Question?

Today I am going to meet my mom and sister to wedding dress shop!  While I'm gone, I have a question for you...

How many of you are able to work in your classrooms during the summer?  In the past we haven't been able to get into ours until around the first week in August.  If you are allowed in your classrooms, do you go throughout the summer, wait until it's time to go back?

Just something I've been pondering...

I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say!

Happy Tuesday!!

Must Read Picture Books

I'm linking up with Lindsay, The Teacher Wife, to share some of my favorite picture books. 

It was really hard to narrow it down, but here they are.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is one of my all time favorites.  Warning:  You'll need tissues!

I always read this book during the first week of school.  It teaches how what seems like a mistake can actually become something wonderful.

I adore The Jolly Postman.  The postman goes to different fairy tale characters' homes and delivers different kinds of mail.  This is an excellent book to have in your writer's workshop library.

Such a fun book to use during my money unit. 

Molasses Man is a very special book to me.  The author actually called my dad to get information about how to make sorghum.  Some of you know that I was raised on a dairy farm, but my dad also raises a few acres of sorghum each year.  The author even thanks my dad in book.  Every year my kiddos think this book is pretty awesome because of my personal connection to it.


Please head on over to The Teacher Wife and link up!  I've already gotten so many ideas for new books!

Happy Tuesday!!

Summertime

Vicky at Traditions, Laughter, and Happily Ever After is having a very neat linky party!
It is all about what we have done during summer vacation.

First of all, I have had a lot of fun just playing with my boys.  They are six and three and have had some important milestones these past few weeks.

As I have mentioned before, my youngest is finally potty trained!!  Yay Parker!

My oldest learned how to ride a bike without training wheels...YESTERDAY!!

My family and I love to camp.  A couple years ago, my husband was in a really bad accident.  He was under one of his work trucks, trying to fix something when it started to roll.  The truck drug (dragged?) him for about thirty feet and he was pinned underneath the tires of his dually when the it finally stopped.  After he recovered, we made the decision that it is important that we spend as much time together as a family because you never know what the future might hold.  With that in mind, we bought a camper.

We love camping and try to get away as much as possible to enjoy special family time. 

Here is a picture of Luke yesterday after our first ever family bike ride:

I know it is a little hard to see, but the rain was pouring and I didn't want to get the camera wet!!

More good family news.  My sister got engaged...today!!  This has just been an exciting summer!

Head on over to Traditions, Laughter, and Happily Ever After to link up!  I look forward to reading about your adventures!

Happy Sunday!

Owl Heaven

I love Kirkland's.  I found some really cute things for my classroom today. 

Now, we know that I have recently become obsessed with owls.  I'm not sure when or why, but I have.  Look how cute:

I am going to put this rug at my classroom door.  It is that rubbery material so not only is it cute, it should hold up really well. 

I also found this:

The picture does not do it justice, it looks adorable in person.  It is even cuter when it is lit.  Yep...it's a little night light!  I say little, but it is actually about eight inches tall.  I thought that this would be really neat in the classroom library.

I also found this lamp.  I know it is not in the owl "theme" but I just thought it was pretty.

The best part of my shopping experience is that EVERYTHING was on sale!  Woo Hoo!!  Get it...Hoo?  With that, I better sign off before my jokes deteriorate even further.

Oh, and I apologize for using the word "cute" WAY too much.  I've even annoyed myself!

Happy Saturday!

Wonderful Walmart...Updated

I am linking up with Kimberly over at The Learning Tree.  She is having a great linky party all about frugal finds.  Head on over and check it out!

Normally, Walmart drives me crazy.  It seems as though there are 14 thousand people shopping at any given time.  However, my family and I are camping and I realized on the way down that I forgot all of my capris and shorts....wink, wink....in case my husband is reading this.  So I HAD to go and get some more. 

While at Walmart, I went to the school aisle.  It doesn't matter what time of year, I love the school supplies aisles.  I found binders for Cara Carroll's Calendar Companion.  I like to have all of the math binders the same color because I can easily tell if everyone has out what they need.  I found 1 inch economy binders in blue for $.92!!

