5 Facts About Me!

Hello!

So, throughout this wonderful blogging and TPT journey, I have met many wonderful people who have challenged me to become a better teacher, helped me to strengthen myself, and just generally boosted me up in many different ways. One of those amazing people is Nikki, from Teaching Autism (you should totally check out her blog if you haven't already!) and she is hosting a link up!

I have shared many different fun stories about my shenanigans in the classroom, but I feel like I haven't really shared much about myself or my personal life. So here I am...sharing five random facts about me! I hope you enjoy.

1. I am a shoe-aholic. I confess it...I totally am. I have a problem with shoe shopping and if I'm not monitored I'll spend every last penny on cute shoes! At one point in time (before I was married) I owned 63 pairs of shoes!!! When I moved in with my lovely husband I had to cut down. I am down now to 20 pairs of shoes total. 6 pairs of heels, 2 pairs of tennis shoes, 5 pairs of flats, 3 pairs of sandals, and 4 pairs of boots. It was so hard to cut down, but I did it and now live by the rule...if I get one I have to give one! It has saved my life! (If only I could apply this mentality to my clothes now...hmmmmmmm...)

2. My heart breaks when I see dogs in an over crowded shelter. I know exactly what happens to dogs when shelters get over crowded and many dogs don't have a fighting chance to find their forever home. I want to cry when I think about it. My biggest goal is to open a non-profit dog rescue to rescue loving dogs that are not adopted for whatever reason (be it breed-target legislation, age, health issues etc.) I hope to not just open a rescue, but I'd love to have different "sectors" of this rescue to help out many areas of the country with over crowded shelters. 

3. I am newly married. I will be celebrating 3 years of marriage with my husband (7.5 years together total) this November, and I cannot believe how the time has flown. He is my best friend, my other half, and even through our rough times, he does everything he can to show me loves me and I'm appreciated. I love him very much!

4. I write stories for fun. Usually with people, but I write stories for fun. Through high school I wrote 4 novels (over 300 pages each) and countless short stories. I would love to get these stories published, but I'm too insecure about my writing, I don't think I could EVER send it in for editing and to be considered for publishing! Eek! The idea is terrifying. 

5. I would LOVE to travel! I want to travel the world! I want to visit every country on the planet before I pass on. I don't know if I'll get there, but I want to do my best. I've already visited Mexico, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and 20 of the 50 states in America. It's not a lot yet, but it's a start for being only 26. I would love to see more of the world once I'm settled into my job, maybe after the kids (who are not born yet) are in college? I don't know. I don't have a plan yet...just a deep seated desire!

Well, that's it about me! Those are my 5 random facts. I hope you found them interesting? Maybe...just a little?

Thank you for reading, and always remember: every moment can be a learning moment!

Sincerely from TK,

TpT Seller Challenge Week 2: Dare to Dream

Hello!

So, if you haven't yet, take a look at this post for week 1 of my TpT Seller Challenge {brought to you by Third in Hollywood, Teach Create and Motivate, Sparkling in Second, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista} blog post series.

This week we are on the topic of 'Dare to Dream', and I'm so excited to share with you my dreams for my future, and the future of my blog and TpT store, as well as the future of my brand A Learning Moment. 

GO ON A CRUISE:

The one and only time I have ever been on a cruise was for my honeymoon (and the only reason I was able to afford that was because it was GIFTED to me as a wedding present from my Aunt.) That was two and a half years ago. The experience was beyond amazing and I have always had dreams of going on another one and traveling and seeing all sorts of different places. My dream is to have A Learning Moment become a successful business in order to help fund that dream (at least once.)

PAY OFF STUDENT LOANS:

When I got married, I was the only one with any kind of debt. My poor husband, busted his bottom, to pay off his students loans, his car, AND his credit cards before we got married...only to inherit (kind of) $21K worth of debt! I was mortified, and saddened to bring that into my new marriage, and even though he never once complains or holds is over my head, it is a dark cloud that I see hanging over myself. I would love to pay off my student debt so that my husband and I can focus on our new house and starting a family together. 

HIRE A TRAINER TO GET BACK TO A HEALTHY WEIGHT:

After I got married, I had to adjust to feeding another human being and taking into account his metabolism (and my lack thereof), and I gained a MONSTROUS amount of weight. I have been taking steps to get healthy again but after a troubled past with body image nothing seems to really be good enough. I want to take that final step and hire a trainer to teach me what I need to know and help me in the process of getting back to where I was happy and healthy.

HAVE KIDS!!

I am 26 years old (not old by any means) but one of my ultimate goals is to become a mother and I would love to be able to take that step knowing that I can afford to cut my working hours so that I can be there to watch my children grow. I would love to have the security to know that my husband isn't going to have to completely kill himself with overtime while I raise our children. 

This is me. These are my dreams for myself, my brand, and my future. What are your dreams?

Sincerely from TK,

Nichole

Welcome back!

Wow! Has it really been almost a month since I posted last?! Shame on me!! 

I was a super busy bee over the break. My first week I volunteered in a friend's classroom since I was out earlier than her. She was my second grade teacher AND my master teacher for student teaching block 2 (which I co-taught 2nd grade with her.) She is one of my biggest supporters and mentors and I just LOVE being able to be in her classroom and seeing how she does different things. Such a learning experience! 

