Wedding Pictures

More pictures of my December 1st wedding...

My mother and I before the ceremony.

 

 The handsome groomsmen. My two nephews are in front along with my lil cousin the Ring Bearer, he stole the show!

 

 

 

 My Goddaughter and Cousin. I found a shop on Etsy, Songs from the Garden, and she did my bridal flowers, boutonnieres, flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow. I loved working with her and they turned out wonderful! 

 

My sister and I. She hated the orange dress, but oh well, it wasn't her wedding! I put a picture of my late father on my bouquet. I got that idea off of Pinterest!

 

The bridesmaids. My two Goddaughters are in the front on the left and my new niece is on the right.

 

 The entire bridal party. I always wanted to pair some "color" with gray for my wedding. I wanted pink but my husband to be wasn't thrilled with that, but orange is another favorite color of mine so we went with that and everyone loved it!

 

 

 One of my best friends got us an antique car for the wedding. It was a nice touch.

 

Gotta love Virginia weather... December 1st... 65 degrees!

 

 A parent at my school, Cakes by Gabrielle, made our wedding cake. It was carrot cake with vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. Very tasty!

 

 

 

 

 Our first dance. You can't tell here, but I had a fever and apparently bronchitis that wasn't diagnosed until winter break! Teachers... we just keep going and going and going.

Mustered up enough energy to smile one last time at the reception. I really just wanted to take some Nyquil and go to sleep. I also gotta give a shout out to my hair stylist and make up artist Karen Wilson. If you're familiar at all with black hair you know that many black women straighten their hair but two years ago I made the decision to wear my hair in it's natural state... kinky curly, and Karen makes look fabulous every time I see her!

Valentine Book Reports

Stop by The Teaching Oasis and download these Valentine Themed Genre Book Reports!

Graphic Organizers

I found a set of graphic organizers I had tweaked, tweaked them some more and decided to post them on my blog. They'll eventually be on The Teaching Oasis. They're centered around the 8 reading strategies I'm required to teach by my school district.
 

Do you think you will use these to have students respond to their reading?

Odds and Ends

A couple of weeks ago my laptop died right after I had finished uploading the free materials to The Teaching Oasis. I was worried that I had lost all my files... and no, I hadn't backed them up so I was super nervous. I mean I had most of them on my school laptop but personal documents and pictures were only located on my personal computer. My gracious sister offered to buy me a new laptop (she had a Dell line of credit) so I accepted the offer. After almost paying Geek Squad to tell me if my files could be recovered I did some searching on the net. And low and behold... I found out that I could get a screwdriver and take my hard drive out of my dead laptop. Go to Best Buy and spend $30 on a case to make it an external hard drive. After my new laptop arrived, I hooked up my old hard drive and ALL my files were there. Fonts, Desktop, My Documents, Pictures... everything! I was so happy!

So it snowed here in central Virginia yesterday and the roads are clear but I have no good reason to be out there in that slush so I'm spending a quiet day at home playing with my new laptop. I even created something today, a Peer Writing Checklist.

I took a snapshot of the document with Microsoft Word and loaded on Google Docs (I've never used that before) to see if this will work. Let me know what you think and if you think you can use this in your Writing Workshop.

 



Then I created a Conversation Heart Math Activity for my students.

Would love feedback... do you think you'd use the Writing Checklist in your classroom?

The Teaching Oasis

There has been some MAJOR changes to The Teaching Oasis... all resources are now FREE! This site will be strictly run on donations from supporters like you. So if you find something useful, please consider making a donation to help keep the website live. *Subject areas have been uploaded, monthly ideas will be complete in the next 48 hours.*

So stop by and download some items today!

Happy New Year: 2013

Quote from last year's blog post: "I've learned in church that we should have "SMART" goals....Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Looking back at my goals from last year, I see I didn't accomplish not one... but I enter into this year with a renewed strength and passion that 2012 may be the year I accomplish the goal I set for myself as a young child... to become a wife!"

Wow... looks like I accomplished my goal!

Well God has blessed me to see another year and I do not take that lightly... we all know of someone who didn't live to see 2013 and I'm reminded daily to live a "purpose driven life."

