the verdict is still out

My dryer is still broken & I felt TERRIBLE when I woke up this morning and this leads to me wearing a glorious dress {I hate ironing, yo}. I've had this gem in the back of my closet waiting to wear it. The problem? I thrifted it & the tags are missing- I have no idea if it's a maternity dress or a muumuu, but I was obsessed with it so I had to make it my own. I figured I would sew it so that it fits a narrow waist, but let's be real okay? So I put it on this morning and wrangled up a black ribbon to wrap around the waist. I'm pleased with it.

Where I spend the majority of my time & energy

The dress I tried on was a great color, but looked weird. What to wear to a beach wedding?!

In other news, part of our science for the end of the year is weather & clouds, so we went out to observe & identify clouds. The observations & wonderings were so amazing. This is my favorite, "Isn't it cool how the sky looks so small like it's swallowing us and we're the only ones but there countries and people thinking the same thing on the other side of the world?" I love my job.

Adopted!

Disclaimer: This post is school-related. I teach, it's bound to happen from time to time. But, I promise it's delightful! Scroll to the bottom for pics.

In case you didn't notice from yesterday's post, I'm not one for splurging on things that aren't a necessity. Shoes are necessities, right?!?! Anyway, my point is that I know how to stretch a dollar or two. I can be one frugal lady.

I've been buying things for my classroom for years. Yes, way before I had a classroom. Heck, way before I had even graduated college with a degree that allowed me to teach. It started out innocent enough with trips to Target's dollar section, a random excursion to Building 19 3/456, after holiday sales for decorations, craigslist perusing while watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, on breaks at my retail job, used bookstores, clearance tables at bookstores, and then one day the teacher store at the mall was closing. This was the day it all really started. The day I realized that even though I had been getting sweet deals on teaching trinkets, there were much bigger eggs I should be adding to my basket. Construction paper, stickers, die-cut letters, manipulatives, math games, file folder games, decorative file folders, shelving systems... oh my! My world has been full of teaching stores & websites ever since.

Now let me interrupt this by saying that one of my very best friends in life is a hair dresser & I've been with her to beauty supply stores. The deals there are extraordinary. That Paul Mitchell dye they put in your hair? They buy it at half price. That OPI nail polish you can buy at Target? Yeah, they pay $4. Don't even get me started on flat irons! I'm positive that other professions get great deals on things, right? I would hope they do. Not teachers. Teaching stores don't offer any 50% off deals. If that book cost $24.99 from the manufacturer, you'd better believe that's what your teacher butt is going to pay. Maybe more if you aren't careful where you shop. Is that a complaint? Maybe. But it's definitely an observation.

Okay, back to the excitement-

Last year, I took over a 4th grade classroom after a beloved teacher had passed away. I came into the classroom with the supplies I had already purchased and found that {believe it or not} I still needed more. I'm not a worksheet teacher and I needed manipulatives, games, things to really open students' eyes that learning could actually be fun and something that you want to do forever. I knew that my wallet alone couldn't fund turning a classroom into a place where the possibilities were endless. So, I decided to go on a bender searching for various fundraising options. I found several, wrote out plans, wrote out profiles and waited. Then it happened & our classroom was adopted by a company in Massachusetts. I had $250 to spend on supplies from a list of companies. Knowing what I already knew, I had quite the job ahead of me to find the best deals & the best shipping prices possible.

This year, I revamped my profile because I had a new agenda {science, science, science} and a new group of kiddos to share a room with for 180 days {okay, less because I was hired at the end of September, but you know what I mean}. It happened again! Within one month of editing our class profile, we were adopted & given $250 to spend. I spent many hours coming up with what we needed, scouring each site for the least expensive items & shipping costs and finally sent my order in. I'm so excited to show you what I found. Are you ready for this jelly? I think maybe you are ready for this jelly. Without further ado, I bring to you:

tornado tubes for our weather unit

pipettes for each student because we always need these for various experiments

recycled science 101.

Less worksheets, more hands-on activities in all academic areas

these books are full of great printable activities for each of my kiddos

This will really help when we're filling out our charts for all the ways we use math in our daily lives.

Including reading directions, which is even difficult for me sometimes

A few comprehension cubes for my small group work. No more dollar store inflatable beach balls for us... maybe.

2 hanging bag racks to store our math activities. One for basic principles & one for more difficult concepts

Storage for our graphic organizers

Storage for Reading File Folder Games

Storage for Science & Social Studies File Folder Games

2 paper bookshelves so the kids will notice all of the books available in our classroom library & so the librarians can add more popular books & new books to the collection.

Super cute stationery which I will laminate & use as locker tags.

hey teacher

Hello my lovelies! I am just popping in for a quick update. I'm sorry that I've been M.I.A. for the past few days. I just got my first official full-time teaching position in a fourth grade classroom! I interviewed for this job on September 5th, school started on the 6th. It's been a long wait! I had 1 day to get my classroom acceptable for kids to come in and to prepare lessons. In case you were wondering, it is extremely time consuming. I've spent at least 10 hours in the school the past 2 days and I plan to spend plenty more time getting things presentable & marvelous for as long as it takes.

I'll have a post with a little classroom tour in case you're interested. Oh, this means 2 things:
1) Outfit posts! I am excited to be able to post more outfits on here. It's something that I listed on my 101 Things. No more days where I am cleaning or crafting and wearing stainable clothing.

2) Getting a full-time teaching position was #1 when I made that list and I only moved it down because I don't want teaching to be the topic for this blog. Sorry that it snuck in, but I like a little change now and then. Plus,

 I'm SOOO excited!



