Sunday Scoop 7/26/15

Happy Sunday everyone!!!!! Time to link up with the Teaching Trio for Sunday Scoop!!

 Catch a glimpse at my upcoming week and share yours!!!

Have to do:
*We got an email on this week that made me WAY to excited! We are allowed to go back into our classroom THIS WEEK!!!!! I am heading in first thing Monday at 7 am to unpack my car and get started setting up my room! I cannot wait!!! I have so much to do (I obviously have a list and schedule started)!!
*I also need to finish printing and laminating my classroom decor! I decided that this year I was going to create all of my decor myself. It was a lot of labor, but SO worth it! I can't wait to hang everything up and see it come together!
*After a summer full of sitting inside and creating things due to weather and then the occasional pool day, I am finishing my nannying this week! It was fun while it lasted, but this girl is ready to get her head back into the game!

Hope to do:
*I hope to get a manicure and pedicure to pamper myself a little bit after my summer of nannying and before I start to get too stressed from unpacking and setting up my room!
* I also hope to get my pants to the dry cleaner. I live less than two miles away but for some reason, the pants are still sitting in my car!

Happy to do:
*I am happy ECSTATIC to help celebrate my little Beyonce/cherry blossom/pretty princess/Haitian Sensation/ JOEY! After only a few short months in the United States, my little girl is turning 3!! She has blossomed so much and is such a character! I am lucky and blessed to be able to be a part of this girls life and can't help but thank Beginnings with Baer for letting me be involved!!!

Don't forget to link back up!! I can't wait to read what is happening for your week!

Five for Friday!!

Happy Friday!!! Once again, it is time to link up Doodle Bugs Teaching with for Five for Friday linky party!!! I don't know about you but these weeks seem to be FLYING by!!

This week I feel like so much has happened!!! I love getting to reflect back and check out the highlights of my and YOUR week!!!!!

The launch of Kinder Tribe Collab blog happened!!!! I am so excited to be a part of 16 authors who will be posting weekly through this amazing blog. Not only that, but there will be a post a week written by one our amazing Kinder Tribe teachers from our facebook! Our tribe has been SUCH a supportive, positive, and exciting group to be a part of and to collaborate with!!!!! Stay on the lookout for more Kinder Tribe posts!!!! We also have AMAZING giveaways so head over to enter when you finish linking up! Trust me, you don't want to miss out!! #findyourtribe

I got my first NAEIR order!!!!! If you haven't signed up for their teacher program, GO DO IT!!! For my first order I didn't go too crazy, but I did score two Scotch Pro laminators for 20 dollars! Now I will keep my original at home, take one to work, and share the other with a friend!! I can't wait to go back at look at some more goodies to get!!!

I got to spend QUITE a few days at the pool finally. It has not been a sunny summer so every chance I get to go to the pool, I take!!!!! It's safe to say I am making up for the lack of sun glow I had!

I went to do a little retail therapy last night AND got my shipment of Piko shirts!!! Check out the adorable new bag I scored for quite the discount at TJ Maxx!! Can you tell I was feeling stripes??? If you haven't tried Piko shirts, you need to!! Their shirts are SO comfortable, loose, and easy to pair with anything!! They had a great sale going on (25% off of total order!!!!) so I may have gone a little crazy! 

We got news that we can go into our school starting at 7 next week!!! Since I am nannying everyday at 11, I am going to be able to knock out a few hours in the AM before heading off for one, final vacation for the summer!!

Thanks for checking out my week!!!! Can't wait to see how yours was!! Don't forget to link back up :)

All About This Kindergarten Teacher: Kinder Tribe Linky!

It is day TWO of the amazing kickoff of our Kinder Tribe Blog!!! If you haven't already entered to win some AMAZING giveaways, be sure to head back to Our Kinder Tribe Launch Giveaway and enter after you link up!!!

We decided to do a fun linky that would involve all kindergarten teachers! Our tribe is one that builds on being connected, motivated, and inspired by each other. We get to share our stories and advice and in return receive support and positive vibes!  We have a bond that CAN'T be broken! After all, we are the ones who get to tie shoes, get called 'Mom', and wipe noses. However, we also get to teach children how to READ, WRITE, AND SPELL. If that isn't phenomenal and rewarding, I don't know what is!

Our link up is a fun 'Kindergarten Favorites' that will help everyone to learn more about each other and bond over the amazingness that is being a kindergarten teacher!

