Nautical bulletin!

So I've come to the conclusion that there defiantly needs to be a class on teacher crafting such as the copy machine(like all the little tricks), laminating, die cutting, and BULLETIN BOARD MAKING! It is so darn hard to put up a bulletin board! Even just getting that paper is hard! Those big things of paper do not cut easily. And then putting up the paper, jeezzzeee  you need atleast 3 hands, especially for a big board.

Well after about 2 hours (with help) I finally finished my first bulletin board! And obviously it nautical haha!

On the first day of school I plan on taking pictures of each of the kids and cutting out their faces to go on the boat!

DIY Nautical Pillow!

Check out what I just made for my classroom! As I've been planning my classroom out one thing I really wanted was a reading nook for my kids! I wanted a comfortable area for them to sit and enjoy books, so naturally pillows would do the trick. Well, come to find out, cute pillows can be quite expensive....sooo I planned to make my own. Well, fabric and stuffing happen to be quite expensive as well. So as I was getting frustrated with my pillow search I took a trip to Ikea with my parents. I found all of these pillows for 3.99 each! MUCH cheaper then it would have been to make my own. Their even machine washable!!! I picked out the red and blue to go with my nautical theme, I was unsure of white because of the almost guarantee of it showing a lot of dirt but I figure ill just through it in the wash more often. Then to add for of that nautical flair I added an anchor! Heres what I did:

To make sure my anchor was just right I took a regular old file folder and right at the crease traced out half an anchor, then I cut it out and unfolded it. This created a perfectly even anchor! I then used the stencil to trace out my anchor and with a little acrylic paint POOF! All done!

Calendar Time!

Its August Already?!?!

I cant believe its August! I mean I know we're a week in but I'm still telling myself it cant we true. For those of you gearing up for another school year I'm sure your rushing around like I am. As a first year teacher I'm trying to wrap my head around all the millions of things I need to do! There are todo lists EVERYWHERE around my house and classroom, in my car, you name it! 

Well, one of the things I need to do to set up my classroom is get a calendar set. Being the not so wealthy recent college grad I am I decided the only way to save is to make my own! and of course....it nautical! Check it out! After I made it all I did was print and laminate, attach a little velcro and tadaaaaa! All done!

If you like this set check it out at teacherspayteachers! 

Labels, labels, labels, labels, labels

With the school year fast approaching and creeping up behind us I've been busy organizing and labeling my classroom! (And yes even the labels are nautical) I always say it but its ALL ABOUT THE PRESENTATION. I have a small problem where if I pick a theme or have an idea its either has to be all or nothing, it great, but can sometimes be a problem. So here are my nautical labels! Check them out at My Store!

Squats for Dayyyyssss

Alright team! Now, since I graduated in May I've been sort of on this health kick/life style change journey. Following my childhood of athletics and physically fitness I went to school for 4 years where I continued to eat the way I always had (but probably worse) but left the active lifestyle behind. Between late nights out with friends, all nighters in the Library and social gatherings I began to develop a routine of eating not so healthy. Then when Student teaching came around I was so busy that i barely had time for anything and I ended gaining a lot of weight.  But now sine I've been home i've joined the gym again and have been eating clean! (for the most part) I mean I cant say no to the occasional FroYo.  But overall I feel much better, stronger, and healthier.

Now, heres where you come in. I just saw a clip of this guy on TV who runs triathlons. (so obviously he's like super physically fit right?) Well, he is. BUT he was on vacation and didn't have any of his equipment to workout with, so he just did squats. Within a couple days he said he saw huge results within his body, his biking and his running. So he started a website called 100squatsaday.com and he encouraged people to try 100 squats a day. Well this trend has apparently become all the rage. Sounds easy right? Apparently he does it under 2 minutes a day, a whole workout under 2 minutes? Im in! So I'm starting the 30 day challenge on August 1st! Who's in with me?

Planbook, a teachers lesson planning dream come true

Ok guys, this is literally the best kept secret when it comes to organizing your lessons. I was introduced to this by a cooperating teacher while student teaching and then shared it with other cooperating teachers and schools who later began using it as well! This sight is the perfect way to organize lesson plans and all things calendar related. This is perfect for elementary through high school when it comes to planning out your year, month, week and day.

Ok, so this is why its so great, and there are so many great things I'm just going to list them for you! 

• You can add all your important real life and school events! No school because of a holiday? Add it to your events and it blocks out the day for you!
• Color code you subject areas/classes! 
• Bump! Snow day? Sick day? No big deal! Just click bump and it bumps all your lessons a day later!
• Extend! The lesson took a little longer than expected? Your students need a little more time on this certain subject? Just click extend and the number of days you want to extend it and it pushes all your lessons for you!
• Unexpectedly out for the day? Or just want to share lessons? Send your lessons to another teacher using planbook! Export your lessons or even import theirs! select the days you want them and they slide right into you schedule!
• Export to PDF and Print either vertical or horizontally. By week, day, or month, even by subject or class!
• Attach files and printable you plan on using, this way next year you can just go back and get it! No more piles and piles of folders and binders with worksheets!
• ADD STANDARDS!!!! all the standards are listed right on the site for you! its easy! Just click and hit apply and they slide right into your plan! No more binders of standards or referring to the website! Common Core ad State Standards!
• Even Better, at any point in the year you can refer to the standards and see what you have taught, the number of times you've taught it andddd what you still need to teach! This way you can gage what you should be hitting on the most with you students! Amazing!!!!
  
