Teacher Week: Who

     I'm joining two linky parties today to tell you a little more about myself.

            

       I'm a kindergarten teacher in Southwest Missouri.  This is my third year teaching and my third position!  I began my career as a kindergarten teacher at an urban school in St. Louis.  The following year I moved to a first grade position at the same school.  And this year I've moved to a rural district teaching kindergarten.  I still laugh every time I look out my classroom window and see cows!

      I'm definitely a city girl, but I sure am enjoying myself out here in the country!  My boyfriend and I love trying new things and going new places.  This past weekend we went to our first rodeo and visited the Missouri State Fair.

     Since moving we've also taken a few road trips to Oklahoma and Texas. Traveling is definitely my most beloved hobby.

I also love my momma and my sister,

my baby brother,

and the rest of my family!

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

The movie Clueless, ice cream (any and every kind), ciders, festivals and fairs, road trips, audio books, and step aerobics.

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

 An educational psychologist.  My undergraduate degree is in child psychology, and I'd still like that to be my second career in 20 years or so.

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU

Adventurous, organized, and motivated.

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"I hope the rain holds up so we can have indoor recess!"

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Hillary Clinton

 IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

The Bomb Diggity 

 YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT? 

 Teleporting!  How awesome would it be after a long day of work/traveling/exploring to snap your fingers and be at home on the couch?!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

Make everyday ridiculously amazing. 

IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

 I wouldn't sing anything!  I'm a horrendous singer.  In college we had to sing all the time for sorority stuff, and I'd just lip sync the words!

 ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

Hmmm, that's a tough one!  During the school year I'm a morning person because I have to be.  But I suppose during the summer I do enjoy staying up late and sleeping in!

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

 My alphabet posters!  I have them hanging in my own classroom, and they get a ton of compliments!

SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

I really love fast food!  I'm totally embarrassed to admit it, but I love Taco Bell and McDonalds!  

Now you can go link up for Teacher Week!

Visual Plans - Week 1!

School starts tomorrow!  Yippie!  I'm so excited to get to know my kiddos!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Wills to share my first week lesson plans.  

I've pulled ideas from everywhere and everyone.  I'm especially excited about Babbling Abby's Crazy for Kinders packet.  I used her first grade activities last year, and my kids loved it all.  You can't miss Jitter Juice!

You'll also notice tons and tons of routine practice.  Got to get those kids kicked into gear!

What does your first week look like?

Positively Pinspiring

I'm on a linky spree!  I'm having a great time connecting with educators from all over the world!  

Today I'm linking up with Jessica from Mrs. Plemon's Kindergarten to tell you about some fantastic pins I found this week!

The tags say, "I'm so lucky to have you in my class!"  I wish I had these ready for Open House tomorrow.  Maybe we can have Lucky Charms for our first day snack?!

I think this jar is so cute!  Kids put their name in the jar when they are "caught" being good, and then the teacher draws  a kid's name daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever to win a prize/reward.  I'm not sure how to incorporate this with Class Dojo, but I'm thinking!



These bands are designed to help students who have trouble sitting still.  Rather than standing up, walking around the room, etc., they can push on this band with their feet.  I had a kiddo who would have benefited from this last year.   I wish I'd learned about this tool sooner!



This is one of the best pins I've found in a looong time!  There are so many great ideas on this list.  I highly suggest the eggplant pizzas and spaghetti squash with meatballs.  Delicious!!

These people are tubing down a canal at a sugar plantation in Hawaii.  How cool is that?!  Hawaii is definitely at the top of my "I want to go there, now!" list.


What pins did you find this week?  I hope you link up with Mrs. Plemons and share! 

Show us what you bought!

Did you enjoy TPT's Back to School Sale?  I know I did!!  I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to share what I bought.

First I bought Erica Bohrer's Student Scrapbooks packet.  Last year I made portfolios for my kids, and they loved them.  I'm excited to add new elements like handprint pictures and holiday themed writings!

