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Happy Saturday! 

I had planned on making a trip to St. Louis this weekend, but a few things changed at the last minute, and so it's in Springfield that I sit. In other news, it's so surreal that I just wrapped up Week 4 of student teaching. It's just flying by, as I knew it would! Especially with all of these ridiculous snow days. So what have I been up to, you ask? Slowly adding more subjects to my schedule, until I am eventually teaching the whole day! MSU student teacher are required to complete a Teacher Work Sample, which consists of pre-/post-test data, and a unit (made of 5 lesson plans). My TWS will be over food chains, and I can't wait! I love science.

I had my first observation of the semester this week (after some scrambling/rescheduling due to those pesky snow days), and it went very well! During the lesson, I noticed the VAST difference between this observation and the last one (back in November, when I was still an intern). I was much more relaxed and calm, as opposed to my typical freak-outs/nerves. I would say that has been one of my biggest hurdles: overcoming my anxiety and trusting myself! I've had to really remind myself since October (when I first entered the classroom) that every teacher has started the same place I did: no one is perfect to begin with. After I started thinking about this as a learning process, all (ok, MOST) of the self-doubt vanished.

The other day, my mom and I started making plans to begin building my future classroom library. Anyone who knows us knows that this is like, SUPER EXCITING and that we have been just waiting for an excuse to binge on books. Lori, you are my soul sister. Anyway, I've been thinking about some of my favorite books from my childhood, and I just wanted to share! :)

Imogene's Antlers by David Small
This is an early childhood favorite!



I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson
Another early childhood favorite, that has a wonderful message!



Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
I have always loved these books! My favorite aspect is how Park writes in such relatable language for young kids!

ANYTHING BY ROALD DAHL. 

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
My third grade teacher let me sit on a stool in the front of the room and read poems to my class. It is one of my favorite reading memories. "Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too" will always be my favorite.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Another third grade fave! We watched the movie, too. I don't know if I would ever let 8- and 9-year-olds watch/read this. SO SAD.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
The movie is NOTHING LIKE THE BOOK. Anne Hathaway, I love you, but you kind of ruined this. I first read this book in Mrs. Taylor's fifth grade class, and I will always remember it as the first love story I read. This book is still one of my favorites, and is probably 100,000x better than Twilight or 50 Shades (which I haven't read, because ew).



Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
An eighth-grade read. I actually remember reading this (and the next book) with Jeremy!

Holes by Louis Sachar
Loved this. Loved the movie.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (specifically The Magician's Nephew)
I didn't read these until high school, but I still consider that part of my childhood, whatever. This is one of the more powerful.beautiful book series that I have read. The Magician's Nephew has the most beautiful imagery of any book I have read.

I'm not even going to get into Harry Potter right now. I might write so much that it would break the internet.

This is obviously only a small portion of all of the book recommendations I have in mind, but I would love to make a habit out of sharing my favorite books with you!