Merry Christmas Everyone!

Two words say it all "Merry Christmas"! I have been truly blessed with many things this year. For one, I was given the honor of being named a Rodel Exemplary Teacher finalist out of 6 teachers in Pima County. I have been with a loving a caring man, my husband Ben for 12 years. He is my rock and I don't know what I would do without him. We are both blessed with loving and supportive families. We are expecting a baby niece quite soon if not by the end of January. It is amazing to watch a child grow and turn into a wonderful human being. I absolutely love our nephew Maddex! He is now 2 and he isn't terrible at all. He is a sweet and curious little guy and he is in love with our dog "Snuggles". It's the little things in life that are important and I cherish every moment we have with our loved ones. I wish you all Merry Christmas and hope you are enjoying this joyous day with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas!

I am the luckiest person ever!

Happy Sunday everyone! I am finally on a well deserved 3 day vacation! I will be spending the weekend with my wonderful husband and loving parents at our family cabin in northern Arizona. I love Labor day and spend this week teaching my students the importance of understanding holidays and their meanings instead of it being "just a day off". I feel like life has caught up with me and now I am barely treading water. I spent 12 hours at work prepping my room, cleaning my room, and just trying to organize it. You wouldn't think that 3 weeks of school would disorganize someone but it happened to me. I had to organize it Friday otherwise I would have never gotten it done. I brought home my dog and work on yet again more stuff and do the laundry in preparation for our trip. Well I walked into the house and this is what I saw....

BEN WAS CLEANING THE HOUSE ON A FRIDAY EVENING! This is not unusual to see him cleaning but it was just Friday and we were getting ready to leave and he knows how much I love to come home to a clean house. He not only cleaned but earlier in the day he graciously came down to my school to be "Rocket Man". We as a grade level did the mentos and diet coke experiment. He dropped the mentos into the bottle, wore a lab coat and a got a little messy. Needless to say he also inherited 102 excited and happy Kindergartners. LOL! My kids were in love with him. Ben is fascinated by how curious and young my kiddos are. Let's just say my class will be treated to his "P" shaped pancakes in a few weeks. THEY LOVE THAT!That is why I named my entry today "LUCKIEST PERSON EVER!" I truly am blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is understanding of my life and personality. LOL!

We are in my birthplace this weekend in beautiful Prescott, AZ! Ben decided to take advantage of the cooler 70 degree weather and take his bike out on a ride this morning. I drove him to his starting point and here are a few pics I snapped when he started his "adventure".

Here he is getting ready to ride. I drove him to the base of our cabin since there wasn't a "bike path" and I was being overly cautious. LOL!

He's all ready. I had to snap a "last shot" just in case it was his actual last shot. LOL!

Bye Ben! Have fun! See you at Starbucks!

My definition of "breakfast of champions"! My dad's homemade menudo! YUM!

So I guess that is all for now. I hope everyone is having a wonderful and relaxing weekend! I know I am.

Bye!
Clarissa

Itchy itchy itchy hives!!!

Good Evening Everyone!

I am pretty much done with back-to-school sales now since they are very few left. I know Office Depot has 5 cent pencil cap erasers  but nothing too exciting. So yesterday was fun! I had my friends over to craft. The plan was to eat lunch and then make pocket chair covers BUT I got as far as cutting the fabric. So they are still not done but I guess I have over Labor Day holiday to do them. As we were crafting, I started feeling itchy behind my ears. I scratched for a while and then it started to spread as if I were getting a rash. Well soon enough, it spread all over my body! I had full on hives. I thought of everything I ate and nothing was out of the ordinary. The only explanation I can give is maybe the yard work I did on Wednesday caused me to have small hives on my legs where I touched the plants. Only thing is that I am EXTREMELY itchy. I took Benadryl and all it did was knock me out! We went out to dinner and had a wonderful time. I wasn't itchy and slept throughout the night. This morning I woke up and yet again I was covered in hives. I couldn't even think straight because I was concentrating on the itching. LOL! I finally decided to go to Urgent Care. I am now on 3 different prescriptions! We still don't know what caused this but it's no fun. As I type, I just discovered a hive on my lower lip and boy does it hurt! Enough of me telling you about my problem.....I have a few more pictures from our remodel.

We have a bonus room now! We used to have 3 bedroom 2 bathrooms but now we have a third bathroom. (It isn't very pleasant and I don't have to use it but it's pretty funny) Just take a look.....

Our third bathroom! NOT!

Our massive trash can. We have thrown all kinds of junk in here. Can't wait til it's gone!

I cut this piece of fabric. That's all I did before I got hives.

Here is a picture of my Aunt Susan and I at her Birthday Party weekend in Scottsdale. I love you Susan!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!

My pictures were a mash of a little bit of everything. Sorry! I am now off to take my medications and grade my homework folders before I go to sleep. Have a great evening! Have a wonderful Monday!

