school's (almost) out for summer!

This is the final week of school (yay!) & winding everything down has been HECTIC. You can see what my students have been up to on my art teacher blog :] I taught my final art classes today & I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Burton & I have been so busy that we haven't even had a chance to firm up itineraries for our summer trips! We'll be leaving for Hawaii & Japan in just TWO WEEKS, holy cow!! We need to start doing some research...

As the school year winds down, we've been attending LOTS of school events - community BBQs, graduation, dance recitals, musical performances, etc. But my absolute favorite event was PROM! Burton never attended his prom when he was in high school, so it was exciting to be his first ever prom date :] We "chaperoned" by strolling through the beautiful venue, enjoying the sundae bar, making s'mores at the garden's fire pit, & dancing awkwardly at arms' length. It was such a great night - I hope Burton asks me to be his date again next year!

happy mail!

One of my goals for 2015 was to send more snail mail, so my husband (the best one ever!) bought me a Happy Mail subscription for my birthday :] Now I have more cute stationary than I know what to do with! Most people get stuck in the everyday routines of life & sometimes just need little reasons to smile. I'm happy to be able to provide that for my family & friends, especially since I'm across the country from most of them. Speaking of thoughtful letters, check out this little gem from one of my third graders! It definitely made my day :]

being Mrs. Reed

So I realized that even though my job as an art teacher is like 80% of my life, I haven't posted about it much on here lately. I honestly respond quicker to "Mrs. Reed" than "Nicole" at this point :] At the beginning of the school year, I wanted to create a separate art teacher blog for my students' families & fellow art teachers. Click the link to check out the inspirational work my little artists have been creating! I love my job :]

boy, september flew by!

 
My dad and his girlfriend visited during Labor Day weekend!
We showed them some of our favorite parts of Portland in a very short amount of time.
(I can't wait to see my mom & her boyfriend out here in just three weeks!)

The first day of school was September 2nd & it's been a whirlwind!
Teaching out here has been pretty much nothing like my experiences in Florida,
so I feel like a first year teacher again, but it's keeping everything so exciting!
I can't believe the first month of the school year is already over!

One of my favorite things is actually being able to ride my bike to work!
It's only 6 miles roundtrip & the commute is really pretty. Lots of lovely trees & cute houses :]
The weather's been beautiful, but I bought some rain gear for when it gets drizzly!

Burton & I took a weekend trip to Lincoln City to visit my aunt & uncle.
The Oregon coast is so breathtaking (& also a great place to fly a kite!)

In keeping up with my 2014 goals, I finally started learning how to crochet!
& I'm nearly done with my first scarf :]

We did some more hiking in Forest Park where we found the tallest fir tree in the park,
& a stone house built during the Depression. It was a bathroom for construction workers!

 
We celebrated Burton's 28th birthday with an incredible view from a rooftop dinner,
some massages, and a spectacular Ben Folds concert (accompanied by the Oregon Symphony)!
Of course, there were treats & libations throughout the weekend ;]

We're ready for you, October!

back to school!

It's been a BUSY two weeks! Burton & I just wrapped up our third "First Week of School" & we're both thinking this year will be a breeze. With two years of teaching under our belts, we're finally feeling comfortable in our grooves. Here's a look at my classroom (not too much has changed since last year), where I'll be spending most of my days for the next 10 months. There will be plenty of creative & artsy mess-making in here, but my kiddos & I will try to keep it just as beautiful for the rest of the school year :]

 

Let the learning begin!

Burton's graduation, MEd

 

My wonderful husband, Burton, graduated yesterday from UCF with his Master's degree in Science Education!! I couldn't be more proud of him :] It was nice to see our family & friends, & it especially warmed my heart to see him supported & congratulated by everybody. I know he worked so hard & I'm glad we had this opportunity to celebrate my favorite man :]

some old college drawings

Today I stumbled upon some sketches from my college days, particularly my figure drawing class. I forgot how much I enjoyed drawing skeletons (since it doesn't exactly happen very often), probably even moreso than regular portraits! There are just so many lines from the so many bones, that there's something relaxing about drawing them. Hope that doesn't make me sound too morbid :]

PS; one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings.

Chihuly's recycled chandelier

I love being an art teacher :] I know I probably don't discuss it enough, but sometimes I take a step back & realize how lucky I am to introduce cool artists and fun materials like clay & paint to children. And bonus, I get paid to do it! Anyway, I had to post a picture of one of my favorite projects from this school year. My third graders learned about Dale Chihuly, a glass sculptor artist, & then made their own Chihuly-esque chandelier using recycled plastic bottles & cardboard. I hung it in my room & it's gotten countless Ooohs & Ahhhs from the other grade levels. Proud teacher moment, right there :] Not only are they learning about cool artists who are still alive & working, but they're also learning that you can make art from just about anything!

my art classroom tour!

It's another school year! Us teachers had all last week to set up our classrooms & get ready for the little ones. I can't believe I'm already starting my second year teaching. This past year went by way too quickly, I'm telling ya. Anyway, my classroom hasn't changed drastically since last year, but I'm in love with the few changes I did make! Check it out :]

      

My inspiration wall :] This is right next to where the kiddos line up.

WHY did I not have this last year??

My Elements & Principles of Art cabinets!

My super-updated reading nook! Love it :]

YESSSSSSS!

 

It's officially SUMMAH TIME! Burton & I have survived our first year teaching & honestly, it went pretty damn smoothly for both of us. Burton's definitely a natural & we were both quickly welcomed into close-knit schools. Although we did great, we now each have a running list of all things we plan to do differently next year. I mean, c'mon, I've got like SIX art education boards on Pinterest ;]

 

But now that our glorious, two-month-long break is here, we've got all sorts of things we need to accomplish this summer. At least a dozen wedding DIYs (stay tuned!), building our own keezer, paintinnnnnggggg, & cruisin'!! While all this is going on, Burton will also be attending grad school! I mentioned that we had some exciting news a while back, but just now realized that I never revealed it. Silly me.

Anyway, because Burton is so amazing & everything always seems to fall into place, he was accepted into a science education program at UCF with 50 other students to get a masters degree FOR FREE! That boy will have a free masters by August 2013. So exciting :] & what's better is that "free" education degrees usually involve the student agreeing to teach X amount of years within the area afterwards, but this one doesn't! So this will not affect us with our out-of-state move in a couple of years :] Huzzah!

back to school

Spring Break is over. Womp womp. It's always tough getting back into the swing of things after a school break. I usually get nightmares the night before I go back about the students misbehaving or being super disinterested. I'll even get severe anxiety up until the minute I see my students again at 8:30am Monday morning. I don't know why this is, but it happened during Thanksgiving and Winter Break too. Maybe it's just a first year teacher thing & I'm hoping this won't be a problem next year. I'll have a whole slew of lessons and classroom management goodies in my arsenal :] I think it's been an amazing year so far & it's crazy to think there are only 2.5 more months until summer! Happy Monday!