Thanksgiving Break!

Hello readers! Like probably all teachers, my November was a whirlwind of a month! I cannot believe how it flew by and that Thanksgiving is now in the past! Which my bathroom scale is happy about...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I need to wrap my head around a few things...

I am spending the remainder of my Thanksgiving Break resting thinking about school... I have so many changes to plan for:

At the start of the year I only had 15 students... now I have 22. Not sure how this happened, but it did, and some of my procedures are just not working with the larger number of students.

My Smart Board was finally repaired. I need to brush up on using it since I haven't used one in a couple of years. It is actually an old Inter Write board, but it is certainly much better than nothing and I can't wait to start integrating it into instruction!

It is officially time to start Christmas-y stuff in my classroom. I have a small tree that I need to set up and a box of fun decorations. My mother-in-law is going to help me set it all up before Monday that way I don't have to worry about it later. This year I am repeating what I did last year. I wrapped holiday books in Christmas wrapping and laid them underneath the tree. Everyday, we unwrapped a story, read it together, and journaled about it. I KNOW that this class specifically is going to love it. There will be plenty of pics to come and a list of the books I'll be using this year.

If you are interested in wrapping your books and journaling as well, I have a FREEBIE in my store to help you (which just got a major makeover with better graphics and fonts!). Click the picture below to download your freebie!

Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend/break, teachers! Before long, I'll be wishing you a Merry Christmas! <3

Giving THANKS: K

K is for....

This one was a no brainer! I am thankful for Kindergarten!!!

LOVE my kinders! What are you thankful for? Check out Blog Hoppin's link up below and link up!

Giving THANKS: N is for...

N is certainly for NO SCHOOL DAYS!

As much as I love my job, I certainly am thankful for days off! I am LOVING my Thanksgiving break, but I know I will be happy to get back on Monday and hear all about my kiddos' breaks as well.

A is for....

I actually had a hard time coming up with something for A! But once I saw what Blog Hoppin' blogger Elizabeth posted... I knew that was what I was thankful for, too!

I am a READER. I would read all day, except when I'm tired reading is so relaxing that it makes me fall asleep... and these days... I'm tired a lot!

Do you follow me on Good Reads? I love Good Reads for books reviews and finding a new book I hadn't heard of. Follow me here!

I am currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It is one of those books I picked up for a penny at a library sale! It is pretty good so far! I am about half way through.

Here's a Pinterest board of my favorite books as well as books for my classroom and books that I want/need to read! Enjoy!

Follow Amanda Smith @ Daisy Designs's board Bookworm on Pinterest.


And make sure you check out all of the other thankful posts at Blog Hoppin'!

Giving Thanks! H is for...

I am SO THANKFUL for my husband!!!

My husband Ryan is wonderful. We have been together since 2009 and married just over a year. He is the perfect guy for me! He is funny, sincere, goofy, nerdy, smart, and he loves me. What more can I ask for?! I'll let the pictures below tell our story. We certainly have quite a few!

2009
We look like babies... Wow.

2010? Maybe?

We were really skinny back then... goodness.

Our first plane trip together! Michigan!

For the record... I was making that face because he started tickling me right when the picture was being taken...

I have no excuse for this face though... Just love!

And for more recent pictures... Let's not pretend Ryan has had hair for much of our relationship...

Engagement photo

Wedding photos

I don't like cliches, but he is the love of my life and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Make sure you check out the other "H" posts over at Blog Hoppin'!

Giving Thanks! T is for...

I found this great link-up over at Blog Hoppin' today for giving thanks! I wanted to "hop" on and reflect on the wonderful things in this world to be thankful for. I missed the "T" day so I am starting now and will follow it up with an "H" post!

If you don't know by now, I am a lover of the theater! I went to Flagler College for Theatre Arts before going into teaching and even though I found it was not the right career for me to perform, I still have a very special place in my heart for theater. In addition to teaching Kindergarten, I work at a community theater in their education department combining the two passions I have. I LOVE it!

Here are some theater pictures of past shows I've been a part of, either on stage, back stage, or as a director or choreographer!

The Servant of Two Masters
That's me all pouty on the sofa...

Me as Tiger Lily in Peter Pan

Me as Minnie Fay in Hello Dolly!

Tired after set building during Servant of Two Masters. Sheesh, I was young in this one...

Me in my hideous costume for Camelot.

This was a drama I was in called Medea Redux.

Playing around in one of the coolest hand made costumes I've ever word for Al Takes a Bride.

Gosh... just looking at all these pictures brings back so many amazing memories of past shows. And I didn't even venture into the high school show photos! Those are amazing, too! I am thankful that I grew up in a theater and I will certainly keep it as a part of my life.

Check out all the other T posts by clicking the picture below!

What's the Scoop? Writing, 2 Step, and a Great Weekend!

Have you checked out The Teaching 2 Step yet?? It is the collaborative blog I am a part of and it is awesome! I have teamed up with several other fantastic teacher bloggers from all over the world and the blog is so much fun and has a TON of great ideas for your classroom.

I just made a post about writing in Kindergarten that you MUST see. Click the image below to check it out!

And click the next image to learn more about the bloggers!

I have been totally enjoying my time with The Teaching 2 Step Gals! Make sure you follow us on Pinterest and like us on Facebook! You'll be glad you did. :)

And, my favorite linky!!!

Yes, that's right... I was all prepared for my awesome Thanksgiving Writing post and my phone wouldn't even turn on today! Looks like I'll be getting my Christmas present early this year... gotta have a phone these days!

I can't wait to make Stone Soup with my kinders tomorrow! I'm bringing my crock pot and my book and we are going to make placemats! I will certainly post some pictures this week!

Does anyone else have to do a book study for professional development? The whole school, even the office staff have to read a book and meet about it a few times a month. I'm really bad about remembering to read the chapters until like the day before... so I'm hoping I can find some time to do that today instead. Crossing my fingers!

Have a great Sunday, ya'll. I have school tomorrow and Tuesday and then a glorious 5 consecutive days off! MUCH needed!