Clarissa

And so it begins........WOOHOO!!!!

Good Evening Everyone!

Well the time has come for our contractor  to start the work on our master bathroom! It has been a process and I am finally excited to see some destruction! I got home and it really wasn't that bad. I was expecting a huge mess with lots of dust. My first impression was that I was impressed but the longer I sit in our master bedroom the more dust I see and my eyes are watering. The dust is so much I am not sure I want to run our fan as we usually do. LOL! All in all, we are going to start the tile work and get the shower and tub installed soon. After that we replace the toilet and paint. The last is to install the vanities and mirrors. It will be another 6-8 weeks until we have our bathroom back but I am very excited. Here are some pictures of what I have so far.....enjoy!

Ben has to brush his hand across my dresser and this is the amount of dust we have and are breathing in as we speak. LOL!

Another dresser with a even amount of dust.

The ugly wallpaper is gone! The shower is gone and the old tub. They are currently in the garage but it's awaiting new plumbing.

This is what started the WHOLE remodel. We had water that leaked into the walls and softened the wood. Now we are getting a whole new bathroom.

This is another part which needs fixing since it looks like it has rotted.

Me in the "tub"! I am so excited it's finally getting done! We only have been planning this for 1 1/2 years!

So that's it! What has happened so far. I had made arrangements with my dear friends who were nice enough to let my pampered pooch stay at their house for the day. Tomorrow Snuggles will have to go back since they are going to start fixing the walls and maybe install tile. I think the funniest thing that Snuggles did was not want to leave our friends house because she is spoiled there. It was a little embarrassing pulling her leash and her resisting me. Oh grilled cheesus! I hope she has fun tomorrow. I am just happy it's Friday. This year I feel like I am falling behind on things but I try my best to keep myself on my toes. Oh well! Goodnight all! Happy Friday!

Cheers to family and great sales! (well maybe not so much the sale part....)

Good Morning Everyone! 

I have been here in Scottsdale for the weekend to celebrate my Aunt Susan's birthday!  She is my Aunt but also has been a second mother to me. I love her and wish her many more wonderful birthdays to come! It has been a weekend of laughter, much needed family time, and we have made many memories.Cheers! (oh wait, maybe a little early for the cheers since it's only 8:30 in the morning! LOL!)

Onto the sales for this week......(don't be too disappointed since sales are starting to wind down)

Office Max

25 cents for.....

index cards (limit 1)

40 pack of assorted erasers and grips (limit 2)

12 pack of #2 pencils (limit 3)

$1 BIC Round Stic ballpoint pens 12 pk (limit 2)

50 cents for composition notebooks (limit 3)

50 cents for glue combo packs (white glue and 2 glue sticks OR white glue and scissors) (limit 3)

Expo and Crayola products (selected items) buy 2 get 1 free!

Office Depot

1 cent for 2 pocket folders (limit 10)

1 cent for slider pencil boxes (limit 3)

25 cents for 8 pack of #2 pencils (limit 3)

25 cents for 5" scissors pointed or blunt tipped (limit 3)

25 cents for student compass (limit 3)

$2 for a 4 pack of Sharpie Chisel tip markers 

Buy 1 Get 1 Free on Select Crayola and Expo products

Target

$4 for 3 pk Paper Mate Clearpoint mechanical pencils (MY FAVORITE PENCILS!!!)

$5 10 count Sharpie Markers pack

Staples

With a $5 minimum purchase you can get 1 cent spiral notebooks (limit 6)

25 cents for white glue (limit 4)

50 cents for index cards (limit 2)

50 cents for 2 pack composition notebooks (limit 2)

I hope everyone who reads and follows my blog is also having a wonderful restful weekend. Have a great Sunday, thank you for reading and happy shopping!

Clarissa

The first days of school....I have survived so far

I know I know...I said I would post on Sunday night but time got away from me and the thought of being able to relax a few extra hours was too enticing to give up. Overall the first two days were SO MUCH better than last year's first two days. My kiddos are responding really well to the signal and yes I do have a turkey or two that I have to control but overall I am really looking forward to watching this year's class grow. We got class lists on Wednesday night (the evening BEFORE school started). It was a rush to get every one's names on stuff but it happened. The only glitch was making sure we had bus paperwork on every kid. After pulling the team together and figuring out who rode bus, we did it! Not an issue any longer which makes my life easier. I guess the best moment of the first day of school was when I was in the boy's bathroom explaining the rules and procedures for how to properly use the bathroom. I had a student who was jumping up and down while I was explaining where #1 goes and #2 goes. (I know it sounds gross but they are 5, I leave no stone unturned.) Well I asked the student if he could wait a few minutes until I finished, he said yes so I continued with my script. All of a sudden...he springs a leak and urine comes flying out of his pants. I quickly rush him into the stall and slam the door! We all walk out and return after I hear the flush and he comes out of the stall. I continue to use him as a model student while we show the rest of the boys how to use the sink and how to properly wash our hands. LOL!!! Great story that I will never forget.

