Well.....hi there!

Hello blogging world! Whew, I feel like we're old friends, even though you have no idea who I am. Let me formally introduce myself :)

My name is Natalie, or Mrs. Lemacks to my firsties. I am in my second year teaching a first grade class. I teach at a public charter school in Georgia. I absolutely love teaching first grade, and firmly believe that I am meant to stay in first. Want to hear my life story? I didn't think so....sigh...so instead, here are just some random facts that will help you get to know me better.

1. I like making lists (but what teacher doesn't?!?). And crossing things off of my list :)
2. I am 26 yeras old, soon to be 27. I know this is relatively young; however, probably 95% of the teachers at my school are under the age of 25, soooooo.....
3. I have a wonderful hubby of 4 years. Tomorrow is actually our 8 year anniversary of being together! Love him.
4. No youngins of our own...yet...so instead we have 2 fur babies. Abby is 8 and super cranky. Dude is 2 and is the goofiest, sweetest, most lovable dog EVER. Both are long-haired chihuahuas and, of course, are adorable. See exhibit A.

5. I have been blog stalking for quite some time now, and muling over the idea of creating my own. So many amazing blogs out there have made me a much better teacher! I was going to wait until the summer to start, but Tanya over at A Class Act gave me the inspiration to start. She started her blog just last month and already has 70 followers! Way to go, girl!

Anybody reading this yet? Hmm...well, I guess I'll have to get my name out there. So how about a linky party? My first ever...whoo-hoo! And this one seems so fun! So I'm linking up with Mss Klohn over at Adventures of a 6th Grade Teacher.

So here is what a typical day in my shoes would look like.

5:00 am- First alarm goes off. Ha, not getting up yet! Hit snooze.

5:15 am- Second alam goes off. Not a chance. Hit snooze again.

5:30 am- Third "I MEAN IT, GET UP NOW" alarm goes off. Fine, I'm up. Stumble to the shower, contacts in (I can see!!!), and brush my teeth.

5:45-6:25 am- Hair and make-up. Yes, it takes me a long time. You would think the end result would be spectacular.....so not the case. But I do my best.

6:30 am- What to wear, what to wear? Why didn't I lay out my clothes the night before? Curse myself silently and throw on something that looks half way decent.

6:45 am- Finally out the door and on my way!

7:00-7:20 am- Get morning work out for students, clean up any messes I left the day before, chit-chat with my team, get my coffee, and heat some breakfast.

7:20-7:40 am- Mrs. Lemacks! Mrs. Lemacks! I lost another tooth!!! I made butter last night! My brother broke his arm! etc, etc, etc,

7:40-8:00 am- Students complete morning work, and I turn on quiet piano music. This is probably my favorite time of the day. All of my students work so hard in the morning, and I get to breathe before the mass chaos of the day begins.

8:00-8:45 am- Reading class. Our students switch classes for reading, and I teach the advanced first grade class. We have an amazing reading curriculum, so our class is jam-packed with phonics, comprehension, fluency, building words, vocabulary, and so forth.

8:50-9:35 am- Specials. This is when I make my massive stack of copies for the team, grade papers, team meetings, SST meetings, write lesson plans, etc. The only time I actually get anything done, planning wise.

9:40-10:15 am- Reading centers. We always do a spelling center, phonics center, guided reading center with me, and then either a vocabulary or computer center.

10:15-10:40 am- English. We alternate between grammar and writing units. This week, its writing, so my class is super quiet....ahhhhh.

10:45-11:15 am- LUNCH! Yes, I know it is an early lunch, but believe me, I am starving by this time, and so are the kids! I usually starting getting the "When is lunch?" questions around 9-9:30! They have finally realized that it is at the same time every day, don't ask me again, look at the schedule, check out the clock and figure it out.

11:15-11:35 am- RECESS! Since there is only 3 first grade classes at my school, we all have recess duty every day. But I honestly don't mind, I enjoy being outside and forcing myself to not be productive for 20 minutes :) It's like a break from myself for awhile.

11:40-12:00ish- Read aloud (usually Junie B. Jones) and finish up English.

12:00-1:10 pm- Math. To be honest, I hate our math curriculum prefer other math curriculums, but what can you do? This is my least favorite time of the day. Does anybody else hate teaching math, or am I totally crazy?!?! I think it's because math was always such a breeze for me, so I feel like it's so simple and get frustrated when they don't understand on the first try.

1:10-1:30 pm- MORE RECESS!!! My students take their snacks outside and eat for the first few minutes, then play for the rest of the time. Again, another break from myself :)

1:35-2:10 pm- Science or social studies. Today, it was shadow centers and BOY did my firsties love, love, love me! More on that tomorrow :)

2:15-2:20 pm- Pack-up and dismissal.

2:25-4:00 pm- This time really changes everyday for me. At our school, we are required to sponsor two afterschool clubs and tutor one day a week. I tutor on Mondays, sponsor Puzzle Club on Thursdays, and sponsor Fashion Club on Fridays (really? a fashion club in elementary school? yes....really). I am also the grade level chairperson, so those meetings are on Tuesdays. Oh, and don't forget our bi-weekly staff meetings every other Wednesday. Sprinkle in carpool duty 3x a week.

4:00 pm- FREEDOM!!! Ha, no not really...well, maybe. As much as I love my babies, I am out the door at 4:00 sharp. If it doesn't get done in time, I save it for the next day.

4:15-9:30 pm- Play with the pups, blog stalk, facebook, cook dinner, run errands, catch up on my DVR, become a coma in front of the TV. My hubby and I usually head up to bed at about 9:30, which makes me feel sooooo old but I usually don't fall asleep until 10 or so.

Whew! If you made it this far, give yourself a medal! Sorry for the long post :)