Welcome to My Space

When I first decided I wanted to be a teacher, I had all of these visions of having the cutest room with a decked out desk and everything being in its place.

Reality Check

Being in a toddler class, the whole room is "their space". There aren't formal desks or a teacher desk but, I love it. Thankfully, the director of my center understands the importance of some 'teacher space' and had shelves and built in areas installed in each room. I'd like to share with you what I have done with mine. 

I have two filing cabinets that I now use for storage since I am no longer a file folder user-I upgraded to binders! I store extra supplies in here, my substitutes 'survival pack' student folders, extra file folders in case of emergencies and of course, snacks! 

On top of these cabinets, I have my students art center-again, the whole room is the toddlers play space. Even though most of this area is "mine", the art center made the most sense here as there are many art supplies we use that I can't just leave out without direct supervision such as scissors, glitter, small parts, etc. 

The children have direct access to their markers, crayons, chalk, and paper. Paint and the items in the purple drawers are "teacher jobs". In the purple drawers, I store everytime from pipe cleaners to brown bags to fabric scraps to googley eyes. 

Moving up to the second shelf, I have attached wore baskets to hold our items for the week. I preset and precut everything for a smoother time during our art centers. I also usually plan 3 weeks in advance meaning that all of my crafts and books are picked out, pre cut and pre set for 3 weeks. I also keep our lunch supplies, my lesson plan binders, and all of my post its, pens, hot glue guns, staplers, scissors, etc on this shelf in organized and labeled drawers. 

Finally, on the third shelf, I keep my bag, a jacket and a spare change of clothes, playdoh supplies and random art suppose such as foam stickers, shaving cream, and rainy day activity supplies. 

Although my room is not traditional, I love it and I love that my class loves it! 

What does YOUR space look like?? 

Sarah 

It's That Time Again!

SEPTEMBER SLANTBOXES

After last month, I am just in love with the whole idea and mission behind SLANTbox. Jameson at Lessons with Coffee started this awesome networking exchange. Last month, I had a blast getting to know Angela from Fun in Fourth and Kristy from The Librarian Life. The whole experience was just awesome. 

This month, I am matched up with Alissa from Fun in Fifth to send to and Christina from Glitter, Gadgets and Grade School to receive from. 

I am so excited to get to know these two ladies! 

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday Fellow Bloggers!

I feel like this week just flew by. I wish three day weekends happened every week.

Before I get into my Five for Friday hosted by the lovely Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching, I was selected by Lindsey at Thriving in Third for her Featured Teacher Friday! Lindsey is such a sweetheart and she is a Jill of all trades from her TpT store, to her blog designing, to her awesome teaching and ideas! Head over to her blog to see some great ideas and you can also find out more about me!

Anyways, here we go with my Five for Friday!

 My dad and I have really been trying to spend more time together and you should know, that makes my heart happy! On Saturday, we started our with breakfast by our houses and it turned into a day of fun. He bought a Tesla (all electric car) last December and they just put in a new high tech, high speed charging station in Fort Myers which is about 1 hour south of is. He was so excited to have me go see it so we 'road tripped' down there.

We also stopped for lunch at PF Changs and did a little shopping! (He's quite the model)

Ginger Panna Cotta with Strawberries from PF Changs

Modeling this seasons trendiest clothes

Big changes are a comin' my way and this quote couldn't have popped up on my pinterest board at a better time! Stay tuned to hear the big news!

So, J works six days a week and most holidays. It was a huge surprise to us both that he was off on Labor Day! We spent the day lounging around the pool with food, drinks and each other's company. (He was also such a great student and did his history homework poolside)

We finished up our Labor Day with a dinner out!

I have been bored with my hair for a long time! It has been the same for the past two years. I very suddenly decided to change that!

Hello red ombré headed Sarah!

 Whoooooo's ready for football?!?

They are!

And so are we!

For our one year anniversary, I bought J tickets to the first patriots game of the season! We will be driving down to Miami this Sunday to watch them kick some dolphin tail!

I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

My First SLANT BOX Review!

Oh my goodness! I am so so so excited to finally be sharing my first SLANT box experience. When mustering up the motivation to start blogging again, I came across the #SLANTbox. Naturally, I keep clicking and clicking and reading more posts and reviews until I was practically obsessed. If you haven't heard of SLANTbox, click here. Jameson, the SLANTbox originator, is a rockstar! She takes the time out of her personal life to come up with awesome themes and match over 200 teachers with two partners. Each teacher sends to one person and receives from another, how cool?! 

In August, I was paired up with Angela Gatt from Fun in Fourth to send to. Angela lives in Canada. She is so incredibly sweet and I had an awesome time getting to know her and pick out items that I hope she will love. 

I was matched up with Kristy Fasano from Librarian Life to receive from. Kristy lives in New York. Although we didn't speak much, the gifts I received were pretty spot on to my personality. 