This week has been great so far. I am up to 22 little angels. We have higher numbers than last year which is good in some ways. I always forget how needy Kindergartners can be but they love people who care about them. I truly care about each and every one of my students. I make sure they are comfortable and safe. I make sure they learn and get help when needed. It's been a BUSY first 4 days to the school year but I know the next 175 days will be amazing!

So here it is.....the moment you have ALL been waiting for........

MY CLASSROOM!

Tonight at parent orientation for 1st - 6th grade, I snapped some pictures to make sure I posted them. I am very proud of my classroom and my students really like it too. Enjoy!

These are birthday cupcakes I made for my birthdays throughout the year. I write their names and date on the "wrapper" part. I laminated them so I could erase the previous year's students with a magic eraser and write them on with Sharpie.

My calendar board. It is still a work in progress but as you can see it's bright, colorful and cheery!

This is my new calendar to go with the border. I also used the Cricut to make the apples, buses, and year. I did this last year but I thought it was a cute idea to share.

Here is a close up shot of my days of the week. I also used the Cricut to make all the signs except for "board". They are also colorful and the students respond well to both visuals.

Here is a picture of my rules, rewards and consequences board. We are doing a school wide behavior program which is meant to encourage good behavior. We call it PAWS here it is. I fell in love with the mini dog bones and bullet points. LOL!

Funny story about this picture, I have been a English Learning Development teacher for 4 years now and the state requires you to have a Grammar Wall posted in each ELD teacher. Well I went through the trouble to Cricut the names of each part of speech BUT since incoming Kinders tested proficient, we now only have 1 ELD class! Woohoo!! This means that the grammar wall almost doesn't need to happen but we shall see.

Here are what each student has. One summer, my best friend and I went to the Jr. high wood shop to use their tools so we could make crayon holders. These are a teachers dream! They are super organized and you can see what they are doing. My friend was the best at helping me.

I have gotten inspiration from another Pinterest guru and she suggested organizing the materials you need for the month in each cubby. I took it a step further and Cricut cut the letters and used the black and white background. GENIUS! All I can say is I LOVE THEM!!!\\\

My welcome back board with the kids first day of school drawing.

For the first time in 6 years, I have never had a desk. The reason why it's messy is because it's the beginning of the year and I have a million and one things to do. LOL!

Here is a close up of my organizers. I also have my write n wipe picture frame. So cute! Both Pinterest inspired ideas. All I can say is that Pinterest is a teachers dream and to all those who add their ideas, THANK YOU!

Last but not least, MY NEWEST ADDITION TO MY CLASSROOM IS MY CHAIR POCKETS!!! This was the first and it's a little lop sided but it goes with my black and white theme and they are ADORABLE! I hope to make them before I start grad school again. This is the cutest thing I have ever made!

So there you go! My classroom in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy! I am excited to share these pictures with you and show off my labor of love. I hope to inspire others to shoot for the stars OR call the looney bin for me. LOL! Nite!

Clarissa

Sales, sales, sales!!!

Did your ears perk up this morning when you saw my post that said "SALES?!" Well do not get too excited because there are not a whole lot this week but I did manage to find some deals. This weekend was meant for recuperating after the first two days of school. So far, my class is great! I am super excited to see how much they will grow and learn this school year. Not a lot of criers but I have two that rely on a stuffed animal to get them through the day. I already have notified parents that I am going to start "weening" them off the stuffed animal this week. It shouldn't be that bad. I have more to post about my week last week but I will do that this evening, now onto the sales!

Office Max

Deal of the Week: 5 FREE spiral notebooks (10 if you are a teacher) with a $5 minimum purchase!

Buy 1, Get 1 50% off of Crayola products, Sharpie products, Expo Products, BIC, Elmer, Post It. Make sure they are regular price to get the deal.

There are also a bunch of deals where you pay full price for the product and they give you "rewards points" later. They also claim it's like paying 1 cent for your purchase. 

Some deals that fall under this are binders, batteries, and labels. Check out the website ad for more details.

Office Depot

1 cent (limit 3) spiral notebooks

50 cents (limit 3) Office Depot brand 2 pk black dry erase markers

$1 for 12 pk mechanical pencils (limit 3)

$5 Mr Sketch 12 pk smelly markers (these are great for grading!!)

25% off teaching supplies and Carson Dellosa stuff!

Staples

Pay $6 and get and Easy Rebate for $5 (so you only pay $1) for Copy Paper

R-Zebra Z Grip Black pens: pay $4 get $4 back in easy rebate

With a $5 minimum purchase 10 cents for composition notebooks (limit 3)

Michaels

25% off purchase PLUS an extra 10% off with coupons (go to website) from 4-8 PM TODAY!!!

