Back to School!

         School has officially begun! I am so thrilled with the amazing group of students I get to teach this year! They are all absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see what the year has to offer! We are starting our year off in Social Studies by going back to the start of our country and government by looking at Early European settlers and colonies in America! I am a huge believer in inquiry based learning. My students are currently beginning their first group project, and I am so excited! They were grouped based on their selection of personal interests in our 4 corner game! They will be working as a group to establish four essential questions that they hope to answer with their research to better aid them in their project! There are 6 group projects:

1. Create a Glog about Jamestown or Plymouth including how it began, what it looked like, daily life for its settlers, foods they ate, life with the Native Americas, etc...
2. Create a Flip Video commercial persuading Europeans back home in England to move to America.
3. Use a digital camera to create a scrapbook comparing life in Jamestown or Plymouth to life now. Use internet resources depicting life in early colonies to compare to current day photos.
4. Create a series of posters persuading the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower to sign the Mayflower Compact and settle in what is today known as Massachusetts instead of the agreed upon Virginia territory.
5. Use popsicle sticks and other materials to build a replica of an early European settlement like Jamestown or Plymouth.
6. Create a documentary by "interviewing pilgrims" about what life is like in America.

Before they begin, students will work as a group doing research for their project. They will record their findings and cite their findings on a flippable they make in class.

The students are working very hard so far! I can't wait to see how their projects turn out!!

Arrrrgh Matey! It's Parrrr-ty Time!

My baby boy Bentley is turning 7 years old very soon! This year I have decided to go with a pirate theme for his birthday party. His birthday always falls on Labor Day weekend, which is great timing! This year we are going to have a barrrr-bq to celebrate his birthday! I've always had birthday parties for Bentley, but this year will be his first in Texas! His Arkansas buddies won't be able to attend which is sad, but he's made some good buddies here that get to come! So far all I've accomplished are the invitations for the party! I will definitely share more details as they unfold!

 Cap'n William Bentley!!! Ready for his 7th birthday!!

More Fabulous Crafts :)

After I posted pictures of my new clipboards for my classroom, I have had so many other teachers and parents purchasing them for their classroom or children! I love making crafts, so this has been so much fun to do! I am thinking about making some crafts to take to a craft show sometime this year. I love to decorate and paint for children's rooms, but I equally love making things for all of the amazing teachers out there! These are a few more clipboards I have made!

What do you do with scraps of paper?! Make Greeting Cards!!!

-At some point this school year, everyone of you will receive one of these cards in the mail! That's right! I frequently send post cards and greeting cards to let your parents know about all of the wonderful work that you are doing in class! I love greeting cards! Everyone loves getting mail, especially when it's unexpected! I like to take it a little further by decorating my own cards. During the school year, you will get the opportunity to make your own cards as well. We will send cards to our soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, to our family, to younger students, etc.... Making cards is so much fun! You can personalize them to fit the person you are sending them to. These are just a few examples of ones I have made lately!

 These are very girly! I love the sparkly pink ribbon and the pink colorful paper!

These are a part of a travel collection! They are so colorful and I absolutely love them! They would be great during the summer or around Spring Break when everyone travels!

I love these cards! They are almost Christmas like in the fact that they are red and green! If you look at them in person though, you will realize that its actually more of a pinky red! I added rhinestones for a little drama :)

 I love mixing papers like I do on my clipboards! I also LOVE vintage owls! They are so cute! These two have a sort of eclectic feel. I love them!

Can I just say, I LOVE crafts!!

I have been keeping busy lately working on all sorts of super cute things for my classroom this year! You will see them all first hand when school begins! My most recent crafts are decorated clipboards! I made them by combining different types of scrapbook paper and ribbon to create colorful pieces of art. I am going to hang them on the wall and post your awesome student work on them! Since its a clipboard, I won't have to use staples or tacs to hang them with, and I won't mess up your work!

4th of July in Washington D.C!

Hi all!

I cannot tell you how excited I am for the school year to begin! I can't wait to meet all of my amazing new students and get this year started! As excited as I am about school starting, I have had quite a fun summer! I recently visited my brother and sister in law and my nephew in Washington, D.C for the 4th of July. I have been many times, but D.C is definitely one of those cities you can visit over and over and never see everything. We visited all of my favorite monuments and museums, and spent the evening in Georgetown down by the Potomac. It is such a beautiful city! I've included some pictures below!

This is the World War II memorial. It is so beautiful!! It is surrounded by arches with each state listed on them. Then in the middle is a huge water feature with fountains. People gather here to put their feet in the water. It also has an amazing view! It sits directly between the Washington Monument and the Capital! 

The White House! It was funny, while we were taking pictures we noticed someone stand up and then got back down. It was obviously a sniper. It made us think that at some point while we were standing there, there was probably a rifle scope pointed at us for a closer look! So crazy!

Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial! It was RIDICULOUSLY hot that day! We actually got to see a Navy officer propose to his Army girlfriend on the steps of the Lincoln! It was super cute!

This is the Air and Space Museum. It is full of fighter planes, space shuttles, drones, etc... Everything about aviation! Its awesome! 

This is the front of the Museum of Natural History. It is my favorite museum! It is full of exhibits that are so interesting! 

This elephant is in the middle of the foyer when you walk in, so obviously it was a call for a photo opp :)

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The lovely Washington Monument is behind me. You don't realize how big these monuments are until you're up close. Right here I am actually very far away from it!