I don't know a teacher that could live without caffeine!! If I haven't had my soda for the day, steer clear ;) The pen aisle in any store is heaven to me! I could spend hours looking at the type of ball point, colors, etc!!! And don't get me started on Mr. Sketch markers!! I have a major girl crush on Deanna and DeeDee. When I met them last Spring I panicked asking for a picture!! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing kinder babes grow SO much in the months we have them! Plus their hugs are worth more than our paycheck!

If you haven't linked up yet, head over to Kinder Tribe Blog grab the image and link up!!!! Can't wait to hear about your favorites!!!

Donors Choose: Bringing Technology into the Classroom!

I always say to challenge myself...
So I am taking some risks!!! I decided that this year, I really want to aid my students in every way possible, therefore, I have teamed up with Donor's Choose to get some iPads for my classroom! As a second year teacher, I am seeking the help of others to make my students and my own dreams come true!

If you haven't heard of Donor's Choose, check out the link! It is an amazing organization that sponsors teachers in requests for classroom needs. They find people who are willing to donate their money to support teachers across the world!!

I am so thrilled to have this chance to bring technology into my room! I have so many ideas that I want to use these iPads for. For example, I received a year subscription to Showbie and would be able to use these iPads for center assignments as well as assessments! My students would be able to listen to stories, practice reading and math, and take AR tests. Students would be able to become independent as well as completely engaged.

My goal this year is to keep my students actively engaged and excited to learn. Through having these iPads available for centers, I am hoping to be very successful with my goal!

Please visit my Donor's Choose page : Bringing Technology into the Classroom!!

And share with anyone you think would be up for donating :) Any amount is appreciated!! For SEVEN days, every dollar donated will be DOUBLED!!!! That's right, even the smallest amount will be :)

SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!!!

Kinder Tribe!

I am SO excited to be a part of a tribe, especially my Kinder Tribe!! When Angie from Lucky Little Learners and Ashley from Schroeders Shenanigans in 2nd introduced the idea of a tribe, I was immediately intrigued!! Nothing sounded better than being able to meet, connect, and share ideas and advice with other kindergarten teachers throughout the world! The response was overwhelmingly awesome and soon, all grades, states, and areas of study seemed to have tribes! Our Kinder Tribe has been amazingly active sharing sweet deals on school supplies, crafty ways to decorate the classroom, and awesome ideas to help each other. There is a positive energy and I feel nothing but motivation and inspiration reading and chatting with all of the wonderful people.

Our Kinder Tribe decided to do more than just have a facebook page to connect, we wanted to write and post about our adventures in Kindergarten. So, Kinder Tribe Blog was started!!! Thanks to the AMAZINGLY talented Yukari from A Pinch of Kinder, we had a blog design and button within 48 hours! We started piecing everything together and TODAY the collaborative blog becomes active :)

We have 16 admin who you can check out under the About Us tab above! We are also doing Feature Fridays where we will feature ANY kindergarten teachers who sign up, so make sure you are on the Kinder Tribe Facebook Page!!!!!! We are beyond excited to have everyone involved and We are so excited to start our journey sharing classroom ideas and more!

To kickoff our collaborative blog, we are doing a HUGE giveaway.
We have amazing gift certificates, bundles, clip art sets, and more!! Head on over to Kinder Tribe to enter!!!

Don't forget to follow us on Bloglovin to keep updated :)

Sunday Celebrating!

So excited to be linking up with Kellee from Stomping Through First for Sunday Celebration! What a fun idea to reflect on your past week's celebrations!

This Sunday I am celebrating my FRUGAL FRIDAY pickups! My teaching bestie and I set aside a day to spend shopping for our classrooms. We had only three catches: comfy shoes, coupons, and CASH ONLY! We are working on keeping a budget and not spending hundred and hundreds of dollars on our classroom. We set a time limit of 3 hours and started our hunt!! 

Our first stop (besides getting our caffeine) was to the School House (our locally owned teacher supply store). Luckily, we each had gift cards with some good amounts of money that I walked out without spending any of my own money! I got some borders, stamps, pocket charts, and adorable mini file folders!

Next stop was the JoAnn's for some fabric for our bulletin boards! We got our fabric for $1.99 a yard AND had a 25% off the ENTIRE purchase! I bought 16 yards of fabric, ribbon, and 6 pounds of PolyFil stuffing for under $40!

