Lavender, Peppermint, Dried Ink, and World Studies

Do you know those kinds of people who get really excited and jump up and down and squeal?
Well, I hate to admit this, but...I am one of those people.

I bought Tibetan prayer flags the same day I was offered my job.
And started setting up materials for the Creation Station.

Now that the ink is dry on my contract I can share my good news...

I have been hired to teach 7th grade World Studies!

Me, my crazy curls, and our teaching contract, 
May 9, 2018

Are you jumping up and down, too? Squealing? Anything? Regardless, I know you are happy for me.

I will be teaching the 2nd year of World Studies, focusing on Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. I happen to love Asia and have backpacked around India and Thailand, so this is particularly exciting for me. I've already bought dry goods and other items from the African, Indian, and Japanese markets and have begun setting up displays for my classrooms.

And making the Creation Station, for when we work on political posters, map activities, and the like.

And the treasure chest, filled with fruit snacks and moon pies for student birthdays.

And cutting out letters for my bulletins boards. I am going with a whale theme, and the letters say,

''Having a Whale of a Time in World Studies'' and ''Diving Into History''.

Cute, right?

My first day is on July 25th, and school starts on August 1st.

I made this sign and sewed the fabric bunting before my interview, so I could put updated pictures in my portfolio. The administrators really seemed to like this during my interview, when they asked how I would incorporate cross-disciplines into my lessons. (Word Wall is a unit vocabulary, where students are assigned a term, create a mini-poster, and present to the class. They are then the class expert on that term for the unit.)

As if it couldn't be any better, I can still drive my two big kids to school at 7:30 a.m. and make it to work 20 minutes later by 7:50 a.m. And I will be home by 4:20 p.m.! Compared to my last job where I was commuting over and hour each way and wasn't home until 6 p.m., this a dream.

I've asked for a mini fridge and electric tea kettle for my classroom for Mother's Day.

I have bought the oil diffuser and lavender oil for my classroom, too. And peppermint spray. I want to buy a cute little table lamp for my desk to create a nice ambiance for when the lights are off during documentaries.

Today I went to the New Hire meeting, signed my contract, and got my I.D. badge. And I didn't think about cancer once, except when I had to fill out a medical form and I answered ''No'' for everything except cancer, where I had to mark yes, and under surgery where I had to write, ''Mastectomy, 08/30/17''. Other than that, it was the furthest thing from my mind.

Instead I was thinking about the Scramble for Africa, and Nelson Mandela, and Japanese Samurai, and the British Raj and Gandhi and Civil Disobedience, and markers, and poster boards, and where I will set up my student's desks, and wondering if I need to sew a curtain for my classroom window.

I am very, very happy today.