Welcome Back

Hello!

It has been seven years since I typed in this third-grade blog, taught in private school, completed my master’s degree, and returned to public school. 

My personal life has been filled with lots of challenges and many, many blessings. We are healthy. We are learning as we go. We continue to rise to whatever comes our way, and here we are, doing and trying our best. Teenage parenting is hard, I tell ya!

I have given myself permission and time to find some parts of me that I took for granted. It feels so good to be here! So, welcome back…

You are in the right place if you are:

• A third-grade teacher (or second-grade teacher) looking for ideas to implement in your classroom (tested and approved by my students). 🥰
• Looking for supplemental resources ready to be implemented in your classroom. ✅
• Searching for ideas to keep you going! Did I say I love organization too? 😎
• Looking to save time by trying what has worked for me so you get back to what is important…spending time with your students. ⏰
• Looking to connect with a teacher who continues to be as passionate about her job as she was 18 years ago. 👩🏽‍🏫                                                          

I would love to hear from you!  Please reach out anytime via Instagram DMs and say hello.

New Blog Design!

I literally just finished e-mailing my blog designer. I am sure you have heard of Gabby from Gabby's Classrooms, right?  She is amazing and so easy to work with.  She made my new blog look happy and refreshed, and I am so grateful for her work ethic and amazing designs.

Adios old design. Hello, new you!

Love the new fonts and the colors!

Graduate school and life have kept me busy. I hope I can be a better blogger soon one day :)

Here's to meeting you soon!

It Was Not An Easy Decision

My apologies for being absent for the last 39 days.  Lots of changes around here.

I have been checking my IG account a bit, but blogging has not been possible. I hope you had not forgotten about me :)

Let's go back to January....  I decided it was time to update my resume... you know, to look for a 'new' job.I decided that teaching is totally my thing, so the only thing I could think of, was to apply at the school my own two children attend.  I gathered my fresh updated resume, my five letters of recommendation, my references, and asked the administrator (I guess private schools do not have principals) for five minutes of her time. 

One nice cold day in January I handed her my paperwork.  I think she was a bit surprised but nicely chatted with me about her school.  I knew much about her school through a parent's eye, but I had questions as a possible future staff member.  I was told the chances were not good.  The school is small (about 250-300 kids) and teachers do love it there.  I left knowing I would probably never get an interview nor a job :(

March came around and I had heard nothing from them.  I had given up.  My husband and I had been discussing plan B,C, and D by then.  Sure enough, I get a phone call asking if I wanted to interview for a position. I am pretty sure I interrupted the lady on the phone before she could change her mind.  My family and I went on our cruise and the day after we came back, I sat in front of 5 nice ladies (all administrators of the other campuses in the area).  I was glad the administrator from my kids' school was there.  She made me feel much more comfortable.  So, they asked me if I was interested in being a Spanish teacher.  I quickly explained to them that teaching Spanish had never been my ideal.  I have always wanted my own classroom, and being a specialist was not what I was really looking for.  Some people thought I was crazy for not taking the opportunity to get out of the classroom, but like I said... I belong in the classroom.  We continued with the interview, and said our good byes.  

A day later, I  receive an e-mail with a job offer. I called them back and they offered me a job as a part time intervention assistant, and part time K-5 Spanish teacher.  I quickly accepted, but beg them to keep me in mind in case a classroom job came available.  I am going to be totally honest with you, I was not thrilled, I was excited to have the opportunity to get my foot in the door, but not thrilled. 

I then received my contract in the mail.  I called them to clarify some things and then received a new offer.  I then, once again, said yes as fast as I could! 

Meet the newest Third Grade Teacher with a Second Grade Blog :) 

Making the decision to say yes was easy.  Understanding that I was about to leave my home for the last 8 years was not.   I will not lie  and tell you that everything was peachy at my old school.  There were a billion things that made me doubt my decision to leave on the daily basis.  It was my home.  My happy place. I cried. I talked it out. I convinced myself.  I asked for advice.  I wrote a pros/cons list.... It was still so painful.  I knew I could not continue to be my best if I stuck around, so I decided to let it go and believe that everything had happened for a reason.   Once I signed my contract, I then shared it with my team. My amazing team of women who had put up with me for years.  I am not easy to be around sometimes :)  I am too passionate for some. LOL 

I also shared the news with my students and with the closest parents I had worked with for years. My heart ached for days. I am still in a bit of painful denial.  I miss my friends.  I miss those who know me inside out. I miss the comfort they brought to me. I miss my feeling of belonging...but I know I will get there in my new school. 

