5 Things for Friday

Doodle Bugs (First Grade Rocks) is having a linky party! 5 Things for Friday!

This has been a busy two weeks. I've packed up my classroom and said good bye to my school of 14 years!  I will be teaching first grade in Paramaribo, Suriname, South America! I am beyond excited. Here are my 5 things!

1.  I packed up my classroom. I said good bye to my school. I taught here for 14 years, the last 6 were spent in this room teaching 4th grade. I loved 4th grade! I will miss the teachers and students.

2.  I've been busy this week getting all of my Visa forms in order. My passport finally arrived! I got my work visa papers sent off the Suriname Consulate!

3. This one of my lunches from this week.  I love bacon. I try not to eat it very often. But when I do, I buy the organic kind with no nitrates. It is really tasty. :) Pictured are blt wraps with avocado. Yum!

4. I absolutely LOVE sharpies!!! I found these on sale! They will be in my suitcase when I leave for Suriname!

5. These are my 3 purr-babies. Baby, on the porch, Pookie, headed back inside, and Jack sitting in the doorway. They are inside cats, but like to sit on the front porch with me in the evenings. I will miss them when I move. My daughter will be taking them.

My New Adventure

When this school year ended, I had been teaching for 19 years. 5 years in Pre-K and 14 years at a Christian school in grades K, 1, 3 & 4.  Fourth was my favorite. I loved working at this school. Made a lot of friends and memories. However, my dream has always been to teach overseas as a missionary teacher. (You can read more about that here)

When this school year began, I knew it was going to be my last year at this particular school. At the time, I thought it was because I would be working in a public school. I needed insurance and retirement, and it seemed like the logical conclusion. However, as I began applying to different districts, it occurred to me that I could go anywhere!  My daughter is grown and recently moved to another state, and my sweet daddy died in September, 2012. (Blog post about how I dealt with his death)  Nothing was holding me to my current city. The desire to teach overseas resurfaced. So, I began applying to different mission organizations. I had a few interviews, via Skype. After much prayer, I accepted a position at The International Academy of Suriname in Paramaribo, Suriname, South America. I will be teaching first grade. I am beyond excited!  I will be leaving the states sometime in late July. It is a 2 year commitment. I will get to come home at Christmas and summer break.

It is an English speaking school that provides internationals an American education. They follow the Texas state standards and use American curriculum. I am so excited.  I will finally be able to develop my own stuff. At my previous school, that was limited because we had to stick by the curriculum. It was hard doing extra stuff due to time and curriculum restraints. I've already been doing some planning based on the Curriculum maps they've sent me. I am excited to finally be able to start contributing my ideas on this blog! :-)

I will post updates as I make the transition from 4th grade, American teacher to a 1st grade teacher abroad.

Worse blogger ever? Yes, that'd be me!

So, here I am at the end of another school year. What did I blog about? Absolutely nothing! I admire all of you who regularly blog AND sell stuff on TPT. Kudos.  :)

I think one of the reasons I didn't blog much is because my school is curriculum driven, not standards driven. I taught at a private Christian school. So, there was not much of a need for me to create my own homemade stuff  like many of you do.  However, that is about to change. I have resigned my position at my current school and accepted an overseas position! I am so stinking excited! I will be teaching first grade in Paramaribo, Suriname, South America.  They are standards based. So, like many of you, I will need to start coming up with different stuff. Now, maybe I'll have stuff to blog about! :-)  I leave for Suriname at the end of July. It is a 2 year position. 

I have a second blog entitled, Living a whole and healthy life. On it, I chronicle my journey as I try to get healthy both physically and spiritually. I will also chronicle my adventures in Suriname. Please feel free to follow, if you'd like! Here is the link to Living a Healthy and Whole Life .