Teacher Week: 5 Fun Facts

It's Teacher Week again over at Blog Hoppin' and I'm excited to be a part of it! Today is...

Here we go!

1. I love love love home decor. If you follow me on Intagram, you know that we recently moved into a new house. I have been losing sleep over planning every single detail of each room, from paint colours to all of the accents that I cannot afford haha ...it will be a long road but seeing the "before" and "after" pics will make it all worth it!

This is a sneak peak of part of our new house. It's funny because when we were first looking at houses, I would cringe at any brown house. I HATE brown. ...and we probably bought the brownest house you could possibly buy haha But, of course, I already have big plans for the exterior too. Pray for my husband. hahah

2. For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with anything tropical or beach-related. I have no idea where that came from but one day I WILL live among palm trees, sand, and ocean!

In the past I have visited Jamaica 4 times, Dominican twice, Cuba twice, Grand Cayman, Haiti, Vegas, Florida twice, Mexico twice (this picture was taken on my most recent trip to Mexico...check out that storm! Amazing!!) and I can't remember where else :P

Jamaica, so far, is my absolute favourite. Hence why we were hitched last year in Negril <3

3. You might already know that I danced for 16 years and competed all over Ontario as well as Las Vegas and Florida. What you don't know is that when I was younger I danced and sang lip-synced in a video production that was sold in China to help children learn English! (Excuse the horrible picture quality, I just took pics of the photos in albums!)

(These were all taken on set in various locations in Toronto. I'm the blondie!)

(The last photo above was our pointe group for "Full of Grace." Can you find me?! This is back when I had naturally blonde hair...that's me in the top middle!)

4. One of my favourite things about teaching is actually the "behind-the-scenes" stuff. I probably shouldn't admit this but if there was a job where I could do all of the planning, prepping, decorating, and organizing for a teacher, I would be ALL OVER that!! Plus that way the teacher could focus all his/her energy on teaching. I think that's one of the reasons why I *love* making resources for other teachers. Anyone want to hire me to be your personal assistant?! ;)

This was taken before my first year of teaching the first grade, three years ago.

5. I have a tattoo on my foot that's written in Hawaiin. It says something like "little starfish" ...or "starfish little" ...or?? Let's be serious, who knows what it actually says. I got it in university as a reminder of the Starfish Story--it has always been a favourite tale and is also one of the reasons I became a teacher. And it's written in Hawaiian because, you know, I've never been to Hawaii but for some reason I am obsessed. I now HATE the font, and wish it was smaller, but I still don't regret it one bit :)

This was taken right after I had it done over five years ago now!

There are a few versions of this story that vary slightly. This is my fav:

I hope you enjoyed reading my 5 very random facts! 

Head back to meet some more amazing teacher bloggers :)

Best of Back-to-School

Well, it's that time of the year again...

hahah!

 If you haven't already gone back to school you are heading back soon, so it only makes sense to pump you up by sharing a few of my favourite back-to-school ideas! 

Let's get started!

I have always wanted to do something like this for my kiddos. It's such a great way to squash any anxieties they may have and get them excited about their first day back.

I love this minty fresh idea for Meet-the-Teacher Night! And to make it even better, you can snag Nicole's printable for FREE!

Why not have a "snowball fight" as a fun ice breaker activity?! Kids write three things about themselves on a sheet of scrap paper but DON'T write their names. Scrunch it up and, on your command, start a "snowball" fight! At the end of one minute or so, each student grabs the nearest "snowball," reads it aloud, and tries to guess who wrote it. 

Leave it to the amazing Debbie Clement to come up with such an adorable idea for a first day classroom-community-building activity! How cute would this look on your door?

I did Friday Journals one year and loved it! Every Friday starting from the first week, kids write a little note (and add a picture or two depending on your grade) to their parents telling them a few of the things they learned/did that week at school. The parents write a short response over the weekend and send the book back on Monday. Each parent response earns a sticker for the cover. It's such a great way to practice letter writing, reinforce what was taught each week, and get parents involved...plus it makes for a fun little keepsake by the end of the school year.

There are a bunch of adorable all-about-me pennant banners out there. This one is too cute...and FREE from The Bomb-Diggity Classroom!

I apologize for the self-promotion but I honestly couldn't start the year without my monthly newsletters! The editable template makes it so easy for me to produce an informative and CUTE newsletter with little effort. It definitely makes parent communication much easier!

And finally, it's always fun to end a fabulous first week sweet little treat for your new bunch. There are SO many cute first-day gift ideas out there but using fishy crackers and this snack tag saying is one of my favs!

What are some of your favourite back-to-school ideas?!