Celebrating 21 Years of Teaching!!!!!

This August I will start my 21st year of teaching.That is not POSSIBLE!!!!  In celebration of my 21 years, I thought I would do something different on the blog. I am going to offer freebies, random surprises for my followers, and of course a GIVEAWAY! I will start the giveaway a week before my official first day back and the beginning of my 21st year of teaching! My first contract day is Wednesday, August 21. Which means I will kick off my giveaway on Wednesday, August 14.

To start this off, I want to thank some people who have made this incredible journey possible. I am going way back for the first person I want to thank. Mrs. Butler, my Kindergarten teacher. What an amazing teacher you were. For second grade I had Miss Clegg. My favorite memory was Halloween. Every Halloween, Miss Clegg would dress up for the Halloween Carnival. She told all of her students if they could find her, she would have an extra special treat for them. I looked every year and she never failed to have that special treat for ALL her students. Next Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Davis, my third and fourth grade teachers. These were very special ladies that always made learning an adventure. There were other teachers who were important, some for the good things they did and some for the bad. But I have to say, my elementary teachers made the biggest difference in my life (kind of scary to think about).

I also need to thank a couple of really important friends. The first is Kim. She was my partner in crime during our University days. I am grateful to still call her friend. Kim is the kind of friend that you don't talk to for several months but the second you reconnect it is as if no time has past. Next is a friend who always told me I should be a Kindergarten teacher. I fought for a long time and many grade levels but your were right, I found my home in Kindergarten - Thanks!

Finally there is my family. From my mom and dad who financed my undergrad work to my husband and children who put up with all of my crazy ideas that I just have to have done in the next 5 minutes. My family (mom, dad, brother, sisters, nieces, nephews, husband, children, and even those honorary members) mean everything to me. They have cut, laminated, put up bulletin boards, taken down bulletin boards, packed my classroom, unpacked my classroom, moved furniture and most importantly listened to my stories, laughed at the funny things my "kids" do and cried with me when things were just "too much!"

Here's to 21 AMAZING  years of teaching.

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