Hi all! It’s been so long since I’ve posted on here. That must mean one thing…I’ve been busy 🙂 I officially graduated with my Masters of Arts in Teaching in August! I started my graduate course 3 days after moving back to Minnesota from Korea. It was a huge transition home but the best choice I could have made. Fast forward two years and I am officially DONE with grad school! Woohoo! There are very few things I am as proud of as completing grad school in two years (the program should have taken at least 1 more year but I doubled up on courses and sped through it) and managed to work full time (at times 2 jobs) and still graduate with a 3.96! The A- I received in Science will forever haunt me 😉

I have officially been teaching 2nd grade at a wonderful school outside of Minneapolis. I began teaching early August as it’s a year round school with more breaks. Trimester 1 ended today and I am on Thanksgiving break, which is why I actually have a chance to sit down and write! Today we had a professional development day and I had to write something that I was thankful for with my students. I had a flashback to the time I wrote the blog: 30 Reasons I Love My Students I pulled up the page and quickly read through it. I ended up writing down the first one on the list “Even on the hardest days, my students cheer me up instantly” I wrote that blog in 2016 and I still feel the exact same way I did more than 3 years later. The joy that I have for teaching outweighs any data, testing, stress of parents that happens in the daily life of a teacher. My students have taught me so much…patience, love, thoughtfulness, along with figuring out how to control my tone when I become frustrated 🙂 and that every student needs something different but in the end they just want to be cared for.

I recently read a blog that mentioned that teachers often complain about their job because of how much teachers have to do and how little we are appreciated or paid. I decided that I will do my best to avoid those complaining moments for a few reasons. 1. I CHOSE this career. I spent two incredible years teaching in Korea and two amazing years in graduate school soaking up all I could to become the best teacher I could be. and 2. What a long life it would be to always complain about how you don’t like your job and wish things would be different. Yes, I wish many things were different with the data-driven system that we all live in. However, it’s not and I am very thankful to have a job I enjoy and love.

I wanted to share a few photos of my classroom with all of you! In these pictures it’s clean and no students have yet entered the classroom. 4 months later, there are pictures created by students along the walls, anchor charts up, and the signs of 26 students coming in and out everyday. I’ll share those photos another time 🙂

With it being the holiday season – I wanted to share a special project called DonorsChoose with you. Being a first year teacher, I bought a cheap Amazon carpet that is rolling in the corners and already very worn out. We used duct tape to tape down the rolling corners, which is not ideal. It’s not an official “classroom rug” so it’s wearing out very quickly. I am looking to raise donations for a new classroom rug that is created with tougher material to last for years to come. I have also added three book bundles as I am still filling my classroom library for my students. Most of my books are from Goodwill so new books feel like a dream come true. Over the next week, DonorsChoose will DOUBLE your donations. with the code: LIFTOFF at checkout!! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you ❤ Here are the links:

DonorsChoose: Cozy Classroom Carpet for Learning

DonorsChoose: Wonderful Books for our Library

It’s been great to share a bit about my life as a “first year classroom teacher” with you all. I am growing every week and building up the skills to continue to do my best to educate our future kiddos. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and can be surrounded by those you love and not forget what you are grateful for in this world.

Love from Minneapolis,

Caroline