Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Brownie Bunch! We hope you have a relaxing day and remember He is Risen!

Easter Themed Week

This week was a four day week and we celebrated it with an Easter theme. We have testing next week, so this week was focused on review and having fun so the kids wouldn't get frustrated.

I started Monday off with Easter eggs hidden all over the classroom. The students immediately noticed and couldn't wait for the hunt. There was not candy inside the eggs unfortunately, but there were math story problems. I used my kiddos names and Easter theme to create real world problems. We usually do these in our math journals, but I thought it would be a great way to mix it up. I also put coins in the eggs and the students had to find out how much their egg was worth. The students really seemed to enjoy it!

We completed a Peeps Science Experiment to see what liquid dissolved the peeps. The winner ended up being Diet Coke.

We read a nonfiction on Rabbits, Egg-Napped! (One of my favorite Easter/Spring books), and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Chick. My students love Lucille Colandro's There Was An Old Lady Series, and we have performed three of her books as Reader's Theaters. We did perform the Easter Version for a Kindergarten class and my kiddos thought they were something else! They did such as great job with props and all.

31 in 31: Week 4

Week 4 was amazing. Not because of the books I read, but because I spent five days at the beach with no makeup, lazy hair, and with no agenda. It was so amazing just to take some time to relax and hang out with my parents and little brother. The first day at the beach was nice. I ended up using a towel as a blanket and sleeping on a comfy beach lounge chair. The second day was really cold, so we decided to have a movie marathon. The third day was the best day for the beach. It wasn't too hot or too cold. I actually got a little color, not mug though!

I read a few books on the trip, mostly on the long road trip. I read some girly books along with the one I am highlighting. Seth and I have practiced the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Envelope Savings Plan. I read a blog that recommended a book about saving. It was America's Cheapest Family. I thought it was a great book. It was eye opening and connected with the book, Living with Less. The were a few sections that didn't relate to our lives right now, kids, looking/buying a house, and so on. But overall it gave simple ways and ideas to save money.

Date Nights on the Dime

The best advice we received when getting married was to always keep dating. So we decided when we first got married to have at least one date night per month.

I, being a Type A person, created an envelope for each month. Inside the envelope we put enough cash for the date, any coupons we could use, and a description of the date. One envelope for each month. We complete them within the month on whatever date works best for us! We started scheduling them at one point but it didn't work out quite well. I keep the envelopes where the monthly bills come and go, so I always remember them!

We try to make these stress free, simple, local, and affordable. These date nights are inexpensive; very affordable for dating, newlyweds, or any couples not wanting to break the bank. We try to keep the dates between 10-20.00. We always ask for restaurant gift cards around the holidays, so many times we use those. After all the most important thing is the time being spent together.


A Few of Our Past Date Nights:
Dinner and Local Royal Theater
Picnic at the Park
Pizza and Red box/Free Library Rental
Trip to Home Depot and Ice Cream
Camp Fire and S'mores
Homemade Tacos and Movie Theater

Dr. Seuss Celebration

We just ended the third nine weeks of my first year of teaching! I am so blessed with such a fun-filled career. Here are a few things we did to celebrate the amazing author, Dr. Seuss.

We wore a Hat for Cat in the Hat, dressed Wacky in honor of the book, Wacky Wednesday, and wore our Pajamas in honor of the Sleep Book. We made Butter and wrote an informative recipe to take home in honor of the Butter Battle Book. We read Oh the Places You'll Go and talked about what we wanted to be when we grow up. I cropped two photos of my kids showing what they want to be when they grow up. The bulletin board turned out real well!

31 in 31: Week 3

My mom travels A LOT, and every now and then she grabs a book to read on the plane and hands it down to me, then I pass it along as well. One of her favorite authors is Mitch Album. You may have heard of his initial book, Tuesdays with Morrie, or Five People You Meet in Heaven. This week I read The Time Keeper by Mitch Album. It was a very quick read. I read it in one setting, and I highly recommend it. It is about beating time, slowing down time, or changing time. Album really opens your mind and heart to living life to the fullest and what you might be missing by wishing your life away.

My favorite quote from the book was, "There is a reason God limits our days. Why? To make each one precious."

Currently- March

Listening/Watching- I recently have a new celebrity crush- Luke Bryan! Oh my i love his new Spring Break cd. It is perfect for the road trip to the beach!
Tonight is the finale for Biggest Loser, so I will have to find a new show starting next week! Dani has been my favorite member on Season 14.

