Instagram

My new instagram account is live!  Follow me @theluckyreview

I am so thrilled to be able to share more resources and teacher finds with you.  This is just another platform to help me stay in touch and share ideas.  I hope that you'll join me!

Become an ESL online teacher!  Did I forget to mention that I've been a VIPKID teacher since February 2018?  I just signed my 6th contract today.

The things I love most about VIPKID

1. Choose your own schedule.

2. Work one-on-one, no group classes.

3. The lesson are already done, no planning!

The things I wish I knew about VIPKID

1. Early morning hours.  The prime times are 6-8 am Central time (until the time change).

2. Sometimes technology can be tricky, so you need a good internet connection and patience.

3. TPR (in other words lots of physical motions) and props

You can get certified in multiple levels and extra curriculum.  My favorite levels are 2 and 3 which range in age of kids from usually 5-12, depending on their English fluency.  I also teach grammar and pronunciation courses.  Again, all of the lessons are planned and you use slides to teach with.  Most of them are interactive for the students, meaning some things on the slides can be manipulated or can be drawn on.  Are there behaviors? Sometimes.  Are you nervous?  Sometimes.  Is it hard to get out of bed?  Most of the time.  But, in the end you are earning extra income and having fun teaching English and learning about Chinese culture.  If you have questions or would like help with the application and interview process I am here to help.  Just click on my referral link below and I'll reach out to assist any way that I can.  Happy Teaching!

Signup HERE to become a Teacher

It's been a while...

I've been away for quite some time.  I've had many things happen in the past few years that definitely took my attention away form the blog.  I moved to Germany and returned to Texas.  I had a baby while in Germany and was that a surprise.  I've bought two houses and moved from Dallas to Abilene.  I went from teaching 2nd grade, to 3rd grade, back to 2nd grade, and now Kindergarten.  Yep and it all was worth it!  I hope that I can refocus and keep up with this blog.  I still create resources and other things to use, and plan on sharing all of those ideas on here again.  So, stay tuned and know that I'me very grateful you've stuck around for this long.

Trials and Tribulations

Oh My Friends!  I have not forgotten about you all!  Really!  Life's been so very complicated the past year that I abandoned my poor blog.  I don't even know where to begin to explain all of the comings and goings of this year.  So, I'll take you through one-step at a time.

August: Living in Dallas
With my husband deploying for a year, we decided that the best thing we could do was move home to Dallas to be with my family.  We will not be stationed at the same base so it just made sense.  I was blessed to be given the chance to teach this year a 2nd grade class, so I jumped on it.  Sydnee started Kindergarten, and you can just imagine how dramatic that is for this momma.

September- November
My life was in a fog! I seriously could not get out of a funk.  Adjusting to a new school, living with my family again, missing my husband...I just don't even want to think about it because those were some trying times.

December
Went to visit my husband in South Korea for Christmas and loved every minute of it!

January-February
The fog returned once again!  It was so deep Sydnee and I made a countdown chain to summer.  I mean I love teaching and adore my students, but the stress of trying to teach and wanting to be somewhere else was very difficult to overcome.  But, I'm still alive and making it through.

March
Husband came home for a week!  Yes, just a week because we wanted to split up the months we would see him.  He will return again this summer.

April: NOW=New Beginnings
I think the fog has slowly lifted and life feels somewhat normal again.    7 weeks of school left, beginning a new journey with Rodan + Fields, lifestyle changes, and so much more.  When I say I abandoned things, I mean I abandoned everything!  I abandoned my amazing fitness journey that I had going last year, I abandoned my sanity, and so much more.  The focus is on myself now and each little thing I love.

Check out my business at this link https://kluckenbaugh.myrandf.biz

I want to apologize to all my loyal followers for leaving you hanging this year.  I will be posting new things I added since I took this teaching position.  After this year I will sadly not be teaching anymore, for now.  We are moving overseas and it is time for me to take a short break from it all.  I will be posting new ideas though that you can still continue to use.

Thanks for sticking by my side!
 

