Summer Foods - My Favorite!

As I was making my chicken salad sandwich, I thought "You know, I should write a post about summer foods...and my addiction for chicken salad sandwiches...". Good plan right??

It's true. I love summer foods: noodle salads, hamburgers on the grill, ice cream, and chicken salad sandwiches (let's just call them CSS for short).

CSS's are easy, yummy, and great for leftovers (ahhh leftovers are wonderful aren't they??).

Here are some of my go-to CSS recipes:

Lemony Dill Chicken Salad - This recipe is from The Daniel Plan. It's even healthy! I've made this one quite a few times this summer and everyone has liked it. Plus, you can add a little more ingredients and have more servings (I love not having to measure when all-of-a-sudden you have a couple more people to feed!).

(Today's lunch. That verse even fits! hehe)

Quick Chicken Salad - I first found this recipe on Pinterest (of course). It too is tasty and like it says, quick! Just use canned chicken! A friend said she liked it better than Hy-Vee's Chicken Salad!

(My Annual Easter Luncheon)

Super Quick Chicken Salad - buy some at Hy-Vee! It might seem pricy, but I can get at least 4 servings out of a $6 container, so not too bad when broken down.

Organizing Your Classroom #3

     Hello again! Thank you for stopping by!

Some schools start TOMORROW, so hopefully this post will help you just-in-time. ...Or when you re-work on your room in couple weeks and again during Christmas "break" and again during Spring "Break"...and any 3 min. you have during the day... Life of a teacher.

As you set up, there is SO much to think about. Here are a few pointers:

#1 Have a reading "nook." Even older kids like to have a small space that feels like a "hideout." I choose to put mine in-between bookshelves so I could still see the students anywhere I was in the room, and my reading group table was close by as well.

(Big enough for 2-3, and I really didn't have issues with everyone wanting it at the same time.)

#2 If possible have as many materials (paper, pencils, math manipulatives, etc.) at easy reach for the students. (*See shelf on right* - I did put "special" materials on the high shelf so I would take those down when needed.)

#3 Have "Find a Home," "Toy Drop," and "Birthday Bucket" containers ready to go.

"Find a Home" : Students/teachers place items that drop on the floor during the day inside the bucket, then at the end of the day the student with the job to put items away can find where they belong.

(Helpful when you don't have time for the student to put that one piece back in the math game that you put away in the cupboard.)

"Toy Drop" : If a student brings something to school that he/she shouldn't and gets it out, ask the child to put it in the "Toy Drop" bucket so he/she isn't tempted to get it out again. When the child packs up for the day, hand it to him/her and remind that student that it shouldn't come to school again.

 "Birthday Bucket" : Have a bucket with either a little birthday trinket (pencil, squiggly straws, bookmark, etc.) ready to go inside. Birthdays seem to pop up every-other-day in a classroom, so having it ready with the child's name on it will help the last minute rush for you to get something together day of.

Squiggly straw balloons! Something fast, original, and fairly cheap

#4 Last, but not least, think of the children's safety. 

ALICE is an amazing organization that has some great resources for teachers.

Our school took their training and we all felt empowered and giving clear ideas on how to keep our children safe. The link will take you to a blog on 7 ideas to help keep your classroom safe from an intruder. 7 Tips for Safety

Take time to read their other material. It is definitely worth the time.

I hope these ideas are helpful!

Calm in the mist of Calamity

Here I sit. In my God-given dream house, with my lovely family, good food, wonderful summer... I sit in my air conditioned home, on a comfy couch, listening to my child play ...all while I read the terror going on around the world.

Complete terror.

Pictures so horrifying I can only read bits of the articles to go with them.

I started praying. God is the only one who can stop those who are doing this unthinkable evil. God is the only place to turn when you are half-a-globe away and can do next to nothing to help.

I was grateful for this post. It spoke directly to me, "Don't feel guilty. Guilt isn't going to get you anywhere. Feel the URGENT NEED of prayer."

What an amazing gift God gave us to be able to pray to Him about people I have never met. To pray against The Evil One and these evil leaders on earth.

I started reading Psalms 10 aloud as my prayer:

Psalm 10[a]

1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by[b] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9     like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
    he covers his face and never sees.”

12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
    you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
    the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

(Taken from Biblegateway.com)

I still ache for those in turmoil and I still tear up every time I see another picture,

but now I feel calm in the mist of this calamity.       

Will you set aside your guilt?

Will you take time out of your day to pray for those who desperately need it?

God hears. God sees.

and God ACTS.

Classroom Organization Tips - the sequel

Hi teachers! I have more ideas for you! Let's organize!

Tip 1) Have as much set up before the school year as you can! You can always add to your room and change it, but my "Monthly Weather Graphs" were so much easier to do through the year when it was up and ready! (No need to run to the filing cabinet during Morning Meeting because you forgot it was a new month... not that I know from experience...) 