      

At Party City, I got some lanterns to a hang and some tissue paper (under 10 dollars) and then we were on our way to Hobby Lobby! They had 1/2 off of ribbon and I have a SUPER fun project that I am making so I STOCKED up :) Be sure to stop by tomorrow for my Made It Monday ;)

 

Our final two stops were Walmart and the Dollar Tree! We went into Walmart and let's just say we made it clear we were teachers. Our cart had 8+ boxes of crayons (.50 cents), 80+ notebooks (.17 cents), markers, tubs, erasers, pencils, and I even got a backpack for fieldtrips because it was screaming my name (cheetah is my FAVORITE). Walking out with all of those goods for just $52 was a STEAL!!!! We walked our CELEBRATING!!! The Dollar Store was suffering a broken air conditioner so we made it a really quick in and out stop so that we could maintain  a normal oxygen level. I grabbed some cute containers for crayon boxes at our tables!

All in all, we had an AMAZING Frugal Friday and there is a lot to Celebrate this Sunday! Both of us are so excited and ready to start the decorating phrase of our classroom transformation! Make sure to check back to see all of these amazing finds come to life in the classroom!!

Thanks for reading about my Celebration Sunday!! Don't forget to link up and share your awesome week!!!

Setting Goals OUTSIDE Your Comfort Zone!

You know that comfort zone that you live in? The one where you kind of stick to a routine and don't push yourself to try too many new things? The one that is safe and doesn't make you work too hard? Trust me, I live for comfort zones. In fact, I find that comfort zone and I hibernate in it!!!

Time for that to change!

I started blogging... well I signed up for a blog last year. I kind of would post every once in awhile when I felt like it. I followed hundreds of other bloggers and soaked up so many ideas. I eventually set up my teaching Instagram and began to follow all of my blogger obsessions (ie: Deedee Wills and Deanna Jump). It wasn't until March that all of the sudden I woke up thinking, "what the heck girl! Why aren't you doing anything with your social media? You LOVE what you do so why not show it?!' (It was like those commercials for V8 when someone gets bonked for not having their veggies)

I think that I was so wrapped up in the idea that I was just a first year teacher in Central Illinois. I didn't think it would make a difference if I wrote my blog post or just mentally reflected. I didn't think people would want to follow me. I'm not anything special!! Once I started my weekly and then daily Instagram and Blog posts, I was on a high. I was happy, felt even more passionate, and sought more opportunities to meet some of the AMAZING people that I was connecting with! I attended a Blogger Meet Up in Indiana where I fell in love with the blogging world. After sitting through round tables with Deedee and Deanna, The Kindergals, and many more, I was just shocked. The amount of inspiration and motivation that I gained from that day was insane!!

As soon as I got home I got to goal writing. Before I was not comfortable posting about my blog because I didn't think anyone would care or would read it. I decided that it doesn't matter if 2 people read it or 40 people read it. I wasn't necessarily doing it for them. I was doing it for me! I gained more confidence the more I pushed myself. I started to post routinely first weekly and then daily!

I can't tell you how AWESOME it feels to be able to post on Facebook, Instagram, Blogger, and now Periscope about things I do in my classroom, new ideas, seek advice, and share my experiences with everyone with confidence!!!! And the best thing is, PEOPLE READ THEM!! This community of teachers SUPPORTS you and is EXCITED to see you grow and help push/encourage you! It is absolutely welcoming. There is nothing besides positivity and happiness that fills my Instagram feed and all the comments are so motivating! I finally took the leap and I don't regret it for a second!!! My whole attitude has changed and I can't wait to continue to grow and connect!

I have met so many truly compassionate and inspirational people through pushing myself. The social media platforms have allowed my introverted personality to blossom and I am less self conscious in myself. I no longer fear that people will tell me I am not good or my ideas are flawed (no one in this teacher world has anything but nice and encouraging things to say) I look forward to reading comments and getting to know the amazing teachers that I follow. It is so rewarding and the more I push myself, the happier and more motivated I become :)

I am challenging you to make some goals that push yourself. Set some goals that challenge you to go beyond that comfort zone. It can be scary, but it will always be scary until you try it!

Tell All Tuesday: If My Life Was a Reality Show it would be Called....

Happy Tuesday!!!

