Happy Holidays!!!

First and foremost: Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa!

I am SO happy and extremely excited to be writing again. I've been so caught up with teaching my first year in kindergarten that I haven't been very good with keeping up with my blog. Well, that's all about to change! One of my resolutions for the new year is to keep up with my blog and to keep sharing with the world my passion for teaching!

This holiday season was one away from my family again. Thankfully, I have a very supportive boyfriend that shares the holiday and his family with me. Last night we spent Christmas Eve with his family. Like every Dominican Christmas Eve party there was an abundance of delicious food, dancing, presents, and lots of laughs. We even played monopoly! It was a great time! Even though I was away from my family in New York and Dominican Republic, thanks to social media apps like facebook, instagram, whatsapp, and skype I was able to video chat with some of my loved ones- which made all the difference in the world!

 As the holidays are here, I can't help but reflect on the 2013 year. It has come with a lot of struggles and obstacles, but also with a lot of experience and maturity. In 2013, God has showered me with an abundance of blessings, starting with landing my kindergarten teaching job in my school district. I feel VERY blessed with the opportunity to do what I love most. I also feel very blessed for the adventures I bestowed upon throughout the year. I just finished getting back from an exotic Caribbean cruise with my boyfriend and his family. We visited the islands of Grand Turk, Aruba, Dominican Republic, and Curacao for his cousin's wedding. It was an amazing time, and offered me some peace, serenity, and relaxation that I craved! I am very grateful for the trip and the people I met on the trip. It's always a great time when you're surrounded by fun and spontaneous people. I love the cruising life, and can't wait to do it again soon!

I have many resolutions for the coming year, but the one that I'm overjoyed by is the idea of starting up my very own tutoring services business. I will start out very small and local. My plan is to offer my teaching services in the community to children in grades K-5 who need extra help with reading, writing, spelling, math, homework, enrichment, and even English Language Learners. I am anxious to begin advertising to the community about it because I think that this can be possibly something that can offer me some additional income (Lord knows I've been looking for a second job), as well as spread my love of learning throughout the community to the children who need it most. My overall goal is for students to "Raise the Bar" in their educational achievements, and become successful in all of their academic areas. Eventually, as I can get my clientele up, I will invite other co-workers and teachers in the community who are interested in working within the "Raising the Bar" Tutoring Services business, therefore expanding the business with other teachers' skills, credentials, educational backgrounds, and general expertise of subject areas and grade levels. I truly hope this becomes something that brings me a fountain of opportunities to branch out for the greater good of my community, as well as to broaden my horizons as a classroom teacher.

Prior to our winter break, we had a great deal of fun preparing for the holiday season in kindergarten! We made lots of arts and crafts, sang lots of songs for our Holiday Program, and we also had Pajama Day and hopped on the Polar Express. 

Kindergarten is truly so much fun! I promise to keep you all updated on some of the wonderful things we do in class!

Well my friends, I'm off to enjoy the rest of Christmas Day with my Georgia family and friends. It feels great to catch up with you all, and I look forward to being more consistent with this blog. I hope you all enjoy your holiday season with those most dear to you, and for all my teachers out there- ENJOY YOUR WINTER BREAK!