P.S. You should also know that I've been too busy to pinterest! What the what?!?!

P.P.S. I can't believe I missed Happy List Monday! It'll pop up another day instead- just you wait & see ;).

let's get serious

I apologize, but I'm about to get serious here for a minute. This is potentially going to be the longest week of my life. I have been waiting all summer for this moment- the moment where I find out if my last chance for a classroom this year is possible. If it is: prepare for some very happy & {possibly} short-winded posts. If not, I'll be posting about the yard sale I had with all of my teaching stuff and my quest for a new career. 3 years is a long time to pour all of your heart & energy into something fruitless. So let's think positive here, people!

Seriousness aside, here are some cute kid crafts that I've been bookmarking lately. Maybe you have an adorable little or two that you could do these crafts with, who knows? Little kids are some of the best crafters and they're much more diligent than some people {me, for example}.

snow globe

aquarium diorama

egg geodes

dream catcher

suncatcher

surprisingly kid-friendly

Nature Walk Bracelet

button bracelets. I think I need some of these!

pasta skeletons

Just a Snapshot

I apologize for neglecting my blog. There’s no real excuse for it other than I just haven’t felt particularly inspired to write about anything. My summer days have been spent watching my niece & nephew for 8 and 9 hours a day. I love them dearly and they’re full of spirit and hilarious quotes, but I don’t want to dedicate weeks worth of posts to their adorable antics. I’ve also been a little down lately trying to figure out my job opportunities for next year {there don’t seem to be any!} so thanks for sitting tight & waiting so patiently.

Here is a snapshot of my days that you missed:

Summer School

I’ve been teaching a summer class/author study on Kevin Henkes. It’s 4 hours a day and I love the program. It’s a nice break from the rigorous schedule I have all school year and I get to teach a new crop of kiddos.

The Littles

My days have been spent with these little cuties. They are completely fearless and everything is an adventure. Particularly swimming. We’ve been sticking to the sprinkler & dumping buckets of water on one another.

Treats

We’ve been busy making treats around here. With temperatures up over 100, it was impossible to even think about preheating the oven to a million degrees. We settled on popsicles- my goodness I almost forgot how much I love frozen treats.

Oh and who could forget swimming and organizing? I wonder if there's a way for me to swim while organizing...

Stay Classy: Collection #1

Yesterday was my last official day as a long-term sub. I have no idea what is going to happen in September. Aside from a month long summer class, I have no idea what I'm going to be doing this summer either. What I do know is that I'm going to require some unofficial days to clean out my room. Here's what it looks like right now:

Yikes, right? Too bad putting up & taking down classrooms can't be a full-time job. Anyway, I was far too exhausted yesterday to post & I'm feeling a little bit run-down from the job hunt and end of the year activities. Fear not because from here on out it's wide-awake & positive posting.

I thought I would use the scarf swap as an excuse to start showing you some of my collections of random things. So, the first thing I've decided to share with you is my scarf collection. There are a few that aren't in the picture but they aren't any less loved than the others { promise }. Also, I got my blogger match for the swap today & I'm hoping to introduce you to her this week:)

I store them on my dresser in very cute paper suitcases that I purchased from here and here

Also, are you enjoying your first day of summer? I spent it at the pool in my sister's condo complex. <3

Past the Hump

As I believe I mentioned before, this is the last week of school for my kiddos. Even though it's the end, the week has been D-R-A-G-G-I-N-GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Today was our Field Day. It was also crocheted top day for Wear It Wednesday. Sigh. What was a girl to do? I did what any nerd burglar would do. I wore a flowy, sleeveless top and capris to work so that I could run around with my class, then I came home and changed into a crocheted tank top & dressed it up so I could get pictures. How's that for full disclosure? I try to keep it real over here.

I did get some pictures, too. Unfortunately they're pictures that were taken inside at night and then my camera battery died. Bah! I am totally ruling at this fashion blogger thing, aren't I? Well, here's the good news. I have decided to take some steps to get my butt in gear so that I get this show on the road. The first step is finding where I put my camera battery charger for safe keeping. I also linked up with some other bloggers and I'm really excited about it! I signed up for a Scarf Swap that I'll tell you all about tomorrow.

I just wanted to do a little post today to let you know that I'm still alive :).

Monday Fun Day

Some days, I just feel like a rock star. Today was one of those days. I woke up early {ish} and had the perfect outfit in my head. The swingy skirt that I wanted to wear was not only perfect for the weather, but it didn't even need to be ironed. This is perfection because I don't like doing much more than getting dressed and slapping on some lipstick in the morning.

Revlon ColorBurst Coral 080 buy it here

I got to school and the day just went swimmingly. The kids were great, the temperature was perfect, the lessons were timed with no downtime. I mean, we're talking easy peasy lemon squeezy. Then the end of day came and I was walking down the hallway only to have a long line of bus students want to high-five me for no reason. I like to think it was the walking on air swingy skirt, but who knows...

I felt like a celebrity. I celebrated with a delicious frappe and now, an episode or two of Twin Peaks on Netflix instant. Could it be possible that the last 2 weeks of school will be such a breeze? My fingers are crossed. For now, I'm kissing Monday on the lips and in the same way my students end their stories, "that's that."

In other news, I am so in love with Mandy Lynne's feminine photography. Target is carrying small canvases of her work. You should check it out if you love pink nearly as much as I do. You should check it out even if you don't because pink is awesome.