Target

This store did not have outstanding deals but they had a lot of college stuff and organization stuff on sale. If you are still looking for organization for your classroom or home, now is the time to buy! 

Well I guess that is all for this week about sales. I do love this time of year! I have bought everything for my classroom as well as everything I will need for grad school classes. Happy Shopping and I will post my adventures of last week this evening. Have a good day!

Clarissa

Here is to a new school year and to wonderful people!

Twas the night before the first day of school and all through the school...(you know where this is going)

It is the night before the first day of school for me and all of my Flowing Wells friends. We were treated to a wonderful district assembly this morning full of fun, laughter and entertainment. The entertainment was top notch (as always). It is amazing to see schools come together to put on a fantastic show for one another. I always love seeing friends that I have worked with that have moved onto other schools. Its nothing like Facebook but it's really enjoyable. After the assembly, I attended a tradition my mentor teacher started and four of her six student teachers (who all work in the same district) all went out to lunch. We had a wonderful time catching up on girlie things and talking about our future in the classroom. When I got back to school it was BUSINESS! There was one minor detail my principal, assistant principal and I had to work out and that was......CLASS LISTS! The rest of the school had theirs for a few weeks already except poor Kindergarten. I was just beginning to hate the State of Arizona for trying to segregate our non-english speakers and separating them even more by giving them a placement test (which I helped administer all day yesterday), 51% PASSED! The great news to this is that instead of 3 English Learning Development classes, we now only have 1 and the other 4 are Fluently English Proficient! I was so excited and my team was as well. We worked hard the rest of the afternoon separating informational papers the teachers needed, made lists, wrote out their name tags and what not. I think I left school around 7:45 and came home to only do more work. I can now say it is all done and I am ready for the day tomorrow. I had a stressful past couple of days but I am forever grateful for the people in my life who helped me.

I would first like to thank my dearest and bestest (not a real word, I know) friends Karen and Tricia. They came to my rescue yesterday afternoon when I showed up to Tricia's office stressed out and they helped me set up everything so I could focus on class lists today. They have always been there for me through thick and thin and I do not know what I would do without these two WONDERFUL people. I would then like to thank my Kindergarten team who pulled together these last few days to make sure we were ready for the first day and they separated paperwork to go to the designated teacher. Nice teamwork and I am so happy to be working with all of you. Next up is Ben. I probably drive him crazy and nuts with all of my teaching craziness but somehow he is patient and understanding. He ran to Wal-Mart to get me last minute name tags so I didn't have to go out in the rain and get them myself at 8PM this evening. You are truly the best and I love you! I am also very thankful for my crafty friend Amy who helps me make my crazy dreams of crafting come true. You have worked tireless hours getting the school ready for our first day and I appreciate all you do for our staff as well as be a friend to me. Thank you! Meyer, Favela, Trott, and my administration. Thank you for helping me keep a smile on my face when I was frustrated over not having a class list. I am beyond thankful for your friendship. You are why I am a "bulldog" and want to stay a "Bulldog 4 Life". Last but not least, my readers. Like I have said before, you are wonderful for reading about my life stories and I appreciate you! If I forgot anyone else, I do apologize. It is probably due to the lack of sleep and excitement I have for tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading and I hope to have fun stories to tell tomorrow!

Clarissa

Weekly sales....and gratitude!

Aaahhhh!!! Summer is officially over....I am a little sad because I did not get to finish all of my goals I had set for myself this summer but I am coming to terms with it. I have been a busy bee this past week getting my classroom ready and meeting my potential students since we are in limbo over class lists. Anyways, here are the deals for this week......

Target
$1 each for the following items...
             -90 count 3x3 post its
             -1 5-star subject notebook
             -2 pack black sharpie 
            -3 count Sharpie highlighter
49 cents each for the following items...
            -100 pk index cards
            -10 pk Roseart markers
            -12 ct Roseart colored pencils
            -24 pk Roseart crayons
            -70 sheet one subject notebook
            -pencil box cases
            -Scotch magic tape

Office Max
Deal of the Week: 5 FREE Composition notebooks with a $5 minimum purchase. If you are a teacher you can get 10 FREE notebooks.
25 cents for #2 pencils 12 pk (Limit 3)
25 cents for Filler paper (Limit 3)
$4.99 for 8GB jump drive
If you go online and look at there ad, there are some printable coupons you can use that are good deals as well. For example: $2 for a 72 pk of #2 pencils!

Office Depot
1 cent for white glue (Limit 3)
25 cents for filler paper (Limit 3)
25 cents for 3 pk pink erasers (Limit 3)
Sharpie packs are buy 1 get 1 free!
50% off all Crayola Dry Erase Products!

