Back to School Blog Hop

Happy New Year!!!

I know... I know, it's not January 1st yet!! It really just feels fitting to be thinking that way this week! Monday marked the first day of teacher work week. I find myself thinking..."Where did Summer go?" and " Can I have a redo?? I wasn't quite ready for it the first time!"

Ever since I signed up for this blog hop from  Droppin Knowledge, I was wracking my brain to figure out what I wanted to write about. This is my FIRST blog hop and I wanted to write useful information. I wanted to share something to get other teachers excited about the impending school year. It hit me yesterday during our division convocation. It was something that our superintendent challenged us to do. 

Create a New Year's Resolution. At first I thought he was crazy... we are still a few months out from the new year! But then it hit me... We are the only occupation that gets to celebrate two new years in one year! WE are the only occupation that has a chance at a fresh start twice a year. Why NOT make a resolution!!

I've decided that my new SCHOOL year resolution will be to really stay on top of data. I know as a Special Education teacher it is especially important to collect data, but sometimes I just get so caught up in teaching and remediation with my students. I really want to keep great data so I can provide awesome services to my kiddos!!

Now I have THREE challenges for you! 

1. Hop on over to Droppin Knowledge and check out all the other awesome bloggers that signed up for this great blog hop 

2. Sign up for all the great giveaways that are associated with this blog hop! Why not get a ton of awesome resources to start off your new year with right?!

3. Create your own New School Year Resolution and stick to it! 

Here is the great giveaway that I am a party of!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Weekly Summer Linky: Best Trip of My Life

I am finally back again to link up with Monica over at I Heart Grade 3 for another amazing Weekly Summer Link up post! This is probably one of the most exciting link up posts that I am able to write! 

This weeks topic is... The Best Trip of My Life

 

It really didn't take much thinking at all to decide what the best trip of my life was. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post and picture overload...

I have always loved cruising. There's just something about the open waters that is incredibly relaxing (and slightly terrifying). I've been able to visit some amazing places like Canada, along the coast of New England, and a hand full of warm places like The Bahamas and Puerto Rico. The last cruise that I adventured on though, was by far the best trip ever. 

Rewind to February 2014, Virginia had already had a some snow and I just wasn't feeling the cold anymore. Thankfully I had booked a cruise over Valentine's Day to just take a break from school and the cold. This just wasn't any normal cruise though, this was Sail Across the Sun 

 

I am a HUGE music buff. I love going to concerts and finding new music. Before this cruise I had gone to see the group Train two times, and loved them both times. I had no idea what was in store for me over that 4 day cruise though.

Day 1 consisted of a lot of traveling starting at 3 am. I am not a morning person, but I trudged through the Charlotte airport in hopes that I would soon be in warm weather and enjoying a few days away from my classroom. After we landed in Florida we had to take a cab to the port (my first cab experience was interesting to say the least). All that travel was totally worth it whenever I saw my home away from home for the next few days! 

This picture does NOT do the ship justice at all

 We boarded the ship and got ready to start our what ended up being a crazy eventful weekend!

After getting settled and of course heading to the all you can eat buffet (that's what you're supposed to do on cruises right...?) We headed to the deck to meet up with the hundreds of other "Trainiacks" for the first concert of the cruise. There's nothing like leaving port while listening to some of your favorite songs live!

Later that night I fell in love with my new favorite band A Great Big World. A lot of you have probably heard their song with Christina Aguilera, but boy do they have so much more to offer! They put on an amazing show and cracked some pretty funny jokes.

 Day 2 was our full day at sea. It was a day full of relaxation, eating, and concerts. What else would you want on vacation? 

Here are some beautiful pictures of the ocean. I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at this view.

Later that evening we ventured out to the deck for some more awesome concerts. I had gone to see Andy Grammer before, but this concert was so much fun. Afterwards he met every single fan that wanted to meet him. Definitely an awesome experience. 

Just some awesome pictures from that night. 

Day 3 led us to Key West, Florida. I have only been to Florida 3 times in my life, but never to Key West. It was definitely a pretty neat experience to explore the little island. I would definitely recommend it! I do regret not taking a tour, but just exploring works just as well! 

After our adventures on Day 3, we headed back to the ship for a small nap, dinner, and a night of concerts. In case you ever wondered it is NOT warm in the middle of the ocean in the middle of February! I need to be better prepared next time for sure! 

Even Pat Monahan takes selfies!

I would have to say that Day 4 was by far the best day of all though. We anchored at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas and it was BEAUTIFUL!

I haven't been to a beach in years, so it was amazing to feel the sand between my toes and to enjoy the water and sun! Day 4 also turned out to be a great day for meeting some of our gracious hosts on the ship! It was extremely exciting! 

The next day we sailed back to Miami to find out that Virginia had been hit with a snowstorm. By the time our flight had arrived in Charlotte that night, school had already been cancelled the next day. Our final flight home had also been cancelled. After some swift maneuvering we were able to get a flight home late that evening. Let me tell you though, it is not fun coming home from a tropical paradise and being met with snow! Yuck!!

Thanks for reading all about my best trip ever, and dealing with the picture overload! I hope you enjoyed reading and I cannot wait to read all about your amazing trips!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Why I Started Blogging

Welcome back to week two of Monica at I Heart Grade 3 Weekly Summer Link Up!

I am so excited to be back for another week and talk about this weeks topic which is....

Why I Started Blogging 

When I was in my senior year of college working on student teaching, I was constantly looking through Pinterest for ideas to use in my placements. I didn't want to use the boring worksheets that the reading and math books supplied, or read the boring texts in the science book. I wanted hands on experiences for the students that I was teaching. (I also might have wanted to impress my host teacher.) Anyhow, Pinterest always led me to these beautiful blogs of teachers that were doing amazing things in their classrooms. It also led me to the world of TpT which has now become a slight addiction for me. 

Fast forward to my first year of teaching. I realized that these teachers not only had amazing blogs that were bursting at the seams with great ideas to use in the classroom, they also had an amazing community. I realized that these teachers actually supported each other from miles and miles away. I found that these teachers actually formed friendships with each other and would openly share their ideas and thoughts with one another. I was just at that point realizing how much support a teacher really needs. It led me to want to get involved in this community. I would have to say that the ability to collaborate and communicate with others that completely understand what a person goes through within their four walls of a classroom on a daily basis is what has led me to be a blogger!

Now that you've heard my reasons for starting a blog, go on over and read all about why other great bloggers began their journeys!

My Summer Goals ((Weekly Intro))

I'm linking up with Monica over at I Heart Grade 3 for her summer weekly linky!! This weeks topic is "My Goals for the Summer" and boy do I have a lot of them! I will try to narrow them down for this post though!

#1 Relax

The last semester of school has really taken a toll on me! Between the craziness of the snow days galore that we had this year (TEN!), Summer countdown (started right after the snow days ended), and the craziness of state testing I feel like I have been going nonstop! I am so ready to relax in the sun, visit my best friends, and maybe just sleep in a little! I'm really looking forward to my road trip up North next month for some amusement park fun! I can't think of any better stress reliever than a best friend friend and some roller coaster riding!

 

 

 

These are just some of my favorite pictures from our last amusement park adventure!

 

 

#2 Blog More

 

I've had this blog for coming up on a year now! It's amazing how time flies!! I hate that I have only blogged ONE TIME! I'm really hoping that following along with the weekly linky will give me the inspiration to blog on a more consistent basis! How could I not want to with such awesome topics?! 

 

 

# 3 Focus on Growing my TeachersPayTeachers Store 

My store has steadily been growing over the last few months and I couldn't be any more excited! That "Cha-Ching" sound doesn't seem to get old! I have so many ideas written down in a notebook that I have been planning to create, but between lesson planning and end of the year tasks the time just hasn't been there!! I plan to use the next eight weeks to get my store going through a huge growth spurt! 

#4 Plan for the 2015-2016 School Year

I cannot believe that I am saying that! School just got out last Friday and we aren't even through with professional development yet, but I am already so excited for next year. I'm officially a K-3 learning disabilities teacher at my school, so I now have to learn all the ropes to 3rd grade! I'm sure there will be a lot of blog, TpT, and Pinterest stalking searching in my future! I would love to know of any awesome third grade blogs ya'll have come across! (And of course I'll be scrolling through our lovely linky hosts blog as well!)

Well I tried super hard to narrow down my goals for this Summer, but these four just couldn't be narrowed down any more! Thanks for checking out my blog post!!

 

Jumping Into Blogging With Back to School Goals

I am so excited to start my blogging adventure. I've spent the last year stalking reading blogs to grab ideas to implement in my classroom. I finally feel like it is time to take the plunge and start blogging myself!

First off let me introduce myself. My name is Jen and I am a second year special education teacher. Specifically kindergarten through second grade. Although I currently reside in Virginia, I will always be a Pittsburgh girl. 

Secondly, I want to take a moment to thank Courtney at Blogs Fit for a Queen and Becca at Foxwell Forest for giving me the opportunity to have such a wonderful blog design to start out with! I must say Courtney is absolutely AMAZING!

I figured what better way to jump into blogging then to jump into the Back to School linky with Jess from I (heart) Recess! So here it goes... 

Personal: I recently started 3 weeks no cheats that the amazing Rachelle over at For Blogness' Sake introduced, as well as 30 Day Shred. I am determined to become a healthy teacher! I also made the rookie mistake of working on school stuff just about every day of last year, weekends included! I am vowing to take time for myself this year!

Organization: Last May, when all the IEPs and grades were due, I also had to also pull together my evaluation binder. Lesson learned, it will be done earlier this year!

Planning: Lessons done on Fridays mean rest on the weekends, right? Hopefully making sure I have plans done and copies made by Friday afternoon leaves some rest and relaxation on the weekends. 

Professional: My first year of teaching was an absolute whirlwind. I am hoping to get a better grasp on the Special Education field this year.

Students: I not only want to keep up with collecting student data, I want to also take time to compliment my students on all their accomplishments this year. 

Motto: This quote was introduced to me in college, and has stuck with me ever since. Being in the Special Education field I find this motto especially important! Every student is different, they should not be expected to complete each task the same way. In the end though those students will always amaze you.

I'll be stopping back soon to add pictures of this years classroom!

Thanks for reading my first post and stay tuned for an official blog launch!