Teacher Tuesday: Leslie Roten Edition

Trying to decide who would be the Teacher Tuesday celebrity every week was giving me serious anxiety. I'm telling you, I work with the best. It is impossible to choose. I decided it would be fun to start with a Kinder teacher, then go to 1st grade, and so on until I get to 5th. Then I will highlight some of our specialists and we will go right back to Kinder to start the fun all over again.

So get your Kinder love ready and let me introduce you to the amazing, Leslie Roten.

Caffeinated Counselor Intro

People say Plano is a pretty big city. I don't buy it. If you've been around for a while (you know, like since birth) everyone knows someone, who knows someone, who knows your family.  When I first started at Beverly I heard the name, Leslie Roten a few times and people thought I knew her.  By the time I started teaching, she had taken some time off to stay at home with her sweet kiddos. So to me, she was just a Beverly celeb that I had never actually met. We were lucky enough to get her back a few years ago and our school is better for it. Here are just a few of the ways we are connected...

My mom was her PACE Teacher at Thomas Elementary

Leslie's mom was my 2nd grade teacher one of my favorites EVER!! Now I get to see her at school all the time. I am working on calling her Polly instead of Mrs. Tallas.

When  I was student teaching, Paige O'Kelley would always talk about her AMAZING friend who watched her kids while she was at work...you guessed it...Leslie. These two are still best buddies and it is so cute to see them at work together.

I feel so lucky to know Leslie and to see all the amazing things she does on a daily basis. 

Teacher Interview

How long have you been teaching? 

16 years

What is your classroom decor? 

Monkeys

Look how cute her room is...

What is your favorite story about a student? 

One of my kiddos had been working hard to complete station work before his timer went off, and one day, he finally accomplished his goal. He yelled out, "Hallelujah, my brain finally got it together", and then he proceeded to do a victory dance!

What is your favorite lesson to teach?

I love to teach kiddos character traits and problem solving. Obviously, this is something we ALL teach all year long, but it is SO important that I love teaching and helping my students to be kind human beings who are able to solve their own problems.

Leslie is also amazing at teaching kids to read. She works hard with every kid and meets them on their level. Her teacher table is a fun place to be. She teaches important literacy skills, but also makes it so fun. Look at these cute eye pointers her students wear as they are reading. It reminds them to look at the word and think about its sounds and what makes sense. So fun! 

What inspires you? What is your strong?

I LOVE gaining new ideas from the amazing educators around me so that I am able to do what I can to meet the needs of every kiddo I teach!!

This team sets a great example of effective collaboration. They are all amazing!

What is your favorite Techy Tool?

Osmo on the I-PAD, QR codes, and the green screen app! Still learning . . .

What is your favorite Caffeinated Beverage?

Diet Coke (I know . . . not good for me!)

What is your favorite school celebration?

Kindergarten Friendship Feast!!!

Look at these sweet Kinder  friends acting like a couple of turkeys :)

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

Hang with my daughters and scrapbook.

Ok, here is where I am going to interrupt for a second to show you all how CREATIVE this chick is and not just with her scrapbooks. Her family went to Disney over the summer and she had all these festive countdown days to get them all hyped up. Look at the cuteness...

 Oh, and let me mention, she was doing all of this in the last two weeks of school. You know, when the rest of us were crawling to the couch at the end of the day, curling up in a ball, and maybe changing into PJ's before bed. Maybe. She is awesome and has endless amounts of energy. Even when I know she HAS to be tired, she puts on her peppiest, happiest face and gives her kiddos her best every single day. 

Tell us your best classroom management trick.

I have lots - Attention-grabber sounds and chants, positive behavior awards, clean-up songs, etc.

Look at her teaching in her monkey hat! So cute

Favorite teacher you've ever had?

My mom (Polly Tallas) and Mrs. Hays (Debbie Hays is our PACE specialist. She and Leslie get to work together every day. So cool)

Student Interview

For Mrs. Roten's student interview, I got to spend some time chatting with these two cute Kinder kids, Sophia & Jacob.

I just loved hearing their answers because they really range from sincere and sweet to flying cars. #Kinderlife. Enjoy...

1. What does your teacher do for fun?

Jacob- I don't know, like do some work and stuff?

Sophia- She takes care of her kids.

2. What would your teacher do with $1,000,000?

J- Buy a flying car! They are REALLY expensive!

S- She would save it!

3. If your teacher wasn't a teacher, what would she be?

J- A fly car sale person

S- A house seller lady like my mom and like me.

4. If your teacher was a fruit, which one would she be?

J- Watermelon because I LOVE watermelon and I love her!

S- A strawberry because they are so sweet.

5. How old is your teacher?

J- uhhhh...49?

S- I'll say 59. That's a high number, but not that high. She's young.

6. What scares your teacher?

J&S in unison- SPIDERS!!!!

7. What is something your teacher doesn't like?

J- Yuck Soup- with socks and old tires.

S- Yea, she doesn't like Yuck Soup, but she loves Yum Soup.

This is the book Yuck Soup.

The Kinder classes make something that looks even more delicious than this. 

8. If your teacher could teleport, where would she go?

J- To Monkeyland...with her flying car.

S- To China!

9. IWhat makes your teacher so special?

J- I love her

S- I like her teaching and she teaches us funny stuff.

Other fun facts I learned about Mrs. Roten during this interview:

These are the members of her family...

Sam and Samantha. You might have guessed, but Leslie's oldest daughter is Samantha but she goes by Sam. These two were CONVINCED that these are two different people. Here is how the rest of the conversation went...

Me- Wait, doesn't she have two daughters?

J- Yes. Sam and Samantha. Remember, we told you their names a minute ago.

Me- I thought she had a daughter named Avery?

S- I have met Samantha. She is really nice and pretty.

J- Me too. She is so nice.

Me- So, what about Avery?

S- We haven't met her, so I don't know.

J- Yea, her other daughter is Sam.

-I'm gonna let that one go-

Me- Is Mrs. Roten married?

J- No.

S- I don't know. But she does have a mom named Mrs. Tallas.

Me- But what about her husband? Does she have one?

J- I don't know because we haven't met him. (Cue the hand to the forehead. They seriously don't know why I am not understanding this.)

So, just so we are all clear...

From the left- Sam, Rodney, Avery. They all exist. And it kind of looks like they might be checking out flying cars in this pic!

Until next time! I hope you loved this Teacher Tuesday as much as I did!