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HoJo's Teaching Adventures, LLC

Fun, Engaged, Impactful Relationships & Learning

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About Me

Have you ever loved your job? Like loved it so much that you gave it everything you have? Yea, me too!

Fun, engaged, impactful.

Those are the three words that first come to mind when I think of teaching. Read on to learn more about my teaching story and see why those three words mean so much to me.

I never intended to be a teacher. Honestly, I never really considered it. Until that preschool gig in college… Twelve hours a week at minimum wage as a preschool aide. That sealed the deal!

I switched my major to an Eled/Sped degree and never looked back.

My first year teaching was in my hometown. I loved it! My students were amazing! Teaching 3rd and 4th grades together was a new experience for me. I was overwhelemd (in a good way), and pushed through getting all the curriculum covered and simply trying to keep my head above water. PHEW!

Year 2 found me in the same school, but I added 2nd grade into the mix. Three grades. One classroom. Did I mention that over half of them were ELL students to boot?

Year 3? A new school. I was a half time Reading Recovery teacher and a half time 1st-3rd grade Title I reading & math teacher. If you’ve been Reading Recovery trained, you know how much work that first year can be!

Year 4 I was at the same school, BUT I made the move to a Kindergarten classroom. It wasย by far my favorite year of teaching! Again, I struggled to simply figure out what I was doing, but I made it work.

Year 5 – another new school. (Notice a trend yet?) This time I was teaching 5th grade special education as an inclusion teacher that floated between three gen ed classrooms. We didย very little pull out. I saw a ton of different teaching and classroom management strategies I hadn’t been exposed to yet, and I feel those three veteran teachers helped shape me even more.

Year 6 = yet another new school. I found myself teaching 6th grade in an elementary setting. Talk about a change from the last classroom I had to myself! But yet somehow 6th graders and Kindergarteners are similar in so many ways.

Year 7 we departmentalized across 4th, 5th, and 6th grade at my school. I taught all the reading and most of the writing, while the other two teachers took over the math, science, and social studies. I thought I had it made! I actually got to teach the same 6th grade reading curriculum two years in a row. WOOHOO! It’s so nice to be able to do more activities and pull amazing resources when you know what’s going on with the basics. ๐Ÿ™‚

Year 8 – yet another change, this time to administration! I was the K-6 principal at two elementary buildings and the K-12 direct Special Education Director. WHEW!

What a ride my teaching career has been so far! Now I’m a work at home mama who does a bit of tot schooling with my two young kiddos.

As you probably noticed, I changed schools and grade levelsย A LOT. Every year was something new and exciting. Yet this meant I was trying to start over from scratch each time. Thankfully I was given curriculum in each district, but it wasn’t always the greatest. I often had to scramble to find engaging content that would keep my students motivated to learn.

But I learned some VERY important lessons!

Form relationships. Make learning fun. Keep it engaging. Make an impact.

This applies to relationshipsย and learning in general.

Hence my blog tagline – fun, engaging, impactful learning and relationships.

This should apply to be the relationships you build with your studentsย and their learning.

There’s nothing greater than seeing students engaged when they are learning in your classroom. They areย having fun. You know you are making an impact as a teacher. Then again, one thing might be better…having former students approach you and thank you for all the fun they had in your classroom. That is when you’ve reached the teacher jackpot!

Thanks for stopping by! You’ve reached one of my little corners of the internet world. On this blog you’ll find great freebies, plenty of teaching ideas, and some resources to help your students be engaged in their learning in a fun way.

You can also find me at HoJo’s Life Adventures.

ย Please consider connecting with me via Social Media!
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Read on to learn more about me!

ย ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here’s how I got my nickname

My grandma immigrated from France to the United States when she was 20. She still speaks a mile a minute! When my parents told her my name was Heather Jo, she said it back so fast that it sounded like HoJo. That’s all it took – it stuck!!