The hardest day was going to the office and hugging my assistant principal.  I cried. We cried.  I said good bye to my friends. I had not cried like that in a long time.  I walked rapidly to my car and let it all out.  I was having a hard time breathing. I was in pain.  I still am.

I had 5 days off between school years. Let's talk about exhaustion!  Everything at the new school is different. Everything. Not in a bad way, just different.  They use textbooks. I  had never held a reading or math textbook in the last ten years of my career. They have leveled classrooms. They have amazing high expectations that fit my personality ( I have always been the strict teacher).  They do not have a cafeteria. I have one team member instead of 5 or 7.  She is amazing and I could not have had survived without her. Thank you Ms. B.!!!

Everyone has been super welcoming and sweet.  I am going through training and all sorts of new information. My head is about to explode, but I am HAPPY!   My own to kids are thrilled mom works at their school now :) 

I miss my second graders, but third graders are not bad.at.all. :) and kids in school uniforms!!!

I am sorry for the long novel.  If you have been following my blog, you know my posts are short and sweet :)

Here's to an amazing year... To learning. To more time with my family. To new friends. To professional growth. To happiness. 

Wishing you an amazing school year!

Love, 

Back From Vacation

Hello friends! We got back from vacation last Wednesday.  This girl is so relaxed, and I still have one more week off.

I have been working on pictures all afternoon.  I took 440 pictures and I got lucky to be in a few of them.   

Are you ready for a billion pictures of our Disney Cruise?  This post has no school content :)

This beauty took us on a 5 day family journey of relaxation.

Miami is a cool city! I wanted to do the Conga...just because :)

Mr. Disney himself and Mickey were everywhere...you could not help but to smile A LOT. 

We were greeted with a fabulous lunch right after boarding.

Our fabulous cabin had everything you could possibly need.  The best part was the verandah...a super nice touch!

Daily shows by the pool with the big cheese....so.much.fun!

The views, the boat, the entertainment, the wind, the heat....just what we needed :)

First port of call...Grand Cayman.  Snorkeling for the boys, movies by the pool for the girls.

Second port of call...Cozumel.  We met this super cool looking friend.

I had a change to take some pictures of the boat when we were in Cozumel.  It was hot...steamy hot.

We did some shopping. Hubby bought a cool hat and a mask. I just took pictures.

OK...let's talk about the food. Oh! the food you guys.  I am pretty sure I gained a ton of weight.  I am staying away from the scale. I am too afraid.  I tried to eat a ton of salads and a daily small dessert. 

I am telling you, the food is to die for. I was the only one who ate Mickey's waffles, and I felt like a kid in a candy store :)

We ate at a different restaurant everyday. Each restaurant had a different theme and some gorgeous menus.

The daily towel animals and the mini chocolates are such a great touch.  One of them borrowed my daughter's bathing suit.

Baby crawling raises, Disney characters, and the gorgeous princesses made it to the central atrium the place to be.

I had to take this picture. It reminded me of my bloggy friend Jaime :) I took it for you girl!

Came home to a ton of laundry...and I cannot wait to do this all over again.  Have you cruised before?

No Grading. No Lesson Planning.

Can you really believe that?!  I am seating here blogging.  I have no papers to grade.  I am not checking e-mails tonight (maybe tomorrow morning), and for once in my life, I am not spending my weekend lesson planning. Pinch.me.now.

Well, I know reality will come back to me soon, but for right now, my kids are enjoying time with my student teacher.  I am in the classroom just for writing. Well... I must tell the truth.  It has been hard for me to stay away because I have no where to go.  I have been hiding in the classroom next door, I go in and out of our classroom, I talk her ear off during our specials time, and for some reason I am there way too much.  I need to give her space. I do!  I know how much I enjoyed being with the kids (alone) when I student taught. I owe her that, big time!

So, what is one to do?

- Update a few TPT products.  Nothing major.I changed a few tiny things.

 Find this one HERE       

 

                                                                    This one HERE  :)

- Enjoy the weather instead of being inside working. We had a gorgeous day today! My daughter and I played outside with our neighbor's dog. Oh, we love this dog!  We are not ready for a new pup just yet, so we get our dog fix playing with Tucker.

- Work on TPT products.  I have a note book full with ideas. I must get some of them done.

