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Well...I've had a lot of big changes happen in my life as of late and these changes consumed most of my time and kept me from being able to document things and/or post blogs. But fear not! I am back and in action and with lots of exciting goodies to share :)
Change #1: A certain member of my family dropped and broke my digital camera...(no one shall be named...but see image below for the culprit...ahem). This happened shortly prior to change #2 and then took forever to get a new one.
I'll give you a hint...it's not the blue one.
Change #2: I moved! That's right folks! I am no longer writing to you from under my parents' roof. I am now living free in beautiful and fun Arlington, VA! Below are a few captures of my new place.
LET'S TAKE A PHOTO TOUR!
Clockwise from Top Left: Kitchen where my dinner is cooking, TV room where I've dumped all my stuff after a long day, my room, my closet, my bed, and looking into my room from the top of the stairs.
Change #3: I have begun my teaching career. Last Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 marked my first official day as a teacher, and I got to meet my 47 4th graders that will be working with me on math and science. I've worked really hard to put together my classroom...it's still a process but it at least looks neat and organized, eventually there will be more interesting things posted around the room. But my pride and joy is the parrot/jungle board I made using some great fabric my MeMe gave me! Check it out!!!
So those are all the major changes. Now I'm sure you're all wondering how it's been going.
It has been an adventure already. My theme for the year is "It's going to be a wild year!" (check out my jungle theme in the classroom). And it really is. My school is incredible, but HUGE! And the schedule is CRAZY! And we are in the process of hiring a new principal, and the week before school started we had to add two new 2nd grade classes and a slew of kindergarten classes which equated to scheduling and logistical mayhem. We also had "Back to School Night" last night (which was only Day 5 of school for us)...adding to the chaos. But BTSN was a success and the parents were very receptive and supportive. My students are great! Very diverse and all unique. Each has their own strengths and challenges. The staff and my fellow fourth grade team members are incredible and they really help me keep my head on straight. Let me tell you...there is so much you never learn in student teaching that you have to learn first thing when you start teaching! It's crazy. So it's been a whirlwind, but I'm learning everyday. My kids are excited and they're learning everyday. We're building a great community, and all is running as smoothly as it can for now. We're working some of the kinks out but it is coming together. I think there really should be a book written though about "Things to ask when you start a new teaching job, before day one of school!" Because there have been things popping up left and right that I just wish I had thought to ask about sooner, but didn't think about it until the situation came up.
Anyway, that's the update for now...back to work planning and preparing materials for me. I'll catch you up later :)
Adios!