Exciting Day... Graduation and My First Teaching Job!

Yesterday was my convocation from the University of Lethbridge... I received a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of education! My five year career as a student is over. I am a real teacher!

OTHER EXCITING NEWS FROM YESTERDAY...

I GOT A JOB!!!!!

I had to leave early from convocation to go to a couple job interviews; one in Lomond and one in Taber. I was offered both positions... YAY!!! I had to choose which one I wanted to accept and it was a VERY DIFFICULT DECISION!! I chose to accept a position teaching grades five and six at central school in Taber in the low german mennonite program. I am so excited to have a position for the fall and can't wait to get started planning for the year!

Teacher Tuesday... a Little Late

On monday I had an interview in Hays. It was for a division one job, mostly grades 3-4. Unfortunately I didn't get the position but it was still an awesome experience and the principal gave me some great feedback. I have another interview in Lomond on Friday and it's for grades 7-10 language arts and social studies. Lomond is in the middle of the prairies by Vulcan. 

The drive is long but bearable, 45mins. This position would be a better fit for me and is more in line with my previous experience. Plus I could commute from lethbridge. I was able to sub at the school yesterday afternoon and it was nice to see the school and meet some people before I go interview there. Wish me luck!

For Teaching Tuesday I wanted to share a unit I put together for grade eight language arts on the four types of writing: persuasive, narrative, expository, and descriptive. The unit is based on short stories and so it builds in some reading comprehension aswell. When I taught this unit to my grade eights at Wilson they loved each of the short stories and did some awesome writing. 

Below I have posted some downloadable files that I used throughout the unit. 

Journaling: First Summer BBQ

This weekend we had our first summer BBQ with friends at Mark and Emma's house. It was so fun to be outside and relax be the fire. For once it really felt like summer had started! Bry and Jason brought baby Remi; it was so fun to catch up with them and talk about all the joys of parenthood. She is the sweetest little baby!

Happiness Resolution: Spend More Time Doing Things I Like

One of the happiness resolutions Gretchen made in her book was to spend more time on her hobbies. I thought this was an great idea because we often get caught up on the things we have to do instead of the things we want to do.

I love quilting. My mom and aunt taught me when I was little and I made my first full-size quilt from start to finish when I was in grade twelve. Over the past few years I have started three different quilts that remain unfinished. My husband Matt loves to make fun of my inability to complete them and so I have decided to start my 'Summer Quilting Challenge'. Each of the quilts are at various different levels of completion but this summer they all hopefully be finished!

I think this fits with my 'Happiness Project' because creating something makes me happy. I love seeing my final product after hours of work and knowing that I made it from start to finish. Quilting emphasizes this process because you take tiny pieces and combine them to make something awesome. Also, I think sewing is kind of therapeutic for me. I turn on my music, clear my head, and go to work. When I'm sewing I don't have to think about anything but what is in front of me and what it will become.

THIS SUMMER I WILL FINISH MY QUILTS

I want this goal to be successful... so I have a plan to get my butt in gear. Hopefully by posting this goal on here I will feel more accountable. Otherwise I don't know if I will have enough inner motivation to carry me through to the end. Plus I am a terrible procrastinator. To combat this issue I am going to post updates on this blog throughout the summer. This will give me some stepping stones to keep me on track throughout the summer.

FIY: Here are some of the tutorials I found on Pinterest that inspired each of my quilts (I used different colours and fabrics).

http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2010/6/7/felicity-quilt/

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2011/12/quilting_blocks/

http://www.instructables.com/id/T-shirt-Quilts/?ALLSTEPS

Summer Has Arrived!

This winter has dragged on and on and on. This past week has been so warm that it feels like we skipped spring altogether and have moved right into the hot summer weather. It is awesome! I am so excited to start enjoying the heat that I decided I would make a "Summer Bucket List". When I lived with roommates before I was married we made one every year and it was so fun to think of all the different activities we could do (even if we didn't get to them all). Matt and I also made one with some friends a few years ago too. We haven't planned any big trips this year so we are going to take advantage of all the fun things there are to do here in southern Alberta. My lists before have been up to one hundred things long and since this summer feels like it's already half over I'm going to stick to just twenty things. Here goes....

I'm gonna need all my friends and family's help to complete all these things so I hope everyone is up for an AWESOME SUMMER!! I can't wait to get started on my list. 

Here's to summer vacation, Cheers!

Teacher Tuesday: I'm Official!!

This week I got my Interim Teaching Certificate from Alberta Education!! I'm official!! I'm so excited to that I am a real, live teacher after five years of university. I look forward to (hopefully) finding a job soon... Wish me luck! YAY! 

Journaling: May Long Weekend at the Gough's House

This May long Matt's siblings all came to Taber with their kids. The house was packed!! We had a lot of fun on Matt's Dad's recently purchased go karts. Matt used the bobcat to build an awesome track on their property so that we could race all we wanted. We also had a family soccer game and as always, had a bunch of food!

 

 

P.S. I had to steal some of the go kart pics from Easter Weekend.. but you get the idea!

This weekend was also the one year anniversary of Matt's Grandpa Gough's funeral. It was nice to visit with his Grandma and remember what a great man Grandpa Gough was!