The second week was crazy. Doctors did open heart surgery on my 82 year old grandpa and the whole family was very scared and nervous. He made it through surgery with flying colors and is on his way to a full recovery. (YAY!) After that I host a small Christmas party with  my side of the family on Christmas Eve, then went to Hubby's parents on Christmas day for a big party over there. The following Saturday Hubby was rushed to the ER (by moi) at 5:30 in the morning for kidney stones! I went to the ER the following Tuesday because I got bit breaking up a dog fight (I'm perfectly fine.)  After that it was prep time for our traditional New Years Eve party...and when we finally recovered from that, I was in charge of a last minute (like 2 days to throw everything together) engagement party on this past Saturday! 

I am so glad the holidays are over...no more excitement for me. Thank you very much!

Anyway, today was the first day back with munchkins and we had so much fun!! I introduced the kids to the idea that water comes in different forms. We're going to be spending the next two weeks learning about water as a liquid, water as a solid, and water as a gas. To help the kids understand the concept of water as a solid I brought up the idea of ice (most kids are familiar with ice and that it melt into water) and asked them where they see ice outside. Many kids say that they saw ice in their cups when mom or dad gave them a drink, but a few of them said that they remember it hailing a little while ago and that hail looked like little pieces of ice. This led us into a discussion about hail, sleet, snow and icicles. I told the kids we were going to do an experiment later in the week and they were super excited about it. 

We're going to make a snow man (out of shaved ice from a snow-cone maker my co-worker is letting me borrow) and we're going to see what happens when we leave him out in our classroom vs. what happens when we leave him outside. Now today it was almost 90...I'm hoping it'll be colder outside for this experiment but c'est la vie and I'll work with what I have. Next week I'll toss a bunch of water onto a hot electric griddle or skillet and show them that when water gets really really hot it evaporates and turns into steam. Ta-Da! Introduction into the gas form of water! The whole thing is going to be a lot of fun. 

Anyway, I've kind of focused on snowmen and snowflakes for our "topic" of the week so for math we had to sequence the parts of snowman from biggest to littlest! Aren't they stinking adorable!?

The kids had to draw eyes, a mouth, and arms on their snowmen. 

Some of them got a little...creative with their buttons. 

And some you can't even see!!

Our letter of the week is Mm, and we are REALLY working on identifying beginning sound. So, as a whole group I let the kids come up with ideas of what words started with m. I think they did really well...once I really explained the concept!

Now, don't get me wrong, I still had A TON of responses that were incorrect, but by the end of the lesson/discussion time they were getting the hang of it! I'm really hoping this helps solidify our beginning sound identification. 

OH! Victory moment!! I sent out progress reports the Friday before break, along with a target work packet, and I had one little girl that couldn't identify a single letter (upper or lower case) and could only tell me the sound that x made. I reassessed her today...SHE KNOWS 11 SOUNDS!!! I just about cried when I counted up her stars! (They get stars next to the letter when they master the sounds.) I was very proud of her and all the practice and work she had done over break.

 Look at this beauty that I got for Christmas!!! My sister-in-law bought this baby for me for Christmas and I could not wait to try it out!! Fully loaded it holds 22 regular sized papers, and I only have 19 kids so it's perfect! 

I cannot wait to show you more of what I have planned for the rest of the month! It's going to be an amazing adventure. 

I hope you've enjoyed this first blog post of the new year, and always remember:

Every moment can be a learning moment!

Sincerely from TK,

Nichole

Veteran's Day

This is a personal post, and has 0% to do with my classroom, but I want to take a moment to talk about someone very important and very special to me. Today is a very special day for me and my family. I want to tell you a little bit about my grandfather. He was born in Poland in 1933and lived a happy life until WW2 and the Nazis invasion of Poland. His mother was a U.S. citizen so she was deported back to the states, leaving behind her young son and husband (both Polish citizens.) My grandfather lost his father on his 8th birthday. He was taken away to a work camp. My grandfather never saw him again. 

My grandfather survived Poland and WW2 hiding and running with his aunt who was only 3 years older than him. He had little, and asked for even less. He saw things that we only talk about in whispers, or that many people actually believe never happened. After the end of the war he came to the states at the age of 15. He worked hard to learn English and graduated high school at the age of 18. 

Shortly after he graduated he enlisted and served in the Korean War. He made it home and went on to get married and have three beautiful children (my father being the youngest.) He was a dedicated single father to his three children and worked hard to provide everything he could for his family. He is the best grandfather I could have ever asked for and it is so humbling to know him. 

This man, who has had a difficult life, endured so much more than the normal person, left his home and came to this country. Not only did he come to a new country, he learned the language, the culture and was so filled with pride to be American, shortly after he finished school he enlisted to protect his new country and their freedoms. He stood up and took his oath and fought for each and every person in this country; so they could have their lives, so they could have their liberty and freedoms. He has never asked for special treatment and when asked why...his simple response of "It was my duty and I was proud to do it." seems so matter of fact and beautiful in its simplicity, it just makes you want to cry. So on this day, Veteran's day, I am taking a moment to honor him. He was a soldier. He is a hero. He is MY hero and I am so proud to call this man my grandfather and my family. 

I salute you sir. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your pride in our country. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for being such an amazing individual. I am honored to have you in my life, shaping and molding me into the young woman I am. 

I love you!

Nichole