my students. Some of my favorite books are The Hunger Games trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Holes, The Girl on the Train, the Red Queen series, An Ember in the Ashes series, and many, many more. My husband and I started lifting weights last year to get healthy and kill time. I love the feeling I get after a good workout, and it's a great way to relax, de-stress, and focus on myself.
Lastly, here's some more info about where I live! Akiachak is pronounced ah-key-ah-check. It is a village of about 600 people. It is not on Alaska's road system; the only way to get here is by plane or boat. Akiachak is located on the Kuskokwim River, which drains into the Bering Sea. Half of the village doesn't have running water. 99% of the village are Alaska natives. The native have a subsistence lifestyle, which means they live off the land. There are 2 stores here, but getting cargo shipped here is very expensive and the store prices reflect that. It's about $4 for a quart of milk, $10 for a bag of chips, $9 for a package of Oreos, and $4 for a Powerade, just to put things in perspective. I do most of my shopping online. Despite these thing, I have come to love the village, especially the people in it!
Now on to #teachingtuesday! My favorite subject to teach is reading! These are some engaging games/activities I use in my room:
I use letter dice for students to practice reading nonsense CVC words and to practice blending.
Wikki Stix are fun to make sight words with! Another fun sight word activity is a game called Fiddlesticks. You write sight words on a Popsicle stick and put them in a cup. Add a Popsicle stick with an end colored red. Students take turns drawing a stick and reading the word. If they read the word correctly, they keep the stick, if they get it wrong, it goes back in the cup. If the red stick gets drawn, the student that drew it has to put all their sticks back in the cup. This game is easy to make, easy to differentiate, and the kids love to play it!
Finally, using culturally relevant texts is a great way to engage students and get them interested in reading and learning. The texts featured in my photo are The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story by Mindy Dwyer, Lucy's Dance by Deb Vanasse, Berry Magic by Teri Sloat, and The Alaska Mother Goose by Gill Shelley.
I use letter dice for students to practice reading nonsense CVC words and to practice blending.
Wikki Stix are fun to make sight words with! Another fun sight word activity is a game called Fiddlesticks. You write sight words on a Popsicle stick and put them in a cup. Add a Popsicle stick with an end colored red. Students take turns drawing a stick and reading the word. If they read the word correctly, they keep the stick, if they get it wrong, it goes back in the cup. If the red stick gets drawn, the student that drew it has to put all their sticks back in the cup. This game is easy to make, easy to differentiate, and the kids love to play it!
Finally, using culturally relevant texts is a great way to engage students and get them interested in reading and learning. The texts featured in my photo are The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story by Mindy Dwyer, Lucy's Dance by Deb Vanasse, Berry Magic by Teri Sloat, and The Alaska Mother Goose by Gill Shelley.
I'll let the pictures do the talking for #whereiworkwednesday. :)
For #threadsthursday I wore my favorite and most comfortable outfit. The top is by Olive & Oak, made exclusively for Stitch Fix. I love the slouchy fit, the color, and that it's long enough to wear with leggings! I also got the leggings from Stitch Fix. They are by Rune and I love how thick they are. The brown riding boots are old, I got them online for really cheap and I wear them all the time. I got my necklace from Wal-Mart for $10. :)
#friendsfriday features my 22 wonderful students, and Tamara, the paraprofessional that helps me manage all of them. I seriously could not do it without her, plus she makes some bomb bulletin boards!
Well that's it for my #bhteacherweek16 post and first linky! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)