Hey, hey! Oh my goodness! How exciting is this?! I am so happy to be here with some of the most wonderful 2nd and 3rd grade bloggers in the blog-o-sphere! :) I have been blogging at my little slice of cyberspace, One Extra Degree, for three years. I have really enjoyed being able to share my experiences with other teachers, and I have learned so much from others. I just LOVE it! It hardly even seems like I've even been blogging that long, because cliche or not, time flies when you're having fun! I am so grateful for all of the friendships I have made and all of the interactions I have had with people from all over the world. So, since I enjoy sharing my classroom happenings and ramblings so much, I am really stoked to have the opportunity to contribute to this fabulous collaborative blog! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Amanda Nickerson, and I will be entering my eighth year of teaching this fall. After spending one year as a 3-8 Title I tutor in an inner-city behavior school, and one year as a 1-2 Title I tutor in a rural district, I made my way into the world of third grade! I taught third grade in that same rural district for a few years before settling into a suburban school that's essentially in my own backyard. Although there were wonderful things happening at my old district, and I loved my colleagues, I am extremely happy with my new habitat. :) I plan on staying and growing roots there. It feels like HOME to me! This year, I am going to be experiencing a bit of a change, however. Our building has a very large percentage of gifted students, so this year, I will have the wonderful opportunity to teach social studies and language arts to the gifted third and fourth grade kiddos with a brand new partner! Teaching is a wild ride, isn't it? In the past seven years, I have worked in an urban district, a rural district, and currently a suburban district! I've instructed kiddos ranging from 1st through 8th grade. {No joke!} I've worked for SIX different principals, and I've taught with and without a core ELA curriculum. I've been self-contained and departmentalized. I've switched classrooms five times! I've also coached two sports and served on lots of committees. So, basically I feel like I've had my fair share of diverse classroom experiences thus far. I can't wait to see where the good Lord leads me next! :) Whew! Any-who! I have my Masters in Literacy Curriculum & Instruction, and it is my greatest passion! {Literacy honestly makes my heart go pitter-pat!} I am also really starting to enjoy presenting at workshops, and that's something that has really developed over the past few years. I never thought I would enjoy standing up in front of BIG people to present information, but as it turns out, I actually kinda dig it! One could say that I have nerdy tendencies, but I embrace it! Ha! :) As much as my job has become by hobby, and as much as I love it, I really try to have a nice FULL life outside of the classroom too. My husband and I will be celebrating our third anniversary on July 31st! We've been "together" almost five years, and we have known each other for nine years! He is truly my best friend, and we have a lot of fun together! We have two golden retrievers who are our fur children: Loralei and Stella. I just ADORE them! No kiddos just yet... I love Jesus, sweet tea, family, friends, running (on the elliptical mostly), avocados, trying out new recipes, dancing, singing, doodling, creating resources for my classroom, decorating our home, shopping for major deals, everything vintage, and being PRESENT in every moment! Okay, I can be a bit of a windbag, so I am going to show composure and move on to the really fun part of this post! I get to share an exclusive back-to-school freebie with you that can only be found here! Simply click the image below for your download, and ENJOY! I'd LOVE if you would pop on over to my blog, One Extra Degree, to check it out! :) If you want to stay in the loop, make sure to follow me on Blog Lovin'! Happy Monday, friends! Have a fantastic day!!!