Let's Get Acquainted - Newbie Edition!

I am linking up with Mrs. Reed over at Flying Into First for her Let's Get Acquainted linky party.  This week's theme is advice for new teachers.  I am entering my fourth year of teaching in the public school setting, but, I spent the eight years prior working in a preschool setting.  So, without further ado, here is my advice:

Buy:

You definitely need to have comfortable shoes!  I know we all want to look our best, but, sometimes we compromise our comfort.  I have some super adorable heels that I love from Coach and they are really comfortable.  But, this year, I totally got into Danskos!  I loooooove my Danskos!

Always:

You must always be flexible.  You can't always stick to the lesson plan.  Sometimes you'll be interrupted, sometimes the students will take the lesson to a whole different place and sometimes the lesson just won't work out.  If you are able to just "shift on the fly" you'll be better off.

Never:

Never underestimate your students.  I know we are sometimes afraid to set the bar high, but, you need to do it.  How else are they supposed to reach their full potential?  Also, never underestimate what behaviors they are capable of, they just might surprise you!

Find:

This is one that I still struggle with, but, you need to take time for yourself.  It's easy to get caught up in your plans, projects, blogs, etc., but, you need to take care of yourself too!  Otherwise, you'll be unhappy and burnt out!

Make:

Make professional connections!  Meet and try to maintain a relationship with the staff in your school.  I've worked in three different schools in the last four and a half years and I have made a ton of connections.  It's definitely come in handy sometimes!

Be:

Be fun!  Be silly and have a good time with your students.  It's all a part of your bonding experience!

That's all I have for today.  Head on over and link up too!

Shopping!

My good friend and colleague and I decided to take advantage of a rather unsettled weather day to do some classroom shopping.  We went to our nearest Lakeshore Learning Store to check out the 20% off deals!  Upon arrival we discovered that there was a Dollar Tree right next door; a teacher's dream!  We decided to start at the Dollar Tree and started to shop with our theme in mind.  See if you can guess what our theme is this year!  Here is what I got at the Dollar Tree:

I looooooooooooooooooove the Dollar Tree!  I only spent $6!!!  Here's a breakdown of what I got:

Aren't these cute?  Not sure what I will use them for yet.  Maybe for some sort of center game....

I just couldn't pass these up.  These will go with our theme (and my black Danskos) swimmingly!

Grabbed these wall decals too.  We didn't realize they were double sided until we checked out!

I also grabbed this alphabet chart (even though I have a few already) because it goes with our theme.

Once we did some damage at the Dollar Tree, it was time to move on to Lakeshore!!!!  I was like a kid in a candy store!  I wanted to buy the whole store!  Here is what I got:

Don't mind my dogs paw in the background, lol!  I was able to escape the store with spending only $44.44!   Here is the breakdown of what I got:

 We grabbed this awesome tropical foliage fadeless paper.  We saw it in their flyer a month ago and couldn't wait to get it!  Now, I cannot wait to put it up!  I also grabbed a 4 pack of animal print borders to go along with it.

 Got some more cut-outs.  Again, not sure what I'l be using these for yet.

 

Uppercase and Lowercase magnetic letters for working on the easel!  These were 50% off each!

 

 A new weather chart!  Need to get this laminate at school before I use it!

Check out this adorable height chart!  Can't wait to measure those kiddos!

 I got this reusable shopping bag for free when I signed up for their text alerts.  How cute is this?!

And, my free lesson plan book for spending $20.  I usually do my plans on the computer, but there are some components of this that I will use.

As if I hadn't already bought enough, I picked up these items in Target's Dollar Spot:

That's all for now!  I have a few more pictures from another Dollar Tree trip to post soon!  Can you guess our theme this year?

Let's Get Aquainted!

I am linking up with Mrs. Reed over at Flying into First.  She's hosting an awesome linky party! 

 

So, what does this linky party entail?  Well, you have to take a look at this Tic-Tac-Toe chart and choose three of the categories to discuss.  They must line up  as they would if you were playing Tic-Tac-Toe.  This is a great way to get to know some of our fellow bloggers!  Here's the chart:

I'm going to go with the third vertical column.  I'm a little sad that it has nothing to do with school, but, I like these categories!  So, here goes...

Dream Vacation:  This one I am having some trouble with because I have SOOOOOOO many!  I love to cruise, but, I think I am going to go with something else here.  My dream vacation would be to spend one whole month in Europe!  There are quite a few countries that I would love to visit in Europe.  Here is the list in no specific order:  Portugal, UK, France, Ireland and Italy.  To spend at least one week in each country would be amazing!  I would love to visit Portugal because I am half Portuguese.  I would love to see where my grandmother was born and grew up.  I am also part Italian, so beside the historical aspect of Italy, I'd really like to see the culture.  Ireland and France are on the list because they both have such beautiful aspects about them.  And, I am also part English, so visiting the UK would also be intriguing.

Books I'm Reading:  I am currently reading Francona: The Red Sox Years.

 

  I am a huge Red Sox fan and I am fascinated with Terry Francona.  He was such a great coach for the Red Sox, so, reading his account of the years he spent in Boston is really interesting.  I am about half-way through the book and am hoping to have it finished by the end of the month.  Once I am finished with that I am moving on to the Kingdom Keepers. 

 

 I am a huuuuuge Disney fan, so I am very interested in starting this series.  My co-teacher actually bought me my first book in this series.  I can't wait to get it started!

Hobbies:  My two favorite hobbies are photography and cake decorating.  I love, love, love to photograph things!  Here is a photo of one of our poppy flowers:

My other hobby is cake decorating, although I have been doing a lot of cupcake baking.  Here are some of my goodies:

So, that's about it for me!  Head on over and link up, too!