Hasta la Vista, Goldfish!

Not quiet sure what it is about goldfish crackers but children love 'em!

It is a VERY popular snack choice by the little ones.
They NOT only love them but also like to do questionable things like dunk a bunch of
goldfish in to a cup of water and drink it straight up. Haha. 

I guess it could be the cute little goldfish shape or the fact that they are bite size and fun to eat.
I was a fan of goldfish too... that is until I discovered the BUNNIES!

Cheddar Bunnies to be exact.

Taste JUST LIKE goldfish, if not better.
But what makes these Cheddar Bunnies so great is that...

it's made with ORGANIC wheat flour and other ingredients that I can actually pronounce. 

The actual description is as follows:

Baked with organic wheat flour and Real Aged Cheddar, our Cheddar Bunnies are great tasting and wholesome. They are ideal for toddler-sized hands, but their crispy crunch and real cheesy flavor will tempt snackers of all ages to eat them by the handful.

Actual ingredients: ORGANIC WHEAT FLOUR, EXPELLER PRESSED VEGETABLE OIL (SAFFLOWER AND/OR SUNFLOWER), SALT, CHEDDAR CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), YEAST EXTRACT, YEAST, PAPRIKA, ANNATTO EXTRACT FOR COLOR, GROUND CELERY SEED, ONION POWDER.

Therefore, if your child or someone you know (possibly a grown child like me... haha)
loves those goldfish cause they're soooo delicious,
hand them a box of cheddar bunnies and you'll probably have them saying
"Hasta la vista, goldfish!" as well.

PS. Also, the white cheddar bunnies are pretty delicious as well!
I actually like the white ones better than the regular cheddar bunnies. But that's just me.

PPS. You can usually find cheddar bunnies on sale at Target!
Happy bunny hunting!

Traveling to Vietnam with a Friend

A furry friend that is!

Yesterday, the boyfriend took me to build-a-bear and he built me a friend to take with me to Vietnam. Why is he wearing scrubs you ask? Well, the boyfriend is studying to become a doctor one day. He is quiet a cutie. The boyfriend AND the bear that is. Ahaha.

For those of you who didn't know, I will be teaching English in Vietnam this summer!

SOME MORE INFO ON MY TRIP
-It is an internship through Queens College
-I am 1 out of 5 interns
-Typically, I will teach from 9-11AM Mondays~Thursdays.
-There are 3 different levels of students. They are leveled according to their English proficiency.
-Fridays are trip days where we accompany the students
-It has been decided that I will be in charge of teaching arts & crafts (which I am really looking forward to! I always wanted to be an art teacher!)

I'm excited to meet my Vietnamese students....
Kinda nervous because I haven't finished up my lesson plans yet (which I really should get done.. haha).

I will be leaving for Ho Chi Minh City on June 29th and will be in Vietnam until July 31st.

I also decided to extend my trip by going to Korea to visit family till mid August!
Therefore, this summer will definitely be jam packed with adventures and lots of exciting new things.

Can't wait!!! Especially to try some authentic PHO!

So, follow me on my Vietnamese adventures!
Till next time....

Ms. Kimpop
:)

3rd Graders

3rd Grade is a very interesting grade to teach.

When I tell people that I am a 3rd grade teacher, they are always curious to know how 3rd graders are.

3rd graders range from 7-8 years old.

At around this age, the kiddies are independent enough to take care of themselves... meaning they can go to the bathroom by themselves, think and act critically(most of the time, haha), and most importantly you are able to build a meaningful relationships with them.

Don't get me wrong, I think in every grade, you can build

a special relationship with each and every one of your students.

However, by the time students come to 3rd, something inside of them starts to mature and they start acting a little bit like big people. They understand consequences better, can sit and read independently, and most importantly can handle having some real responsibilities. Therefore, the relationships I come to form with my 3rd graders feel a bit deeper and more meaningful. I mean they start to read you and all your different moods. Sometimes, some of my students know just with a glance from me exactly what I want them to do.

Anyways, point of the post is that today I was reminded of just how much I enjoy this grade when one of our students randomly wrote us the following letters.

Background Info: Ms. Phantastic and I often share stories about our pets. My dog, Teddy and Ms. Phantastic's bunny, Snowball.

Soon to be... Ms. Pho!

I have some really exciting news to share with you all! (all of my 5 subscribed followers. this is my personal shout out to you guys. haha)

I am soooooo happy to share that I will be going to Vietnam this summer!

Yes, the country where Pho originated.
One of my favorite noodle soups in the world.... hahaha.

I will be there for a month teaching English to Vietnamese students.

Okay, I just wanted to share that.
I hope that you'll follow me on my journey to Vietnam!

I will blog about my experiences getting ready for the trip, during the trip, and after the trip.

Have a pho-tastic day~!

Take That Germs!

As a teacher, you live and breath germs all day, every day (well, almost every day).

This is especially true in the winter time when the kiddies get sick with all sorts of things.
They are constantly blowing (if not picking) their noses,
sneezing, and coughing like no tomorrow.

I remember when I first started out on my teaching career (during student teaching), I caught something on a weekly basis. I was miserable! I think by now, my system has built up some immunity to germs that I am regularly exposed to. However, some germs still get past me and I do get sick once in a while (like right now.... about to take some Nyquil and call it a night).

Anyways, I have come with some preventive measures that I believe work for me 90% of the time.

1) Load Up on Emergen-C Packs

I drink these bad boys pretty regularly once my germ radar goes off. Which is pretty often, especially in the winter time. There have been times where I felt like I might be coming down with something and drinking these 3x a day for a couple of days really got rid of whatever I was feeling. They are about $10 for a pack of 30. You mix it in your water. Kind of taste like a fizzy vitamin water. Loaded with vitamins and all that good stuff.

2. Wash Your HandsNow, I do think that I don't do a bad job of washing my hands regularly but when I am at work, I do an ESPECIALLY THOROUGH job of washing them whenever I can. I also wash them first thing when I get home from work to get rid of all the germs I may be carrying with me from work.

3. Wipe Em' Down

The kids!? Haha no.... their desks. Whenever I have a chance and the kiddies are not in the room I like to wipe down their desks with Clorox wipes (if not available I will settle for baby wipes with a squirt of hand sanitizer).

4. Circulate Air
Even in the winter time, we like to keep some of the windows open (which is okay because school heat is crazy and it feels like a million degrees anyway). I like to think that leaving some windows cracked open allows for germs to fly out of the room. This might be more of a mental thing~ haha.

Although the kiddies get me sick from time to time, there is really no where else I rather be than in a room full of germ-y little 3rd graders.