Sunday, July 28, 2013

Books, books, books!

Hi friends!  I have had such a productive weekend!  I fired up the laminator for the first time and laminated everything for my calendar and a "how we go home" clip chart!  I've decided on a nautical theme for my classroom and I've been picking up red, blue, and yellow things all summer.  I bought a super cute nautical decor pack on TPT made by Natalie from Teachery Tidbits!  She has really cute things in her store and you should definitely go check her out!  If you follow me on Instagram (mceachernh), you've seen my lamination in progress.  I also bought the cutest nautical alphabet from The Printable Princess' TPT store!  I am obsessed with it!  I'll be laminating those at school since each letter/picture is an entire page.

 
What I'm most excited to share is the box full of books I got at a library sale on Friday!  My county's library has a program called Friends of the Library and every so often they have book sales at different libraries in the county.  They have all kinds of books for sale starting at $1 and children's books starting at $.50.  I went to one earlier this summer and got about 20 or so books for about $22.  They were all used and in great condition.  When I heard they were having another sale I got SO excited!  I planned on getting there right when they opened so I could get the first look at all the children's books!  I was overwhelmed by how many great books they had at this sale!!  I admit, I went a little crazy and picked up 65 books!!  In my defense, I'm a first year teacher and I need to build my classroom library.  Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy because my basket was FULL of books.  I'm talking books spilling over onto the floor and I was having to drag the basket because it was so heavy.  It must have been obvious that I am a teacher because everyone asked me and told me how great they think teachers are!  Anyway, so I get up to the register feeling very nervous (and a little relieved that it was payday) the girl tells me my total is $65.  OMG.  I just spent $65 on books!!  But the more I think about it, I got a GREAT deal!  Many of the books are hardback AND each book ended up being $1!  I got some awesome books!  I usually check out all the Goodwill stores near me for books, but this was a much better deal.  There is another sale in October and I am SO excited about it!  Here are all of my new books!

Great books right?!  And I don't have any of those yet!  One other thing I'm excited about is a stamp I ordered from Invitation Box.  There was a deal on Groupon for half off a personalized stamp.  I jumped on it because I really wanted a stamp with my name on it so I didn't have to write my name in all of my books.  I ordered it the first week of July and it finally came!!  I immediately started stamping my books and I am in love with it!!  They have really cute designs and you can personalize them all!  Here is the one I ordered!


  
The stamp is about 2 inches tall and stamps perfectly!  I thought about having it say "From the library of Ms. Hendricks", but this way I can use my stamp for anything!  I definitely recommend getting one!  It's so fun to stamp!  :) 

Well my laminator is hot and ready to go!  I just want to laminate a few more things before going to bed!  (I think I'm addicted!)  Thanks for keeping up with me!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Birthday Fun

Wow, it has been a crazy two weeks!  I've been dying to sit down and blog, but I just haven't had the time!  Between interviews, work, my birthday, cheerleading practice, and my dad having surgery, I couldn't find the time to sit down and blog!  Finally things have calmed down a little bit and I can finally write about everything that has been going on!  I suppose I'll start with my birthday!  My 23rd birthday was on Monday, July 22!  I had so much going on before and after my birthday I couldn't seem to really get excited about it.  Besides, what's so good about turning 23??  I celebrated with friends on Sunday and went to dinner with my family on Monday.  My friends and I went bowling at a retro bowling alley downtown and ate dinner there afterwards.  We had so much fun!  If you haven't bowled in a while, you should round up a few friends and go!  On my actual birthday, I had breakfast at my favorite place before work with my parents and my boyfriend.  If you're ever in the Charleston area, you have to have breakfast at the Bagel Cafe (formally known as Bagel Nation).  It's a small place on James Island in a shopping center with THE best bagels I've ever had!  I'm serious!  And I'm not just saying this because my Godfather owns it ;)  They truly have an awesome breakfast!  So after breakfast I went to work and I only had 6 students!  Happy birthday to me!  I usually have about 12!  After work I had an interview for two different jobs at a school I subbed at that I really like.  After the interview I went home to find a freshly baked cake!  Who knew my boyfriend knew how to bake??  I opened a few presents then got ready for dinner with my family at P.F. Changs.  It was my first time eating there and OMG it is delicious!!  If you go, I suggest trying the chicken lettuce wraps, orange chicken, and the banana spring rolls for dessert!  So, I had a pretty awesome birthday!  And I got TONS of teachery gifts!  I took a few pictures of some of the school things I got that I am SO excited about!