Super cute NY--> FL 

Birthday/Hello Note

All my awesome items! Including:

Blueberry preserves (yum!)

purple glitter pencils

purple stamp pad

lots and lots of stickers

jeweled nail file

heart and star cut-outs

washi tape

a gorgeous purple and turquoise necklace

several keepsake boxes

a compact mirror

letter stamps

Thanks Kristy! 

I can not wait for September's match ups! 

September Currently!

Happy Monday Darlings! 

On this lovely Monday that I have off of work, I am linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her September Currently. It is so insane to me that it is already September! I am so excited for it to start cooling down here though (and Pumpkin EVERYTHING)! Anyways, here we go..

Listening: I am obsessed with Jason Aldean's new song! He comes to town in October and I am still crossing my fingers and toes that ticket prices drop a bit. He is so amazing in concert and I am a huge huge fan! 

Loving: So, J works 6 days a week, every week and very rarely gets holidays off...he worked Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, AND 4th of July last year :( So it was a huge shock that he was able to have today off. We are definitely making the most of it! 

Thinking: I am laying here starving but I have gotten so addicted to GroopDealz and Jane. These are seriously discounted online stores and well, I have an addiction. 

Wanting: I mean, who doesn't love three day weekends?

Needing: 

Enough said. They are so freaking adorable. *proud fur momma moment*

Three Trips: So, exciting news! I will be taking a tiny leave of absence from work in 2015 to travel more! My family has plans to go to Italy and Greece together and then, I am planning a trip to London/France/Ireland on my own! 

I hope you enjoyed! I am off to walk these precious dogs and eat! 

Happy September, Y'all!

My Very First Stitch Fix!

Hi Bloggers! 

So, when I re-started this blogging journey of mine, I pursued through countless posts titled "Stitch Fix Review" being the crazy shop-a-holic that I am, I decided to try stitch fix out for myself! This afternoon, I received my first box and I was very pleased and definitely hooked. 

Most of the posts I read said that the girls first box was unsuccessful -I would have to say that I got pretty lucky. I loved all of the pieces that were selected for me but here is my full review: 

When I opened the box, everything was neatly wrapped in crisp white tissue paper and mint stickers. There was a mint envelope sitting on top which included the style card-ideas for the pieces and how to style each one- the price list and a return bag. 

These are the four clothing items I received-three tops and one maxi skirt. 

And this bracelet was the fifth item. I tried the bracelet on, I DO like it and the profits benefit women in Uganda however, the price for the item was not in my budget at all. {PASS}

*SWOON* I LOVE this maxi skirt! Black and White Chevron, very stretchy and a nice cool material. I absolutely adore maxi skirts and have been shopping all over for a simple pattern like this. {KEEP}

This top is an aztec-y navy and pink razorback. Again, very comfy and it fits perfectly. However, as much as I love this top, I feel like I can find something comparable at a TJMAXX, Marshalls, Etc. for half the price. {PASS}

I loved this teal 3/4 top before I put it on however, it doesn't have much stretch and it was made out of a chiffon like material and that isn't exactly ideal when working with toddlers.  {PASS}

The last item, this sleeveless navy blue top but again, I love the idea of this top but, it didn't fit perfectly and I have a a few tops similar to this one from New York and Co. that were half the price!  {PASS}

When I filled out the initial form, I put my size down as medium and all of these tops were true mediums but being that I am on the floor all day with toddlers, I like my tops to have a little bit of room in them. Although I am not going to purchase all of the pieces, I feel like the stylist understood my style and picked out pieces that are exactly what I am looking for. 

I chose to try everything on BEFORE looking at the price sheet because I didn't want the price to hinder my true reaction of the item. 

Prices: 

Bracelet $42

Maxi Skirt $48

Pink and Navy Top $54

Turquoise 3/4 $58

Navy Sleeveless $54

Stitch Fix items are definitely a little pricey but, the $20 does go towards your purchase!  

Overall, I am very pleased with my first fix! 

Read All About It!

I am not sure why, but bulletin boards are probably some of my favorite things! I love to find neat quotes for them, fun borders, and the perfect background paper to tie it all together. In my classroom, I have four. 

 

This first board is a mandatory school information and "teacher board". On here, I have a list of all the allergies in the center, our monthly menu, class roster, and proper table washing procedures. I also hang notes that I get from staff members and families, our current class picture, and "Praises for Young Children."

This next board hangs right above the changing table. I have our daily schedule, proper diapering procedures and our daily/weekly cleaning list. 

This is the Parent Board. I hang our monthly calendar, daily schedule, weekly lesson plan, and my "Why I Teach" note here. I encourage parents to bring in interesting articles, questions, etc. to hang here as well. 

And last but not least, our classroom board. I change this board monthly based on the themes. For July, our theme's were Fourth of July, Pets, Jungle Life, Reptiles, and Dinosaurs. I typically make my board correspond with the theme that I have the most decorations for and this month it happened to be the jungle! "Monkey See, Monkey Do. We Love to Learn, How 'Bout You!"

How do you decorate your bulletin boards?

-Sarah