My FIRST blog post

Well, here goes nothing...I have stalked followed many members of the blog world for quite a while now, and have finally decided to give this blogging thing a shot. If for no other reason, I am excited that this blog will give me a place to keep my thoughts, ideas, and activities/lessons organized. I have found so many helpful ideas through following other teacher bloggers, and who knows...maybe, just maybe, I might have some helpful tips to share as well! :) Before I go any further, I must give a HUGE thank you to Megan at A Bird in Hand Designs for designing this blog for me. She was so easy to work with, it is obvious she loves what she does, and she was quick to help this "newbie" with any questions or concerns I had. Check out her page...especially if you feel your blog needs a little sprucing up. :)

Ok, back to the basics of me...my name is Nikki and I teach in a very small town in South Carolina. I have taught for 9 years and have loved every minute of it, but have truly found my passion for teaching in the last year. Not to say I haven't always loved what I do, but this past year has been the icing on the cake as far as feeling at home, in my element, and right where I belong! I have spent the majority of my teaching years teaching 3rd grade, but my heart has found its home at a new school in 5th grade this year. I now teach 5th Grade ELA and Social Studies to 2 separate classes each day. I love, love, love what I do! Next year things will change up a bit as I teach one block of Read 180 (more on that later), one block of ELA and two blocks of Social Studies, but I feel sure I am going to be just as happy and at home as I have been this year.

My life is not just awesome because I have a job I love, but it is especially awesome because I have a wonderful family I love, too! I have been married to my sweet husband for 3 years. We met through an online dating service...kinda strange, but it turned out well :) He has a 16 year old daughter that I now get to claim, and together we have a 2 year old little boy and a little girl who is about to be 1. There are 14 months between the babies, so I can promise you things get a little crazy around our house sometimes! It's a fun crazy though and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

The name of my blog is pretty self explanatory...I wanted to link together the three most important things in my life which are obviously my faith, my family, and teaching (thus, Faith, Family & 5th). I wouldn't be who I am today and wouldn't have made it through many parts of my life without my faith. I believe a strong, solid family is a foundation that no one can break, and I pray my passion for teaching and helping students LOVE to read is obvious each day!

I am nervous, but excited about this little journey I am about to embark upon within the blogging world. I have learned so much and am so thankful for many people/teachers that I may never meet. I hope I can look back one day and know that I helped someone along the way and that this blog will be one venue for providing help, support, inspiration, or just my thoughts! And so, without further adieu...