Linking up with Diana from My Day in K and Jayme from Teach, Talk, Inspire for the fun Tell All Tuesday!!!! I always get excited about this link up because they are so creative in their topics! You never know what to expect, but you always know  it is going to be fun! This week the theme is one that I know most people would get a kick out:  If My Life was a Reality Show it would be Called... C'mon, who is not a fan of at LEAST one good reality show!?!?! I am not going to lie, I have thought about this kind of thing a few times.

Now this is a topic that I LOVE but had a hard time coming up with!! I wanted to pick a name that was original and described me but all that I could come up with were terror episodes of True Life or silly versions of Keeping up with the Kardashians! After much thought I finally settled on show (trust me, it was like this was actually going to be a real show)!

Coming this Fall 2015: 

Yes, my show would be called: Car Karaoke. You might be asking yourself: why one earth would you name a show that? Well I spend a LOT of time in my car. I have a brother and teaching bestie that I visit often in a town 20-25 miles away so that is a good hour drive back and forth. I nanny/chauffeur and make daily trips to Target and the Dollar Store. Sometimes I just want to go for a drive! I enjoy my peaceful time in the car, but not without putting on a show!

I love to sing/dance. There is nothing like putting on a good jam and belting your heart out. When I get in my car, the performance starts. The best part is that it can pretty much be any music. Country, pop, rap, oldies, you name it, I will sing it. Now as a performer (I have actually never performed anything besides 8th grade cheerleading) there is no singing without some GREAT moves to go with. Some great jams accompanied with hand gestures, head movements, and some killer air drum and guitar skills are all you need to have a concert in your car!

*Disclaimer* I never said I was good.

My show would allow you the opportunity to follow me on a drive where you would get to see my inner Diva come out. Let's get one thing out there: My alter ego is Beyonce. Without. A. Doubt. Put on some Single Ladies and my jeep is jamming!! I have a playlist on my phone that has every genre on it and you better believe I go all out for each song. I know for a fact when other cars see me at stoplights they wish they were in my car. Either that or they think I am crazy. I get so fired up and from a good karaoke session, I know I can take on the day.

A few songs I recommend for a good karaoke session:

Single Ladies: Beyonce (ANYTHING by the Queen B actually)

No One: Alicia Keys

Lose Yourself: Eminem

Sugar: Maroon 5

Gun Powder & Lead: Miranda Lambert

Days Go By: Keith Urban

Only the Good Die Young: Billy Joel

I am not sure the ratings of my show would be excellent, but I can guarantee you would get a good laugh at it :)

Thank you for checking out my preview and tune into the other bloggers reality shows by linking up!!!

One Lovely Blog Award!

I am so flattered to announce that I have been nominated by Sarah from Shine on in First Grade for the One Lovely Blog Award! This is only a few months after I have really gotten into the blogging world! I started my blog back in October, but kind of stayed back and stalked instead of digging in. Now I can happily say I am LOVING it and OBSESSED with it! I have been fortunate to meet and connect with so many amazing teachers from all over the world. I have never been so inspired and motivated!

I will share a little about me before I send the love on!!

1. I live in Dunlap, IL and have only attended private school preschool-college.

2. I went into teaching thinking I would be a middle school teacher (what?!?!?!) I never would have said I would like primary grades and now I cannot imagine not being with my little rays!!

3. I have a large Irish family. We spend at least one dinner together each week that consists of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins,etc. It is always a good time!

4. I worked at an ice cream store for eight years. I learned how to deal with crazy people (kind of a prep for teaching ;) ) and how to make DELICIOUS ice cream!

5. I love running. I have started participating in races and am about to do my second half marathon. There is something that is refreshing and therapeutic about running outside!

6. I just got my first pet at the age of 23 and I love my little Max! He is only 6 months but his cuteness makes up for the 4:30 AM morning walks ;)

7. I am a very positive person and have a strong connection to my faith.

8. I hate bacon and hamburgers. My brother always tells me that I am not American but there is something about those foods that just doesn't work for me! It doesn't help that I am a very picky eater ;)

9) I can be extremely introverted but when it comes to teaching and making connections through social media I am trying to work on putting myself out there!!

10) I like everything to be organized and I love making lists!

Again, I want to say a HUGE thank you to for nominating me, Sarah! I cannot wait to continue blogging and connecting with more of you throughout the year!

I would like to nominate:
Jill from Chevron and Centers
Erin from Kindergarten Dragons
Rachael from Sweet Sweet Primary
Breanna from A Pinch of Primary

Thank you for reading and be sure to check out the lovely ladies above :)

Sunday Scoop!