Pretty much the only thing I wanted for my birthday was a laminator (and a job)!  My boyfriend thought it was so silly, but he got me exactly what I wanted!  I haven't used it yet, but I've been printing a lot of things off today that I'm going to try to laminate tonight!  
These are some gifts from my sweet friends and family members!  I've been going to every Target looking for the Dry-Erase Pockets and I have had NO luck!  My friend found some at the Target near her house and she got me a handful!!  I was so excited!  She also got me two books!  Another one of my sweet friends made me a "1st Year Teacher Survival Kit"!  How cute?!  That super cute black and white bag is a LUNCHBOX!!  And it was FULL of awesome things like pens, post-its, a Starbucks gift card, a Staples gift card, and a Massage Envy gift card!  OMG I cannot wait to use them!
 Here are a few of the other teachery gifts: a lesson plan book, a Lilly Pulitzer planner (my favorite planner), inflatable dice, labeled binder clips, a gift certificate to a teacher store, and a Thirty-One bag!
 I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!  They made my birthday so special!  I can't wait to use all these cute things!  I have so many things I want to blog about, but I don't want to make this post so long!  I'll wait until next time to share the pictures of the awesome books I got yesterday at a book sale!  And I have something really exciting to share, but that will have to wait a little longer ;)


 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Liebster Award!

First, I want to tell everyone how much I appreciate all the support I've gotten so far!  I cannot tell you how excited I get each time I have a new follower or when someone comments on one of my posts!  Second, I want to thank Mrs. H. from Just A Primary Girl for nominating me for the Liebster Award!  I feel so honored!  I can't wait to get started!
 Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers

3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator

4. Share 11 random facts about yourself

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees

6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them
She asked...


1. What is your all time favorite song?
That's so hard!  I can't just pick one!  Wonderwall by Oasis and Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls just to name a couple.  I could name tons!

2. iPhone / Droid/ Galaxy?
I just got an iPhone in December and I have no idea how I lived without it!

3. Why did you name your blog what you did? 
I asked my mom for help because she's pretty good with things like this.  I wanted something that wasn't grade specific since I don't have a job yet.  I also wanted something that had to do with teaching (Common Core, etc.).  We decided "It's a Core Thing" was cute and kind of sounded like "it's a sure thing".   


4. How often do you blog? 
I just started a few days ago!  This is my 2nd blog post.  I plan on blogging as often as I can so I'm thinking at least a few times a week. 


5. How many products do you have on your TPT page?
I don't have any!  I absolutely ADORE everything on TPT!  I am just in awe of everyone who has the time and the ability to make such cute products!  I would love to learn how to create my own products, I just don't know where to start!

6. Do you designate time to blog or fit it in where you can?
I just fit it in where I can.

7. How long do you have off for summer?
The last day of school was June 6.  Since I was subbing I didn't have to attend any professional developments.  The first day back for teachers is August 12 and the first day for students is August 21!  I've been teaching at an enrichment summer camp since school got out that ends August 2nd so I haven't really had much of a summer!

8. What teacher supply can you NOT live without?
There is one type of pen that I absolutely LOVE!  Once I started using it, I could not use any other type of pen!  It writes so perfect!  It's the Uni-ball Retractable Medium Point Gel Pen.  It doesn't smear at all!  My favorite is one they have for breast cancer awareness.  The pen is pink but it writes black.  Who doesn't love a pretty pink pen?  I recently found them in Target (I usually have to buy on Amazon because I can't find them in stores) and I bought a pack that has assorted ink colors.  I am SO excited about them!  I totally recommend trying them! 

9. Do you have any pets?
I have a King Charles Spaniel named Tucker and she is the ultimate princess and baby of the family.  I also have 3 cats named Tabitha, Snoopy, and Scobee.  Scobee has half of a mustache and is truly one of a kind, but he is the meanest cat I've ever seen!

10. Do you have any children?
Not yet. 


11. If you have pets/children - how do you balance it all? What relaxes you?
I love to take a drink, sit on the swing in the back yard, and just look out at the river.  It is so beautiful.  I also like to put my phone away, sit back in my dad's recliner, and watch tv.  I'm a big fan of Law and Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, and Snapped.  I also love pretty much anything on TLC and Lifetime Movie Network. I'm not a huge fan of reality type shows like the Bachelor/Bachelorette or any of the singing/dancing shows.

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I'm the assistant cheerleading coach at my old high school.  I'm coaching with one of my best friends from high school and it almost feels like we're cheering together again!

2. I cheered for 10 years all through middle school, high school, and college.  I also competed on an all star team for 3 years.