Staples
With a $5 minimum purchase you can get 1 cent filler paper (limit 5)
Also with the minimum purchase you can get 50 cents for a 5 pk of mechanical pencils (limit 2)

This weeks deals were pretty blah. Although there are some great deals! I hope you are almost set to start the school year off right. I woke up this morning at 7 after trying to train my body to get up at 5:30. It is going to be a tough week but I am looking forward to meeting my Kindergartners! My room is very cute and I am currently working on making chair pockets for each of my students chairs. I can't wait til they are done! To all of my readers who have started school, I hope your school year has gotten off to a wonderful start. To all of my readers who are getting ready for the first day, I hope your school year is a wonderful one. To the parents who read this, I hope your child has a wonderful connection with their teacher and you are involved in the classroom as much as possible (I know we appreciate it!). And finally to everyone else, thank you for investing your time to reading this blog. I can only express how appreciative I am of your support. I hope to keep up this blog throughout the school year. There is never a dull day in my life so I am sure I will be sharing many great memories with you. Have a wonderful Sunday and happy shopping!

Clarissa

Goals make me crazy!!! Literally!

Here is a picture of a finished bouquet!!! Thanks Amy for giving me this picture!!!! Doesn't it look awesome?!

Good Evening! What a wonderful day!!! I love technology and was fortunate enough to watch the Women's Gymnastics this morning while eating breakfast. It was a great competition and a well deserved win for "The Fab 5". My favorite part was calling my husband's cell phones (yes, he has 2!), his work phone, texting to spoil the surprise. I did this because he decided to tell me the night before all of the results before I sat down to watch the evening broadcast. We have this weird relationship where we try to "out do" each other. It probably isn't healthy but I know we both enjoy having a little fun. LOL! I looked at my pictures and really haven't taken much in the past week. I need to get out and do stuff! 

Well I guess I can talk about my ambitious goals for the near future...

I have decided to take on near impossible tasks to do but I am determined to make my life as complicated as possible. I have been wanting chair pockets for my classroom chairs but when researching for prices and quality, it would be over $200. I spend that money on necessary classroom materials such as glue sticks, notebooks, and manipulatives. I put that off for a year but still had that "want" on my list so I decided to play around on Pinterest. I looked up chair pockets and up pops different types of chair pockets to make. I figure I could make them for 50% less. Sure it takes time and buying materials, but I see it as a goal to reach by December. The best part is that I am not limited to certain color fabric so I could match it to my theme which is "black and white". This is very exciting and scary since I am not the best at using a sewing machine. By working on these I should be a pro by the time I finish all of the chair pockets. 

The other goal I have set for myself is to make quarterly writing and reading journals so I have a better record for parents so they can see the throughout the year. 

I may need to recruit help throughout my processes (aka, Tricia, Karen, Amy, Andrea)...LOL!!! I thank anyone else in advanced that I con into helping my craziness. 

All the while, I am a full time Kindergarten teacher and graduate student. I should have plenty of time! Yeah! Right!! Well this crazy crafty lady needs rest. School starts in 8 days. I don't think I am ready but I am sure it will be ok when the first day comes...Thanks for reading! Goodnight!

Clarissa

Flower Making Party

Today's blog is about an event that was held at my house last weekend. My best friend Tricia is getting married in October to a wonderful man, Alex. I am honored beyond belief to be a part of her special day by being a bridesmaid as well as her "crafty BEEF". She actually is the crafty one since she had decided back in March that she wanted to make her bouquets for her wedding party instead of using real flowers. I knew it was going to take a lot of time and energy so we decided to get everything cut and ready to go so I could host a "flower making" party at my house. All I can say is that it was great fun! I got the privilege of meeting Tricia's mom and sister! I have heard so many wonderful things from Tricia about them that I felt like they had been part of my family all along. Tricia and I also recruited her future in-laws and friends that we work with and people we both love and want her to remember that they made her "dream" come true. Here are some pictures that I snapped while making sure everyone had enough energy to craft...

Here is the bride in a black dress, her sister Hannah (hope I spelled it correctly) and her wonderful mom! Look how happy Tricia looks! She is a very happy bride!

Here is the spread I put together. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the mini fruit bowls! Glad I thought of it!

Of course I went overboard and HAD to make mini strawberry shortcakes with mini spoons! Hehe!! They were yummy if I may add.

Look at that teamwork! So many flowers and hot glue gun injuries. These bouquets are much appreciated!

Look what 2 glue guns and 5 people get done! The table is getting full of flowers!

Someone didn't want to be pictured so I shall call her "flower face". hehe! They are looking nice!

Here are the flowers Tricia pre-made prior to the flower making party. She had to quill them and hot glue them. They are ready to put in bouquets!

We recruited Alex's mom, sisters, and his brothers girlfriend to help! They were in charge of making the beaded accents for the bouquet.

At this station, we had our Vicki and Nancy working on daisies (I think). It was glue guns galore in our house!

