I am a....

I found this awesome idea for a writing journal on Pinterest. I thought it would be a great "get to know you" assignment at the beginning of the year. You can find the link to the original here. It is also a great literacy blog!

This is my example I will use for class. I think it is a neat project to use at the beginning of the year so my students get a chance to know me as well.

Monday Made It!

This is my first official "Monday Made It" linky with 4th Grade Frolics! Be sure to link up with her and show off your Monday Made It!

Ok, so I am a Pin-aholic.. is that a word? Well, anyway I love all the amazing ideas I find on Pinterest. So for this week's "Monday Made It" I got my first idea to create a "No Name" paper holder. My actual product is slightly different from the original. The link to the inspiration came from 3rd Grade Thoughts, and hers is just as cute, if not cuter :)

However, I took a cheaper more economical way out. Instead of buying wooden letters and paint I found a cute, 11x14 red frame at the local dollar general on clearance for $2, BONUS! I already had the clothes pins, but they have them at dollar general in red, yellow, and blue if you do not have any and do not want to paint them. I hot glued (my favorite way to adhere things) the clothes pins to the frame. After some scrapbook paper and punch out letters, this is my finished product:

I am excited for this! No need to leave little holes all over my bulletin boards :)

My other Monday Made It item is for all those little notes, drawings, and inspirational goodies we get from our little lovelies. I also got this idea from Pinterest. You can find the link here, at Lesson Plan Diva. This way it isn't all over the desk or pinned on the wall. I will probably keep mine by my desk, but one pinner suggests to keep it in your class library for others to look at :)

I used sparkly foam letters on mine (that I had laying around in my landfill massive craft supply).

I had fun making these cute things for my classroom and will be even more excited to get it INTO my class next week!

July's Currently!

Ok, so last year as I was subbing I would see all these neat signs on the doors of other teacher's classrooms. The signs always said "Currently" at the top and would list things about the teachers. Now, as I am surfing different blogs I see these posts AGAIN. So, there must be something with these things, and I MUST be missing out on the fun! So, thanks to my friend over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade, you can find the link to this month's "Currently" here.

With that being said, here is my July Currently!

Excited.... with a little anxiety.

Probably a good way to describe my current feelings on my new blogging hobby and the quick approach of my "premier" as a 6th grade teacher.
I've been searching and browsing the web for classroom ideas, blogging techniques and designs. All my new blogging "friends" have amazing blogs with creative little tid bits and clip art. It gets my head churning and ideas stirring. I'm new to this blogging thing, so I don't know how to do all the cutesy things they do! Is there a book on all this, like Blogging for Dummies? ;)
Be sure to check out all the amazing sites I have found (listed to the left). If you do not currently follow my blog and would like to, I have added that at the right side of my page thanks to my friend Heather from Heather's Heart :)
On another note... I am so anxious to get into my classroom! I have yet to even see it, I have no idea what I need or what is already in the classroom! I have training next week and then we start the 6th, and kiddos on the 10th! Woot!!
Have a blessed weekend!

The R-word

Something you may need to understand about me, my son has Down Syndrome. He is a beautiful creation of my Lord and Savior, as are all children. I do not, and never have, like the R-Word. It is a shameful use of words, that discriminate people with disabilities. When Gage was born it heightened my sensitivity to this word. Here are my thoughts on this subject:


To those who use the word "Retarded", perhaps you don't understand the significance of your choice of words, perhaps you truly don't mean to hurt someone's feelings because you are just using an "acceptable" termed word in replace of stupid, ignorant, dumb, etc... Let me define the word “retarded” for you: (adj.) slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress. Now just because you forgot your homework, lost your keys, tripped, ran into something, or miscounted does not qualify you as “retarded”. You may not grasp the impact of your words, perhaps you utter this word as checking out in the store and do not realize that the clerk or person standing behind you has a child/sibling with a disability, and you have just insulted them. These are people who cannot defend themselves against your hurtful choice of words. My son has more persistence and determination to figure out something than you do in your little pinky, please do not categorize him, or others with a disability, in your ill-mannered choice of words. I can assure you that you do not fully comprehend the term “retarded” because if you did you would not use it. You could be making fun of people with a disability (or without) by using this term and one day you end up in an accident which places you right with those type of people you were just demeaning, now how do you feel? Or perhaps one day you have children and you are blessed with a beautiful child of God who is disabled. Would you want someone to use this word about your child who could not defend themselves? I think not. So next time you decide you want to use the word “retarded”, think about your freedoms to be able to think, speak, and act as you wish and CHOOSE a word more defining to your situation rather than demeaning a group of incredible people who CHOOSE to be fighters and persevere through your ignorance.


