Thanksgiving at School

You Are Berry Sweet

Need an idea for a teacher gift? Perhaps, your child is like mine, and they have a lot of special teachers that invest in them by teaching enrichment classes. So I made these...

The tic tacs were purchased from Dollar Tree, where you get 3 for only $1!!!

Blessings!! 

Happy Heart=Cheerful Face School Decor

Need some inspiration for an empty space? 

TA-DA!!

Proverbs 15:13 says "A happy heart makes the face cheerful." Perfect for a kind reminder to students and teachers!!

And in case you are wondering, that's black butcher paper, scrape book paper and a metallic sharpie. :)

Blessings!!

Simple Wreath under $10

I love Fall -I absolutely do! But more than just celebrating a season, I love things that are cute, simple, and affordable. Therefore when asked to go to a Wreath Decorating Party I grabbed an old wreath from home and headed to Hobby Lobby. Went there and grabbed the flowers at half off ($8.99 total) and just happened to already have burlap ribbon leftover from many failed pinterest attempts. 

I must admit that my wreath was by far the smallest at the party, however I am still proud of how it turned out. Our front door is not very big so I needed a wreath to fit the size and I feel like not only does it fit the part, but it makes me smile because it reminds me of Fall! 

Many Blessings!!

Blue Quilt

Another day, another project! 

Blessings!! 

President's Day

NOTE TO SELF: Work on the quality of pictures for next year.
Okay good, glad I got that outta the way!

Here are some fun ideas for President's Day.

 

 Bulletin Board: Because it is SO SOON after Valentine's Day, you'll notice the boarder is the same- YES!

     

As part of our America Unit, we made a book about the symbols of America.

   

God Bless America & God Bless YOU! :)

Valentine's Quilt

Fun Valentines Day Ideas: 

Am I late on posting these ideas or early? You decide. ;)

Regardless, I hope they inspire you in some way! 

This lovely bulletin board proclaims "My heart belongs to Jesus" and then the students are pictured with a heart-quote bubble stating who they love and why. And yes, the kids got to splatter-paint!

   

I will admit, I stole this from pinterest- the only difference was that it was a 'Kindness Quilt' and I made it a LOVE Quilt. We discussed that love is a verb, so it is an action. So each little sweetie (my students) told me who they loved and how they should that person love. They signed the statement with a hand print (acceptable for 3 year olds!) and helped decorate the boarders. 

Love & Blessings!!!

Classroom Projects: Fall and Fairy Tales

 Fall and Fairy Tales

As we are quickly approaching the new school year (yeah!!), I thought I should get on the ball and post these pictures from LAST Fall. We were learning about the season of Fall and Fairy Tales (which ended appropriately around Halloween, and allowed for an extra dress-up day!).

 

Hopefully, this year I can make a more 3D tree! But I do love this one, and with help from the students we water colored fall leaves. 

It's hard to tell in this picture, but the little sweeties are looking at themselves in a mirror. The title says: Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall- What's your Favorite Thing of All? And under each picture is a list of the student's favorite thing. 

 

And ta-da!!! This was our first bulletin board! Students helped to create their prince or princess and finished the decree "That ____________ makes Prince Jackson happy". 

I truly am looking forward to building on these units this year!

Blessings!!

The Old Rock Church

Oh, how I love Texas- Oh, how I love TEXAS!!

Just wanted to shed some light on a must-see historical site in Cransfills Gap, Texas. The Old Rock Church, also known as, St. Olaf's Church, was erected back in 1886 and has been restored and preserved with all of its original craftsmanship on display. It is still used today for special services, such as Easter and Christmas Eve, as well as weddings.

We recently visited and truly enjoyed seeing this "blast from the past".

 

So, PLEASE, go check out the website at: http://rockchurch-gap.com/

After all, its a beautiful piece of history that is located in the middle of an amazing setting. Well worth the drive and you can easily check out some quaint and cute old Texas towns. (Shout out to my hometown, Hico, TX, which is close enough to the Old Rock Church that you can stop and eat pie at the Koffee Kup and get chocolates from Wiseman's House). 

Many Blessings!

In the Morning

Good Morning!! 

My mom shared with me this verse, "In the morning, oh Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my request before you and wait in expectation" Psalm 5:3, while we were on vacation. She had mentioned that she'd like to have a sign or a reminder of this verse to see every morning. Thus, I attempted to practice lettering (although I enjoy it, it is not my strong-suit). 

BUT- Oh, how I needed this reminder this morning, as I was seeking the Lord, I was reminded how God HEARS my voice, always, but specifically this morning. 

May you remember His promise to listen and your responsibility to wait in expectation of His response. 

Many Blessings!

Colorado Pictures to Recreate

We recently returned from a fun family vacation in Colorado! Although, I could go on and on about all the fun things we did (like, hunting, fishing, eating), but I won't. I'll just share these memorable pictures that YOU can recreate with your family regardless of where you go this summer.

1st- The Gross-Out Kiss
Self explanatory- the boys are not amused by our PDA. :)

2nd- All out, lay out

-Who doesn't like a good family selfie?

 

3rd- Kick me and RUN

Okay, maybe you shouldn't recreate this one BUT you could take a sweet picture of your child, go on a picnic and take a picture a of wild bear, and then have your brother put the to together in such a perfect way that your child's personality is displayed all throughout! 

Many Blessings! 

Tie-dye Blanket

What do you do with 15 tie dye t-shirts your husband used to have to wear to work?
-Don't worry, they were going for a themed thing at his Volkswagen dealership- not a hypodelic pizza place vibe.
Well, I couldn't just throw them all away, and I couldn't just give them all away. After all, everyone gave him a hard enough time about wearing them in public, I couldn't allow him to forget such fond memories.
So what did I do? Made a tie dye blanket! Better yet, I made it and gave it to him as part of his Father's Day gift (yes, he is a lucky man!). :)
All joking aside, I love the bright colors and the fact that we can use this for picnics and outings with the family. Plus, its a memory that our family will share, the fact that dad had to wear pink tie dye to make an honest living.
Blessings!

