knOWLedge is power...

kay...Yes, it's been weeks since I started teacher work days and a few days since school started. Believe me, it's been quite a whirlwind so I apologize for just now getting around to posting this. Numerous people have asked me to post pictures of my classroom - so here you go! (I apologize that I can't figure out how to make a slideshow, so this post is going to be long with all the pictures...)

Welcome to my door! Our theme this year at my school is R.A.C.E. (Racers {our mascot} Achieve College Educations) so we were encouraged to decorate some part of our door or room with the college of our choice. So here I am, representing Appalachian State University way down the mountain!

Also outside of my door is our class "Giving Tree". Here is where I have things I want for our classroom listed on sticky notes. Parents are encouraged to take a sticky note or two (or three, or four...) and purchase these items for our classroom. 


The theme for my room this year is owls. (Bees, Stars, Frogs, Apples, Monkeys and Monsters were taken and honestly - I thought the owls at the store were the cutest!) So here is one owl greeting you at the giving tree as you walk into the room.


Every day, I walk into my room and am just blown away by how big my classroom is. I am truly blessed with how much room I have and how much storage I have! Take a look for yourself!

Insane amount of space??? YES - and I am beyond blessed!

We use an interactive calendar on the SmartBoard, so this calendar stays filled in so that students are able to see what a complete calendar looks like for each month.

My Desk (still representing ASU!) The cans at the edge of my desk are for each class that comes to my room. Instead of having 23 hands shooting up in the air at one time when I ask a question, I pull a stick from the class's cup. Each stick has a student's name on it. That way everyone gets a turn to answer and there aren't any favorites.

Here is a close up of my "teacher tool box" that is behind my desk. 

 Need a pencil sharpened? No worries! Put it in this can so I can sharpen it after school (to eliminate pencil sharpening during instruction time...) 

Our Owl Colors

(please note - I have a black... it's just not in the picture)

Every student has their own cubby (with folders from Open House). 

Below are pictures from our reading center filled with books (and "friends" to read to), a book hospital (when a book has a torn page or cover), and some comfy seats. 

Everyone remembers how special jobs are in kindergarten. Here is "Owl Helpers". Every day, an owl with a student's name is placed in each "tree house" with a specific job title for the day.

 Birthdays are always important. Each student has a candle with their name and birthdate that goes on each month cake.

 Each time we learn a new math word, our owls will hold the new word on their chests for us.

A spot for learning our shapes and numbers.

I really hate teeth - so I'm hoping no one looses any! But I guess if they must, we'll record them on our tooth chart... 

Our sight words are posted under our SmartBoard so that when students are sitting on the carpet, they are able to constantly see these words.

And last but not least... be sure to check out our work on our spotted owls in the hall as you leave! (Good Work "Spotted" Here!)

Thanks for stopping by Miss Coggins' Kindergarten class! Hope you enjoyed the tour!!!

it takes courage to grow up and become who you really are - e.e. cummings

ait summer is over?...


what a whirlwind it has been! i'll try not to make this post excessively long but there is a lot to update on!


well, first off - i decided to not work at camp this summer. what a hard choice that was! a place i have been at every summer since i was in 4th grade and i had to make the decision to not return. i felt that if i worked this summer at camp, i couldn't put 100% into both doing my job at camp and finding a teaching job. so this summer was dedicated to finding a teaching job...


i spent my first couple of weeks housesitting in hickory for my friend brooke :-) it was nice to not have to have any major worries... i slept, watched tv, and looked for jobs online as well as taking my resume to numerous schools.


i probably passed out 9743947 resumes...


after not much luck in even getting any interviews, i decided to volunteer at camp for a week. i worked in day camp with my best friend amy! it was the best week ever. i absolutely love that age (5-8). it showed me how much fun i can have with children outside of the classroom and really reinforced my love for children in general. 

once i came back home, i decided it was time to apply to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools... a decision i didn't want to do but i wasn't having in luck with jobs anywhere else. i grew up in charlotte and their school system and it just was not an environment i was looking forward to working in... right away i got calls for interviews and probably went to about 5 or so in about a 2 week time span. each one i went to, i got excited, loved the principal and started becoming adjusted to working and living in charlotte. although none of the interviews produced a job, it definitely gave me experience in interviewing and gave me confidence.

i went back to camp for another week to be the photographer (the job i did my last two summers at camp) since their current photographer was taking her week off. another great week at camp, doing something i am truly passionate about. if i couldn't get a teaching job, maybe i could become a photographer full time?...

back at home, i started getting anxious about not getting a job. would i be working at old navy for the next year? (i love my job and the people at old navy, but it just wasn't what i envisioned when i got a bachelors and masters degree in elementary education)...

on my way to one interview in charlotte, i got a phone call from a principal in fayetteville... what?? i had absolutely no intention of teaching or even moving to fayetteville... how did this principal find me? i didn't apply to any jobs there...

i decided i would go to the interview for at least some more practice on interviewing... 

my entire drive down i just kept thinking about how i just wanted a job but no way would it be in fayetteville. i went into the interview hating the area, thinking it was too hot, and ready to drive back home... 

fortunately, God had different plans. (go figure!) i fell in love with the principal and she seemed to really want me. i met a few teachers and they seemed to really want me. half way through the interview the principal asked if i was ready to move down... HA - what!?!? i laughed thinking she was joking but realized that she seemed serious... uh...