  
  

(I just started adding them in)

Ok! So These are just a few of the amazing things planbook has to offer. Now, i know we're all thinking it."Yea it great, but what do I have to pay?" Well, im all about a great deal and I really think this is it! Your first month it FREE, so try it out! see how you like it, then after that its 12$ a year, thats 1$ a month! You really cant complain about that! PLUS if you have an .EDU email address or you do it with a group of teachers from your school you get a group discount! so then it would be even less then 12$ and honestly, you really cant beat that!

So there you have it, A teachers lesson planning dream come true! So utilize that free month and try it out!

#TbT

#tbt to when I was a little one! Yikes! Cant wait to believe ill be teaching little ones like this! Cant wait! check out the nautical get up, I guess its always been in my blood!

Whats the formula for PI?

 Blueberry that is!!

mmmmmmm...Look at those blueberries! I don't know about you (but im feelin 22 oooOooo), that AND Im totally obsessing over the yummy blueberries this summer! Its like I cant get enough! At home in NH we have a local farm we go to during the week and a local farmers market every saturday filled with fresh summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, strawberries AND BLUEBERRIES! Yummmmm. I 

find myself constantly craving these delicious things. Although they are absolutely mouth watering on their own I also found them to be the perfect fix for a sweet tooth! I few weeks ago for a family gathering I decided they would be perfect in a blueberry Pie! How American right? And just in time for the Fourth, I used a family friends recipe for the most amazing blueberry pie you've ever had! What makes this pie so amazing you may ask? Splenda, thats right I said it, SPLENDA. So of course in my mind this means I can eat as much as I want because its "healthy", well I guess its just healthier. The Splenda actually makes the blueberries less watery and keeps the pie more intact. Needless to say it was a hit and mysteriously disappeared. Heres the recipe! Let me know what you think!...Did I mention its all from scratch?

What you'll need

 Flour

 Oil

 Ice Water

 Splenda

Butter

BLUEBERRIES!

For the Crust:

(This will need to be doubled since you need 2 crusts) Blend 1 Cup flour and 1/4 cup oil. THen add 1/4 cup Ice Water. This is important, it must be ice water. Blend together and roll out. Lay crust on the bottom of pie pan. When Pie is filled take the second half of crust and lay on top.

For the Pie:

Mix 1 cup Splenda and 1/2 cup flour.  Fill the inside of you pie pan with bottom crust already in place with fresh blueberries. Take your splenda/flour mix and pour over blueberries. Add a few pats of butter.

After placing second half of crust on top, seal the sides and cut slits in the pie crust and dot with remaining butter.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until lightly brown at 400 degrees.

To add a little Pizzazzzzzz to your pie (because in my mind its all about presentation) create a cut out instead of slits to make it look fun and festive! Take a look at mine!

Cute Classroom Nameplates!

How on earth does she have time to start a blog you may ask? Especially with being a new teacher? Well the answer is I don't. BUT it so happens that I am visiting my family in Ohio aka my entire family had things to do this week and I'm home alone. And since I'm about 755 miles away from school I cant really go into my classroom to work. SO I've been filling my time with planning and creating labels and  things for my classroom. Did I mention the nautical theme? Here are a few of the nameplates I've been working on for my class! Navy, pink and green, my favorite colors! And there are 6 different variations to mix things up!

Nameplates: TeachersPayTeachers

Here we go!

Well, here goes nothing!

As a recent graduate and newbie in the adult world I have come upon the realization that everything is not as easy as it seems. The real world has a lot more price tags than what I like to call "the college bubble".  When your at school you don't have all those monthly expenses that come with living outside a dorm and most importantly, in the real world theres NO MEAL PLAN! One thing about me is I love food, which unfortunately is where much of my budget goes to.

Now, the one thing on a college graduates mind when they graduate is getting a job. There was no way to escape it since the only question I was asked for the past 10 months was "What are your plans for next year?" Well hallelujah! I have found a job! CHECK! In May I received my degree in Early childhood Education and soon after excepted a job in my hometown In a beautiful school and district! I am so fortunate! I had about 5 minutes of celebrating until the todo lists started and my mind was reeling with classroom ideas. Of course as any normal teacher, sorority girl, and wannabe chef/interior designer/event planner/fashonista would do...I went to Pinterest. From there my ideas started to grow and expand, I read many blogs and am now a frequent user of Etsy and TeachersPayTeachers. But then I realized that I could do that too! And what a great time in my life to start. As a beginning teacher/real world adult I can find affordable and helpful ways to help those similar to me!

So, in conclusion, over the course of this blog I will share with you my success's, some failures I'm sure and many, many of the creative, affordable things I am doing in my life and classroom!!