I also purchased Deanna Jump's Literacy and Math Fun with Names.  It has great activities for the beginning of the year!

Next I made two BIG purchases.  I figured the more expensive the items, the more I'd save, right?!

I bought Tara West's Guided Reading Bundle.  My new school seems to be lacking a bit in the leveled library department, so this'll be an important resource.  I can't wait to start browsing!!

Finally, I bought Caitlin Clabby's Word Work Bundle.  I'm so excited to have Word Work covered for the year!  That's a big chunk off of my to-do list!

What did you buy?

It's August!

I know I'm a few days late, but I'm linking up with Farley for August's Currently. 

Listening

The boyfriend suggested Wayne's World as good movie to watch while we worked.  Luckily, I'm busy enough that I'm not paying too much attention.  It seems like a pretty silly movie!

Loving

As I've mentioned, in July we moved to Southwest Missouri from St. Louis.  I'm happy to report that our new home has greatly exceeded my expectations.  We've gone to county fairs, tried new restaurants, and perused loads of garage sales.  

I really wanted this car!

There is much to do and everyone is so friendly.  I've never considered myself a country girl, but it might happen!

Thinking

School starts next Tuesday, and I need to get back to my normal routine.  I've been staying up until midnight or 1 and waking up around 8.  That's not going to work once school starts!

Wanting

I've been cooking a lot since the move.  Look at this delicious spaghetti squash and meatballs I made last week!  

I feel like my recipe range would increase if I purchased a food processor.  There's nothing worse than reading half of a fantastic recipe and then realizing you need a tool you don't have.  There's a Cuisinart food processor on Groupon for only $35.  Do you think it's worth it?!

Needing

I've been so busy working on my classroom (and it looks pretty great!) that I haven't spent anytime on lessons.  Guess I better start on those this week!

Hope everyone enjoys their last week or two of summer!

My Cutest Classroom Yet!

I'm linking up with Mrs. D's Corner and Miss V's Busy Bees to share my classroom with you!  

I absolutely love looking at other teachers' classrooms (in person and online!) because they give me ideas for my own.  

When I first saw my classroom in June it looked like this:

I moved in sooo many boxes!

It was a lot of work, but I unpacked and got some organizing done.

And now it's 99% complete.

Here is a close up of my front wall. 

The ABC and number posters were created by yours truly, and I have to admit I'm pretty proud of them.  Click here for the ABC posters and here for the numbers.  A few other color schemes are also included, so if yellow doesn't suit your needs look anyway!  I love the bright colors and clear pictures.

I got these super cute schedule cards from Cara at The First Grade Parade.

I think this is my favorite wall in the room.  I love how clean and simple it is!  Aren't the flower vases cute?  The color and shape posters are available on TPT.  Find the colors here and the shapes here.

This is my library.  I bought the bean bags for only $15 at Wal-Mart.  I love how they loook with the purple baskets.  I'm still looking for ways to make the library a little cozier, but it'll do for now!

I'm very happy with my classroom this year!  Hope you're feeling the same way about yours!

High and Low

I'm linking up with Julie from A First for Everything to tell you about my highs and lows for the week. 

My sister visited this week to help me get my classroom ready.  She was so helpful!  She helped me laminate, cut, hang things, label binders, and everything else I asked of her.

On Tuesday we decided to take a little break from the classroom and headed to a nearby casino.  She just turned 18, so it was her first gamblin' experience.  I'm happy to report she left $1.65 richer!

We also visited a pretty garden in Kansas City.

  

I'm working on a Couch Potato to 5K program through the Y, and it's starting to get difficult.  The class is on Wednesdays, and this week it was raining, so I skipped.  On top of that my sister was here, so I fell out of my routine.  Today the assignment was run for 3 minutes, walk for 3 minutes and repeat 5 times.  Running for 3 minutes is a lot harder than running for 1!  By the end, I was beat!

I hope it gets easier!!