Happy Sunday my teacher friends!!!!!! Am I the only one on a social media high??? This past week has kind of been a blur as I have been diving into all things techy: instagram/twitter/facebook/periscope!! Let me just take a minute to say how genuinely awesome making connections is :) I am floating on a cloud of happiness right now!!!

I am linking up Teaching Trio with for Sunday Scoop!! Take a peek at my week!!

Have to do:

-I have to get my car cleaned. I have done a pretty good job with my keeping it clutter free, but with nannying I need to vacuum it out and wipe it down!!

-I have to do laundry (The pile is getting a little crazy!!!) 

-I also have to finish getting my classroom setup plan done! I have a lot of my details planned and just have a few minor things to figure out!!

Hope to do: 

-I hope to do another periscope because CMON they are amazing!!!! There is something that goes with showing your face that is kind of uplifting and a weight off of your shoulder. I have been able to watch some AMAZING teachers on this app and totally recommend it if you don't have it yet! Huge shoutout to Angie from Lucky Little Learners and Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd for kicking it off!! 

-I also hope to get my hair done! I am ready to add a bit more blonde to it. Loving the ombré effect (I know I am a little late to the trend!!)

Happy to:

-I would LOVE to make more connections!! Meeting and collaborating with other motivated teachers is so refreshing and inspiring!! Makes my heart oh so happy!!

Thank you for taking a peek at my week!!! Don't forget to go link up!!

Five For Friday!

Linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching this week for the ever so fun Five for Friday!!! It is crazy that we are already back to Friday. I don't even want to look at the calendar because next thing you know, school starts!!!

This week has been full of fun and productivity (which I am NOT always good at doing!!!) It must be the CONSTANT cloudy/rainy weather that has kept me away from the outdoors and has forced me to work. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise?? Yeah...we will go with that!!

Love me a holiday weekend!! I spent my Fourth of July laying out by the pool and finally catching some rays after what seems like a year of clouds and rain! It was such a relaxing day. I ended the holiday watching the fireworks on our riverfront with some of my college friends. I can't remember the last time I just went and watched them. You can count on me being there next year because boy oh boy, they were beautiful!!!

I got all of my centers and units planned out, printed, and laminated!! All that is left for me to do is organize them in tubs according to month! It feels like such a relief to be heading into this year already feeling on top of things. I know that there will be things I am unprepared for (as always!) but I can at least say I feel very confident about this year!!

I got some GREAT bargains at Michaels on my favorite storage pieces! I love when I see that pretty 40% off sign next to the recollections storage ;) I also picked up a few fun things for my classroom that I will be able to use in centers!

I started back on my 21 Day Fix. I have gotten out of my healthy eating habits and decided it was time to get a handle on my nutrition before school starts. It also helps that the workouts are short and sweet! The best part of 21 Day Fix is that I get all the veggies and proteins that I usually miss because I eat whatever is around. Time to get back on track!!

I joined the TECHY world of teaching!!! This week I have joined Periscope, twitter, and have been all over Instagram making connections, learning new things, and pretending I am in Vegas!!!! (shoutout to Angie from Lucky Little Learners and Ashley from Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd for doing periscope throughout their time!!) I absolutely love that all of these social media platforms allow SO much interaction between amazing teachers. If you haven't gotten into Periscope, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!! It is live feed from the people you follow that introduces you to new topics, can serve as a Q & A, and allows you to experience things you are not present for! Plus you get to comment. IT. IS. AMAZING!!! 

Follow me on instagram and Periscope to connect and share awesome ideas!!

Periscope: MissKsLittleRay

Instagram MissKsLittleRays

Happy Friday ya'll!!! Can't wait to see how your weeks played off :) Don't forget to link back up!!

Thoughtful Thursday

What a week! I know the week isn't over, but between stalking TpT Vegas on Instagram and keeping up with my life, I am exhausted!! Just from the pictures I can assure you all I WILL BE THERE NEXT YEAR!!!! It is a must :) I love being able to take a little look back at my week and reflecting!

This week I have gotten quite a bit accomplished!! I feel very successful at this point! I have gone through ALL of my centers and word work packets to see what I have and what I need. From there, I have sorted them into season (fall, winter, spring) and even further sorted them into specific genres (ie: Math: Number Recognition, ELA: CVC Short A). It was a ton of work that some may call boring but I was actually really enjoying it! I was recovering things I hadn't used or I totally forgot about. It definitely got me excited for this upcoming year!! I now know what to look for on TpT and what I have A LOT of!!!

