Sunday, July 31, 2011

Motivation Banners

The banners are finally done
Yea
More later on how these came to be and how they look in the classroom

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Blank Slate

I finally was able to work in my classroom today
I only did a little work
I know it does not look like much, but I did move the desk in to a horse shoe shape
I usually have desks grouped in fours, but I am going to try something new this year
Now all I have to add is a little life and color to these walls
One step at a time

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Teaching Necessities

There are little things in life that make your day go smoother
There are certain items that I cannot teach without
Dried fruit
Oatmeal
Water
B&BW Scent Bug
EOS chap stick
A jazzy ring
Spell check
Note book
B&BW Cashmere lotion
Peppermints
Breakfast is a must without eating in the morning my day is completely off
Water because teaching is non-stop talking
//I love putting lemon in my water...A student once mistaken my lemon for a fish\\
Dried fruit for an afternoon pick up
Peppermints because student's feathers are ruffled when I chew gum
//If I do have gum and they start complaining I tell them that I am teaching them the correct way to chew gum...they do not appreciate that\\
B&BWs Scent Bug because sometimes middle schoolers smell
A fun ring to wear on my finger
EOS lip balm
A note pad to write down my thoughts on what I want to accomplish
Spell check because spelling is not my favorite
A purple Pentel EnerGel pen that rocks and does not smear


I discovered this blog idea through Mrs. Hahn day dreams who has a lovely blog that I enjoy



Monday, July 18, 2011

Do these flowers smell?

I have been admiring these flowers for awhile, but have been too terrified to make them...until I saw this wonderful tutorial
I decided to turn these flowers into push pins for a cork board and magnets for the fridge
Here is how they turned out
 Fridge Magnets
I hot glued some felt to give it extra support
 Push pins
Now if I could only make these flowers smell
hmm

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Birchbox

I have been keeping a secret
Birchbox is a flat $10 monthly subscription that sends you 4 to 5 deluxe beauty samples plus a bonus item
These hot pink boxes ship out around the 10th-15th of every month

I have been receiving Birchbox since January and have loved every box
The products that you receive in your box is individualized 
There have been several full size items inside Birchboxes
//Stilla eyeshadow, Pangea chap stick, Laura Geller Blush-n-Brighten\\
In my opinion this is better than any magazine subscription
I have tried several beauty items with out paying a high price
plus finding a hot pink box in your mailbox is a wonderful surprise 
I hope you give Birchbox a try
For the July Birchbox I received
Korres rose showergel
Philosophy purity cleanser
Pur Minerals pressed mineral makeup
Redken shine flash
Kind almond & apricot

Thursday, July 14, 2011

1 stick, 2 sticks 3 sticks more

Well actually there is 6 sticks
//but whose counting\\

I ventured into the hot FL woods today to gather sticks for an upcoming project
I took with me a mini saw that I ever so carefully wrapped in a grocery bag
I was going to take scissors to break the sticks off, but glad that I didn't
The sticks received a nice soap bath to remove some of the sap
I am still not sure is I am going to sand the sticks down...I kind of like the natural look

Ruth was curious about the sticks so I built her a fence that amused her for four seconds
To all the new comers to Oh Happy Day I am so blessed that you have decided to stay. I am humbled that anyone would be interested in the daily musings of an ESE teacher. Thank you once again!
Cherry on top
as I was heading back I spotted some deer that were out for a mid-afternoon snack

Monday, July 11, 2011

School supply goodness

I am all too excited when I see that school supplies are starting to emerge in stores! I can never be sad when summer is ending because brightly colored pencils, notebooks and pens liter store aisles.
 Located Websters Rhyming dictionaries in the dollar section at Target for $1
They also had thesaurus, dictionaries and Spanish/English dictionaries
The Rhyming dictionaries are hard to come by...I have only found seven so far
Staples has penny deals...well you have to spend five dollars to get the penny deals; so it's more like five dollars and twenty cents deal...still not bad
I picked up 25 packs of cap erasers, two sharpie packs and one fine point pack

Here is the break down of items...for those that are intreseted
300 cap erasers originally $32.25 for only 25 cents
two packs of sharpie five count makers originally $4.79 each for only $2
one pack of fine point sharpie two count for free at Target with this coupon

//SIDENOTE\\
if you are a teacher you can pick up 25 items of the penny deals if you are not than you can only have five

