My name isn't really Mrs. Smith, but I do teach fifth! I just want to maintain a bit of privacy on the web, so I chose an alias. :) For the same reason, I haven't decided if or what type of pictures I'll post here...
I'm in my fourth year of teaching, and I usually love my job. There are certainly days when a cubicle sounds nice and quiet, but I know I'd get bored very quickly without my students and coworkers, a never-ending to-do list, or the infinite creative outlet that is my classroom. I love teaching math (which was the focus of my Master's thesis) and science (which is now by far my favorite subject to teach, and I get to do it twice each day!), I'm thankful that I don't have to teach social studies, and I'm focusing this year on improving my language arts instruction.
I live by the mantra "work harder, not smarter." I have little patience for mundane tasks that feel like a waste of time, and I try to be very resourceful with my hard earned paycheck. The projects and ideas that I share here are usually very time and wallet friendly. I'm no cheapskate or speedster, but I do appreciate efficiency. If there's a faster, less expensive, but equally beneficial way to do something, I'm all over it.
Although my classroom experiences are the focus of this blog, I do have a life outside of school. My sweet, nerdy husband and I just adopted our first puppy, and I've been spending my summer housebreaking and training him. I enjoy any sort of craft project from sewing and crochet, to painting and even retiling our bathroom shower. Over the past couple of years, I've taken on the challenge of learning the art of photography, though I'm still very much a novice. I keep a photography blog at photosweets.blogspot.com (enjoy looking now; I may take that link down for privacy reasons). If I had unlimited time and resources, I'd be traveling a whole lot, too!
Thanks for stopping by!