...oh did i also mention it was kindergarten? my absolute dream grade to teach?! ahhh... 

not only did i feel so wanted and loved already, it was a perfect school. brand new. such the ideal and perfect situation. (ok what's the deal here God?...) i left the school and started my drive home... i thought long and hard... i cried... i got excited... i just didn't know what to do..

ready for the whirlwind?...

my interview was on a friday... 

i was offered the job on sunday... 

i accepted on monday...

i drove down to look for apartments on tuesday...

i applied for an apartment on wednesday...

i loaded up the truck on friday...

i moved in on saturday...

and here it is monday... i'm sitting in starbucks... in fayettevile... anticipating what is to come in the next couple of weeks...

i start my teacher work days tomorrow. the children start on aug. 25th.

i often have wondered how or why the principal found and called me... and then i realize the obvious answer - God did it. He knew what was in store for me. i couldn't have asked for a more perfect situation. i am so excited for what is coming!

...so now that i have spent 2 hours or so at starbucks, soaking up their internet (since i don't have any internet until thursday)... i guess i should head back to my apartment and continue unloading boxes...

The best visits are with the ones you love...

his weekend I was able to head home and smooch on the newest member of our family. My brother and sister-in-law came up from Wilmington and brought the prince himself, Finn. It was so great to all be hanging out as a family. 

We even brought my grandmother over so that she could see her great-grandchild for the first time. To have 4 generations in a room was awesome. She was absolutely smitten and he fell asleep right in her arms.

I did my best to try to become the favorite aunt. Not really sure how much it worked :-) I tried my hardest though. I got him smiling, so I must have done something right.

Scott and Megan are such great parents. It is so weird and yet very cool and neat to see my brother doing such an amazing job as a dad. They both make me so proud to be their sister.

Dad having some play time with Finn before going to church.

It's official. I have the quietest, most content and  best nephew in the world! 

Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin'...

ight after graduation (but before moving out), I went on a mission trip to New Orleans to help with Katrina relief. It amazes me that almost 6 years later there are still people without homes and still homes that are completely unlivable. On May 11th, at the crack of dawn, 13 (soon to be 14) of us started our long, long drive from Charlotte to New Orleans....

This trip to New Orleans was not the original plan. 20 of us had planned to head back to Bocachia, Colombia for an annual mission trip we take every May. Unfortunately gas prices and plane tickets were not in our favor and our trip was cancelled. As upsetting as it was and as much as my heart longed to go back to Colombia, I was willing and ready to serve wherever God needed me.

For the first 4 or 5 days that we were in New Orleans, we were given the opportunity to serve at a local foster care facility. We worked on a side "dorm" where we taped and painted all the rooms, painted the ceilings, repainted a room and laid new flooring in all the rooms and hallway.


I won't lie - I was a little bummed that on this trip, it didn't seem that we would be interacting with people as much as I had hoped. I was hoping to hear stories - stories about Katrina. Where were they when the storm came, how did they survive, where did all the water go, where did all the trash and debris go, how did they get new cars??? Questions like these flooded (no pun intended) my mind and I wanted to sit down and talk with someone and hear their story. We did get to play with a few of the girls living at the facility and have a "field day" but I wasn't able to hear any stories.

 

We were able to take a driving tour and were told it was going to be really intense - a reality check. Finally, something to give me perspective as to how people were affected by the storm. Unfortunately, I think the tour was out of date because we didn't really see too much. We saw houses that were empty but for the most part, everything was being rebuilt - which is great!

We went to downtown New Orleans and took in the sights. One of my favorite things was the Louisiana Museum that was having an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina. I learned SO much and was quite impressed. There were so many stories, written and audio, that allowed me to gain an insight into this crazy time of despair.

 (an actual side of a home that had been "tagged" after the storm indicating that the house was searched on 9/12 and there were 2 cats and a dead dog...)

One of the craziest things to see while driving was Six Flags - or what was left. They closed right before the storm and it is still closed. The salt water from the flooding did too much damage. It was quite creepy to drive by this place. Here is a video and a link that I found that was made years after the storm, showing the damage of Six Flags.
video: Six Flags New Orleans video
pictures: Six Flags tour

On the last day, we worked in an actual home. The owner was living in Oklahoma while waiting for their house to be rebuilt. We were told that on this street where the owner lived, water was above - ABOVE - the roof. That just blows my mind. We did a bunch of sheetrock and puttying. At the front door, you could still see where they had spray painted an "X" during the inspection of houses after Katrina.

This trip was definitely an experience and I was very glad that I went. It was crazy to think that there is so much need in our country while we head off to other countries to do work. On the long drive home I read such a heartfelt story. It was about a family living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and how the storm affected their lives. It was such a crazy and sad story. It was a quick read and I highly suggest you give it a shot. Amazing!

...and so it begins...

ow that I finally have had a chance to settle down and relax, I can give an update on my life.

After 19 years of public education, I finally have graduated with a Masters in Elementary Education!

I am so glad to be done with mindless papers and projects, but am not so much ready for the "real world". As of today, I have applied to almost every school system in North Carolina (minus Charlotte-Mecklenberg and Raleigh). I have gone to almost every school in Asheville and they now have my resume. So now, I'm just playing the waiting game...

I could not have graduated without the support from these guys... 

Thank you Mom & Dad for letting me go for my dream and helping to make it happen.

The best part of my graduation weekend would have to be that my brother drove from Wilmington to Boone and back in just about 48 hours. It meant so much to have him there and words will never be able to express how much that really meant to me. 

Last week, I packed up my apartment and moved out of Boone. It was by far one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I never realized how much I love Boone and how hard it would be to leave. I cried all the way down the mountain. My best memories were made in Boone. I can only hope and pray that my next location is even better... 

Don't get me wrong - I am SO excited for what is in store for my future and cannot wait for the next chapter to begin...

So... I did it... I'm done... now it's time for a school to hire me because I am a master...