Motivation Banners

The banners are finally done

Yea

More later on how these came to be and how they look in the classroom

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

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

Linking



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

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

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

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!

VIA

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



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

 

VIA

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....

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

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

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

download you water checklist here

Side note

If you are a little clumsy and spill whatever drink you have

water is less likely to leave a stain