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Saturday, August 30, 2008

I love dollar stores! I just got home from a fantastic shopping day with my grandma and mom. We spent some time at Yorktown mall, and Oakbrook area. I bought some cute 'career' clothes, my grandma accessorized for my brother's wedding, and my mom just came along for the ride. Additionally, I spent a good amount of time at the dollar store. I spent 24 dollars ( tax exempt for being a teacher). For that amount of money, I purchased 7 supplemental activity books, 4 rulers, a set of 50 erasers, one pack of 414 ct Hot Wheels stickers, 1 pack of Tigger stickers, 1 binder, 2 packs of supplemental card games ( 3 games per pack), binder clips, permanent markers, 2 packs of colored index cards and a mini 3-drawer organizer. Can you believe it?!?!? I love being a teacher!!!!! My kids are going to love it all!!!!!! Because I am such a bargain shoppers, I am absolutely in my glory right now. This is fabulous. Also, I stopped into the store The Chalkboard. This store is a 'teacher store'. I spent about 9 dollars there, but again, it's tax-free and all for the kiddies. I enjoy the store, but I would rather go to the dollar store. I cannot tell you how awesome it feels to see resource out there for teachers.

More to come!!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

What a fabulous day!!!! Remember when you were in grade school and it was the first day???? I was able to relive those days with the students. Their faces were priceless. It almost brought a tear to my eye to see their eagerness and sparkles in their eyes. It definitely brought me back to my school days.
I cannot wait for the kindergarten students to begin their school days (tomorrow). I cannot express in words how I felt when the hallways and classrooms were filled with smiling faces. Speaking of good moments, I have one to share.

In my building and district there are A LOT of teachers who have been there since the beginning of time. I particularly enjoy this because it means job security for me ...lol jk. On a serious note, it feels like a family among the teachers. As a first year, it is intimidating to start in a building filled with veteran teachers. I am fortunate that if there was anything I needed, I can go to any of the teachers for help. That makes me feel relieved. Anyway, back to the good moment. I was sitting at my table this morning going over some minimal paperwork, when this teacher came in. Now, because it is the beginning of the year, most teachers bop in just to see the room and how it is decorated. This particular teacher did comment on the room but also requested my help in her classroom. MY HELP???!?!!!?! I nearly fell off the chair. I was completely ecstatic and eager to assist. She has students in her classroom that are ESL (english as a second language). She asked for my assistance (being that I am a resource teacher) to help planning her lessons to reach all of her ability levels. Again, as a first year teacher, sometimes it is difficult to earn the respect of veteran teachers so for her to seek me out and ask for my assistance, I truly felt accomplished. This moment, along with seeing the student for the first time, made my day. :-)

I know there will be many more of these great moments, so stay tuned!

Ps- Although is has been extremely sunny, I am a little disappointed with the weather changes. Waking up to a chill in the air and dew on my car is not a good sign. Where's my 90 degree and sunshine weather? Enjoy and smile! :o)

Sunday, August 24, 2008










This is the first semester in 3 years I do not have to worry about moving back to school. It's a weird feeling when all of my friends are moving and I am staying at home... I found these pictures in my camera and figured now would be a good time to share them. The people in the pictures are just SOME of my friends from NIU. I am going to miss hanging out with everybody on a weekly(daily) basis. It's crazy all the people I met while in college. Each and every person helped me be the person I am today. I love you Neptune East Even (4th floor love!) I wish all of you a successful semester. I hope it's filled with parties, fun, cramming for tests and great times. I hope all of you know that I am only a phone call away. Please don't forget about me, just because I am an old career lady. Love you guys!!!!

Friday, August 22, 2008





Wednesday, August 20, 2008

This teacher thing is catchy. I think I will stick with this for awhile... :-)

The kiddies come on Tuesday. Even though we have early release days Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be a joy to see the hallways filled with little ones. Monday we have an institute day and Friday is their first- full day. My principal is amazing! She has helped me out so much thus far. I really fell into good hands. I am glad I followed my intuition, instead of being greedy. ( I am still working on pictures..)

Other than school, things are going well. We just had a bridal shower on Saturday for my brother and his soon-to=be wife. All went well... the usual eat, smile, open gifts, eat cake, go home. The countdown has begun. I believe it's a month and a half.

Enjoy the weather, as it will disappear soon. Yay for sunshine!!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

I am official. I received my badge from the district today. Yippeee!

I was working in my classroom after orientation today and I have to say I wish I had a fairy godmother. My fairy godmother would grant me three wishes. My first wish would be to set up my room so that it is kid-friendly and organized. My second wish would be to have a never-ending wardrobe and my third wish would be for my previous teachers to see me now.
I am sure they would be so proud. Particularly, Ms. Jalove. My fourth grade teacher. She allowed me to be the teacher's helper, grade papers, rearrange the room..etc... She's the reason I am a teacher today. I would love for her to see me now. I am sure she would be proud. If you're out there, please contact me! :-)

Anyway, things are going well. I am overwhelmed with setting up my room because there are boxes and papers everywhere. The file cabinets look like a tornado hit them. Yeeps. Long days and nights at school are foreseen. My mentor teacher is great. She is actually the Speech-Language Pathologist in the school. Wendy and I will be working closely with each other (besides being mentor/protege). We will be sharing kids as apart of the special education field. All will be fine.

With that, I am going to relax and do some laundry. I have a pretty easy day tomorrow. More orientation but we have more time to spend in the classroom. Hopefully I will get some pictures posted soon.

Friday, August 15, 2008





Dear Blog,

I deeply apologize for neglecting you for so long. I wish I had a good excuse as to why my last post was almost a year ago. Shame on me. I swear it was a combination of factors like time, inspiration, time..did I mention time??? Please forgive me and allow me to provide an update.

Congratulations to me! I graduated!!!!! Hooray. I begin teaching in a couple weeks. I have been moving into my classroom all week. The feeling is surreal. I continuously remind myself all of this hard work has payed off. When I first walked into my room, there was furniture everywhere. My eyes fell out of my head. Luckily, I am sharing the room with the ESL (english as a second language) teacher. This is her first year in the district, as well as my first year teaching. We are going to make a good team, I feel it. Her and I worked our tails off to set the classroom up so it actually appears to be an environment of learning instead of storage closet. The resource teacher before me left boxes upon boxes of stuff. I feel like it's Christmas. I opened almost every box to see what's inside. I have never been so excited about posters, staplers, markers, and books. I love it all!!!! :-) As I was going through the boxes of student books and papers, I came to the conclusion that I have not a clue as to what I am doing. I am sure this is a typical response for first-year teachers ( I hope...). My principal is outstanding. I cannot wait to begin this year.

On another note, I did a bit of traveling this summer. In May, I visited Montreal and Quebec City. Very beautiful. I also took a road trip to California. My friend Heather got a job in Victorville so we drove out there. We went through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizonia, Nevada, and California. Total it took us four days of driving to reach our destination. Such an awesome trip! I love road trips. Maybe next time I will go to the east coast....

One more thing. My brother is getting married in a couple months. This has been a long journey. Makes me want to run down the aisle tomorrow ( sarcasm).

Overall, things have been busy since the last post. I promise to be more diligent about posting. Thanks to all of those people who have reminded me about my inactive blog. It really inspired me to find time to post. I miss it and certainly enjoy sharing my thoughts.

Until next time... Smile! :-)