Busy March + Book Fair Picks

Wow, I feel like March has come and moved along so quickly! We are already halfway through, which seems crazy to me.
So far March has been filled with weekends at home - love the relaxation - and lots of working/subbing.  My current schedule allows me to work everyday (at my beloved after-school care job) and substitute when/where I am needed.  Last week I substituted three days in a kindergarten room and just had so much fun!  I could definitely see myself teaching kindergarten one day.
When I'm not substituting I am usually catching up on my new Netflix obsession, Hart of Dixie, lounging with my furry friends or helping out my mama in the library.  This week is the book fair - aka the most anticipated week of the school year, besides spring break & the last week of school - so I am going in to help with check out and convincing children to not buy the fuzzy pencils and to buy a real book instead! ;)
There are some really cute books this year that I am going to snag up for my future classroom. Here are a few samples:

This is an adorable book about a shark and a minnow who are best friends!  This would be a great read aloud.

My mom actually already bought this one but I am definitely suggesting it to all teachers/mamas of little ones.  It is a sweet tale about planting a seed of kindness.  If you know Kadir Nelson, then you know you want your hands on this book.  If you don't know Kadir Nelson, I strongly suggest you look into his books.  Beautifully done work.

Another sweet story of a little girl, Maggi, and her dog, Milo, and their adventures together!  It reminds me of the bond I have with our dog and that dog's really are a woman's best friend ;) Cute book!

I will also be picking up some nonfiction pieces, such as:

I seriously LOVE the book fair and one of the most exciting parts about teaching is getting to set up my classroom library! I could not be more excited :)

Have a great week!

Festive in the Classroom

I'm always trying to find new, fun and festive ideas of things to do with the kids during the holiday season.  We always have an early release or full day off from school landing somewhere near each major holiday, which are perfect times to get out the craft supplies and have some fun!
Here are some of my favorite holiday crafts to do with the little ones to take home.   Easy Christmas Trees from Fantastic Fun and Learning

 How awesome is this idea? I'm all about finger painting, but this is a great idea to keep things clean -- I have some kids who hate getting their fingers messy so they would love this! I think it's also fun that the pom poms match the color paint they belong with :) This would be great for our little ones.
Build a Snowman from happy hooligans

This activity would be awesome for all ages - the older kids could get SO creative with this and really add a lot of detail. The little ones would love getting to pick their own pieces out and make it their own.
Name Trees from Miss Kindergarten

I love this activity - perfect for kindergarteners - and it can be completed with or without the name. You could also modify this and make snowmen! Good practice for spelling names and using scissors.
Shape Ornaments from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten

These ornaments would look so cute hanging up around a classroom.  Even though this idea was inspired by a kindergarten teacher, I think you could use it with all ages. Especially with the older kiddos who are diving into geometry. They could get really creative with this - either making it symmetrical or trying to fill the circle the best they can with shapes.

I love getting festive! Plus these crafts gives the kids something to do with all of their craaazzzy holiday energy!

Top 5 Tuesday: Books (for kids!)

Linking up with Rachel from Just Peachy for Top 5 Tuesday!

This week's topic is Books.

I decided I want to share my top 5 favorite children's books!  As a child I loved books, at work I'm always reading to the kids and I have my own children's book collection started for when I become a teacher.  I ut together a mixture of classics & newer books.

1. The Berenstain Bears

Love this whole series! We had a lot of these books when we were younger. I love that most of them have a moral/lesson to go along with them. I pick New Baby because that was totally my big brother, as brother bear, and me as the new baby.

2. Llama Llama...

(misses mama, red pajama, mad at mama, home with mama, etc)

These books are so sweet. I love reading these out loud with all of the rhyming words! Llama llama is too adorable to not fall in love with.

3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Again, I love this collection by Laura Numeroff! They are so fun to read and the kids eventually catch on (after reading it so many times) and they just know what's waiting on the next page. I especially love If You Give a Moose a Muffin :)

4. Miss Nelson is Missing!

 I think this book is so funny. It's one of those books that really sticks out in my mind - I must have read it a lot when I was younger. I think every teacher should have this one!

 

5. Elephant and Piggie collection

My mom showed me these in Barnes and Noble about a month ago and I think they are so cute! They have a pretty big collection and I just think it's adorable that an elephant and a pig are best friends. The books are written with speech bubbles and have simple illustrations. Very cute.

What were some of your favorite children's books when you were a child?

Do you have any new favorites?

Happy 1st day of SPRING! :)

xoxo,

It's Ok Thursday!

Hiiiiiii y'alllllllll!

 

I have been so exhausted this week and I just can't wait for the weekend! I'm going to {finally} sleep in, do some babysitting and just plain RELAX for a little bit. Oh yeah, and clean my HUGE mess of a room. 

In the mean time I am linking up for It's Ok Thursday!

 

It's Ok...

...that I was "that girl' who listened to the meteorologist today who was WRONG about the temperature. Shorts in the rain isn't fun.

  

...that I'm not afraid to admit I am still scared of lightning. You will never see me run so fast than when I have to get from point A to point B outside when there is lightning. (At least I've gotten past the point of just sitting in the car like I did when my mom would go in the house fine and dandy and leave me to make a break for it.)

 

...that I gave my borderline anorexic roommate the water bill amount on piece of my "Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake" note pad. Just trying to offer some nonchalant advice.

...that my March Madness involvement goes as far as filling out a mascot bracket. Who would win in a battle? I have the Grizzlies as 2012 champs. No idea what team that is...

...that in all seriousness, I will watch (and cheer on) Lehigh tomorrow when they play against Duke. Hey...anything could happen!

 

...to take study breaks every now and again, and by study breaks I mean "search for proposal/wedding entrance/surprise solider homecoming/cute baby youtube videos" breaks.

...to want EVERYTHING from Sweet Tea Paperie. That is the truth.

...that I'm just now getting back into a workout routine. Mom and I have planned a weekly her walk/I run evening on the Huckleberry. Now I just need to choose a race to plan for :)

...to be so confused yet so intrigued by the 35 tons of snow they are plopping on our drillfield today for a ski and snowboard competition. I'm going to try and sneak a peek.

...to feel so out of the loop because I haven't read The Hunger Games yet :( I own the first two, I just need to find time to read!

...that I'm still unpacking from Spring Break...it's a lengthy process.

...to already have summer plans on my mind :) only 8 more weeks of school!

Time to go fight through the rain and head to work!

Speaking of which, I am so glad to be back at work - going a whole week without seeing the kids was weird!

However, the little welcome back hugs made it worth it.

 

Yesterday I planned some St. Patrick's Day crafts and games to do with them, including this one that was so much fun:

I got a little teary-eyed when I read what some of the kids put! 

Happy Thursday!

xoxo,