Better Late Than Never!

I had every intention of launching this blog before school started, but as always, the beginning of the year totally overwhelmed me. Even though I already have a growing to-do list at school, I really wanted to get this off the ground because I'm extremely excited to begin sharing my ideas and meeting new teachers. The teaching blogging community is huge, and I just love how open and giving everyone is about passing on their original ideas and products. Thanks to the genius behind Pinterest, I've found so many creative and innovative ideas, and I've already borrowed and tweaked a few to make them work for me in my classroom. And don't worry, I will definitely be giving credit where credit is due if I share an idea that isn't 100% my own!

My former co-worker Mandy also started a teaching blog this summer, and from her blog I discovered Blog Hoppin'. At the beginning of the year, Blog Hoppin' encouraged teachers to share a little about themselves, so to follow suit (two weeks into the school year still counts as the beginning, right?!), here's a little bit about me:

-My name is Katherine, but I am also known as Katie, Fireball, and Sleemo. At school, I'm known as Ms. Reynolds.

-My mom lives in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and is the metro editor at the Winston Salem Journal. My dad is a photo editor at the Dallas Morning News, and he lives in Dallas with my stepmom Nancy and my brother, Drew, who is 8 years old and in third grade (which is way fun for me!). My sister Claire lives in Austin, and I love having her close by!

-I attended the University of Texas at Austin, and I graduated with a degree (and a job!) in 2003. I've been at the same school ever since, and this marks my fifth year teaching third grade.

-I have six tattoos, all very small, two in white, and all but two are written in a family member's handwriting (the other two? one is in my own handwriting and the other is a small heart).

-I was born in Louisiana, so Cajun food is my comfort food. Now that I've lived in Texas for most of my life, however, I will never, ever turn down chips, queso, margaritas, or enchiladas.

-I really, really, REALLY hate raw tomatoes.

-I have two cats: Corona, who is 18 (I've had her since I was in the 4th grade) and who is missing her back leg and tail, and Maggie, who enjoys being in high places (the top of an open door is her favorite).

-My boyfriend, JJ, is working on a doctorate degree in Astronomy at the University of Texas. He is extremely useful when I teach about space. :)

-I am 26 years old and I am still in love with the Harry Potter series.

-I love to travel; last year, I went to China, Las Vegas, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. I've also been to the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, and Spain. Next on my list is somewhere in South America, and I am itching to go to Ireland and Scotland. Australia wouldn't be too bad, either.

-I am mostly a vegetarian; if it weren't for seafood or bacon, I'd be veggie 100% of the time!

I think that's enough for now! If there's anything else you'd like to know, just leave me a comment! Come back soon to read about how I started off my year!