Loving- I am loving the warmer weather that is coming through every few days in Arkansas. I love seeing the Bradford Pear trees white blooms, the yellow buttercups, and soon to see tulips! Spring is so close!

Wanting- a vacation- and I am getting it! Yay! It's Spring Break and I'm heading to Gulf Shores with the fam! My absolute favorite place on Earth to be!

Needing- I am one happy girl, so nothing I absolute need. I am thinking about taking this one off my currently. There is nothing in this world I cannot live without because I have a wonderful family, amazing friends, a roof over my head, and a fun job to go to everyday!

Reading- I am still completing my goal of 31 books in 31 weeks. I just finished one I will be posting about tomorrow. I brought a few along on the trip so maybe a few this week!

Live. Laugh. Love. and Pray.

31 in 31: Week 2

This week I read Living with Less by Joshua Becker. It was a very quick read on my kindle, but an eye opening one. Becker is a minimalist, meaning (in my definition) he lives with a minimum amount of things. He doesn't go buy a new car when the one he has is just fine, he doesn't buy the new fancy electronics just to have, and he doesn't buy the next big thing to keep up with the "Jones," as the expression says.

He decided to become a minimalist one day when spring cleaning out the garage and his son asked him to play ball. He said "no I have work to do," then he realized he is missing out on life because he has so much STUFF to deal with or that owned him. It is an interesting boom because it opens your eyes to putting your happiness in God and your relationship with others and not on possessions. I am not a minimalist by any means but this book made me open my eyes and look around and think, do I really need this or that? This book actually inspired me to go through all my clothes, our closet, and storage and donate, recycle, or sell things we do not need to get by.

31 in 31: Week 1

This week I finished Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, one of my favorite authors growing up. My favorite book growing up of hers was Catalyst. I read it over and over. This book was a national book award finalist and a Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction winner. It is considered a young adult book, but I enjoyed it so. It is a part of Anderson's Seeds of America Trilogy. I cannot wait to read book two, Forge. I also have her book, Fever 1793, on my reading list.

Here is the description of the book from
http://madwomanintheforest.com/historical-chains/

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight… for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom. From acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson comes this compelling, impeccably researched novel that shows the lengths we can go to cast off chains, both physical and spiritual.

I also read book two: Reptile Room of the Unfortunate Events Series by Lemony Snicket. His books are different for young readers, but I love them! I am starting book three today with some of my kiddos!

A New Day

It's a new day, a new week. I read Jesus Calling every morning when I wake up. It is the first thing I do. I don't know if you own it but I highly recommend it! It's a daily devotional that I read at the beginning of each day, and it is a reminder throughout my day.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Pinterest Project

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to start putting my Pinterest pinning into action. I have decided to start sharing the projects I complete!

I made this a while back and I enjoy it at least every two weeks, it is a detox bath. I bought the ingredients in bulk because it was cheaper.

Detox Bath Ingredients:
1 cup Epsom salt
1 cup baking soda
fresh ground ginger (we keep in fridge)
A few drops of an essential oil of your choice, I used peppermint oil because I already had it at the house. (We use peppermint oil for headaches)
Combine all ingredients in hot water. Sit for 40 minutes.

I love to take baths and relax with a good book, why not detox at the same time! Warning: it will make you sweat like crazy, but that is a goooood thing!

I also made a hair exfoliate because in the winter my scalps gets so dry. This was all free because I had all in the pantry!

Scalp Exfoliant Ingredients:
Brown sugar
Fine ground oatmeal
Conditioner
Essential oil
Combine all and rub in circular motion on scalp.

10 Things I Have Learned About Teaching

1. My to-do list will never get shorter.

2. I will never get tired of searching for ways to make me a better teacher.

3. A band-aid and/or trip to the water fountain cures just about anything when you're 7
.
4. I love (I should say obsessed with) children's books and school supplies.

5. I have 22 kiddos that mean the world to me, and I cannot wait to see them every Monday.

6. I am constantly thinking of fun, attention grabbing lessons to do.

7. I love teachers pay teachers and teacher blogs...so much inspiration.

8. There is nothing like a hug when you are having a bad day. It is like they know.

9. I love to hear students talk about what they are reading and recommend books to each other.

10.  The happiness I feel when my students that struggle gets it.

I love my job!