Tomorrow starts my churches annual 21 Day Daniel Fast. Basically you give up meats, sweets and treats. I'm looking forward to having a more intimate relationship with God and putting my full trust in him and his plan for my life. If you would like more infomation about the fast click here http://www.faithandfamilychurch.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=245386, there's even a fast workbook you can download.

I've thought long and hard about my resolutions for a new year...

Personal:

1. Financial- Now that I'm married and Javaid and I have merged two lifestyles into one, I can make sure that we both are tithing faithfully, tracking our spending, and saving for our future.

2. Spiritual- Spend at least an hour a day with God-whether I'm praying or reading my bible or just listening for God to speak to me.

3. Physical- I sit here at 205lbs. Wow... I never thought I'd see 200 pounds but here it is. After the 21 day fast I'm looking to go back on Weight Watchers. Three years ago I lost 30 pounds, but then I lost my father and I soon learned that I was an emotional eater and at my feelings. My doctor told me to start with 10%... so if I can start off with 20 pounds and go from there, that'd be great.

4. Mental- read more!

5. Social- maintain the relationships with friends and family now that I'm married.

Professional:

1. Survive! (this was my resolution last year, I think I'll keep it!)

2. Try by best not to get stressed out.

3. Do the best I can do... I didn't birth these children and I can't take them home, but I can do the best that I know how!

4. Encourage my coworkers... whether it's a card, treat or small token of appreciation, I want to show them that they are appreciated.

5. Listen to my body! Many days I find myself at school when I'm sick and sometimes just plain worn out. I will take days off when I am not at my best and I will not feel guilty about it!

What are your resolutions?

Merry Christmas

Well I don't know when you get out for Winter Vacation but my last day is Thursday December 20th. Then we return January 2nd. We got jipped out of two vacation days this year and they were reallocated to the day before Thanksgiving and President's Day.

Last year I blogged about the Christmas Ornaments I do every year. I just finished shopping for the paint at Wal-mart and I can't wait to do these tomorrow with the children. I'll send them home on Wednesday of next week.

I transferred to my current school last year and they party a little differently than my previous school. Our winter celebration consisted of a craft, cupcake and movie. Needless to say I was disappointed. So I've reinstated my Winter Luncheons! Next Thursday my students will have a 45-60 minute lunch in the classroom with holiday music and a delicious spread! I've even contemplating having a Hot Chocolate Bar:)

The menu includes...
Hawaiian Meatballs (I personally make these for the students and they love them!)
Chicken Nuggets from Chickfila
Turkey Biscuits
Fruit Tray
Vegetable Tray
Snowflace Ritz Crackers and cubed Cheese
Holiday Pretzels
Holiday Marshmallows
Cupcakes

Here are a couple pictures from the past...

 

 

 

 

How are you celebrating the holidays with your students?

 

Presenting...Mr. & Mrs. Saunders

It's official... I was married on December 1st and it ended up being a beautiful day... like 64 degrees out! We honeymooned at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg Virginia and was able to visit Busch Gardens Christmas Town, Captain Georges Seafood Restaurant and the Premium Outlets. We return to work tomorrow and  I know I will be counting down the days until Winter Break!

Veterans Day

We celebrated Veterans Day last week and in Virginia it's covered in the third grade curriculum. I created flip books for the students and had them complete them after we had learned about the topic. After they completed the writing, they had to draw symbols that represented the topic. I used the font DJ Bang from DJ Inkers. I printed out the labels and then cut and pasted on to blank paper to make the master copy, then I copied front/back from there. What activities do you do to teach your students about Veterans Day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Freebies!

Have you liked The Teaching Oasis on Facebook? Check the page for a special link to some Thanksgiving Freebies! Bookmark that appreciation page for future reference:)

3 Weeks=21 Days

 

 

I have not dropped off the face of the earth! These last couple of months have been super busy for me. Not only did school start but I'm preparing for my December 1st wedding. I had my bridal portrait session last week and I'm pretty sure it's safe to post this portrait on my blog... I don't think my fiancee spends alot of time reading it!

 

Javaid and I have finished premarital counseling however I'm trying to soak in as much Godly information about marriage as I can. We had the opportunity to attend the marriage conference that our church hosts each year and it was awesome! I learned about the natural and the spiritual side of marriage.