One thing that I dove into this week that is out of all my comfort zones is get TECHY!!! With much persuasion from Nicole (Beginnings With Baer), I joined the Teacher Twitter world which I am pretty comfortable with, but I also joined in on Periscope!! I am totally a newbie when it comes to that, but so far what I see is LOVE!!!!! I have been virtually living in Vegas with all of the amazing teachers through this app. It is a live video feed that can be watched from thousands of miles away!! I am planning to spend a few days looking at both social platforms and learning more about them so that I feel confident using them! I cannot waiiiiiit to use these apps to their fullest potential this year!! Just another way that social platforms are allowing teachers to connect and be even more awesome!

Twitter: @MissKsLittleRay
Periscope: @MissKsLittleRay

^Follow me!!

I also have been working really hard on creating all of my own classroom decor. I really wavered in between two color schemes for a long time and finally went with my gut! More on the specifics later ;) I have set out to create (from scratch!!!) my own bundle of classroom fun! I sat down and made a list of everything I needed: alphabet cards, number posters, birthday wall, going home posters, etc. Today I dedicated my day to putting them together! It was so fun to see the creation coming alive before my eyes. It wasn't the easiest (ask Nicole) because I texted her and sent her previews about 40x) but I truly enjoyed it!! I can now visualize what my classroom is going to look like and I am LOVING it!!!

My last 'to-do' for this week is to finalize my summer bucket list! There has been so many things that I have already done that are cluttering my Pinterest board up! Tonight I am going to make a fresh new board and pin only the things that I know I am going to do!! Or at least I am going to try to keep it cleaned up ;) I just know that when I start pinning I kind of become a MONSTER (ya'll know what I am talking about!) and next thing you know, there are 100 new pins. I am going to keep this one tamed and limit it to only the things that I truly will make. It will be like my visual and online checklist!!

I hope your weeks are going smoothly! And if you are in Vegas I am trying to hide my jealousy but it is NOT working too well :)

Tuesday Tell All: Top Ten List

I love Tuesdays! Why you ask?? Because of the amazing linky party hosted by My Day in K and Teach, Talk, Inspire!! What better way to start the day and to connect with other awesome teachers than to share random facts, hobbies, and advice???

This week we are talking about our top ten things we have learned from teaching! I love this idea! Sharing advice and lessons learned is one of the best parts of connecting with all you amazing teachers! 

Well folks, there is only one year under this teacher's belt, so this list will be ever changing, but for now, check out my top ten!!!

1. Stay positive. There are too many people out there who will try to ruin your spirit. Don't let them. Share your excitement with your students and shut the door if you have to to keep the negative from coming in!

2. FIND A MENTOR. I am SO thankful for having the best mentor who ALSO happens to be at my school. There was nothing more comforting then getting moved to a school and having someone who was 100% there for me from the get go. My mentor pushes me to be a better teacher, encourages me to try to things, and is my therapist when things go wrong. Not sure how I would have survived year one (and all the years to follow) without her :)

3. Don't forget to have fun! Whether it is dancing to GoNoodle with your kids, singing silly songs, or going out with your coworkers, let yourself have time to be silly or to have fun. It took me a little bit to realize that it is okay to be goofy with your kiddos. They are FIVE years old!! Socializing with your coworkers is more fun than it sounds. They offer advice and some are funnier outside of work than you think ;)

4. Teaching is a HOBBY. To me, teaching doesn't start at 8:30 and end at 3:30. I didn't choose teaching because I knew I would get a chunky paycheck (duuuh). I chose teaching because it is my passion. Working with students, being creative, and having the energy and enthusiasm each day to see my little rays of sun makes me happy. 

5. Print your copies on Friday. This was something I started to do in the beginning of the year and kind of slowly drifted away from. There is no better feeling then walking into school on Monday morning and having your week ready in a basket. The hour after school Friday is WELL worth it :) Plus no one else will be at the copy machine!

6. Something didn't go right? Guess what! It is OK!!! News flash: You aren't perfect. Your kids know that (and 95% of the time won't even know something didn't work) Tomorrow is a new day so take a breath and start over!

