My 1 Year Anniversary Working Overseas + a Freebie!

August 6th marks my one year anniversary working overseas in China!! WOW...365 days have gone by so quickly!  I remember arriving in Beijing and right when I stepped off the plane, the hot and humid air smacked me in the face.  Then 2 minutes later, I was sweating all over!  I arrived to China when all staff had to report to school, so I missed a lot of important meetings as I had to catch up with new staff things.

I've had made a lot of special memories working at my international school in Tianjin, China.  It's been a whirlwind experience but I enjoyed every bit of it!  Living on the other side of the world made me appreciate so many cultures and people groups, especially Chinese and Korean.  I fell in love with the Chinese Nationals, the orphans, and the expatriate community.  But most of all, I fell in love with teaching my diverse kids. Living and working in a new country, led to new adventures.  I remember freaking out when I was able to carry a conversation with a taxi driver for the first time! (Basically how to go to fellowship correctly without showing my taxi cards.) 

This year, I'm back teaching the same grade (Kindergarten) and I'm happy to work with my TA again.  Today was the first official day back to school.  I have lots to prepare but I can't wait to show off my classroom with you all!  So as you wait....HERE's a freebie for you!

During student teaching, I received a lot of files from my cooperating teacher.  One of my favorites was a writing center activity-- practicing word wall words using different writing mediums.  It is called Rainbow Word Wall Words and I revamped it to the way I like for my kindergarteners.  Students can look at the class's word wall and practice writing them on this activity.  First the student needs to write the word in pencil, then crayon, and lastly marker.  It's so simple and a fun center! 

Click on the picture to grab this freebie on TpT and TN.  There are two versions: the BIG version has space for 5 words at a time or a regular version with 10 spaces to write the words. 

BIG WORDS Version

                    

Regular Version (10 words on 1 page)

 

                    

 Anyone else excited to be back at school?!  I know I am! I just can't wait to work with more iPads this year!!! :)

My Snow Day and a Freebie

Yesterday we had our first snow day of the school year!  I was surprised and excited because I was so convinced we were still going to go to school in the crazy snowstorm.  I couldn't believe it because when I moved to the Chicago area, the first thing everyone told me was schools don't add in snow days into their calendar.  Which I don't mind adding another day to the end of the year.

Did you have a snow day on Tuesday as well?  I did a lot of laundry and a lot of catching up on sleep.  It's so nice to lay around in PJ's all day.  Also, it was my first time to tackle the snow blower on our ridiculously long driveway!  Man, did it take a lot of work.  I just have to say the new house I moved into is at least 2x longer than my old one in Ohio.  Thank God, I convinced my dad to buy a snow blower.  My back would not be able to handle all the shoveling because it snowed so much yesterday that we had to plow the driveway 3 times! Yikes, wish I was living in Hawaii.

On to my freebie (Thanks for reading my snow day rant if you made it this far)...This month we are tackling community helpers and I made this short, cutesy freebie.  It's a writing prompt for both younger and upper elementary grades (3 types to choose from).  I've also included a word bank of many common careers like to be when they grow up.  Click on the pic below or the stores links to get it!

TN Shop

TpT Store

When I was 5 years old (actually up into I went to college), I wanted to be a ballerina.  I love to dance and thought being a ballerina was the coolest (well I still think this) profession ever! Here's me at the annual dance recital when I was 5.  I was a cupcake and the show was Alice in Wonderland.

I would LOVE to hear your feedback on my freebie!  Also, what did you want to be when you were 5 years old?