 

I've been reading a couple of books and they have been a wealth of Christian information on marriage. I highly recommend the following books...

 

5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

This book talks about how we each have a love language: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time and it's important for us to understand our language and learn how to speak our spouses language. Mine is physical touch... which is probably why I'm quick to comfort my students with a hand on the back or shoulder and probably why I enjoy getting their hugs so much! His is receiving gifts... he feels loved when I buy him something special, it can be as little as a Snickers bar or when I take him out to eat or to the movies. We read this book in our Singles Ministry at church and I refer to it often.

 

The Purpose and Power of Love and Marriage by Myles Monroe

This is the most comprehensive book I've ever seen on marriage! If there were a class to take about it, this would definitely be the textbook. It encompasses so much information... from how marriage began and how the Lord intended it to how to love yourself and your spouse. I learned so much from this book that I would need several blog posts to tell you all about it.

 

Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow

I learned about this book at the marriage conference we attended. I'm almost through reading it and just in time too. It's about being a "sensuous" wife and denying yourself and "ministering" to your husband when he's in need. I would recommend this book to all wives! Again, I learned so much from this book and it discussed intimacy issues and questions that Christians just don't talk about.

 

With only 21 days to go I must say I'm getting nervous. I've always had my own room/space (besides that one year in college when I had a roommate), I've been on my own for the last 8 years and I've done whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and  I've purchased whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. So leaving my apartment to move into his house will be culture shock for me.

 

Going from 0 to 100 overnight will be such an adjustment for me. For the last two years Javaid and I have honored God in our relationship and we've made a conscious effort to not put ourselves in "tempting" situations. So we don't spend time alone at home together, we go out. We hold hands but won't embrace (hug) for more than 20 seconds and we've only "pecked"... we've never... shall we say... "made out." So on December 1st we have to give ourselves the green light to cross over the dating line and onto the marriage side and enjoy the gift of intimacy that God has ordained for us.

 

So it may be quiet on the blog front for awhile. I'll be focusing on becoming the wife God called me to be while balancing work, friends and family!



Parent Handbook

We've been in school for 2 whole weeks! I'm exhausted but loving this group of children:) So this week is our Back to School Night for grades 3-5. I usually do my ABC's of Third Grade but this year I wanted to do something a little different. While on Pinterest browsing I came across this "pin" and thought it would be cute if I made these as well.

Here's the rough draft...

Basically cut and pasted onto blank sheets so I could try

to line everything up right.

 

Welcome information

 

Information on how best to contact me and what

the student binders are used for.

 

Our Daily Schedule

 

Classroom Management Policy

 

General Info: Grade Scale, Homework Policy, Classroom Celebrations

 

I copied them in our school colors, blue and yellow. As you

can see the Communication and Binders tab got cut off.

I'll fix that next year ;)

 

 

What do you do for back to school night?

 

 

Favorite First Lady Cookie

During the 2008 Election my teammates and I decided to hold an election using the Presidential Cookie Recipes from Family Circle.

Here's a picture of the team election bulletin board.

2nd Grade Election Results

 

Cookie A Recipe- Michelle Obama

 

Cookie B Recipe- Cindy McCain

 

 

I had such a blast doing this that I had to do it with my 3rd graders in my new school. I've created a document with the recipes and ballots. Last time I had 4 parent volunteers make the cookies and send them in. Each student got one of each cookie and marked their choice on the ballot. They placed the ballots in a ballot box and the teachers tallied them over night. The teachers annouced the winners the next day. *Beware of food allergies!*

Presidential Cookies

 

 

Do you think you'll use this idea in your classroom? What other election activities are you doing?

 

 

Back to School

I'm back! Teacher work week started last Monday. And Monday-Wednesday the entire third grade team were sitting ducks as our classrooms were still under construction. Thursday morning was the first day we could get into our rooms. Our bulletin boards didn't get put up until Saturday morning and I've worked a total of 42 hours in the last 5 days, (well 4 days, I didn't go in on Sunday) trying to get my classroom ready. My poor fiance has met "back to school Jessica" and I'm hoping he still wants to marry me after seeing me turn into a drill sargent barking orders at him when he came to help me in my classroom.

The Before- Thursday

The After- Monday

 

I would love feedback, please leave a comment!!!!!