Crate Book Seating

I wanted to add some seating by the bookshelf in my classroom
This little crate will not only provide seating, but storage
Storage for a decent amount of books
I decided to weave ribbon through the holes
 I visited Lowes..is that the blue one?
They cut the wood for a cheap price
Because Lord knows that I could not cut wood
Check out that amazing staple job.
I am in love with a staple gun!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Project Preview

Saturday project is up and running
I have a general idea of how this will turn out
Supplies are laid out

Plus I bought my first upholstery staple gun...I am excited
I hope I do not go over board with this bad boy

//sidenote\\
ignore the badger claws coming from the dog


Friday, July 8, 2011

The benefits of Coconut Oil

Ahh the wonders of coconut oil is never ending
First off coconut oil is a solid, but when warmed turns into a liquid/oil
 
Keeps bacteria away because of the lauric acid in the Coconut oil
Treats skin conditions helps dry irritated skin...soothes the skin
Makes hair grow faster and adds a nice luster
Coconut oil is equal to olive oil when cooking
Coconut oil boosts your metabolism
Natural nutrition for hair health
Nice moisturizing lip balm
 
Here is how I use coconut oil
Add a teaspoon to any smoothie
Deep hair conditioner
Skin moisturizer
Lip balm
 
Bonus Coconut oil is also good for your four legged friends
Plus if you love the smell of coconut than you will love this oil
Does not have an intense coconut taste
 

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Let the planning begin

I am pretty proud of myself for waiting three whole weeks before I start preparring for the upcoming school year...typically I only last a week
I have however thought about what I wanted to do for next year, but today is the first day were I have sat down and created a game plan for this upcoming school year

The plan as of now is to have individual file folders for each student to hold various notes
Literary Elements & Devices
Grammar
Writing

8th graders already have a file folder of their writing where they are keeping track of their progress in writing an essay

The purpose of these file folders is to create a reference for students to look back on through out the year. I am hoping that these resources will increase students reading comprehension and writing.

I am also considering having students have a two subject notebook for journal entries and vocabulary words

hmmm....

Monday, July 4, 2011

Becoming an American

Today several hopefuls are waiting to become American citizens at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello for the Naturalization Ceremony. Since 1963 there have been 3,000 people that have taken the oath to become Americans on this very special day at the home of no other than the author of the Declaration of Independence.
In order to become an American citizen you have to take several tests
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Civics

The civics test consists of 100 questions. Each hopeful will be asked 10 out of 100 and will have to correctly answer 6 of those questions. They will be given two chances every 90 days to correctly pass this test.

See if you could answer some of the questions to become an American
What is the supreme law of the land
What does the Constitution do
What is an amendment
What do we call the first ten amendments of the Constitution
What is freedom of religion
What does the judicial branch do
What is the highest court in the United States
What is one reason colonists came to America
There were 13 original states...name three
When was the Constitution written
Name one problem that led to the Civil War
What did Susan B. Anthony do
Name one American Indian tribe in the United States
Where is the Statue of Liberty
Why does the flag have 13 stripes
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Saturday, July 2, 2011

What Junk?

Another visit to the salvage yard to uncover their recent finds.
The guys that run this joint are interesting. They have collected junk from around the globe. My favorite new item was the necklaces made out of old monopoly pieces and coin magnets. We took home an assortment of magnetic alphabet letters and a cigar box.


If you have some old coins laying around, you might consider making them into magnets



Friday, July 1, 2011

H20

July is upon us
Which means our bodies have a greater chance of being dehydrated

I personally love water for many reasons
My skin is always softer and clearer when I am hydrated
Gets rid of pesky headaches
Helps me think clearer
Flushes my body
Gives me energy
Keeps me cool

//But you may need more convincing on why water is so wonderful\\
Our bodies need so much water because almost every single cell needs water to function
When we perspire, (not including exercise) we eliminate two cups of water a day
 Our lungs expel about 3 cups of water through normal breathing a day
Soda slows down the absorption of fluids into our body
Eight glasses of water a day helps maintain our health
The human body is made up of 60-65% water
 Drinking water helps prevent overeating
Regulates body temperature

You should drink between 6-8 classes of water a day

Side note
If you are a little clumsy and spill whatever drink you have
water is less likely to leave a stain