Newbie Blogger Hop

Janis from Grade Three is the Place for Me was sweet to start a linky for new bloggers. I waited to join until my new blog design was ready. I'm super excited now that it is!!

1. What state are you in? New York
2. What is your current teaching position? I am currently looking for a teaching job.
3. What is your teaching experience? This will be my 8th year teaching. I taught first grade for three years and K-2 reading for four years.
4. When did you start blogging? I started my own blog on November 2, 2011, but I only made two posts that month with no followers. I started again in February of 2012 and have been blogging pretty regularly since then.
5. Here are my blogging tips: Try to leave as many comments on other blogs as you can. Hopefully they will come check out your blog in return. Also, make sure you leave a link to your blog in your comment. Here is how to do it without typing it in each time: <a href=http://primaryreadingparty.blogspot.com>Primary Reading Party</a>. Obviously you would change the link and blog name to your own! Save it as a blog post draft, so you can always go copy & paste it into comments.

If you're a newbie blogger, link up below!And if you're not, you have a great opportunity to find some new and fresh ideas from upcoming bloggers.

Ocean Animals

We are wrapping up our Under the Sea theme in summer school this week. We made Orca Whales using paper plates and construction paper. These are in Deanna Jump's Ocean Unit, but she got the idea from Mailbox Magazine. However, she does not include patterns, so I created my own since we are working with young special needs students. You can get them below by clicking on the picture below!!  

We also made the sharks and crabs. The sharks are also from Deanna's Ocean Unit with patterns included! The crabs are a project that I did with my kindergartners this year that I found via Golden Gang Kindergarten.

Job Update: I'm still looking for a teaching job here. I had to interviews, but didn't make it past the first round. UGH. Everyday after summer school, I search the same websites for possible new openings. Up here, the school districts are by city & town, not by county. This makes the job hunt even more work because you have to apply to each individual district. I'm not applying for jobs at private schools as well. I'm desperate for anything. All I know is I have a calling and I'm waiting for an answer. I keep believing that God has a plan for me too. 

I'll keep you all posted and I really appreciate the positive messages that I've received from some of you. In the meantime, here are some more great giveaways to check out. 

Lori from Teaching With Love and Laughter is giving away this! Click on the picture!

 

Rachelle from Life is Sweet....in Kindergarten is having a Back to School Giveaway! 

 

Liebster Blog

 First things first, I have to thank Amanda at Inspired in Second for awarding me with the Liebster Blog Award!!!

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite", and it is given to "new, up and coming bloggers."
 

The rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

 

I've chosen to give this award to:

 

Melissa at Frogs in First Grade 

Lauren at Teacher Mom of 3 

Christina at Sea Bear's Kindergarten 

Kaci at Mrs. Hoffer's Spot 

Melanie at The Teaching Queen

 

Be sure to check these ladies' blogs out!! I also wanted to share some GREAT giveaways that are going on. 

 

Primary Punch's Sweet Summer Giveaway

 

Teaching Maddeness's 500 Follower Giveaway

 

Mrs. Albanese's Jackpot Giveaway

Rowdy in Room 300's Adorable Sign Giveaway

My Teaching Portfolio

This Thursday, I have a preliminary interview for a charter school in the area. A preliminary interview is a 20 minute interview just to see if you get a real interview. Crazy, huh? Anyway, I know I can count on all my followers out there to help me out with my portfolio and interview. I'm really looking to stand out from the crowd here because getting a teaching job here can be like winning the lottery! There are hundreds to thousands of applicants for very few openings. Teachers with 10+ years of experience have gotten laid off due to budget cuts. I'm sure you get the idea.....

Here are a few pictures of my portfolio.

This is basically what I have in my portfolio:
educational philosophy
resume
teacher certification
letters of recommendation
formal evaluations
professional development
learning gains
 sample lesson plans
teacher created materials (including student work samples)
classroom pictures
formal student feedback

So........does anyone have any suggestions to make me stand out from the crowd? Is there anything I can change and/or add to my portfolio? Can I create something in addition to pass out at the interview to help them to remember me? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for your help!

Cindy

Summer School Stuff

Today was day 3 of summer school! I am working as a personal aide in my sister's summer school classroom. This school is for children with special needs. I'm not special ed. certified, but my sister is. It's a good experience to learn more about how to handle children with behavior problems, however,  most of these children are not mainstreamed. I have been helping her plan activities to complete in class. Last week we made these:

These are adapted from Teri at A Cupcake for the Teacher. You can get them here! The printable came from Hadar at Miss Kindergarten.You can get that here!

Here are some other things that I've created for my sister's classroom:

These came from Mama Jenn. She has everything available to print on her website!!!

Finally, I created this sign so people know where the class is. This was a requirement from administration.When I heard there was a contest, I told my sister that I would create it, lol.

Now it's time to take a look at a wonderful giveaway!!!

Lori from Teaching With Love and Laughter is giving away a Hear All Assessment Recorder from Learning Resources. Click her blog button to check it out!

Until next time,
Cindy

20% off Fourth of July Sale!!!

I am having a Fourth of July sale on July 4th only with 20% everything in my TpT store!!

Click the picture to go to my TpT store!!

While your waiting for the fireworks, you should check out these giveaways with tons of prizes!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Cindy

Winner!!! & The Versatile Blogger Award

Congrats to Kelly B. for winning my 100+ Followers Giveaway!!! I hope you enjoy all of your winnings! I's really like to thank the lovely bloggers who contributed to my giveaway:
Heidi from My (Not So) Elementary Life
Lauren from Teacher Mom of 3
Lori from Teaching With Love and Laughter
Cara from The Teacher's Backpack


Heidi from My (Not So) Elementary Life was sweet enough to give me "The Versatile Blogger" award. She gave it to me last week, but I have been super busy and haven't blogged since then. Thanks so much, Heidi!

Now there are a few rules to follow when receiving this award. 

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. 

(I'm breaking the rule and only nominating 6....sorry!!!)

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

Now for the 7 random facts about myself:

1. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes about a year and a half ago. This came as a complete shock to me as no one in my family is diabetic. I'm still working with my endocrinologist to get my blood sugar and A1C under control. It's amazing how much you can learn and connect with people via the Internet who have the same problems.

2. I have an adorable niece named Skylar. She is also my goddaughter and was baptized this past Sunday!

3. My husband and I met playing soccer a little over 5 years ago. We still play avidly and if our future children don't, I'd be surprised!

4. I have one younger sister who is a special education teacher.

5. I hate wearing sneakers because they make me feel confined. I'm known for walking around barefoot or taking my shoes off in the car.  LOL

6. I own the entire series of Seinfeld and The King of Queens on DVD. Sometimes my own life is comparable to Doug and Carrie's. I also try and watch both shows everyday!

7. I love reality television shows. Dance Moms, Teen Mom, and Big Brother are among my favorites!

Now I get to pass the love onto some other sweet bloggers!! :)

Lauren from Teacher Mom of 3

Cara from The Teacher's Backpack

Sara from Miss V's Busy Bees

Kelly from Busy in Kindergarten

Kelli from Spotted in First Grade

Ashlee from Sweet Seconds

I started my summer job as a personal aide today, got a phone interview set up for Friday for a Pre-K position, and scored a goal in my soccer game tonight. All around, I think I had a great day!

Until next time....

Cindy