Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Happy Christmas month! Let's be real... the whole month of December seems like Christmas. The music on the radio, the excitement in the school halls, the decorations... the whole world seems to change for a while. We've started changing our bulletin boards to reflect the season, thought I'd post the pictures of my Peanuts Holiday board!

And here's a close up of the Little Sad Christmas Tree... the sign beside it is a quote from the Peanuts character, Linus, and reads, "I never thought it was a bad little tree... maybe it just needs a little love."

Another close up, this time of Snoopy and Woodstock.... I found a cute little image on Pinterest and just recreated it for the board using construction paper and some icicle border we had from years past.

The snow of course is made of cotton balls (a teacher's best friend during the holidays!)

I don't know if anyone reads this, but I'm just happy to have what I feel is going to be an account of my time as a new educator... From receptionist to Aftercare teacher to Pre-K teacher and from there, who knows?!

Hoping your month is starting to brighten with the magic of Christmas,

TURKEY EXCITEMENT!

           I can remember as a child and later as a teenager how excited I was for holidays off from school. The happy-nervous butterflies dancing and partying it up in my tummy, the way everyone's energy was so infectious and bright... I think that was more fun than the actual breaks themselves!
Now as the adult in the room of widespread giddiness, it doesn't give me quite the same charge that it once did, though it does seem to zap it out of you lol. But I'll tell you what, the smiles on my kids faces are well worth the tired nights.

           I haven't shared with you all much about my after care kids... remember that while yes I am the receptionist, I am also the lead After Care (extended day) teacher. While I love being receptionist to this awesome school, I think I prefer After Care! The kids get homework help, additional learning through educational websites like Reading Plus and IXL; they get creative and have fun with Karaoke and Just Dance videos on Youtube... Fridays are movie days. Though this means my days are longer (11 hour days three times a week) and sometimes I'm not in the best of moods, these are my favorite times of the day.

          Today in After Care I rewarded the kids with pizza, trips into the treasure chest, and movies. We watched the new Disney movie, Planes, which my kids loved, and then Rise of the Guardians from Dreamworks. It was the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break, for which we have a full week off, so of course the place was electric with fun! They bought things from the treasure trunk (purchased from Wal-Mart, below)

Mercury Luggage Stackable Storage Locker, 30" @ Wally World!

 with their Shark Dollars; "money" I made with the school crest on different colors of paper to signify values...

(pics coming soon!)

(white = $1, blue = $3, yellow = $5). 

I think I would have preferred the trunk with wheels though... this one was super heavy especially with all the treats and treasures that I put inside before taking it to school... did not anticipate that lol.

BTW, they earn these Shark Dollars by having good behavior in the After Care classroom... we actually use the Clip It! Behavior Chart from one of my favorite blogs, A Cupcake For the Teacher! I use this to focus the children and have them mind themselves... the higher the clip (good) the more shark bucks they get by the end of the day. Every day is a new chance to earn, and seldom do I ever get to Parent Contact. I love it so much for its effectiveness and for it's price... FREEEEE!!!! You know free is gold to a teacher!

           Glad we made it to Friday, and THANKSGIVING BREAK, WOOOO!

Enjoy your breaks, my Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Whimey friends... 

To my fellow Whovians... This Saturday is the day we've been waiting for... The Day of the Doctor episode!!! ::::cries uncontrollably:::: 

Until next time ;)


ALLONSY!

Another Fabulous My Truth Monday!

My Truth Monday is an AWESOME series by Sunny Days in Second Grade, and this week they are asking who my Celebrity Crush is!

This week has been a bit hectic... I might have mentioned that I was asked by our principal if I would like to be the Pre-K Teacher next year, so preparations for that have been under way. Listing things to do, buy, prepare for, study for... so much whirling in my head I have been having trouble sleeping to be honest. But it's all in excitement for what's coming! Not to mention I caught the cold just in time for the Pre-Thanksgiving madness... you know, the brief time before Thanksgiving break (not to mention winter break looming close by!) that the kids just get super excited and have to be reminded 100 times a day to mind themselves? Yea.

