It's Almost Over!

Summer, that is.  Let's take a moment to mourn all the books, crafts, recipes, naps, road trips, and school work that did NOT get accomplished this summer as I had planned.

Sigh.

I'm not too sad though.  I'm very excited about a new school year with new students.  I hope that I am getting more into the swing of things this year than ever before.  We teachers are reporting back for duty this coming Tuesday.  Our students will be arriving on the 19th!  Monday I am going to the school to start assembling my room.  I spent almost two hours with a die-cut machine this afternoon.  If not for my husband, I would've been there double time!  I'm so thankful that he is willing (not so eager, but WILLING) to help me do all of my school errands.

I have to admit, even though I love teaching 6th grade, seeing all of my Facebook friends' elementary rooms makes me wish I was only going to have a set of 25 kids for the entire year.  But I enjoy getting to know so many students each year.  Hopefully I will make a positive impact on each of them in different ways.

In other news, I got a new laptop for my birthday back in February.  I have yet to move my files from my old MacBook to the new laptop, so I have spent the better part of a week doing just that.  I had to reformat my external hard drive, which caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part.  I have 20 GB of pictures, which had to be moved 2 GB at a time into DropBox, from DropBox into a folder on my desktop... reformat the hard drive, and now move the files back on there.  TIME. CONSUMING.  But I am obsessive with keeping old pictures, documents, etc. so it is worth it.  I'm currently formatting my old Mac so that I can send it off to Gazelle and at least get a little spending cash out of something that's just sitting around the house.

Between now and Monday, I am going to squeeze in as much summer fun as I can!  (And I'm going to write lesson plans.  And clean the apartment well.  And do laundry. And...)

Gearing Up

We are finally in the final stretch of summer!

Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE my summers off as a teacher.  I feel like I can be a normal person. I can read books!  GROWN-UP books! I can take naps! I can go on trips!  I can eat and use the restroom (not at the same time... eww!) when I want! (More exciting than one might think.)

But, I hate to admit... I do get a little bit bored.  I really enjoy my job! I get very excited when stores start pulling out school supplies.  Have I mentioned I have an obsession with office/school supplies?  Hi, my name is Sam, and I collect supplies like there's an education Y2K coming.

Today I dragged my husband to school with me to exploit his strength  help me move my room around. I got an extra body to move stuff at the price of a cheeseburger for lunch.  I'm pretty sure I came out on top here.

After they clean during the summer, it always takes a bit to move everything back.  We label everything in our room so that it gets returned to the correct classroom.  Imagine my surprise when I found an extra filing cabinet today!  I looked for a name on it, but found none.  I think it might have belonged to the strings teacher, judging by the way the drawers were labeled. (Her office and classroom are no where near mine!) However, I went ahead and found a nice spot for it in my room. I'm not sure if it was given to me or just misplaced, but I'm going to pretend like I get to keep it until I hear otherwise.

I'm trying to finish up some last minute Pinterest projects for my room.  Hopefully within the next week to two weeks I will have pictures of my classroom up.  I am always looking for new suggestions.  I am very cheap frugal when it comes to decorating my room, so I try to work with what I've got on hand.

What are you doing to prepare for back to school?

Pringles (I mean... Reading)

I have problems.

Thankfully, not the kind that they lock you up for.  Usually.

During summer, I always try to keep a rational balance between enjoying sleep, gearing up for next year's classroom, and reading.

This summer, I haven't really read much.  It's not because there aren't many books worth reading right now, because there's a ton I can't wait to sink my teeth into.  The thing is, reading is like Pringles.  Once you pop, the fun don't stop.  (Also, Pringles make a wonderful reading snack.)

I have a problem with reading a book like any rational person.  Apparently, I only know how to read in frenzied spurts.  Once I pick up a book that I am interested in, I usually only put it down to take care of essential tasks (getting more Pringles).  I don't know what it is about reading that draws me in so.  I was the kid who took library books to Pep Rallies.  I devour them. I try to limit myself to one or two chapters at a time (and 10-15 Pringles) and to go on about my day, but I always end up sprawled out at 2 in the morning, throwing a finished book down as I brush off chip crumbs and look for the empty Pringles can.

I really need to find balance in my life.  And apparently more Pringles again.

Which books capture you?

Is This Thing On?

Tap, tap, tap...

Um, hi.

photo credit

*crickets chirping*

Setting up this blog, I feel like I need a dazzling emcee to lead me up to center stage.  Just grab me by the elbow, lead me up to the mic, show me how to lower it, and announce..

"WELCOME, SAM, TO THE WORLD WIDE WEB!"

And then I would proceed to immediately choke on my own spit, trip over the mic cord, and land face first in someone's lap in the first row.

Annnnyyyyyywaaaaayyyy...

I am excited to get started here, if only for my own amusement.  Perhaps I should introduce myself.

I am twenty-four years old and I do not have my life together.  (Just kidding.  Well, not really.)

I teach sixth grade at a middle school in rural South Carolina.  This year will be my third year teaching... meaning that it's a charm, right?  Mmm, sure.  I do love my job though.  More on how I became a sixth grade teacher in some other post.

I'm married.  No, we don't have kids.  Yes, we do want them.  We're waiting like responsible adults! At least that's what we tell ourselves.  My husband is finishing nursing school as quickly and accurately as he can.

We have two cats named after Harry Potter characters.  So that should clue you in that I am a huge dorky nerd.  (Not the underwear-outside-my-pants kind.  Hopefully I fall between the cute and creepy categories.)

I love to read.  I love to write.  I love to make to-do lists and lose them before I finish everything I've written.  (Well, I don't love to do that.  But it does happen quite often.) And, like most people right now, I love Pinterest.

That's a little bit of me in a nut shell.  Or in a corn husk... because I'm corny.

I apologize now for what you will be subjected to in the future.

--Sam