Fancy Coffee- Global Peace Factory

This is not a paid endorsement.... although if they paid me with coffee I'd talk all day! :)

Just wanted to share my new favorite coffee joint! Global Peace Factory sure makes some good coffee and a portion of their proceeds goes towards good things in the community (like local charity).
If you are ever in the area of Frisco, kinda between IKEA and on the way to Nebraska Furniture Mart, turn down Legacy and come visit this place.
I walked in clueless as to what I should expect and then the friendly barista was able to point me to some of their more famous coffee items, such as the amazing BROWN SUGAR LATTE. Yes, it is a big deal, this latte tastes great and is refreshingly something different than the routine at Starbucks (no offense to the green lady, she has energized me countless times). But boy, oh boy, the Brown Sugar Latte is amazing, as is their other drinks.
Hope this inspires you to try something new if you live in the DFW area, and if not, hopefully you are encouraged the eat local!

Blessings!

Check them out online!
http://www.globalpeacefactory.com/

End of Year Gift

Need a good end of year gift? Maybe something for a recent graduate? 

Hope this inspires you to give a little something fun, for a job well done!

        

First, poppers and a koozie to celebrate the end of the year!

     

Next,  a little something that will help with a future job!

 

And last, a little something just for them- something they can enjoy just because!

Blessings!

Cute Gift Tag

Am I the only one who loves Michaels' 'dollar' section? 

Didn't think so... although I realize the items are not always just a $1, but boy are they a good value! 

Here's one great idea to create a more personalized gift tag- use the small decorative clothespins to attach the card! No envelope needed! 

Cute, chic, and cheap! 

Blessings!!

Preschool Classroom Pics

Now that the year is over, I have time to share some of my classroom pictures from my Pre-K 3 classroom. Hopefully some of these ideas you can use to implement in your classroom! Or if you are having to share space, this will help spark your creativity.

 

First, it is important to note that our school is currently sharing space with the church, so there was not a calendar/board area other than the whiteboard (which is much too high for my little guys to use). Therefore I made this calendar board by taping together multiple poster-sized foam boards and covering it with a plastic table cloth. Clever right? I was too cheap to buy fabric and I new a bed sheet wouldn't hold things as well. Thus, I could easily hot glue and staple the plastic table cloth without worrying about it! 

I know everyone has a different way of doing calendar time, but we always would start with talking about God first. Therefore we would discuss our class verse (1 Cor. 16:13) and then the Bible story for the week. 

Then we would discuss jobs on Monday of every week and YES they ALL had a job! 

Our focus would shift to the season and weather followed by calendar and counting. We would then try and tie it all together that on this day October the 6th the weather is ______ and we can count all the way to ______....

For discipline/classroom management, because it is necessary, we used 'happy sticks'. The children tried to keep all of their happy sticks, happy and in their homes. When a student misbehaved they would first remove the red warning stick and then after another offense they would lose a happy stick which was very sad and had consequences.

 

Over by the reading nook I needed to add some color! So I took a hula-hoop and dangled colorful glitter tulle from it. Not only did it add some umph, but the kids enjoyed talking about the many different colors.

Another method of classroom management I used was 'Love Nuggets'. Love nuggets (pom poms) were given out at random when students behaved in a way that was loving and kind. Once they recieved 4 love nuggets they got an extra sticker for their reward sheet (that eventually leads to the treasure chest).

I'd LOVE to take credit for all these ideas, but I must admit that as any good teacher does, I stole the classroom management ideas from my mentor teacher. Yes I know, not so shocking!

Please enjoy your summer as you not only rest, but begin planning for next year!

Blessings!!

Sweet Summer Gift

Happy Summer (although I know technically we are still a few days away from the official start)! 

Just thought I'd share an idea for any of you needing a good summertime gift- maybe for a friend or teacher, or really for anyone who likes cookies or has kids!  

I put this together as a thank you for my room mom (awesome mother of 3 girls) so that they would have something fun to do together! I found the cut summertime cookie cutters at Michaels, picked up the "Life is Sweet" disposable placemats at Hobby Lobby, and grabbed the cookie dough and sprinkles from Target so they would most of the supplies they needed! 

As you have seen in my prior posts, I make these kitchen towels that are cute and functional (and easy to sew), so I added it to the gift so that the mom would still have something to cherish after the cookies are gone.

Hopefully this inspires you to think outside of the box and inside of the cookie jar! 

Blessings!!

$0.50 Wall Art part 1

 

I just couldn't wait to show off this work in progress. Above is 1 of 2 wall hangings I picked up from a garage sale. The grand total for this purchase was $1, that's right folks, only 50 cents a piece! 

 

As of now, all I have done is painted it with a primer based paint and sanded it a little. It's not finished yet but already looks 100x's better! Please check back later for the final outcome. But I think it's already safe to say it was worth the investment. ;)

Blessings!!

Burlap Heart

Here is a picture of some creative last minute decorating for a bridal shower! 

We really wanted to utilize the cute and rustic window, but didn't have a wreath. The solution? Make your own burlap and twine heart! The burlap ribbon was wired so it was able to maintain it's shape.

Not only did it look cute and rustic, but it added charm to the window! 

Many Blessings!! 

Oh Praise the One!! Sign

Just had to share this sign that was made with homemade chalkboard paint! 

Blessings! 

Spring Aztec Nails

Blessings!!