Co-Teaching Series!

Hey y'all!  I am so excited.  My fabulous student teacher from this past school year and I are teaming up to share with y'all a series of 5 blog posts about our experience co-teaching., called How to be a Co-Teacher.  Each part will discuss a different aspect of our experience from this past school year!  We'll be posting a new part every Sunday for the next 5 weeks.  Come back tomorrow to Appleslices, and Mrs. Cahill's blog, The Hungry Teacher, to check out our first posts!

 

We're looking forward to sharing our experiences with you! 

Hurry Up and Wait

Hey lovely teacher friends!

As many of you know, my hubby {Will} and I are in the process of pulling everything together to move to SPAIN! 


That little tiny island {Known as Mallorca} is where we will be living this
coming school year.  ExcuseMePleaseWhileIFreakOutInTheCorner! Eeeeeee!

We still cannot believe we're doing this.  Hurry up and wait has pretty much been our motto lately.  We've been doing a lot, and then waiting for the next step.  And then doing a lot... and then waiting for the next step!  Not that I'm complaining or anything.  It's just very different from the type of schedule I'm used to in the Fall.  Since we're going through it and learning along the way, I thought I would share a little bit of the VISA process with y'all!

As soon as we were able to, we started pulling together all of our paperwork for our VISAs.  It was not as simple as it may sound.  We found out that we would have to apply in person to get a VISA.  And guess where our nearest Spanish Consulate is!  DC?  Atlanta?  Nope!  Miami, y'all!  So we scheduled appointments as early as we could- three weeks from then.  And started prepping! 

Step one:  Get Georgia Driver's Licenses since we recently moved.  Two visits (because of course we didn't have all the paperwork the first time around!) and 4 and a half hours later... we would have our new driver's licenses' in 7-10 business days.  Please note: mine still hasn't arrived while Will's came in the mail a week ago. 

Step two:  We needed medical certificates stating that we're free of any major illnesses from a doctor.  And they needed to be translated into Spanish.  Okayyyy.

Step three:  We needed background checks that have been notarized and received an apostille.  (An apostille is kind of like an international notary)  But you cannot get an apostille just anywhere!  They do them in Atlanta!  Since we needed them sooner than later, we had to go in person and get them done.  Then they had to be translated into Spanish.


Heading to ATL for an Apostille!!

Step four:  Copy everything we own a {bazillion} times and drive down to Miami for our scheduled appointments.

Have you ever seen a Peruvian restaurant?  They're allll over Miami {& insanely delicious!!}.
This was new to us!  but our Seafood Parilla was to die for.  Mmmmm.

Step five:  It turns out "scheduled" is a loose term because we got to our appointment an hour early and waited two and a half hours. 


All set for our VISA appointments!! {In our super cute European Boutique hotel!}

Step six:  Have a lot of money.  It turns out none of this is free...

Step seven:  Drive the eight+ hours back home and wait 3-4 weeks for our passports to return to us and pray they have a VISA in them. 


All went smoothly at our appointments!!

And of course we had to stop by Cincinnati's local/favorite restaurant because there just happens to be one in Fort Lauderdale.  LOVE me some skyline!  {I grew up in Cincy} :)


It's Skyline Time!

I was in heaven with my Chili Burrito Bowl

There are a lot of steps I left out... but that's the gist of it all.  I'm not gonna lie, it's a lot.  But it's also been fun.  Nothing like throwing in a little confusion, stress, and 1,600 miles of travelling, in a week's time!  We've learned a few things here and there and have gotten better (and not so much better) along the way.  For instance, we now carry lots of cash on us at all times since we never know how much we'll need to pay for something.  And personal checks are never accepted.  We also know to double and triple check everything we do.  "Are you sure these aren't supposed to be notarized?  Can you just do it anyways?"  This part hasn't been the most fun, but it's definitely pushed us and made us realized this is really what we want to do.  Every now and then we look at each other and squeal (Will mainly) "We're moving to Spain!!!!".  :)  And that's what keeps us going.  
 
And oh yea, this also happened a few weeks ago.

Thanks, Ridley. 
That's so thoughtful of you to capture a snake and bring it into the house.

Thanks for listening to my rambling.  Has anyone else been through this tedious process before?  Does anyone have any recommendations for it all?  We appreciate any help you can provide!!  Have a happy Friday and an even better weekend!

Our wedding!!

Hooray!  My computer is back and healthy and better than ever- SUCH an amazing feeling! 

I know this is a non-teacher related post.  However, I am dying to share something with y'all.  Our wedding!  My husband and I got married in Savannah, Georgia on June 21st, 2013.  We got our wedding video and {TONS of} pictures back this week and I am just a little obsessed.  Here are a few of my all time favs :)  But y'all ,there are seriously so many more that I am just drooling over.  Eeeee!  So glad I can relive my excitement all over again!  Thanks for letting me share my happiness giddiness with you!

