first day of school

a wise, wise woman once said:

“I love the second grade… It’s so much better than first grade where you don’t know what’s going on, and definitely better than third grade with all the politics and the mind games.” –Phoebe Buffay

happy first day of school, friends! 

Monday Made It: August 4

{one}

see the difference?! the entire thing is done now, don't you worry!

Ok, so we did not actually make the fence. A kind gentleman who spoke primarily español did all of the construction (and did a fantastic job, if I do say so myself!), and then quoted us a pretty high number to seal it. Both B & I decided that was a project we could take on ourselves to save some money, so we marched up to Home Depot, purchased materials and weather sealed that bad boy. BY HAND. 

...until I realized that a sprayer is less than $20 (and our brushes were like $9 each...) and picked up one of those to use on the second coat. We worked two days + one morning with my darling father and sister on staining/sealing/whatever, and both days it was well over 95 degrees. Probably closer to 105. Brutal. And of course, we did it between like noon and 5pm each day. The whole time, I told B that when we list the house I am FOR SURE insisting that the phrase "hand-sealed fence" be added in. His response every time was a variation of "Um, we'll see when the time comes..."

{two}

My second project of the week is my teacher planner/organizer/binder. I mentioned in my August Currently that I am fighting off mild feelings of panic and overwhelmingness about my classroom. 

Let me tell ya what: when I printed out that lesson planner and started filling it up with all of my grand schemes and plans for the sweet nuggets that will waltz into my room and demand that I fill their heads with knowledge (... a girl can dream, right?) I felt better. This is what it's all about y'all. My classroom will come along. It will be reasonably acceptable by the time school starts. BUT my kiddos will have things to learn and do that are super fun and engaging and they will all become a part of our classroom community because I will be intentional about it. That, my friends, is the part that I am truly jazzed about. 

Back to the "MADE IT" part: (which again, I didn't actually make BUT I did put together!) Check out this cutie planner from A Modern Teacher. I am loving it. I downloaded one from her last year, but it just didn't fit my needs as a special education teacher so I rarely used it. Nothing against the planner- it was awesome!* I couldn't find the file from last year to reuse it, and I just loved the new colors and patterns + I wanted the forms that matched so I went ahead and bought this year's version. I put it in a 2" binder (overkill? We'll see...) and I really like the way it looks. I also like the options I have for layout, and I LOVE the small group planning sheets. 

*If you are a multi-age/multi-group special ed teacher, I might recommend this guy. I haven't used it, but it would have been a MUST HAVE for next year if I stayed at my last job. It looks like everything I was missing in my life and more.

#healthyteacher: Bountiful Baskets

Y'all, I had the best experience picking up my Bountiful Basket last Friday! The whole pick up process ran like a well oiled-machine, and I really think the baskets are going to a) make it easier for me to eat healthier during the school year and b) push my boundaries when it comes to cooking! I got the "conventional basket", and for $15 it came with:

-6 bananas

-5 figs

-a large bag of seedless red grapes

-7 limes

-4 large navel oranges

-8 tomatoes

-1 head of lettuce (cabbage?)

-4-5 radishes

-1 clamshell of cherry tomatoes

-1 large avocado

-2 heads of broccoli

-1 box of mushrooms

I also ordered a bag of cherry pecan granola (an extra fee, of course, but it came with TWENTY-EIGHT servings), which I immediately began putting into portion control ziplocs because it is SO delicious that I would not be able to stop chowing down if I ate out of the big bag. 

Apparently there was another someone in the house who enjoyed the process almost as much as I did...

My meal plan for the coming week looks like this to try to accommodate some of the fruits/veggies that I received:

How do you maintain healthy eating habits during the year?! Let me know!

currently: august

thanks to farley for another fun month of currently! (:

SERIOUS QUESTION: do we think 2nd graders could handle doing a monthly 'currently' in the classroom?

My ridiculous feline has been running laps around our house all morning. Not sure what has gotten into her, but I can hear her little feet scrambling on the tile as she rounds the kitchen...

