Hi!, I'm Amy Marie!

Hi! I’m Amy Marie from The Unique Classroom, and I’m excited about this new journey we’re about to embark on together!

First, though, is a little background about me…

My husband and I recently celebrated our 21^st wedding anniversary, and our twin daughters are freshman in college this year. I got married relatively young, so I’m enjoying our empty nest as much as our girls are enjoying their first year away at school!

Our daughters have made us enormously proud. At school, “Baby B” is studying marketing with a minor in chemistry, and “Baby A” is studying to become an elementary teacher. They have grown into strong, independent young women, and I appreciate having the chance to cheer them on.

I started my career as a teacher later than most, because I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my girls when they were little. Once they started kindergarten, I volunteered at their school, and thought, I want to do this! I registered at Temple University, and with the enormous support of my husband, I have been able to see this dream become a reality.

The semester I began student teaching, we got our Sweet Boxer Dog, Maggie. Nothing like adding the pressure of training a new puppy with the stress of student teaching, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. A year later we brought our Sweet Pug, Chloe, home.  The two of them are best buds.

 

I’m a Disney Fanatic, and have been to Disneyland three times and Walt Disney World eight times.  One of those times was on our honeymoon (I know I married my soul mate; he loves Disney as much as I do!).

I love chocolate. I mean, I REALLY love chocolate. Chocolate milk, Hershey’s kisses and chocolate chip cookies are my kryptonite (or my fuel, depending on how you look at it). I've also begun a new stage in my personal fitness. Because I love chocolate. A lot.

My journey in teaching has been a rather straight-forward one. Two months after graduation from Temple, I was offered a position as a learning support teacher in the district I’m currently with.  At first I worked with students in first through fourth grades, splitting my time between them. After four years our district was realigned, and I asked to remain with my fourth graders. Every year has been a wonderful experience, giving me a chance to grow and learn as a teacher. 

  

                

I am so glad I decided to reach out to other teachers on Instagram. It has been an amazing experience learning from, and even helping, other talented teachers across the globe. The inspiration and support I feel on a daily basis is immeasurable. Instagram is where you will see photos of just about everything in my world, like our daughters, our dogs, my crafts, our RV, my art, my nook glow light, and of course my classroom!

 

I opened my TpT Store after searching everywhere for items designed for students with special needs. I soon realized that the products I was creating would benefit all types of learners! That is going to be my focus here on this blog: to help teachers help all of the learners in their classrooms, because as we all know, there isn't just “one size fits all” in education.

I can’t wait to begin this new phase in my career as an educator, and I look forward to collaborating with these wonderfully talented teachers, and sharing what we do with you!

Introducing . . . . Carrie

Hi all!!  I'm Carrie - one of the C's in  Table Talk with C and C and I am soooo excited to be a part of this amazing blogging adventure!

So, let me tell you a little about myself.  I am a Midwest girl - born and raised in a small town in Central Illinois.  My husband and I are high school sweethearts and we now live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.

I started my teaching career in Houston, TX teaching 4th grade.  Even though we loved many things about Texas, we missed home and decided to move back to Illinois.  I have been teaching for 16 years . . .WOW -  It really doesn't seem like that long!  I have spent the majority of my teaching career teaching intermediate grades.  I taught multi-age classes for many years - 3rd/4th/5th and 4th/5th.  But, an unexpected move brought me to my current position teaching 2nd grade and I LOVE it!!  This is my 3rd year teaching 2nd grade and it's a new adventure every day!  Second graders love most everything and seem to get excited about whatever we are learning.  I love hearing their inquisitive questions and interesting ideas.   Here's a little glimpse into our classroom.  

Now a little bit about me . . . . I am not a morning person, but more of a night owl.  I'm kinda obsessed with polka dots, love taking pictures and I love dogs!!!  It's been a year since we lost our Jax and I'm ready to have another furry baby in our home.  

I love to scrapbook and create things.  For the past several years I have been creating invitations and envelopes on Etsy.  My latest creations are "Mousekeeping" envelopes.  I love coming up with new ideas and creations.

I am a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan and married to a Cubs fan which makes baseball season fun!  Brett and I are both Fighting Illini Basketball fans and love to travel to see them play. 

 

And if you ever ride in my car or turn on my iPod, you are most likely to hear Dave Matthews Band playing . . . . just slightly obsessed with them!!  Brett and I have done a lot of traveling over the past few years and most of our trips included a concert or two!  Our most recent trips was to see them play at the Gorge in Washington State.  Best venue ever!!

Over a year ago I entered this blogging world with Caitlin (my teaching partner and "blogging buddy").  We started our blog Table Talk with C and C and I started my TPT store.  It's been quite an adventure!  I love creating new things for my class and sharing them on our blog and TPT.   I have been inspired by all of the teachers I've met thru blogs, Instagram, Facebook, etc.  I wish I had more time to incorporate all of the fantastic ideas I've learned about from all of you.   I can't wait to share some of my ideas with you on our new Collaboration Connection.  I can't wait to see where this new journey takes me!  

So . . . . to get started, I wanted to share a little freebie with you.  My students are really motivated by the Super Improvers thru Whole Brain Teaching.  Some of my students have finished our first set of levels, so I created a new set that are super hero themed.  They are loving it!! 

Click HERE or on the pictures above to download your set!

And, don't forget to check back to see if you won any of our raffles!!

Introducing...Jessica!

Hi Everyone! 

I'm Jessica from the blog Covered in Glitter and Glue.

I'm really excited to be a part of this collaborative blog and to share some fun ideas.

A little about myself...

I live in Northern California in the house that I grew up in. I love doing craft projects with my mom and friends (usually ones that involve glitter), going to Target numerous times a week (there's always something I need), and spending time with my family playing games and laughing.

I've been married for eight years and while we don't have kids yet, our pets are our furbabies. 

We have a cat named Chase who does a ton of sleeping. We have a golden retriever named Dakota who is pretty much my favorite thing in the world. He's a little over a year old and is so stinkin' cute.

I've been teaching for eight years all in 2nd and 3rd grade. 2nd grade is where my heart is. I love the innocence yet independence of 2nd graders. I love to see how much the students grow from the beginning of the year, and I love that they still think I'm hilarious and that school is fun. 

At school I'm all about organization and routine. 

My classroom is decorated in blues and greens and black and white polka dots. It wasn't until I started decorating my classroom in polka dots that I realized my obsession with them. There are days that I have to make sure I tone down my love for them, otherwise I'm showing up to school in a polka dot sweater, carrying my polka dot lunch bag, wearing a polka dot bow in my hair. It's kind of ridiculous. 

I love my flip flops, the color pink, handbags, and am a wee bit obsessed with Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty. I've seen them 10 times in concert and swear they just keep getting better. 

I love Instagram and the teacher community that's on there. I love seeing everyone's creative ideas, fun moments, and that you can ask a school-related question and have a ton of suggestions in a matter of minutes. If you're on Instagram, I'd love to connect!

Today I thought I'd share with you my pink and black binder cover freebie. I use a ton of binders in my classroom for pretty much every subject and every committee. I love having the binders labeled and organized and most importantly, cute. If I'm going to stare at the binder every day or during long meetings, it might as well make me happy. 

Click on the picture to download. 

Don't forget- our first giveaway ends tonight, make sure you enter to win some great products! 

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com