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!!!

Five For Friday!

Here we are again, another week has flown by and it is already Friday! You know what that means: time to link up for Five For Friday, hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching!!!!!

I went to an AMAZING blogger meetup in Chicago!! Thanks to My Day in K, Hip Hooray in K, and Once Upon A Classroom, I got to spend the afternoon at Maggiano's Little Italy chatting and sharing stories with some AWESOME teachers!! It was so fun to be able to meet new people (and people who I know from blog stalking!!). I love that blogging has connected me to so many fresh faces and teachers who are INSPIRING and PASSIONATE about their careers. It is just so rewarding to be a part of!

I spent a few of my days this week at the pool! I nanny Monday-Thursday for a family friend and when it is not raining, you can almost guarantee that we will be poolside! It was not the sunniest week, but hey, with almost 12 inches of rain this summer, I will take any chance to be outside!! Hoping for sunnier weather this week!

I baked about 4 dozen cookies this week! With a day off of nannying, I had plenty of time on my hands (kind of!) After I did all of my errands and worked out, I decided to surprise my mom with some of her favorites: peanut butter cookies! So I started baking. Then I thought about my grandpa (who lives across the street) and decided to make him some snickerdoodle. Next thing I knew, there was 4 dozen cookies sitting in front of me! Lucky for me, I am not a big cookie person and only had one...or two ;)

I read two awesome books! I made a point to get to the library this week and check out books because reading is something I love to do but never get there! I checked out 6 books and within two days, read two!! I HIGHLY recommend The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. It was such a good read!! It kept me involved and constantly thinking! Love a good mystery/thriller! I also am reading some James Patterson and Stephen King because I am a murder mystery kind of girl. I would LOVE some other suggestions though! Any genre :)

I planned my annual trip to Michigan!! My friend and I finally set the dates to head up to South Haven and spend a few days!! I cannot wait to get up there, take my mind off of everything, and just relax. It is always nice to get away from reality, even if it is just for a few days!!


Thanks for reading! Don't forget to linkup and share your week!!!!

Whatever Wednesday: July GOALS

I don't even want to look at the calendar. JULY ALREADY???? That means one month down and only one month and 13 days left to soak up as much sun as I can.

With the new month here, I decided to set some goals. What do I want to accomplish, both personally and work-wise?! I like to set goals because they give me something to push for. I love the school year because I have a routine, I know what I need to do and by when. That's where summer gets tricky for me! I have all this time in between nannying that I don't use as efficiently as I could be. So with that in mind, I made a list. I then revised it, made another list, decided I wanted a prettier color ink, and finally wrote the final list of July goals.

Goal 1: Blog and post on Instagram DAILY
I want to get in the habit of posting on my social media platforms more often. Even if it is a picture of my day and a blurb about what I did! I think making a schedule of what kind of topics and a time to post (especially during the year). One of the best things about blogs is that you can start your blog at anytime and post whenever you finish. If something comes to my mind at 2 in the morning, I can start to write about it to just get the idea out. I also just need to be more conscious of taking pictures of what I am doing. There are so many times I am like, "Oh, I want to blog about that!" or "What a perfect craft to post!" but then I realize that I didn't take a picture of it. Along with posting, I want to CONNECT.  I want to comment on other teacher's posts, offer my feedback, and get to know and share ideas with all of amazing teachers that are out there! I am going to start by commenting on at least 8 Instagram posts and 5 blog posts daily. I think this will get me used to and in the pattern of and from there I can hopefully be even more involved and connected!!!

Goal 2: Better Diet and Exercise
Raise your hand if you haven't been eating your best or working out as hard or often as you should since summer started. Anyone?? Yep that is me!! I normally have a pretty regular routine with what I eat and make weekly grocery lists of what I need for meal prep for the week. Once summer hit, however, I kind of resorted to whatever was around the house. In case you couldn't guess, it isn't the most nutritious food! So I am getting back on track by using my 21Day Fix nutrition program! As for the exercising- I blame the weather!! I am an outdoor runner. Love to run in the heat of the day. Problem? If you aren't from the Midwest, maybe you haven't heard about the amount of rain we have had. Let me tell you, it is like we live under a rain cloud. I have made it to the gym almost everyday that it has rained, but there are exceptions where I was 'too tired' or it was 'too icky' out. NOPE. Not any more! From now on, I am going to make sure I get my miles in everyday and hit the gym for weights at least 4 times a week!

Goal 3: Read More
I love books. Plain and simple. Hand me a good mystery book and you won't see me for 24 hours. I have always loved reading and I happen to read relatively fast, so I fly through books. There is nothing better than cozying up on my deck to read a book!! I haven't read near as many books this summer as I would like. I want to read fun books as well as professional development books! I want to continue to educate myself through reading new strategies and ideas that would be useful in my classroom. I am finishing the 55 Essentials by Ron Clark and preordered his newest book (which should be here by next week!!!!!!!!!) I want to read at least two other professional development books as well as a few other miscellaneous books!

Goal 4: Finish planning my units and centers
I want to head into the school year READY to go! I want to know exactly what I am doing in all subject areas. This will definitely be easier than last year because my team and I mapped out a year long curriculum guide that has our pacing guides and standards for each week. With this, I should be able to get the materials prepped and ready so that when it is time, I just have to pull them out and BOOM, we are ready to go! The amount of stress that this will reduce is unimaginable. The work to get it done this month will be SO worth the nights I don't have to be up until dawn making sure I have materials printed for the next day!!

These are four main goals I want to accomplish this month!!! I can't wait to check back in and see how I did (except when I check in, it will be time for school almost!!)

What are your July/summer goals?? I want to hear!!