Great Reads for Elementary Teachers

I love to read!  

The only real time I get to do that is over the Summer.  I spent hours relaxing and catching up on my to-read list. During the school year I'm lucky to finish 2 books.  

This year I threw in a few "teacher reads" too. 

Here are my a few of my favorite books for elementary school teachers (in no particular order).  I'd love to hear what your favorite is.

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything 

"A New York Times-bestselling breakthrough book about talent, passion, and achievement from the one of the world's leading thinkers on creativity and self-fulfillment. 

The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. With a wry sense of humor, Ken Robinson looks at the conditions that enable us to find ourselves in the Element and those that stifle that possibility. Drawing on the stories of a wide range of people, including Paul McCartney, Matt Groening, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Bart Conner, he shows that age and occupation are no barrier and that this is the essential strategy for transform­ing education, business, and communities in the twenty-first century.

Also available from Ken Robinson is Finding Your Element, the practical guide to achieving your highest potential."

Unshakeable: 20 Ways to Enjoy Teaching Every Day...No Matter What

"Don't wait for teaching to become fun again: plan for it! Unshakeable is a collection of inspiring mindset shifts and practical, teacher-tested ideas for getting more satisfaction from your job. It's an approach that guides you to find your inner drive and intrinsic motivation which no one can take away.  Unshakeable will help you incorporate a love of life into your teaching, and a love of teaching into your life. Learn how to tap into what makes your work inherently rewarding and enjoy teaching every day...no matter what."

 

 

Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time

Author Brigid Schulte, an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post -and harried mother of two - began the journey quite by accident, after a time-use researcher insisted that she, like all American women, had 30hours of leisure each week. Stunned, she accepted his challenge to keep time diary and began a journey that would take her from the depths of what she described as the Time Confetti of her days to a conference in Paris with time researchers from around the world, to North Dakota, of all places, where academics are studying the modern love affair with busyness, to Yale, where neuroscientists are finding that feeling overwhelmed is actually shrinking our brains, to exploring new lawsuits uncovering unconscious bias in the workplace, why the US has no real family policy, and where states and cities are filling the federal vacuum.  Read more 

 

 

The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child

 Donalyn Miller says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year. Miller's unconventional approach dispenses with drills and worksheets that make reading a chore. Instead, she helps students navigate the world of literature and gives them time to read books they pick out themselves. Her love of books and teaching is both infectious and inspiring. The book includes a dynamite list of recommended "kid lit" that helps parents and teachers find the books that students really like to read.

 

 

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College (K-12)

 Teach Like a Champion offers effective teaching techniques to help teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of each chapter help the reader further their understanding through reflection and application of the ideas to their own practice. 

 

 

Daily 5, The (Second Edition): Fostering Literacy in the Elementary Grades

 The Daily 5, Second Edition retains the core literacy components that made the first edition one of the most widely read books in education and enhances these practices based on years of further experience in classrooms and compelling new brain research. The Daily 5 provides a way for any teacher to structure literacy (and now math) time to increase student independence and allow for individualized attention in small groups and one-on-one.

A week of the fix and a peek at a day of food

So after a week on "the fix" all I can say is I HATE EXERCISING!  When I met my husband 10 years ago we were gym rats.  I started my day with 45 minutes of cardio and ended each day with an hour aerobics/strengthening class.  There's something to be said about working out in public verses at home, but it is what it is and I'm making the most of it. Yes now I feel better, let's move along.  

It's been 7 days of healthier eating and daily exercise.  The easiest part has been the eating.  There is just so much more food than I'm used to consuming on a regular basis.  The problem isn't that I was eating a lot but rather WHAT I was eating.  My calories were empty and convenient.  Now my calories are less but the food is more and much better for me.  I struggled to meet all my containers but I did.  The water intake is a work in progress.  I was literally drinking and going to the bathroom all week.  Not sure how this is going to fly during the school year, but I plan to get it all in.