Here is the detail of one of the flowers that were put together. Crazy!!!

Now look at the table! It is covered!!!! Now time to assemble...

So that was results from a wonderful day with 14 of Tricia's closest family and friends (we missed our other BEEF Marg) but it was very productive. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of one  of the finished products but I will post it as soon as I see them again. The only way she was able to do this was by using my Cricut Expression and the Flower Shoppe cartridge. If you want specific sizes of what we made, make a comment and I will get back to you. Good night!

Week 4 Back to School Sales!

Good Morning! Here are this weeks sales. There are not a whole lot of things on sale this week. Every year, there is a "lull" week, I think this is it! Oh well, here is what I found...

Office Depot

Next Saturday (Aug. 4) is Teacher Appreciation Day! Make sure you go in!

Composition books 25 cents each (limit 3)

1 cent two pocket folders (limit 10)

Staples

With a $5 minimum purchase you can get a hold of these great deals...

1 cent 100 pack paper clips (limit 2)

1 cent two pocket folders (limit 10)

$1- 1 inch binder (limit 2)

Some other deals...

25 cents for 5 pack mechanical pencils (limit 4)

$5 for 24 pk of mechanical pencils

Michaels

20% off entire purchase including sale items! Go to Michaels website and in the weekly ad, you can download and print the coupon to use in store! Better yet, download the app onto your phone and just show the coupon on your phone at the register. Also remember your teacher id, you can sometimes use the coupon and id (15% discount) together. 

JoAnns

Teacher Appreciation Days are August 11-12.

During those two days, you can get 25% your purchase! 

I also looked at the Office Max, Target, Wal-Mart, and Walgreens but they didn't have outstanding worth mentioning deals. That is it for this weeks sales! Thanks for reading, happy shopping! 

Clarissa

My new and improved classroom!

Today's the day I show off all of the hard work that has prevented me from posting to this blog over the summer. I have organized, thrown out junk, re-organized and finally I am here to show you my finished product! Not one thing is messy in my room. I love my bulletin boards, organizers and set up of my furniture. I generally do not re-organize my furniture but I did a little bit this year. Enjoy!!!

This isn't done yet but it will house my Harcourt Storytown themes which will include worksheets, centers, teacher materials. I had this in my house and was just collecting dust so I figured it would be used at school. I was given this wonderful organizer by my neighbor who has given me so much.

I just re-organized my shelves. I actually can see and use my pre-decodable and decodable books now! I organized them by using those fork,spoon organizers. They are awesome! Under that are my workshop books that I have attended over the years. Under that it's just a few boxes that have materials and under that I used magazine boxes to separate spiral notebooks, social studies workbooks, writing journals, alphabet folder centers. I love this!

The next few pictures are my new and improved bulletin boards and teacher desk! I had a lot of fun making these!!! I have decided to go towards the black and white theme. I also use it as an excuse to stay away from changing my borders each month. I will probably sell my old borders on Craigslist for a REALLY cheap price.

I love love love the black and white theme so I decided to use polka dots on my calendar wall. The yesterday, today, tomorrow and days of the week signed I made last year using my Cricut. I also made a years worth of calendar pieces but that it another blog entry. On the left side, I still have signs to make so it's still in a work in progress.

Here is my "kid board" where I take pictures of my students at the beginning of the year and I put them on this board and change them each month. They start out as balloons "soaring high for expectations". LOL!

Here is my main board where I used to put my weekly art work but I think it will now be an academic board of some sort but I haven't worked out the logistics. Oh well, BUT it's black and white so I am very happy!

My pride and joy! My desk! I have not had a desk since my first year of teaching and this year I decided to treat myself. I have organized my pens, crayons, "extra" miscellaneous things on my table which you cannot see very well. I also have an organizer for my binders for the various jobs I do around campus. (This way I can be organized) and I decided to hide my bigger center toys under the cloth! I used Velcro so I can have easy access along with a nice way to hide things. Overall I am very happy. What I realize right now is you cannot see my magnetic border on my whiteboard. I guess I will have to post another picture.

Well I hope you enjoy and get some inspiration for your own classrooms. I know Pinterest has been a huge inspiration for me. I love decorating and making things work in classrooms so I look forward to the school year. I can't believe summer has gone by so quickly but oh well! Have a restful evening and Go Team USA!!!!

Back to School Sales Week 3

Good Morning Teachers and Parents!!!!

Welcome to week 3! I can't believe school starts for me in just a few weeks! I set up my classroom last week and am so excited! It looks so nice and all that time and hard work I put into it this summer will pay off this school year. Ok, so here we go on this week's deals....