I am loving that there is Someone with a greater plan than I have. I had all sorts of grand plans to round out my summer and they fell through, but Praise the Lord that happened because I found out that I basically start work in two days! I would have been in major panic mode trying to get home (driving from Florida to Texas!) in time to make that happen! I just have to keep reminding myself to trust trust trust

All that being said, I am thinking about making lists to calm myself. I will be attending the LETRS training for the next two weeks + New Teacher Orientation, and our school closes at 4pm everyday soooo I pretty much have one full day, and then parts of days during teacher inservice week to finish my classroom and get ready for school to start in there. WOAH. Lots of stuff is done, but I have lots of things left to do, too. I know it will all come together, but sometimes I feel a little panic-y...

...and then I remember what the real deal is. If my classroom isn't Pinterest-worthy, IT'S OK because I will love my students more than I will love a perfectly designed and decorated bulletin board. Seriously cannot wait to meet this group of hooligans! I'm going to honestly say (and maybe step on some toes here... yikes! bear with me!) that right now, at the beginning of a new job and new school and new district and new class and new grade... looking at precious blogs and Pinterest boards kinda stresses me out more. I feel like there is a bar set, a standard for how my room needs to look and function and if I am below the cut, my kids will run screaming from the room and refuse to learn. 

BUT, what I have to keep reminding myself is that these awesome bloggers/pinners are putting on display the work they are proud of (as well they should!), but there are likely behind the scenes things that they still have to improve on. I'm trying to focus on 1-2 things per day that I am proud of, and then keep adding the extras to the list!

I kinda basically start work this coming Monday... I have a Monday-Thursday training for the next two weeks, plus an orientation on the second Friday, and then teacher inservice week starts. I'm not sure it has hit me yet that my summer is over.......

Five For Friday: AUGUST 1

First of all... check out the post title^^^^ AUGUST. What the heck just happened?

{one}

I ended up sadly having to scratch the road trip I was planning on because my darling father got saddled with jury duty. I am quite upset that I won't get to see the sweet friend I'd planned on staying with in Alabama this summer, buttttt: Blessing in disguise, because I found out that 1) I do have get to attend a two week literacy training (LETRS, anyone?) STARTING ON MONDAY 2) I was able to start working in my classroom this Monday.

{two}

Speaking of classroom, my darling father and my sister hauled it down here to help me work in there a little bit. I hate covering bulletin boards. I think it is the worst. But they have a beautiful method so I let them go to town butcher papering all of those bad boys. My crafty little sister also freehanded this mug for me. Is she the stinkin cutest or what?!

{three}

I have been doing shockingly well with balance in my diet [not diet as in "only drink cinnamon fire water three times a day with only vegetables and hot dogs to eat"... just my general eating habits]. I've been able to splurge on summer trips a little, but reign it in enough to still have even dropped a couple more pounds past my ending 24 Day Challenge weight! Woohoo! I am headed down to pick up my Bountiful Basket this evening (Click the link if you haven't heard of it- seriously a really cool endeavor, especially if you live in no-man's land like me). It's my first experience, so review to come... but I'm hoping for lots of delicious fruits & veggies that will help keep this healthy train rollin!

{four}

This recipe for baked french toast is delicious and awful for you... but mostly delicious. I first made it in mass quantities while I was cooking on the middle school mission trip I helped run last week AND THEN I made it yesterday morning for breakfast since my dad and sister were in town and there were actually enough people in the house to eat a full sized recipe AND THEN I cried tears of joy while I ate it with my side of turkey bacon. It's all about portion control, right? Or something like that.... OMG delicious. Still drooling over it a little bit.

{five}

To quote some of my favorite bloggers and teenage drama queens: I JUST CAN'T EVEN... this shirt... Perfection I tell ya. I have added it to my not-so-secret wish list for birthday gifts, etc. pinterest board and will likely purchase it even before a holiday opportunity arrives. Check out this precious little etsy store for more!