First Week of School and Fall Favorites

Hi, friends!

Today I'm here to share with you about my first 3 days of school and also to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for their Five for Friday linky party!  Let's get right to it!

HOLY GUACAMOLE!

The last three days flew by and I am wiped!  Wednesday was the first day of school. Not only was it the first day of school, it was my first day teaching! Honestly, by the end I couldn't even believe it happened. I had one of those moments when I was dropping my class off at gym where I suddenly realized that this was in fact real life and that I really was experiencing my day as Miss McBride on my own! 

Whew! Like a lot of first year teachers, I went home on Wednesday completely unsure of just about everything! Did I do a good job? Did my kids enjoy it? Just tons of questions floating through my head. I think that's good though- it caused me to be self reflective and I thought about a lot and changed some things even before the kids walked in the door on Thursday.

And let me tell you... yesterday and today were amazing. I just loved it. I felt like my class was really getting it and the routines and procedures we were working through were coming together. And ya know what was really amazing? I could literally see my class coming together as a team and community before my very eyes. I saw new friendships bloom, pairs work cooperatively, leaders step up... everything- it was wonderful!

AND.... at the end of the day yesterday I ran into a parent in the hall who told me that her son came home on the first day raving about how awesome his class was and how much he loved the first day of school. Oh my heavens my heart just about flipped upside down (and over and over again) in my chest. For someone who felt like a whirlwind on day 1, that was the best thing I could have heard.

Bottom line? :: I just adore my kiddos- and it's only day three!! :)

Also, My parents sent me flowers to school yesterday! How stinkin' precious is that?!?!  Pretty dang precious if you ask me!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!

 And now for the linky! 

I'm absolutely loving that it's starting to feel like fall. It does officially mean that summer is coming to a close but it is also the season for some of my very favorite things.

Here are my top Five for Friday fall favorites....

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I have one word to describe these.... magical

Source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/pumpkin-spice-latte

2. Scarf Season. 

I have a scarf obsession. I just love them. My very favorites (which I will be able to start wearing really soon) are from Njabini Apparel. Njabini is the name of the place in Kenya that I lived while I was there. Their mission is "to enable poor families living in Kenya to increase their income and achieve their dreams." How beautiful is that?!!!? 

Photo Credit: Brandon Jones // Sweet Hannah modeling some beautiful Njabini scarves :)

This is my sister and I last year at the JDRF walk in Boston- obv wearing my Njabini scarf

3. The foliage. 

I just love love love when the leaves change. I also love hiking up mountains in the Adirondacks to see views like this one! Stunning!

4. Apple Picking

What a fun activity apple picking is! I just love it! Then I have fresh apples for so long that I can bring along with me whenever or bake scrumptious treats with! Mmmm- apple crisp is one of my favs! 

My sweet friend, Lizzie and I apple picking!

5. Giving thanks

A friend and I have made it a daily occurrence to look for 5 things every day that are blessings that we are thankful for. It's been such a cool and rich experience to intentionally think of the things each day that are blessings that we all too often brush past and don't acknowledge. I've loved making this a daily practice but with the season of fall comes Thanksgiving which makes us all think about what we're thankful for... and that's something I just love every single year. 

Souce: http://blog.mountunion.edu/blog/remember-to-always-give-thanks/

AND... it's Friday, everyone!!

....which I think will always always always make this teacher's heart smile! 

Colleen's September Currently

Happy September, sweet friends!!

Last month, Stacy blogged about her August currently. Well, this month it's my turn! Today I'm linking up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade to share with you my September currently! 

So without further adieu....

Listening: I love listening to sermons from other pastors around the country. I absolutely love my church and my pastor but there's so many other churches around and so much wisdom out there- I just love to soak it in. I listen while I'm driving or cleaning, or whenever really... like right now, while I'm typing this blog post. This one in particular is about overcoming stress and anxiety and I've listened to it probably 5 times. Highly recommended. 

Loving: I LOVE fall. It's cool but not cold and the colors are absolutely beautiful- especially here in New England. I also have a slight obsession with anything pumpkin... pumpkin candles, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, oatmeal etc.... delicious. I love baking with pumpkin!

Thinking: I have one day of plans done. WOOF. I really need to finish the other days. It's looming over my head but day one took me soooo long. I know it will eventually come quicker and I'll get into a rhythm and routine but right now it's toughhhh to think through everything. However, The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete, and some great teacher friends have been SO helpful. 

Wanting: I just love a good hot cup of tea and to be cuddled up in a blanket. After this that's what I'm gonna do while I write these plans. 

Needing: I think I hear Target calling my name for a new dress for the first day of school??? :) But in reality I need to go grocery shopping so I'm prepared to make lunches again!

And for personal goals: 

1) Daily Devotions: Last year I would get to the parking lot super early and spend time every morning in my car doing by devotions. This year I need to get into a new routine in order to make sure I'm intentional with the time I'm spending with God. 

2) Boot Camp: I just love my gym. I need to get into the routine of going to 7pm bootcamps after work. I know it would help me with everything else in my life that sometimes feels out of control too. 

3) Plan out my meals: Sometimes I find myself just too busy. If I were to plan out my meals ahead of time I would be able to stay on track better there too. 

So, there you have it! 

I can't believe it's September! 

My kids come in TWO days!!! Ahhhhh! 

So many emotions!

I'm excited and I'm nervous and I'm trying to remind myself that I'm ready! 

Ya know what would help me a LOT? 

Some advice from the wealth of amazing educators out there!

Leave your words of wisdom in the comment section below :)

SLANT box update, a peek into my new classroom and a look into what we've been workin' on!

Happy Friday, friends!!! We are both actually living it up in the woods this weekend. Stacy is camping with her family and I (Colleen) am heading up to my family's house in the Adirondacks in a few short hours BUT we thought we would get one more post in before we head out! (cue huge round of applause!)

First, we'd like to give you a little update on our SLANT box friends because they are just so awesome! We will be sending a package to Anisa at Creative Undertakings. Like us, she's addicted to pinterest and loves crafting! Something that I both love and hate about Pinterest is that it's so easy to find these wonderful, grand ideas.... See, I get so happy and excited and decide that it is exactly what I need to make or do or bake or find... So I pin it onto one of my many boards and then more often than not, I forget it's there and don't follow through on the creating of these grand ideas... What I LOVE about Anisa from Creative Undertakings is that she follows through with her pins and actually makes this stuff!! I also found out recently that she was born in Kenya which is probably the coolest thing she could have told me- (if you don't know, you can find out why this is so exciting here!!

Stacy and I are also both so excited because our package will be arriving from Terry, a teacher in Florida! She's already started school and you can read about her first grade happenings here! The connections we are already making in this August SLANT box project are wonderful! Want in on the fun for next month??? Check out Lessons With Coffee! The post introducing her genius project can be read here! We're already scheming and planning on things to send to Anisa after learning about her favorite things!! :) SO STINKIN FUN!

Another update I'd like to give you is that I finally got to see my classroom for next year! I'll be teaching 2nd grade next year and am so excited! I got my class list yesterday and I just can't wait to meet my little munchkins! I have a class of 24 kiddies and I've been working to get the room ready and I feel like I get more excited (and kinda nervous) each day!! Here's my empty room! I got the furniture in this week and am beginning putting the other pieces together, too!

Do you remember your first year of teaching? Any words of wisdom or advice that you'd like to give me? If you could pin-point it, what would be the one thing I need to know or remember?

Please leave some comments with your thoughts because I'd sure love to hear them!!

... and just to give you a little hint and clue into what we've been working on....

Be on the lookout for these fun games soon!!

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends! We'll be back next week with some more goodies!