Other "through the year" items might be a word wall and students'  birthdays.

Tip 2) Have bins ready for Back-to-School Night. Your school might do this differently, but our students brought all their school supplies on Back-to-School Night. I labeled the bins to what I wanted inside and the students filled them up. Then, the weekend before school, I could sharpen some pencils and put the rest up on a shelf, set out other needed materials and put the rest away.

For things that belonged to them/they needed in their desk, I put on tables and during the first day of school they would collect their items and put them away.

Tip 3) Pencils in bins. This was a great way to keep students from getting too many pencils in their desks. I allowed 2 pencils in their desks and they could get a sharp one from the bin when needed. Then they put their dull pencil in the according bin. At the end of the day, a student had the job to sharpen as many pencils as he/she could.

 What's your problem area? I'd love to give ideas!

Happy organizing!

It's that Time of Year Again!

It's that time of year again! ...no, I'm not talking about Hobby Lobby setting up their last shelf of Christmas items ... I'm talking about the start of school!

Since teachers have an entire classroom to set up, let's start with you teachers!

I had the great privilege to teach preschool and first grade, so these tips will be geared to that age.

This is how most classrooms look at in the summer... 

It's exciting to reorganize and set up new systems (and get your walls painted), 

but man it's a lot of work!!!

Tip 1) Label, Label, Label! I labeled every shelf (not shown) 

and tried to keep items for one subject together.

Tip 2) If I knew I had a supply for a science project in the cupboard, I would often write it down on a Post-It and stick it in my curriculum book (on the page needed) so I knew I was ready.

Tip 3) Think through your entry area CAREFULLY. 

Left to right: 

* End-of-day jobs ice cream bucket - Students lined up at 5min. before school let out and picked a job out of the bucket (ex. pick up floor, change calendar, take out trash - more jobs than students, so if a student finishes early they can come back and get a new job.). The students were really great at helping each other learn jobs and I could float around making sure it was done right. It didn't take long before it was a well-oiled machine and 

I didn't have to pick up the floor!!

* Bins for "to copy," "for teacher aide," "to laminate" (which would get done months later)

* Paper holder for extra papers parents would need

* Mailboxes (I would use file clips with names on them and then clip in alphabetical order...even when I had 4 that started with "A")

* "Feed the Frog" bin (for their folders)

* Clothes pins and bins for hot/cold lunches (then a student could bring me the hot lunch bin in the morning and I could enter it in the computer)

On bulletin board:

    * Line up Log - made out of felt (I had frog name tags that hopped forward - on Velcro- each day for a new line leader, making the line leader the caboose the next day)

    * Add school calendars for special events, meals, etc.

    * Hanging baskets for Box Tops and Milk Caps (a volunteer would just grab the baskets and go)

Next to bulletin board:

* 3M Hooks and clipboards for student's that needed to do work later in the Opportunity Room

Under the table:

     * Library Book Bin 

Tip 4) Use clips! It only took me 3 years to figure out to put a push-pin in the behind hole of a clip for the bulletin board papers.

That much easier switching monthly information! 

 Hope this was helpful! More classroom organizing ideas tomorrow!

My Love for May Designs

Are you a "paper person"? Like a true I-love-any-and-all-paper-products person?

I am, and I come by it very honestly. A lot of relatives were teachers (and really, what teacher doesn't love a new note pad???) and others work in office settings. I had no idea how deep the love for paper goods actually was until my family/relatives had our annual Woman's Christmas Get Together (we really need a catchy name...). This last year was "My Favorite Things" gift exchange. We all picked out little presents that were our favorite things and then passed out the same present-filled bags to each person. I found fun notepads, pens, and post-its at the Target dollar spot. So I passed out 8 bags filled with those items. ...What did almost everyone else pass out? Notepads, Post-It Notes, and other fun office items. I had no idea I didn't just get my love for paper goods from my mom!

All this to say, there is a super fun company called May Designs and you can actually design your own little notebooks, stationary, and now cards (think Shutterfly where you can upload your own photo and then add adorable font and patterns).

(See notebooks in box)

(Designer cards)

But, I need to warn you... they are super addicting! They have great deals (40% off going on now through Sunday 8/10/14), high quality, and all around a Paper Person's dream come true.

Notebooks I have made: a meal planner (one side is a week planner and the other side is a grocery list), a lined one for Andrew's memory book, a lined one called Garden Plans,  a lined one titled Guest Book (when friends and family stay at our house over night), a monthly agenda for a take-with-me calendar, and a lined one for our small group Prayer Requests. 

They fit perfect in my purse and keep me organized (a whole other passion for a different day)!

Go take a peek ! 

What are your favorite patterns? What are you going to use the Cards for?

*  I am not getting compensated in any way, just want to share my obsession with you =)  *