I decided to get hard cover binders this year, because I am going to use this idea that I got from The Inspired Apple:

We are going to do Calendar Math during whole group on the carpet.  Last year I used my document camera.  But I like this idea better.

I also found some great folders on my Walmart trip.  They are poly folders with brad fasteners that I am going to use for morning work ($.50!!).  I bought the awesome math and language arts reviews from Reagan Tunstall.  I will copy a math and language arts back to back and that will be the morning work each day. 

What is your go to place for school supplies?

Happy Thursday!

Book Boxes

I started Daily Five in January, and LOVED it.  However, I did not love the book boxes that I bought for my kiddos.  They took up a lot of space and they tended to tip over.  They served their purpose for last year, but I knew that I was going to want something different.  Here is an example of my old book boxes:

I REALLY wanted plastic magazine boxes this year but they are SO expensive.  After some searching, I discovered these:

I got these heavy duty, colorful cardboard magazine boxes from Classroom Direct.  They come six to a pack and did I mention they are colorful?  These boxes are much more in line with what I wanted because not only will they be able to keep their books in them, but also their writer's notebooks!

Do you use book boxes in your classroom?  What type of container do you use?

Happy Wednesday!

Wedding Bells

Not mine.  Those rang several years ago.  These were for my cousin, Todd and his wife Leigh Ann. 

The wedding was this past weekend and beautiful...but busy.

My sister is a floral designer at the Inn at Little Washington, so it was natural that she was asked to create the wedding flowers.  I went home (I live four hours from the majority of my family) to help.  Not only did we do the flowers, but my parents, sister and I catered the rehearsal dinner...it was so much fun!

Does anyone want to discuss how my YOUNGER sister is a good six inches taller?  How I am the shortest person in my family?  Oh well.

Now, I need a nap to recover from the many late nights and early mornings!

Happy Monday!

Shewwww

This morning I woke up feeling nervous and it took me a minute to figure out why.  Oh yes, it all came rushing back.  Spray in 3, 2, 1.  Will I be able to leave the house or not?  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and walked into the bathroom.  (By the way, I don't recommend closing your eyes and walking when you just wake up...it did not work out well.  Hello doorjamb!).

I counted to three and opened my eyes.

I am a normal tan color!!  What a huge relief!

To celebrate not being an orange zebra AND America's birthday:

CLICK HERE to head over to my TPT store!

Sometimes I stop and think about the courage our forefathers possessed to declare Independence and then to actually gain it.  My two favorite presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, had amazing foresight in creating the foundation on which our country is built.

Happy Fourth of July!

In 3, 2, 1......

I did something new today. 

I got a....spray tan!

My cousin is getting married this weekend, and I decided that I wanted to look glowing in my dress.  He better appreciate this!!

I've been very nervous about the whole thing.  I kept picturing that Friends episode when Ross kept messing up the directions and things went terribly wrong.  The computerized lady kept saying, "Spray begins in 3, 2, 1....," and I barely had time to get myself situated on the little feet guides! I have the worst luck with things like this, so I am worried that I am going to look like an orange striped zebra tomorrow.

Oh heavens.

When I got home from my adventure, my favorite delivery man had left me a package:

I am so excited to crack this open and have the ideas start flowing. 

If I am orange tomorrow, at least I'll have Debbie Diller to keep me company.

Check back tomorrow for the status of my skin!

Happy Tuesday!

Wise Workers

A couple of days ago, I posted about my owl themed job board on TPT.  I want to give you an idea about how I'm going to use it in my classroom.

I don't have a lot of bulletin board space in my room, so I used a cork board that I bought at Walmart as the base.  I covered the board with black paper, created a tree trunk and tree "top".

Here is a picture.  This is my rough "draft":

I'm going to prop this on top of one of the cubbies so it will be easy for the students to see.  I think I am going to add some dimension to the tree pieces by adding some marker lines, a hole in the trunk...cutesy it up a little. 

Happy Monday!

Currently July

July....JULY?!  I feel that summer is flying by, and I have a LOT of work to do to get ready for August!

But work can wait.  Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade has her July Currently ready!!

Go link up!  I can't wait to read your Currently!

Happy Sunday!