ย To this day my family actually calls me HoJo or Jo more often than they do Heather. I think I was about eight when I threw a fit because I honestly thought my grandpa did not know my real name!! There were also four Heather’s at school – so some of my friends even called me HoJo. It’s about as second nature to me as anything!

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Favorites
foods – Italian, Mexican, pizza, and a good steak or burger
movie – The Lion King
smell – fresh cut grass, horses
animalย – horse
book – too many to even think of!

I truly appreciate you taking the time to check out my blog! Please make sure to read my disclosure statement while I’m here. Basically it says I do use affiliates. So if you’re interested in supporting me, simply clicks on the various links/ads you see on this blog. For example, if you want to shop on Amazon – click here. Or if you want to purchase something from my store – click here.ย 

If you want to learn more about my teaching credentials, you can see my South Dakota teaching license here –

A copy of Heather Jo Whetham-Fergen's teaching certificate - 2019-2024

Here’s my little family. This was just shortly after we got our petite mini goldendoodle. ๐Ÿ™‚

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Throwback to my first year of teaching AND the pho Throwback to my first year of teaching AND the photo I used to stay somewhat incognito on TpT for the first few years. Those glasses! ๐Ÿ˜†๐Ÿ˜Ž Do you remember this photo??
Have you ever made your own fishing game? Cut out Have you ever made your own fishing game? Cut out fish, write whatever you want kids to learn (I used sight words), attach paper clips, and then go "fishing" with magnets. It's so fun!!
๐Ÿซ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿซ ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿซ
This was my Kindergarten class. Our rural South Da This was my Kindergarten class. Our rural South Dakota town only had one classroom per grade, so I was with this group all the way through school - K-12. About 50% of us from this photo graduated together. I think eight of the 11 graduates in my high school class were in the 12 Year Club. Kinda crazy! โฃ
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How big was your high school graduating class? ๐ŸŽ“ #kindergarten #throwbackthursday #kindergartenthrowback #teacherthrowback #throwback #tt #teacherlife #iteach #iteachtoo #tptfs #teacherspayteachers #igteachers #teachersofinstagram #tpt #teachergram #teachersofthegram #iloveteaching #teaching #earlychildhood #teachersofig #teachersfollowteachers #lifeofateacher #kindergartenteacher
Have you joined our #ElementaryTeacherLife Faceboo Have you joined our #ElementaryTeacherLife Facebook group? Click the link in my bio to join like minded elementary teachers today! #elementary #elementaryteachers
Work on adding within 5 with your preschool or Kin Work on adding within 5 with your preschool or Kindergarten classroom or homeschool kids with this FREE download. Great for review, extra practice, a worksheet alternative, centers or stations, a distance learning packet, and more. Click to get this freebie for early math skills today! #math #mathcenters #AddingTo5 #preschool #kindergarten #freemath #free #mathgames #mathpuzzles #kindergartenmath #kindergartenteacher #preschoolmath #preschoolteacher #prek #prekmath #prekteacher #maths #iteach #iteachtoo #tptfs #teacherspayteachers #igteachers #teachersofinstagram #tpt #teachergram #teachersofthegram #iloveteaching #teaching
This EASY bee bulletin board is sure to be a hit i This EASY bee bulletin board is sure to be a hit in the elementary classroom. Click through to see the puzzles that make this display. It's quick, easy, and fun for the kids to help make! Various math puzzles AND editable options available. #1stgrade #springbulletinboard #spring #springtimes #springintheclassroom #bumblebee #bees #beebulletinboard #springactivities #springpuzzles #2ndgrade #3rdgrade #4thgrade #5thgrade #1stgrade #secondgrade #thirdgrade #fourthgrade #fifthgrade #sopretty #beekeeping #bee #bumblebees
These FREE star puzzles are perfect for elementary These FREE star puzzles are perfect for elementary kids working on their basic math facts. Click through to the link in my profile to get your freebie today!
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