Wow what a year!

I decided to look at some of my friends blogs and realized that I have not blogged in a year and that was a little weird to see considering that I look at others blogs I guess not my own. 
I will admit that this year has been a busy one, I moved schools and grades (more on that later). I have been trying to redefine myself with learning and experiencing new and exciting things, and spending plenty of time with friends and family. 

I never thought that my life would head down the path of teaching when I was younger I thought that you had to be crazy to be a teacher. Here I am 5 years later and loving my job, I will admit it has not been an easy road or job. There where times when I wanted to cry and sometimes did, or just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs b/c I am so frustrated. When I reflect on the last 5 years I wouldn't change a thing. 

I moved schools again, the reason was downsizing at my old school and with being the low man on the list I was the first to go. I spent many sad nights at home and saying goodbye to my old school and kids last year was one of the hardest things I had to do. It is never easy being the new teacher at a school, parents tend to not be very accepting when someone new comes to their school. 

Coming to my new school I have never felt more support and love from a community of parents and students. Going back to 6th grade I was overjoyed to be in a grade that I truly love to teach, and the students that I teach everyday cement why I wanted to be a teacher. These wonderful students make me want to be a better teacher, they show me so much respect and an excitement to learn new ideas and concepts. I have been pushing myself to come up with fun project and interesting ways to present new concepts to them, I am so inspired by them everyday. The parents have been such a wonderful support, anything that I need they provide, they have the most positive attitudes and always a kind word for me. I feel that the move to my new school has been the best thing that has happened to me as a teacher. I hope to inspire my students as much as they inspire me!

Here are a few pictures from the past year! 

Time moves fast.

I can tell how busy my life is by the amount of post that I do in that year, it has been nine months since my last post I can honestly say that I am very busy! 
The school year has gone by so fast and has been so busy I can't believe that this year is almost over. The year has been great but really hard with 32 students 2 of them having autism, I find myself working long hours and lots of meetings. The students have been fun to work with and I have learned so much. I am making a move to a new school next year and I am very nervous about this change but I know in the long run it will be a great move. 


I have been working hard on getting my Gifted endorsement with classes after work, I will now be able to teach a class of all gifted students. It has been a very long and hard process but I am very excited to be finishing it up next week. In my school district the students that test into the gifted program go to a gifted class once a week to focus on their talents and push them even further. I am hoping to one day be the teacher of this program and teach 3-6th graders. 


For spring break my AMAZING MOTHER took me to Washington D.C. for some much needed fun and sight seeing. We had such an amazing time there and had fantastic weather! Some of the highlights of the trip where; Smithsonian's American history, natural history, and flight. We went on a Capital tour and had the chance to see some great things that not everyone gets to see. The White house tour was really interesting my mom and I got to go through the kitchen and see more of the White house then most. We went on a night tour of all the monument, I was amazed by all I saw and learned. The man that drove the bus was very knowledgeable and took us to a few more stops then the normal tour. There was so much that we did in the few days we stayed, but this is just a little taste. 
This school year has been flying by and with the end looming over me I know there is still so much that needs to get done. 
Once again the Motto of the class is Finish Strong! 

A new school year

I finished my first week of teaching!! Yay me! I have grown to really love 5th grade and how cute and fun these kids can be.

I have been a little apprehensive about this year partly because there is only 2 5th grade classes which means large class sizes, and the other part is that I was going to be including an autistic child into my classroom full time. This child came to me for reading last year and really flourished in my class, so the principal and special ed decided to place him back in my room with only minimal help from special ed. Much to my surprise he has been doing great, the things that would normally send him into a state of panic and then lead to crying on the floor, is just shrugged off and he moves on to the next task. The thing that we are working on now is not always telling me every time he gets something wrong on his paper. ha ha

Even though my class is large I have loved these kids from the moment they walked into my room. They are so eager to learn and just make me laugh! I am so blessed to have a job that makes me laugh and watch them learn. I hope they can see how much I care for them and how much I want them to grow in my classroom.

"Vintage"

I had a conversation with my sister-in-law about what makes something vintage. After having this conversation I kept thinking about this because I hear so many people say that their cloths or accessories are "vintage". I decided to look up the definition to maybe get a better idea of the word.

Vintage- representing the high quality of a past time: vintage cars;vintage movies. old-fashioned.

Here is what I think about this topic, if you buy something at the thrift store it does not mean that it is "vintage" it just means that you bought it at the thrift store. I know someone that bought shoes at the thrift store and keeps telling everyone that they are "vintage" when I was out shopping this weekend I saw the same shoes at a department store. So I guess if you buy it at the thrift store it is automatically "vintage".

Maybe I should start buying everything at the thrift store because that means that all my cloths will be "vintage". ha ha Now if it's from the 1950 then I would consider that item to be vintage because it is actually "vintage".

Sorry about the rant but I just needed to put it out there.

Finish Strong!

I feel like I say the statement "Finish Strong" to my students everyday the last month of school. I say this to keep the students motivated and to keep myself motivated as well. Every year the last month is jammed packed with activities, plays, programs, and guest speakers. I was proud of my student this year, they have been an inspiring group of kids. I am not saying that this year has been perfect, but you move past the frustrations and focus on making the class a fun and exiting place to learn.

This was my first year teaching 5th grade, it was a challenge but I loved every minute of it.

Other then teaching life has been moving a long like always, I will admit that I have not been as busy as normal, but I have been having some fun when I can. I had a Nerd party, I made my friends dress up as nerds, Les Miserables with my friend Shauna, and Wild life World Zoo with Bree-N. Oh and the family went to Disneyland for spring break which was a lot of fun. I am glad that summer is here so that I regenerate and get ready for the new school year, but hopefully having some fun before I go back to teaching.

Pat Benatar

If you where to ask me about some of my favorite concerts that I have been to over the years Pat Benatar would not be a concert that you would expect on my list. Especially people in my age range, but I would have to say that she puts on an amazing show!

Last Saturday my friend Shauna called me with the news that she won 2 free tickets to the Pat Benatar concert. At first I was a little skeptical but I thought, why not what else do I have to do tonight. My friends Rachel, Bree-N, Shauna, and I where some of the youngest people at the concert but, Pat Benatar Rocks the house!

It was an amazing show! The music was great, she chatted with the audience and added cute personal stories that go along with all of her songs. Word of advice if PAT BENATAR comes into town you must go!

Much has happened!

The past few months have been super busy with work and life. Here are some of the things that have been going on.

Grandma Elli at Christmas Eve dinner. Isn't my grandmother a beautiful lady!

I got really sick on my birthday so a week later we made other plans. So we had a Birthday Dinner with some of my friends Bree-N, Stephanie, and Joe, we went to BJ's to eat dinner which was oh so yummy and I even got a free dessert with out being sung to. After that we went to Jester'Z comedy club it was such a funny show and a great night!

Roses for my Birthday from my co-workers. They decorated the workroom with all kinds of goodies and these beautiful flowers.

My dad also took me out to dinner for my birthday, we went to Flemings. This has been a tradition since I was 4 I get to pick a place to eat and it's just the two of us! Flemings is amazing in every way and such a wonderful tradition that I look forward to every year.

The Heart Center with my 5th graders. This place is amazing it teaches the kids all about the heart, how to eat right, how to exercise, and how the heart works. It is all hands on and they have great people running the center. The students had a great time at the center and it was a great day to sit back and watch my students learn and have fun at the same time. Also the great parent helpers that take over for the day!