If you would like to support those with disabilities and fight for their inclusion and elimination of the R-word, I encourage you to visit www.r-word.org and sign their pledge. I always tell my students at the beginning of the year how I feel about this word, and as far as I am concerned it is just as bad as any other cuss word out there.

Preparing for the big day!

I am so excited to start teaching in my OWN classroom! Over the summer I have been compiling and creating things for my class. I have found a multitude of amazing blogs and ideas on Pinterest (that site is amazing!) I have made an Absent Box, which holds two weeks worth of assignments so the students are responsible for retrieving their own work. I will provide them with a sheet that tells them the instructions but they need to get their own assignments out of the box.

I have also made the infamous Teacher Toolbox, I got the inspiration from Fun in Room 4B (an awesome teacher blog). I used her template (found here) to fit my needs, however you need to be aware that unsharpened pencils and some markers/highlighters/pens will not fit as the length of the individual boxes are not sufficient. I did not know this until I created mine. I found mine at Walmart Online, it is red casing, but you can find black as well. I am told you can find them at Ace Hardware and Lowes. It is labeled as "Stack-On 22 Bin". As you can see I have a red and blue theme going here, I am totally a KU fan through and through ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK! :)

Lastly I am starting to compile some wall art. Again, I have to credit Pinterest for this lovely idea. I think it is personal for the students and they feel appreciated and loved to see this daily. I created mine in Publisher and saved it as a JPG file. I printed it poster size 12''x18'' (same day) at Walmart for $8.86. Not a bad price for same day and personalized. I don't know about you, but I cannot go into Walmart without finding something I think I need for my classroom!

Banana Ice Cream

Summer, 'tis the season for ice cream. If you are like me and enjoy an ice cream here and there, or everyday if I am truly being honest, and if you like bananas then you are in for a treat. I have a love-hate relationship with said Ice Cream, love it for it's yummy goodness but, hate what it does to my girlish figure. I cannot even qualify fat free ice cream as an "ice cream" as it is usually more ice than cream, I shudder at the thought.

On another note, Bananas, also a love-hate relationship. I love them when they are fresh off their tree, where the peel is still a tad green. Then, the days go by and the ugly brown spots start popping up and the instant gag reflex kicks in.... gross. However, I hate to waste them and yet, my girlish figure (yet again) would thank me to not make banana bread, as I would probably be the only one eating it in this house. So here lies my prediciment, cannot eat the delicious creamy substance my children so love, and I cannot eat the browning mush on my counter.... what to do?

LET ME TELL YOU! (no, I did not invent this, in fact, many people do this... how did I not know until now?)

First you cut up your bananas into slices and put on a plate, place into the freezer. Wait until the bananas are frozen before you remove them, this can take 20 min. or you can wait a few hours for best results. After the time has passed, take out your banana slices and place in a blender or food processor (which I use). Blend. At first it will be chunky, trust me, it will work. As you keep blending it will turn into a creamy ice cream like texture. You can eat it soft serve just like this or place into a bowl and freeze for 20 min. to get a thicker ice cream and it will not have that icy taste we fear with typical Non-Fat Ice Cream. 

Thats it. I promise, it is delicious. No sweeteners, artifical or otherwise, unless you want, such as honey. No fat... yes. No.Fat. Just pure wholesome goodness, just the way God intended. YUM. You can add to it, perhaps you are a peanut butter lover, like I, or coco, chocolate chips, coconut... what ever suits you. Not to mention the fact that the kids love it too, I just became the cool mom... Yummy, check. Toppings, check. Healthy, check (shh.. don't tell, it's our secret).

No need to thank me, just enjoy  ;o)