- Get ready to choose an outfit for picture day. A big day in the life of a teacher!  I wish I had lost some weight :)

- Think about what to blog about when your kiddos are not 'available' for photographs :)  My students are my guinea pigs, and right now they are being help hostage by Mrs. M :)  Love her for that!
Please help me.  I need ideas.

I am getting tired already. I must stop and enjoy my alone time with the couch. There is a bowl of carrots, a cup of coffee and a corn muffin waiting for me.

Merry Christmas!

 

I like to label, label

I went back to work this past Thursday. I spent two days emptying my mailbox, reading deleting e-mails. moving furniture, scrubbing tables...
I will be there tomorrow to finish off some last minute details :) I am mentally ready for Monday. So excited, I cannot sleep anymore.

Here's what I accomplished.

Do you enjoy labeling as much as I do?

Here's to hoping tomorrow is extra productive :)

Back from Vacation

We are back from vacation. Let me show you a few pictures.

We rented a small cottage/cabin close to Lake James (30 miles from Asheville). Hubby wanted a bigger lake, but this ended up being a great beginning lake to introduce the kids to canoeing and fishing with daddy for hours and hours. 

They left bright and early, while I slept in and spent some quality time with my mom. Win-win situation :)

Sadly, we found many places closed to the public due to the rain. But the weather was beautiful! Some clouds, nice sunny days, and rain by the time we were ready to relax. 

I read a fabulous book (and finished it!), played some scrabble (I lost) and we saw a bear!!! I mean, a cute wooded bear at a restaurant, but nevertheless, we saw a bear :)

I have hundreds of pictures to download from my 'good' camera, but I could not wait to share with you. Now...it is time to reply to all the emails, catch up with bloglovin' and work on something for school. I just can't stay away!

Spam Problems, and free books for my classroom.

You know that word verification password you have to type to prove you are 'human'?  I am sorry friends, but I had to turn it on. I am getting tons of very inappropriate comments and I need a break from deleting them. I do know this may reduce the amount of times someone comments on my blog (I hope not), but the language being used is kinda nasty. I may try to turn it off in a few weeks and try again. I'm sorry!

This is a picture of all the books I have in my library, minus all the books the kids have in their browsing boxes. 

I have never thought I have enough books. I always want more books. I always need more books :)

I get books from our monthly Scholastic book club, and today...

I attended a book sale. Today,  teachers are allowed to grab as many books as you want for free. The book sale for the public begins tomorrow. I walked out with 3 huge boxes and a big smile. 

Where do you get your books from?

Time for me to shop! Today is the last day and clipart, borders and a few other second grade products are waiting for me. Hello Wishlist!  Don't forget to leave feedback. 

Don't forget to leave feedback. MSS Store.

State Bloggers and TPT Love

Diane @ Fifth in the Middle created some super cute buttons for you to link your blog by state.

So far, there are 16 NC bloggers joining the party :)

Find her here.

Right before graduation, I had a phone interview with a school in the area. We then decided to visit  the school and stay with my in-laws who live in Chapel Hill. 

One sunny, hot, humid afternoon in June of 2004,  I met the second grade team, administration and reading specialist. Two hours later, I received my first job offer. I am pretty sure I screamed after I hung up the phone. I wanted second grade badly enough to move miles away. 

Northern Kentucky had been our home for 11 years before that. We had a beautiful older home, which had been remodeled from top to bottom by my hubby. It was a beauty at the end. Sold it in 3 days!!! 

We miss our friends, the snow (we LOVE snow), and our beautiful home. 

I have to be honest, sometimes we regret the move. Sometimes we are not sure if this is home. But we have loved the weather, the closeness to the beach (2 hours away), the gorgeous mountains and the amazing friends we have made here.  Home is where love resides, memories are created, friends always belong, and laughter never ends, right? 

Sweet Tea? Sign me up!

And.....Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs 

created these icons. Not sure which one to choose for my blog. Which one do you like best?

   Find them here. FREE!

D.C. Picture Overload

Back to business friends.

Our trip to D.C. was a grand success. The kids really enjoyed every minute of it. 318 pictures to prove it :) The drive was super easy. The kids were not so good on the way up...too tired from school.

We came back and I got sick. Fever, chills, fever, chills, repeat that for two whole days. I got out of bed to take a shower and finally to visit the doctor.

Went back to work today...three workdays. The kids return Tuesday and I cannot wait to see them. Really.

Ready for pictures?

When you are married to a pilot...you spent HOURS in a museum full of flight stuff. 

We are hoping to return soon and see more!