Extremely New Blogger That You NEED to check out!

Kristen is one of my friends who was just recently inspired to start her first teaching blog. She is super excited about starting this school year because she will be teaching in a new school and a new grade! Both were a much needed change for her. Kristen is so new to the blogging world that she just featured her first post today! How exciting! Even though she is just starting out, she is a blogger you will DEFINITELY want to keep up with. She has lots of great ideas to share, and she started sharing them today!! Go check it out for yourself...

And the Award Goes To...

Over the past several days I have been nominated for an award by my fellow bloggers. I feel so loved and honored by your nominations! The award is the Versatile Blogger Award!

 I would like to say thank you to Rachel over at Teaching with Z!, Mrs. Woodbury over at Wonderings of Mrs. Woodbury, and Margaret at Kinder Journey for The Versatile Blogger Award!

To accept this award I have to:

1. Thank the person(s) who nominated me. (check)
2. Include a link back to who nominated me. (check)
3. Include the award image in my blog post. (check)
4. Tell 7 random facts about myself (see below)
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award. (see below) 
6. When nominating, include a link to their page. (included below)
7. Let the nominees know by leaving a comment on their pages. (check)

Here are the 7 Random Facts about me:

First, I am not the best at keeping up with my blog once the school year starts and life gets crazy busy! My goal for this year is to actually keep it updated (even with Baby Kacz making her appearance in late November)!

Second, I love Starbucks coffee!! Especially their White Mocha! My favorite breakfast is a Starbuck's White Mocha accompanied by a Panera Bread Cinnamon Crunch bagel topped with Hazelnut cream cheese. Heaven!

Third, I have two cats named Frank and Riley, and one dog named Mia. All three spoiled rotten!

Frank

 Riley

Mia

Fourth, I love cookbooks! I can't seem to get enough and can always justify why I need a new one!

Fifth, I am a HUGE Real Housewives fan! In fact, I love to watch just about anything on Bravo!

Sixth, I love keeping family traditions alive and starting new ones!

And finally, the seventh random fact about me...
Fall is my favorite season, but Christmas is my favorite holiday! 

 Playing in the leaves with my hubby!

At home in the OH for Christmas with Bryan (brother), Heather (sister), Dad and Mom!

Now that's enough about me!

Here are the 15 Bloggers that I am nominating for this award:

Adventures in Teaching

Once Upon a First Grade Adventure

Buzz Three Times

Heather's First Grade Heart

Dandelions and Dragonflies

Fluttering Through First Grade

Teacher Talk

Berkery Bytes

Curious Firsties

 Mrs. M's Third Grade Gems

3rd & 4th Combination Classroom

Teaching to the Test

The Teacher Garden

Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera!

Two Busy Brunettes

Blog Hoppin' Around!

I am joining my very first Blog Hop with Fierce in Fourth and I'm so excited!

This Blog Hop is based on the book we all know and love First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.

 

When you join the blog hop all she asks is that you post three things your may be "jittery" about this school year! That's it! So here are my three things...

1.  I always get jittery about meeting my new Buckaroos at Open House. What the kids and parents probably don't realize is that I'm just as anxious and excited about the upcoming school year as they are! No matter how many years I've been teaching, I still have those butterflies!
2. I'm hosting a student teacher this year. This is not my first, she is actually my third, but I always want to make sure my student teachers are well taken care of, get great "on the job" training and feel like they have the confidence to plan lessons aligned to Common Core and State Standards and do all the things teachers do to be a successful teacher when they leave my classroom! Tips and tricks welcome.
3. I am going out on maternity leave after Thanksgiving and this is my first child so there are lots of new experiences coming my way! I am super excited about meeting my daughter, but have never been out of my classroom that long! My sub is awesome, so I really have nothing to worry about! However, I dread those maternity leave lesson plans!! Any tips?
   
   

I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop and decide to link up!

Here is the Blog Hop!

Calling All Beginning Bloggers...

I would like to say thank you to Jen over at "T" is for Teacher blog for nominating me for the Liebster Award. This is an award for new bloggers who have less than 200 bloggers. It's hard to build up your followers and I really appreciate the nomination!! Now here's my chance to pass it on to some other fellow bloggers...

Here are the rules:
1. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
2. Thank the giver and link back to them.
3. Reveal 5 other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blog.

 Here are me five blogger nominees:

1.  Teaching With Z

2.  Teaching Little Apples: A First Grade Teaching Blog
3.  Mrs. Shipley's Fabulous Firsties
4.  First Class Teacher
5.  A Day in First Grade

I think you should go check out these blogs and become followers of them all! Enjoy!

Great ideas from fellow teachers and bloggers!

I've been finding some fabulous ideas via Pinterest these hot summer days and wanted to share some with you!

First, I was inspired by Dandelions and Dragonflies blog with her classroom setup including bookshelves at each grouping of desks. I would love to do this in my classroom!

I also found a whole class behavior management chart to encourage positive behavior in daily specials, hallways, lunch, etc. at Stories from Room 114 blog. In the past, I have used hand prints that have to reach a pair of cowboy boots (which I move higher and higher throughout the year). When the class reaches the cowboy boots they receive a whole class prize, which remains a mystery until they earn it! This is a hundreds chart that is used in a similar way. Click on the picture to check it our for yourself!

If you haven't been lucky enough to view this video clip, I recommend that you do! This teacher has some cute, engaging classroom management cues for her students! I will definitely be using these this year!!

I can go on and on about other ideas that I've found, but I think that's enough for today! Be on the lookout for pics of my Wild West classroom this week!

Why is summer so busy???

Even though (some) teachers may have their summers off, most of us never stop planning for the next school year! We are always searching for new ideas and ways to better organize our classrooms and reach our students. On top of having the usual teacher stuff on my brain I've been busy enjoying my summer! We have had family and friends visiting from Ohio, we went to visit my sister in VA Beach and I have been busily planning and registering for my first child who will be here in late November! Might I add that my husband and I just recently found out that we are having a little GIRL!!! Woo hoo!! (Let me just say that I was right!) With all that said, I have had a lot on my brain, but I am a mean multitasker!! I have found some really cool ideas to share with you, but tonight I will start with a new blog. My friend is starting a new adventure in teaching this year by changing grade levels and schools and she has started a blog to share her tips, tricks and findings with the rest of you. So click on Rachel's page and become a follower!

 http://teachingwithz.blogspot.com/