Can't believe it's November ALREADY! Didn't we just start school? sheez...

How's everyone else doing during this time?

My Truth Monday!

My Truth Monday is an AWESOME series by Sunny Days in Second Grade, and it has been popping up everywhere! I love it and the only reason I haven't participated sooner is that I'm still getting used to even having a blog lol. 

So here is my first "Truth"!

I am so looking forward to doing this for many Mondays to come!

Bulletin Board Time!

One of the things I absolutely LOVE to do as the receptionist, is to change up the board in the lobby. I think of it as the first impression  of our school, so I like to really have fun with them!

Yours In Space & Time,

Movin' On Up!

WOW.

Can I just take a second to adjust?

I came to Florida with no job prospects, medical debt, and a huge car payment each month. All I had was a passion for education and a need to return to school... I started nanny-ing and taking odd jobs to make ends meet while I searched for a position in education, so my days were hectic and long.

Fast forward 5 months and I'm overwhelmed by the Lord's blessings! I am employed in a FANTASTIC Charter school that really is focused on the learning going on in the classrooms, great supportive administration, and wonderfully bright kids! As the Receptionist, I greet the children each morning, answer general questions from the parents, encourage meetings between them and the teachers, and play a supportive role in the school. As well as reception, I lead the Before and After Care also known as Extended Day. Its a long day for me 3 days a week (A Paraprofessional takes Tuesdays and Thursday's for me for After Care... thank goodness!), but the money is very much welcome and I LOVE my job!

Then yesterday my principal asks me if I would consider being a Pre-K teacher next school year!

Um.... YES!

What kind of Whovian would I be if I shied away from a new adventure where I may fail miserably and fall flat on my face?! So of course I have been cruising through Pre-K to 3rd grade blogs to get a feel for what works for other teachers and can I just say KUDOS to the blogs I found? Amazingly creative, great for all learning types, and fun lessons built by these phenomenal men and women that I just can not wait to try! And some even recommend books (which I will start reading straight away) of different teaching styles and ideas.

I just wanted to share with you the blessings I've earned recently. Just goes to show that if you are going through trials, just remember that Seasons change... and your time will come!

Yours Timelessly,

Educator Who

In the Beginning...

My name is Samantha, and I am a Pinterest Fiend.

I adore the Doctor Who series; I truly fancy the Doctor <3

I love being around elementary school kids... funny since as a student I always said I would never want to teach or work with that age group lol. I was of the opinion that elementary grades posed no challenge, nothing to be learned from teaching them and being a part-time nanny as a young adult just reinforced that thought, unfortunately. 

Yet even with  the goal of creating a career in High School education, I've really slacked off since getting my Associate's degree... I ran off to South Carolina the same weekend as I finished the last class needed to earn my degree and lived there for almost 4 years. I did NOTHING with my degree... a handful of customer service jobs, call centers mostly, just dealing with upset customers all day. After 3 years though, the disgruntled person I faced the most was myself... I hated who I had allowed myself to become; working dead end jobs and living paycheck to paycheck, not utilizing my degree and not pursuing my education, either. So when my spouse (we'll call him Mr. Who) started talking about having kids, I pushed the brakes; we could have kids if we moved back to Florida. 

Why Florida? Well, that's where I grew up, graduated both high school and college, and that's where I would have to get my education back on track. Although I had been accepted to Clemson University in South Carolina, I couldn't attend due to their school hours being "traditional" (7am-5pm... who DOES that anymore?!) and didn't work for me since I worked during those hours. Well, that and if I was to get on their track for education NONE of my previous course credits would transfer so I would have to start all over as a freshman. 

H - E - Double-Hockey-Sticks NO!

So, now I'm in Florida.

And that's where the fun begins ;)