Lesson Cloud Sale July 29-30

I love a bargain!  Are you looking to add things to your bag of tricks?  Need a great idea for the first week of school?  Want something new and fun for you students and you to do?

Then head over to the Lesson Cloud's Dollar Sale.  Lots of good things drastically reduced.  Only $1 or $2.  Ok... I have to go shopping now :)  Come join me :)

Click here:  Lesson Cloud Dollar Sale

Summer Planning

For teachers, summer means rest...

NOT!

I am sure there are some that rest, but I have a hard time kicking back for long.  My mind is constantly wrapping around new ideas that pop into my head.  Many happen during the morning shower...lol...but more often it's when I'm in the garden, or driving in the car, or laying my head down to go to sleep at night.

It's funny how they tend to pop out of my head when I have something to write on or when I sit down at my computer!

But I love Pinterest and my bookmark folders.  They are my saving grace.  I find things and can save them for when I have more time to dive into the depths of my thoughts.

Here is one that I actually first found two years ago...yup, thank goodness they sent me an email the other day to remind me that I had liked the site and its possibilities.

Planbook.com

I have to change school sites for the upcoming year.  It's not as close to home and it's in another town...which I won't have a reason to pop into over the weekend.  Oh, and that school has an alarm system that I don't want to have to disarm...ugh!  So most of my work will be done at home on the weekends.  My DH will be happy about that.

One of the things that drive me crazy is my lesson plan book.  I buy one each year.  I write everything in it and rewrite each week.  I hate having to add everything to every page by hand.  For someone who likes organization and making the best use of my time...it is like a thorn in my foot!

There are few reasons why I'm going to give it a try this year:

1. The lesson plans I set up in Publisher have to be reformatted for the schedule in my new school (so this is the perfect time to try something new)
2. I like to leave my lesson plan book at school...but now school is farther away.
3. I can share my lesson plans with my principal, other teachers or even a substitute if I get sick.
4. It allows me to include the CCSS on my plans.
5. If I have to change something...it is really easy and quick...I won't have to have sticky notes everywhere in my lesson plan book.

So I'm going to try it.  You can try it free for 30 days and if you like it, it only costs $12 for a year of use.  I will let you know how it goes...I suppose I should go get busy on  my lesson plans now :)

I need a new bag

My favorite teacher bag died last year.

This sweet little pup of ours took a fancy to the leather handles. Perhaps it was retaliation for this picture...or the fact that she had a bath.  I'm not sure, but I lost my favorite bag.  

It was just the right size.  Big enough to take home some work, but not so big that I took home more than I had time to do.  So it was perfect.

Now that I have time...I'm searching for a new bag.

So now I'm searching....if you happen to come across my blog, and you have a favorite bag, please let me know what it is and where you found it.

In the meantime...

Pinterest has helped me a bit...Here is a Pinterest page full of Teacher work bags/totes. 

This is what my first bag looked like:

It is the extra-large one.  It's monogrammed with my maiden name and came from LL Bean.  It was a gift from my master teacher and the first class of 4th graders all signed it.  It holds a lot...way too much!  It has a lot of sentimental value, but I don't use it to carry school stuff anymore.  Now it holds a whole bunch of yarn!

I've had an assortment of bags since, including the medium size LL Bean tote bag.  I have even resorted to using one of those reusable grocery bags!

But now I'm ready to be more organized.  One of the things that all my previous bags have had in common is that they were just a big bottomless pit of a bag.  Everything got lost in it!  I hate to admit how many times I've lost those important surveys, evaluations or letters that needed posting in it!

Here are a couple that I found interesting....

This one is from Really Good Stuff.

I like the file idea, but I'm not too keen on the outside pockets.

The 31 Organizational Tote has come up a lot in other teacher blogs:

It comes in some fun designs and fits one of those plastic stand alone files.  It also has some outside pockets....one of my sticking points.

Then there is the rolling thingy...

This is from Educational Insights.  The rolling thingy is a good idea if you are the kind of teacher that takes way too much home with them at night.  Are there teachers who don't take too much stuff home?  Could you give me a tip on that too?

Well...I will keep looking in between doing all the things on my summer bucket list.

Hope you are staying cool where ever you are...it's even hot up here in North Idaho!

Summer Plans

--Welcome summer!

--Welcome to evenings not filled with homework!

--Welcome to waking up without an alarm clock!

--Welcome to seeing friends and talking about non-school stuff!

--Welcome to time spent with the family...sort of...they are teenagers you know and have much busier lives than I do!

--Welcome to date nights with my husband!

--Welcome to my camera and the time to spend taking pictures of anything and everything!

--Welcome to the casual clothes in my closet and the occasional day when I don't get dressed until 1:00 in the afternoon!

--Welcome to my garden and the time to get my hands dirty!

--Welcome to my closet, the garage, the home office, the kitchen pantry and the pile in the corner of my bedroom...all the places that need cleaning! (honey, the shop is all yours!)

--Welcome to finally starting my teacher blog!