This and That

Wow, I have never been so busy in my entire life.  Let me just apologize about not blogging since March.  My husband made it home from Afghanistan!!!!  I have never been so happy in my entire life!!!  Our little family is reunited again.

Well, it's time to start packing!  My husband and I are getting ready for our big move back to Texas and have been super busy prepping the house to sale, getting things caked, getting rid of things, etc.  I can hardly wrap my mind around it all.  And to top it off, I still have 13 days left with my 2nd graders.  The end of the year seems to be the busiest.  We are reviewing, teaching new concepts (multiplication, cursive, vocabulary) and squeezing in last minute 2nd grade stuff.  Life, as you can see, has been crazy, but I am definitely blessed.

For the next 2 weekends I will be working.  We have a snow makeup day and I am volunteering for a fundraiser at our school to help assist a fellow teacher and her beautiful child, Liam.  I won't go into great details, but he has a rare condition that leaves the family with many medical bills.  If you would like to read more or donate in anyway check out the Facebook Page Love for Liam.

Our grade level made this really cool raffle basket, aka "The Man Basket".  It is perfect for father's day and filled with tons of goodies.  We used a fire pit and loaded everything into it.  It turned out awesome!

If you are in the Goldsboro, NC area, we invite you to Meadow Lane Elementary on June7th from 7:30-3:00 to join in the fun.  We have many raffle baskets, an auction, games, food, bands, and just plain fun!  I'll be running the dunking booth if you want to come dunk our principal!    It's going to be a blast!

Prefixes and Seuss

So, I'm a little being (as usual).  There.is.no.excuse!  Do you ever feel you finally completed a goal and then BAM! something else is piled on top of you.  Welcome to my life!  Ha!  Between the ice days and getting these kiddos to comprehend through written retell has been a roller coaster.  I am vey impressed with how much growth I have seen this year.  They love to read, but writing is a whole different story.  Let's just say that we are working on that.

This week we have been learning about everything Seuss!  Today we worked on rhyming words.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the cute rhymes we created.  The kids loved finding rhyming words.  This packet can be picked up free here on TPT!  It is more than amazing!  It includes literacy and math printable activities.

We also read the story Wacky Wednesday which is a must.  It is an easy read and the kids love finding all of the wacky things in the story.  Though, it can be somewhat time consuming (you've been forewarned).  The following pics are the 2nd grade teachers and my students with their wacky socks.

Along with rhyming words, we have been hard at work on prefixes.  The students really enjoyed reading the room to figure out prefixes and the new meaning of words.  You can pick up this activity in my prefix pack HERE!

 Tomorrow we will read The Lorax and discuss story elements.  On Friday, we will read Fox in Socks and students will create their own magical sock and write a creative story about it.  See there, I threw in a writing piece.  What activities have your students completed this week?

My Fitness Pal & Dance Fitness by Jessica

My journey to lose this weight has begun.  I don't consider myself overweight, but I just don't feel comfortable in my skin.  I have been doing so many diets over the years trying to find the most optimal program that fit with my job as a teacher.  I always come up with the excuses that include "I just don't have the time" or "I'm exhausted from working all day".  Well, enough is enough.  No more excuses.  It's time to focus on me.

I came across My Fitness Pal through Rachelle's (What the Teacher Wants) success story.  Go and read it now!!!  I started really diving into the food journaling the past 3 days and I already feel a difference in the energy I have.  My goal is to journal everyday and do at least 20-30 minutes of aerobics with some strength training.  I've lost 1 pound so far and am pretty proud of that.  My goal is to lose at least 20 and anything past that will be icing on the cake.

Go ahead and check out MyFitnessPal!  I like it because it reminds me of weight watchers, but it is FREE!  There is also an app for your phone so when you are eating out you can get a calorie count on a variety of meals from restaurants.


If you join, I'd love to be fitness pals with you so don't forget to add me.  I'll be back weekly to give you updates.

Also, be sure to check out Dance Fitness by Jessica on Facebook.  She is amazing!  I love doing these dances just to get my heart rate up.

Here's to a healthy and happy week!