3. During my senior year of high school, I had 2 black eyes, at the same time, for almost a month due to a tumbling accident at all star practice.  I still have a small bump and scar on my forehead from where I got hit.

4. I LOVE the AT&T commercials with the kids!  They are HILARIOUS!  It's so funny because that is real life!  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to YouTube them right now!  

5. I have scoliosis, but it has never prevented me from cheering or swimming.
6. I am a HUGE baseball fan!  My brother has played his entire life so we're a big baseball family.  He won state 3 times with our high school and went on to play in college!  My favorite MLB team is the Braves!

7. I am in love with Luke Bryan.

8. I am a proud alumna of Phi Mu!

9. I went to a junior college for my first 2 years of college and I LOVED every minute of it!  I wish I could have stayed all 4 years.  I had such close friends there and the faculty and staff were amazing!  We all still keep in touch.  SMC will always have a place in my heart. 

10. I hate ricotta cheese.

11. When I was little, I told my mom I wanted a haircut like my brother's.  She gave me a bowl cut.  Worst haircut EVER.

I would like to nominate:
Natalie Recess and Beyond 
Rachel A Tall Drink of Water 
Courtney Classroom Snapshots 
Melanie Holland's Happenings 
Jamie Kindergarten Friends 
Natalie The Polka Dotted Chirp 

Most of these nominees are SC bloggers like I am! 

Questions for the bloggers I nominated:

1. What kind of Oreos do you like?
2. What would your dream vacation be?
3. What was your first CD?
4. What made you decide to start blogging?
5. What is your favorite TV commercial? 
6. Are you a fan of a specific sports team?
7.  What is your favorite local restaurant?
8. If I came to visit your city, what is something I would absolutely have to do/see?
9. Who was your most influental teacher and why?
10. What does your spouse/significant other, kids, and/or co-workers think about your blogging?
11. What was your most favorite teaching moment?
And one extra, 12. What grade did you do your student teaching in?


Again, thank you so much Mrs. H. for nominating me!  I am so honored!  I can't wait to read everyone's responses!  I'm off to cheerleading practice!  Have a great night!

 

 

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Follow Me on Bloglovin!

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Friday, July 12, 2013

Welcome!

Hi!  Thanks for stopping by my brand new blog!  My name is McEachern and this blogging thing is completely new to me, so bear with me!  I've been thinking about blogging for a while now, but I just got the courage to do it.  I came across some bloggers through Pinterest over the last few years and started following their blogs by email.  I quickly realized how great everyone's resources are on TPT and started following them there as well.  I joined the iPhone world in December and started following bloggers on Instagram, which led me to a whole new world of bloggers.  I love seeing everyones pictures and reading about what they do with their students.  As an outsider, the teacher blogging world seemed like a little family!  I loved it and I wanted to be a part of it.  So here I am starting this blog and I have no idea what I'm doing!

A little bit about me...I graduated in December with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  I started subbing the first day back in January and stayed very, very busy.  Like subbing every single day busy!  I loved going to new schools to see what they were like so I subbed at as many schools as I could.  In February I took a long term sub job that lasted until the middle of May.  I was subbing for an itinerant teacher so I traveled to 9 different schools every week.  I loved being at SO many schools in my district!  After I finished that I went back to subbing wherever I could.  When the school year ended, I started working as a teacher at a summer camp in my school district and I'll be doing that until August 2.  So basically I haven't had a break from school yet, but I LOVE it!  I've been applying and interviewing for jobs since I graduated.  Finding a job has been THE most stressful thing ever.  My district is just now starting to hire for next year.  I've had 4 interviews and one next week.  I'm still waiting to hear back from 2 of the 4 interviews.  My district is just really competitive so I'm trying to be patient.  I'll keep y'all updated on how things are going.

Anyway, back to telling y'all about myself.  I have the most AMAZING parents.  My mom is a teacher and super crafty.  The crafty gene must skip a generation because I am not crafty at all :(  My dad is hilarious and the sweetest man you'll ever meet.  I have a younger brother who just turned 20.  The baby of the family is our King Charles Spaniel named Tucker.  She is the most adorable dog and she is treated like a princess (by my parents).  We live on a river so I love spending time on our dock and out in the boat.  I'm an alumna of Phi Mu and I miss my sisters so much now that I'm back home and not in college.  I also miss my sweet boyfriend, Ross, who lives upstate where I went to school.

This is my family!  My brother is taller than my dad!

This is Ross and me before one of my sorority sisters' wedding!

I'm sorry for the super long post.  I'm just trying to get started!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  I'd love any tips and/or tricks about blogging!  And of course about teaching in general.  I'm a pretty fast learner so hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon!