A Big Thank You!

Recently I have been awarded several times for my blog and I am finally getting the chance to send out a huge thank you! I feel very blessed to be noticed and hope that my blog will be an inspiration to many and live up to these awards!

Thank You to Julie at The Hip Teacher & Mrs. Slocum Teacher's Don't Steal, They Share! for the One Lovely Blog Award:

There are only 3 rules to follow once you've received this award :)
1. Follow the person who gave you the award
2. Link back to the person that gave you the award
3. Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers.



Thank you to Antoinette and Emily at 4321...Teach for The Versatile Blogger award!

There are seven rules for this award.

1)  Thank the blogger who nominated you!
2)  Include a link to their site.  (See above)

3)  Include the award image in your post.

4)  Give 7 random facts about yourself.
   #1 - I love spicy food. The spicier, the better.
   #2 - I have been teaching in the same classroom for 10 years now at the same elementary school I attended.
   #3 - I am scared to death of horror films unless they are about zombies...I find zombies to be hilarious!
   #4 - I am a Disney fanatic but sadly this will be my last year with a season pass (I've had one since I was 18) with the outrageous price increases they have made. Just can't afford it anymore and can't justify the expense. :(
   #5 - My husband and I were married 6 months after we met and are celebrating 8 years of marriage in November!
   #6 - I hated math in school but I love teaching it.
   #7 - I love to scrapbook and am a consultant for Close to My Heart. They have the coolest (and easiest) online scrapbooking around and you can play with all of it for free! (I know that sounds like an ad...and it is...but I only share it because I love it soooo much! I'm not much of a sales person. I just like to share what makes my life easier. If you're interested in more info let me know!)
   
5)  Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6)  When nominating, include a link to their site.

7)  Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.


And last but not least Thank You to Lisa at Super Pig and Tyrant King for the Liebster Blog award!

The Liebster award is for blogs with less than 200 followers who need to get the attention they deserve--the rules are as follows:


1. Copy and paste the award onto your blog

2. Thank the giver and link back to them. (See above)
3. Nominate 5 other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blogs.

So I am really a terrible person because I am not following all the rules for these awards. It is just so overwhelming! So I am not nominating anyone today because I have already taken so much time to thank the award givers and I want everyone to know that I really do appreciate the thought and I don't want to wait any longer. So thank you and I promise to show the love by visiting and commenting on all the wonderful blogs I follow and will follow in the future!

My Classroom 2012

 As you look at these pictures you may be saying to yourself, "Self, where's all the awesome, cool, cute (insert adjective here) decorations? Where's the coordinating fabrics and papers? This room doesn't look like anyone lives here!" ...and you would be right on point! I decided this room needed to belong to my students just as much as it does to me. So I decorated in a very minimalist style for the beginning of the year. Usually I put up tons of posters and such. I go overboard making sure that the kiddos are visually stimulated when they walk in the room on the first day. This year I have decided to give them the responsibility! We have been creating anchors charts in the first week that have already started to grace the walls and I couldn't be happier about it. Yea for taking some of the work off my plate and giving my students ownership!

The first week went great and I am enjoying the changes I have been making in my physical surroundings and my way of doing things. I feel very confident with all the simplifications I have made. I do not feel overwhelmed at the end of the day and I sure hope that feeling lasts.

 

I have been starting to implement Daily 5 and will hopefully move into teaching the CAFE menu soon. My CAFE board is one of the only boards that had anything on it the first day of school. I made the marble magnets below to write the kids names on for the magnetic white boards. I am excited to see how it works out!