Office Depot
Rulers, Protractors 10 cents each (didn't say a limit)
1 inch poly binder 50 cents each (limit 3)
4 pack Scholastic glue sticks 50 cents each (limit 3)
BIC white out correction tape 50 cents each (limit 3) GOOD DEAL!!
35 cents color copies for teachers (just an FYI)

Office Max
Protractor or Ball Bearing compass 5 cents each (limit 3)
Scholastic Markers 10 pk or 8 pk 25 cents each (limit 2)
5 pk pink erasers 25 cents (limit 2)
Composition notebook 50 cents each (limit 5)
Mechanical pencils 10 pk for 75 cents (limit 3)
10 FREE FOLDERS! (must make a $5 minimum purchase)

Staples
Easy Rebates are SUPER EASY! These deals are worth it if you can wait to get your money back...
Zebra 10 pk Mechanical Pencils (pay $4 but get it back after you submit the rebate)
Pentel 5 pk Pens (pay $4 but get it back after you submit the rebate)

The following deals are 1 cent deals with a $5 minimum purchase. I am assuming there is a limit but it didn't say in the ad.
1 cent pink eraser caps package
1 cent 3x5 index cards

These are just deals that I thought I should mention
25 cents for tape flags
50 cents for 5 pk Sharpie highligters
$1 Post-It die cut notes
$1 multipurpose copy paper

Target
The following deals are 99 cents this week
6pk Elmers glue
8pk mechanical pencils
12 pk Crayola Colored pencils
Selected Mead folders, notebooks, composition notebooks
20 cents for 2 pk pink erasers, pencil sharpener
There are also many deals on storage and organization tubs. Take a look when you go to Target. I bought all my organization at the beginning of the summer when the stuff was on sale. My room now looks fantastic!! Maybe I'll post a pic up tonight!

Happy Shopping!

Clarissa

Back to School Sales week 2

Hello Educators!

It's the wonderful time of the week where new sales for back to school appear.

Hope everyone found great deals last week so here is for another week of happy shopping...

Office Max
With a $5 minimum purchase you can get up to 2 of rulers, sharpeners and 24pk crayons (Office Max brand).
Also, limit 3 each you can get these great deals...
10 cents for a 10 pack of Papermate Blue or Black ballpoint pens
10 cents for Dixon 10 pack pencils

Office Depot
10 cents 2 pocket portfolio (with or without prongs) Limit 10

Staples
With a $5 minimum purchase you can get the following items for 1 cent each...
8.5x11 writing pad (white or yellow) Limit 2
5 tab divider (limit 2)
Also you can get the following deals....
5 pack BIC mechanical pencils for FREE by submitting a easy rebate (honestly, they are super easy!)
50 cents for Staples pencil boxes
6pk  Remarx dry erase markers (limit 4)
$1 Expo Dry Erase Board cleaner

Wal-mart
10 cents Elmers glue stick (this is for each glue stick! GOOD DEAL!)
50 cents Crayola 24 pk crayons
50 cents for Elmer's White Glue
92 cents for 1 inch binder

(Wal-Mart does ad match prices BUT you will need to take the add to show them the pricing. They used to let prices go on the honor system but not anymore. This means you can save gas and go to Wal-Mart and just get the stuff like you would get at the same price.)

Michaels
Just a side note that Michael's gives a 15% discount everyday for teachers with id. Right now they have some cute classroom supplies at buy 2 get 1 free.

That is it for this week. Not a ton of gonga deals but I am sure it will pick up next week. I know in July there is always a "dull" week of sales. Have fun!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Good Morning to Everyone out there! I hope you still remember who I am but I have been enjoying some much needed time off from life. The coming Sundays will be dedicated all the teachers out there looking for "Smokin'" deals for back to school. I myself and a shopaholic and love a good deal when I see one. This is the start to the season so happy reading and happy shopping!

Target has some good deals....
50 cents for 2-pocket poly portfolio
75 cents for 1-subject poly notebooks
99 cents for 10-count markers or 12-count colored pencils (Crayola brand)
$4 for 12-ct dry erase crayons
$1 for 2pk Sharpie markers or pocket highlighters (LOOK AT STAPLES DEAL!)
$10 Sterlite 3-drawer white rolling storage cart

Out of all the sales at Target, these are NOT the best deals but they will only get better. The Sterlite 3-drawer cart is a good deal especially if you are considering organizing your classroom more.

The next store on my list is Staples....
The next three deals are 1 cent each BUT limit 2. (That just means more visits and store hopping...LOL!)
RoseArt Crayons 24-pk
Staples washable white school glue 4 oz.
BIC Round Stic ballpoint pens, black, 8 pk.