 

Poor computer

Hey friends,

I know I promised the start of a series with the lovely Mrs. Cahill. But my poor computer has a virus :( I'm hoping to get it back from the 'computer doctor' early this coming week, and then we'll be able to share our fabulous co teaching experience with y'all!

Enjoy your Sunday!! Thank you to all of you who have been checking out my new products and following my blog!! It means so much to me.

Xo, Kelly Anne

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5th Grade Writing Unit!

It's Friday!  Happy Friday!!

In celebration of the weekend, I am super excited to share with you my new product- a 5th grade writing unit!  I absolute LOVE writer's workshop and supporting writers in the classroom.  It's so often that I have little ones who despise writing.  Which just breaks-my-heart.  Seriously.  Writing should be all about having FUN!  It's such an important skill for our little guys to learn and I just loooove writer's workshop so much, I decided to put together a writing unit for the year just for 5th grade teachers!  I have only completed Unit 1 so far, but am working on Units 2-7.  Check out Unit 1 HERE! 

When they are all complete, they will take you through an entire school year in Writer's Workshop.  All Lesson Plans, Unit Plans, Management Forms, and Rubrics are included with every unit, which makes your job a breeze (ha!)!  Ever wonder how you were going to conference with every student?  No problem!  I've got that all figured out for you! 

Hopefully you have wonderful, beautiful, August weather and are enjoying some time outside and not too much time in your classroom!

Oh, and be on the lookout for a special new series my lady, Mrs. Cahill, and I will be doing on co-teaching!  Coming this weekend!

Thanks!!

August Currently!

Happy Thursday my friends!

 
I'm linking up with the fantabulous (shh, don't judge my made-up words!) Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade!  Head on over and check out her blog, if you haven't!
 
Anywho...IcantBelieveItsAlreadyAugust!!...

I am currently listening... to silence!  Oh my gosh it is soo nice.  My hubby is reading a book on the couch next to me and as I type I can hear some thunder way off in the distance.  I could go for a little afternoon thunderstorm as I read through some of y'alls amazing blogs!

I am currently loving... rereading The Hunger Games.  Y'all, I have to confess, I LOVE to reread good books.  And The Hunger Games is just so great!  UGH.  Gets me hooked every.single.time!  And I just love reading books in the summer.  Especially ones that can be used for book clubs during the school year.  5th graders sure love The Hunger Games!  And who seriously has time to enjoy reading during the school year.  Certainly not I. 

I am currently thinking... it is so muggy and ugly outside that is it muggly.  One of my friends sent me this...

...just a little bit ago and with the August Georgia humidity combining with the threat of a thunderstorm, it is exactly that- muggly!

I am currently wanting... Our Visa's to arrive!  We have jumped through hoops, paid hundreds of dollars, and traveled everyyyyywhere in order to apply for our VISA's so we can move to Spain in September!  I am so excited to see what teaching is like there.  And to learn from so many great teachers!  Now if only our Visa's would come...

I am currently needing... to book our flights to Spain!  I keep putting it off and need to get on that.  Like now.  Seriously...  We'll see :)

And Back to School MUST HAVES!  I know I've said it before.  And I'll definitely say it again... but I {love} the beginning of the school year.  I love all that August has to offer!  And I could not make it through a school year without...

1)  my Erin Condren Planner!  If you haven't checked Erin Condren out yet... GO Here.  NOW!  I apologize for any addictions I may cause.  If you already have an Erin Condren planner, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  For a more detailed look into her *NEW* teacher planners... check out the awesome Mrs. Cahill's post on her's HERE! 

2) mechanical pencils.  I even put my name on them, with a fun eraser and pencil grip.  So I know which ones are all mine. :)

3)  Read Alouds.  Awww.  I love a good read aloud.  There is always that lag time during the first few weeks of school.  While you're figuring out schedules and routines, there's always a bit of down time here or there.  I love filling this time with ice breakers and team building activities.  But I also love a good, has-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat read aloud.  What a great bonding time for you and you class!

I hope everyone is enjoying their week and making the most out of our last month of summer!  This time is overwhelming, but do not forget to enjoy it as well!!

Hooray! It's August!

Feel free to grab this image and share it on your blog.  How do you feel about this month of August?

It's August... and while it's so easy to get caught up in BACKTOSCHOOLMANIA, it is still summer.  The AC is most definitely still pumping, and there are so many “summer reading books” I’ve wanted to tackle that are still sitting untouched! AND, its much much much too hot to think about fall wardrobes when I still need {and want!} to let the breeze touch my skin.  So while it is August, I am going to bask in its' glory rather than get too caught up in the craziness that is "Back to School".  ...Well, maybe I'll get caught up a little!  It is the best time of the year...