I'm Thankful

Thanks to the sweet teachers at What the Teacher Wants and Oh Boy'4th Grade, I'm sharing today what I'm thankful for!!

What are you thankful for in your classroom?

As much as my students tire me out and sometimes frustrate me, I am very thankful for my twelve little friends. Being a first year teacher is difficult, but they make my job enjoyable (note: I did not say easy.....). They have great senses of humor, a TON of energy, and they generally embrace anything I bring in for them to do. Other than my students, I am thankful for having a lot of freedoms as far as what I teach. Although we have basals, my principal is extremely flexible in letting us use our discretion about what topics we want to cover over the course of the year and for how long. This can be really overwhelming, since I want to teach about every topic and every cultural holiday, but I know that many teachers do not have these opportunities, so I try to take advantage of them!!!

What person are you most thankful for?

I am thankful for so many people! My parents and siblings, my best cousin friends, my non-cousin friends, my next-door neighbor teacher... but today I will be most thankful for my lovely boyfriend. Over the weekend, we went on a museum extravaganza in Chicago! We went to the Shedd Aquarium (where he works), the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium. It was a GREAT day and I learned so much! Back to the topic though ... Matt is incredibly supportive of me as a teacher. He is always texting me ideas that he has for my class, and he helps me by drawing things for the kids (like the Kaboom sticks for my new Kaboom math station - more on that tomorrow maybe). If I have a great day, he is always excited to hear about it, and if I have a rough day, he is always there to reassure me that everything will be fine. I feel so lucky!

What three blogs are you most thankful for?

Oh man. I love so many! I want to list a million, but I will cut it down to three!

First, Kristin at The Teeny Tiny Teacher. Whenever I see my Google Reader with a new post from Kristin, I am soooo super excited. She is hilarious and I don't even care what she writes about. It always makes my day better!! I'm sad that I did not follow her earlier!!

Next, I will say Jodi at Fun in First. I think I have pinned more stuff from her blog than anyone else's. She has the cutest ideas and they are legit.

And last, I am going to cheat and say Teacher Tipster!! I watch his videos obsessively and I make my boyfriend watch them too (I think he is okay with it...?). I am asking for his musical morning routine video for Christmas and I really want to start doing it! My calendar routine is incredibly boring even though I try to speed through it. I am not a singer in the classroom but I am going to try to get over it, since the kids are tiny and think I am amazing at everything. Haha!! Here is one of my personal favorite videos that makes me cry laughing every time. Enjoy!!!!

What guilty pleasure are you most thankful for?


Hmmm.... this is difficult. I think I will go with Teavana tea since it is crazy expensive and I feel guilty spending my tiny paycheck on it..... oh wells! I drink the Youthberry/Wild Orange Blossom combination which is truly wonderful. It just warms up my soul, I feel. I don't follow their crazy directions on how to make it (I let it steep for way longer) and I add tons of sugar and it is great!! I recommend trying it out if you haven't!! I always drink many samples when I am at the mall. :)

What are you most thankful for?


So many things! I am so very thankful that I have a teaching job in this economy. I feel very lucky to have found a place where I am comfortable and where I teach next door to one of my friends. We have each other's back! I am thankful that I have a warm home and a loving family. I am thankful that I have Matt who makes me happy every day. I am thankful that my cousin Kelley is doing her observation hours in my classroom because it helps a TON having her there and I love my cousin. :) I just love the world!

What are you thankful for? Link up with the awesome parties going on!