{Five for Friday}- July 17, 2015

How did we get half way into July, y'all?! I have been having SO MUCH fun! This summer is still in full swing, but it is flying by! I'm still so excited to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday again this week! 

I had the most fun at the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Las Vegas! I got to hang out with some Houston blogger friends as well as make new friends too! I learned so much & am so motivated to keep working! 

I got to meet & talk to my favorite blogging teacher, Cara Carroll! I totally went fan girl when we met & the best part was she is super sweet in person! #texasteachers 

I have already been working in my room, with the help of my MIL I covered a huge corner of my room in fadeless paper and my room looks so much bigger! I can't wait to finish it up and start lesson planning! I can never make  myself wait until professional development starts up to work in my room! I would much rather go early and do the time consuming decorating & organizing tasks that I know will keep me happy and efficient throughout the school year, than wait and stress myself out!

One of the things I worked on in my classroom already is organizing my work area. I really like having my desk near my small group area. In past years, I have had it on opposite sides of the room, I feel like I waste time when I have that set up, so this year, I am using a small desk {that I covered in black contact paper & duct tape, it was super ugly brown} up against the wall and my small group table is facing the door! 

I have been having lots of fun with my pup Halle this summer! She LOVES to be outside & in the water! Here she is at the doggy park playing in this little tiny pool! 

We made some homemade whipcream & mango for dessert & someone got to lick the whisk! The best part was her using her little paws to wipe her chin off and then licking the whip cream off her paws. I was cracking up, it was too cute! 

How are you spending your last few weeks of summer?

{Five for Friday}- June 19, 2015

Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday again this week! Its so fun to read everyone's Five for Friday's during the summer because so much is going on! 

My husband  & I recently purchased new bedroom furniture, with all of the last week of school crazy, summer traveling, and grad school..I just had time to get my vanity all organized. Since this is the place where I start my days, I like to have it look inviting and organized! The top drawers are very very shallow {it is supposed to be a desk} so I was struggling to find makeup trays to fit. THEN I found these $1, Dollar Tree serving trays & they worked like a charm! 

So since we got new furniture, I am looking for the perfect lighting to hang above our sitting area! We have two, VERY ugly fans in our bedroom, we will be replacing the one above our bed with a prettier fan & the one above the seating are with something like this! The best part is that I told my MIL I liked this one and 30 minutes later, she texts me a photo of almost the same thing for sell at HEB!? What...haha who knew HEB had chandeliers!? 

I ordered new glasses, I have been wearing the same pair since 10th grade! I wear contacts 96% of the time, so I don't normally need glasses, but it was time! I got the glasses in the picture above for less than $30! WHOOP.

I am so glad that I join in {I almost didn't, but FOMO} the #TPTSellerChallenge. I hadn't created or refreshed any product since September of this last school year. The challenge got me back into the groove & I ended up making over about half of my products & I deleted some altogether! 

I was even inspired to create my logo banner & make my 'quote' a picture ad! I love the end results, but I think I need to try again on the quote! 

I saw so many wonderful lists of summer reading, I really had to be honest with myself, I KNOW I will not finish 8 PD books this summer. So I tried to choose the ones that I really thought I could read and internalize before August. I just got these last night & I already read 3 chapters of "Unshakable". It is so real and motivating at the same time. It doesn't pretend that every teacher is happy everyday and is always prepared. It helps you see your 'authentic self' and offers small improvements for your daily mindset. If you are looking for a PD book this summer, I highly recommend it! 

What are your summer PD must reads?

Five for Friday- June 12, 2015

Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! The last time I participated in this was quite a few months ago! I'm excited to share with you my first Five for Friday of summer break 2015! Whoot!

I am thoroughly enjoying my summer break. It has been one entire week since it began! I have spent the whole week in Boston with my husband. We have had everything delicious you can dream of, but most importantly, CANNOLIS. AH I just love love love them! I have had them in about five or six states..nothing beats Mike's! Boston has been wonderful, but I am excited to get home to my furbaby & start in on my LONG summer to do list! 

If you follow me on IG you know, I love Moscow Mules, or really any sort of mule! Since I got totally hooked on them from a dear friend, I try a speical local version everywhere I go now! This is number 7! I have had  Texas mule, Thai mule, Moscow mule, Kentucky mule, Polish Mule, Manhattan mule, and this is a Mission High mule in Boston! They change the name based on the type of alcohol inside the drink! If you haven't tried one you should, so refreshing! 

Classroom decor...I saw some of the CTP bloggers previewing the paint chip and chalk theme, I am just in love! I have had several themes over the last five years, I think this may actually be able to pull my mangerie of decor and organizational items together for a nice simple cohesive look. I feel like when I started teaching, I couldn't find enough stuff to cover every wall and shelf, now I envy a nice sleek clean simple classroom. I will be aiming for that this summer! 

I am officially on Facebook as "MrsDecatursLittleGators" I'd love if you follow me there too, I have uploaded  a special fan freebie you can only download through that link! Click the picture above to be redirected to my FB page! Here is a preview of the freebie available there:

Summer teaching reading list! Everyone is posting their list on IG, I am feeling the pressure! I need to get going on what I want to brush up on and which new books I want to dive into. Since I started grad school, selected PD reading has been on a back burner & its time to bring it to the fore front. What are you reading this summer? I'd love some suggestions, I teach first grade, reading ELA & social studies only!

Five for Friday-February 20th

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  Hello! Welcome to my "Five on Friday"! Keep scrolling to see what I have been up to!   1.

  I recently (5ish weeks ago) stopped *mostly* eating carbs and sugar. It has been great for me! I can actually tell I have more energy than ever before just because I am eating correctly. Since I have been doing this I have used my Kitchen Aid Mixer more in the last month than I have in the last two years! I made carb/sugar free jello creams, carb free spicy crackers, and even some zucchini chicken Alfredo!        2.

 

 We have been celebrating and learning all about Presidents' Day, specifically George Washington & Abraham Lincoln. I really enjoy teaching about these guys! There are so many cute activities & books to read. The books are themed and the kids use those during 'Read to Self'.  

  The bottom left is our anchor chart and the bottom right is the poem we will be adding to our poetry notebook today! I found it as a freebie, click the photo to go to Mrs.Brinkman's Blog to get one yourself. YAY!  

  The top right is a photo of my 'work on writing' area. I have said this before but I love Latoya Reed's writing centers! They are simple and ready to go! Here is the one I used this week! Click the picture to check it out in her TPT store. You can see in the right hand corner of my collage picture that I display the sentence stems & theme words in clear picture frames. I use the word wall words in the little bucket. My kiddos can go grab those anytime they need to!   3.  

  I have been working SO hard to get my Etsy shop full of new invitations! I have been focusing mostly on bridal shower and save the dates! My sweet sister is getting married in October, so I am practicing for her! Please check out my store if you are in the market for personalized paper goods! Click on the photo to go to my Etsy shop or search "Dot on Design" on facebook!   4.  

I shamefully LOVE redbull. I got so excited when I finally found these new flavors! Wild Cherry, Tropical, & Orange! I tried the wild cherry today, I was pretty disappointed. I guess its a sign that I should give up energy drinks!

 

5.  

 

I am so excited for go Texan day! Next Friday, all of us Texans will be decked out in our finest rodeo gear and ready to celebrate the great(est) state we call home! I am already planning my outfit, chili for our staff cook off, & fun read alouds and activities for the classroom!   These are two of my FAVORITE read alouds for the rodeo!

 

I found this adorablllleee freebie from Liz Kinsinger on TPT that goes along with the book! Just click the picture to go to her shop!

 

 

Happy go Texan week! Don't forget your boots!