7. It doesn't matter if it is before Labor day or after: if you teach in a primary school do not wear white. Unless your goal is to go home with some crayon/marker/kid/juice stains, your better off in any other color. 

8. Shave those legs! Sounds crazy right? Well as a kindergarten teacher, I spend a lot of time on the ground or in a chair right in front of my little rays. Bet you didn't know kids LOVE to touch you. Wait, you're all teachers so you knew! There was one day where I didn't think about shaving and wore capris. My little buddy was the first to touch my leg and say "Dang Miss K, why are your legs prickly?!"

9. If it isn't you, DON'T DO IT!!! *DISCLAIMER: I love Pinterest* There are so many ideas out there, however, and sometimes you may feel like you need to do them to keep your students engaged. If it is something you like and enjoy, giiiiirl rock it! I have run into the problem where I am trying to do something that I am not really comfortable with myself (ie: something I found at midnight and tried to do the following day) so the execution is poor. I think it is SO important to stay true to who you are in your teaching. When you are being genuinely yourself, your students know and are excited to learn from you!! If you do find something you like, take your time prepping it so that it is well worth it!

10. Those kids make it all worth it. Seriously. I didn't think I would finish my year and miss them. Your students are more than your students. They are YOUR kids. You want them to succeed. Whenever I have a bad day, I look at my class picture. Each of my little rays brought something different to our class. I love them like they are my own!!

I could add about fifty more things to the list, but after reflecting, here is what I came up with!! Thanks for viewing and make sure to link up!!!!

Monday Made It!

Happy Monday! You have to admit, Mondays aren't so bad in the summertime ;) After this holiday weekend, I definitely could have used a little extra sleep! My puppy did not agree, however, and was ready for a walk at 3:30 A.M. We are working really hard on potty training so I reluctantly got out of bed (and reminded myself that he was cute so don't be mad!!!) We crawled back into bed and slept for another few hours until it was a little more reasonable to start the day!!

One of my favorite parts about Monday is the Monday Made It posts!! If I ever feel a bit lazy, I am glad Monday rolls around and reminds me to make something ;) Today I made something that I have been dreaming of making but have been a bit too lazy to get around to doing: A Teacher Toolbox!!! I have seen the idea ALL over Pinterest and finally decided that it was time to make one!! 

I went to Lowes and bought a 22 drawer toolbox for only 16 bucks!! What a steal!! The only problem: the color. Not to be picky, but that workman's blue was just NOT going to do in my room! That being said, I bought a can of metallic spray paint (it took me about 20 minutes pacing in the paint aisle to pick). Before spraying I took out all of the drawers. I used two coats and let it dry.

I was contemplating creating my own labels (and someday maybe I will) but I did not want to measure and mess up on the size for the drawers. SO I headed over to Pinterest to find some labels! I grabbed an ADORABLE FREEBIE from Create Teach Share! My sister works at a printing company, so she printed them on sticker label paper and VOILA!! A Teacher Toolbox was created :) 

SO excited to fill it up with some goodies!!! I am tempted to make more because, c'mon HOW CUTE ARE THEY!!!

Sunday Scoop!

After this holiday weekend, I could definitely use some rest and relaxation! Love taking a glimpse of my upcoming week so that I know what I have coming up and enjoy seeing what everyone else is up to! Linking up Teaching Trio for Sunday Scoop!!!

Have: I have got to finish sorting out my units for the year and centers that go with it!! I am ready to get this year started ORGANIZED and without having to spend my Sunday nights finishing prep work!! I need to get Milo (my jeep) cleaned up!! With all the rain, my kids have tracked a bit of mud in! I can't wait to vacuum, spray, and wash my little blue beauty!! I am excited to get my posting on Blogger and Instagram on a daily basis! Las t week I posted about my July goals and so far, so good!! Can't wait to keep it up!

Hope: I hope to get to go to the pool and layout!! We have been missing the suns beautiful rays, so here's to hoping he is ready to shine! I also hope to find my sister's wedding dress! So far we have been to one shop and we are loving the process! A few more appointments this week and HOPEFULLY we will be saying YES to the dress!

Happy: I am happy to do some shopping!! With some hot and humid weather that I KNOW will be here for the beginning of the year (and for vacation!), I want to get some work appropriate yet functional clothes so I won't be dying of heat stroke the first week of school! Any excuse to shop is a good one, right ;)

Thanks for reading and don't forget to link up!!!