5pk/ $1 Sharpie pens
25 cents for Paper Mate Sharpwriter mechanical pencils 5pk
25 cents Staples 8.5x11 multipurpose paper (Limit 2, rebate required so you pay 6.99 but get 6.74 back)
50 cents pink eraser 3 pack
$1 4pk Staples glue sticks (if you are desperate these may be ok, but I would hold out for a Elmers deal)

Out of all these deals, the Sharpies are good. The multipurpose paper is great if you are willing to front the money and wait for the easy rebate. They are really easy to submit online so you do not have to mail it in and pay for postage.  Also Staples has brought back their "Back to School" savings pass. The kicker is that it costs you $10 so you can save 15% all season long on back to school items. The 15% pass only lasts til 9/15/12. (Opinions are welcome to this but I see it as a waste of money). In their ad, they have a $5 off coupon a $30 or more purchase.

Next up is Office Max...
10 FREE 2-pocket folders with a $5 minimum purchase (before tax)
25 cents for 4pk Office Max glue sticks (GOOD DEAL!!! Limit 3 otherwise you pay $2 for more than that)
50 cents for Composition notebooks (Limit 5)

If you pick up one of their ads, you will find additional coupons for some pretty good deals.
$1 for 12pk Black Sharpie markers
$1 Paper Mate Mechanical pencils 2pk
(Just remember to get a coupon!)

Office Max also has a coupon in their ad this week that  is $5 off your purchase of $25 or more. This is better than Staples.

Office depot has some 100% back in rewards deals but those are on their regular priced items listed in their ad. Not sure this is a great deal but if you rely heavily on Office Depot rewards then take a look at their Office Depot website.

I tried to go through all of the ads that are put out weekly, in newspaper and online and these were the deals I thought were great. This is just the beginning so I can guarantee that deals will get better in the next few weeks. Stay tuned! Add deals that you find and above all, HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

Thanks for reading!

Clarissa

A Work In Progress....

Oh boy! Summer is HOT!!!! I have been trying to stay inside for the most part but this week has been busy with Vacation Bible School and homework for my Grad school classes. I just realized I didn't take pictures of VBS. It truly is a wonderful thing my cousin does as a pastor. His heart is so big with love for his faith as well as extending that love to the kids and spreading the word to his youth. I am happy I got to work the arts and crafts/science station with my aunt (aka teammate!). We were busy but tired so today was meant for recuperating. I in the mean time did my homework for classes. 

So my title for tonight is called "A Work In Progress" Maybe this picture will give you a hint why....

Here is Ben after scoring the winning run to lead his team to victory 10-9! He looks kinda strange though.....

Ooohhhhh!!!! That's why he didn't look good. It looks worse today though. He decided to make an unnecessary slide into second plate and later into home plate. This of course is the result of a man who still thinks he is young. Haha!!!!! He has so far ruined one of his white shirts and I got a nice wake up call this morning to my very nice sheets spotted in blood!!!! Let's just say I have become very good friends with Shout! I am sitting in my living room writing this as I listen to my husband in the bathroom screaming and cursing as he tries to peel off the gauze from his scabbed over wounds. I guess I feel bad for him....Poor thing!

These are the times that make me realize that we are not spring chickens anymore. The sad part is that it only gets worse! To all of my readers who are older than I, you are my heros! I am sure you have been through tougher than this but how do you limit yourself when you want to do so much?! My husband could use the advice. LOL! Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Clarissa

Flowers and organizers...oh my!!!

Hello Everyone!

It has been a few days since I posted but that was because my BEST EVER EVER FRIEND (BEEF) came into town from Canada and I had to see her! I miss working and hanging out with my friend. Tricia and I had a wonderful time with her! So excuse my absense this weekend.

Today was craft day! I look forward to these days when I can create things. That is what I consider relaxing! My great and talented friends (Tricia and Amy) came over to craft. We were one a mission....create bouquets of flowers! My best friend Tricia is getting married in October to a wonderful man and I am honored to be a part of her day. Her vision is to create hand made bouquets. (Thanks Pinterest!) I knew this would be a daunting task but I also realized it would be quite fun. Today was to determine which kinds of flowers we would make. 6 hours later (watching tv, fooling around with different cricut cartridges, telling stories, and eating snacks) we finally came up with the "rought drafts" of what would work. I have included photos below. I am so excited. We have an army of crafting assemblers but we need to collect the paper and set a date. I think I may need to purchase stuff for mimosas too! 

This evening was dedicated to creating a classroom craft that was on my "to do" list. I had seen this post on several peoples Pinterest account. Thanks to Rebecca and Tara (two awesome teachers) that both did this project and created this awesome organizer. So excited to fill it tomorrow but I also included pictures of my own.

Snuggles having a lazy day today. She was given lots of love today and she was a little sick. She looks comfy!

Oh geez! This is only a part of the mess I made in the house today. Yes, you are seeing two Cricut machines. I want to see my older one but it's tried and true so I end up using both today. LOL!

Close up of half of the organizer...

the other half...the bottom is empty because I wasn't sure what to put in there but I think I may do crayons.

The bigger flowers without the flash.

Part of the finished product of sample flowers for my friends bouquets.