 Here's a list of approved foods:

Vegetables	Proteins	Carbs	Fruit	Seeds/fat	Nuts/Dairy	Oils
Mushrooms Sprouts Onions Radishes Carrots Cauliflower String Beans Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Collards Kale Eggplant Lettuce Jicama Cabbage	Ham slices Ground chicken Wild Fish Eggs Yogurt Ground Lean Beef Ricotta Cheese Cottage Cheese Protein Powder Veggie Burger Chicken breast Turkey breast Turkey slices Tuna Pork loin Tofu	Quinoa Corn Potato Wild rice Brown rice Yams Sweet Potato Pasta Pancakes Bagel Tortilla Corn Tortilla Cereal Couscous crackers Steel cut oats Pita bread English muffins Rolled oats	Mango Peach Nectarine Figs Papaya Blueberries Orange Banana Watermelon Apricots Kiwi fruit Cherries Pineapple	Olives Peanuts Coconut Sesame Seeds Sunflower Seed	Coconut milk Avocado Hummus Parmesan Cheddar Pistachios Mozzarela Goat Cheese Almonds Provolone Feta cheese Wallnuts	Seed butters Nut butters Extra Virgin Olive Oil Coconut oil Walnut Oil Flaxseed oil Pumpkin seed oil

Sample Day

Day #- Morning workout- Full Body Cardio
Breakfast- shake with 8oz almond milk
Snack- Fruit

Lunch- Romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes and green peppers, can of tuna, hard boiled egg, fix approved  balsamic dressing

Snack- fruit and cheese stick

Dinner- mashed potatoes, grilled chicken, summer squash chips

Snack- almond butter and celery sticks

 

Workouts

There are 7 workouts plus a 10 minute ab workout included with the 21 day fix. 
Each workout is 30 minutes long with warmup/cool down/stretching included (with the exception of the 10 minute abs).  The workouts are a mix of strength, cardio, and flexibility with modification available for those that need it.

After my first 30 minutes I was huffing and puffing and ready for a shower.  None of the exercises in The Total Body Cardio Fix were hard to figure out and look easy enough UNTIL I realized...I'm so out of shape.  I am working muscles that have been asleep for 6 years.  Holy Moly wobbly legs.  I was sore for 3 days.

Upper Fix targeted arms, torso, back and shoulders. Loved this one, expect the plank to be tough.  Lower fix sculpts the legs and booty.

The second, more intense Cardio workout was done later in the week.  Holy Moly isn't even the phrase for this.  Can I say it again...I HATE EXERCISING!  Those darn bur-pees should come with a license.  I don't think I'll ever do them right.  Dirty 30 was an energizer and I felt great by the end of the week.  Feeling the burn!

The Yoga and Pilates Fix workouts are great for flexibility, which I learned I do NOT have.   Getting my stretch on this week has been a challenge but I do enjoy it. 

Equipment

Simple: 2 size dumbbells,  mat, videos and a workout space.  Keep the water and towel handy.

Final Thoughts

Next week has to be easier.  That is all.

Summer DIY for the Classroom

You know teachers don't just sit in the sun all summer.  Here are some DIY projects I have made over the summer weeks. Pinterest inspiration at work.

 

Meal Planning

I've gotten some questions since my last post on how I meal plan.  I'll be the first to say it's not a pretty process.  In fact it takes up most of my Sunday.  Having said that, it's ALL done on Sunday and there's nothing left to do during the week except pack it all.

Getting Started 
I do all my grocery shopping on Saturday, the day before prepping day.  I make a menu for myself for the week using my meal chart. Above is a sample of what a week looks like at the beginning of my 21 day fix.  I then take inventory of what I already have on hand, making a list of what needs to be purchased.

On Sunday I get busy.  I prepare breakfast to-go bags for the girls as I have a shake.  I prepare just my lunches and do theirs each night as I pack mine.  I wash all fruits and veggies, slicing and bagging them.  I then cook the eggs (hard boiled) and bag those.  I drain the tuna, cook the proteins (meat, chicken, fish) and pasta and place them in individual containers for lunches.  I place the wraps in a bag and olives, dressing and almond butter in containers.  Hummus and cheese sticks come per-portioned so I just place them in a clear container in the fridge.  Once everything has been prepared and stored in the fridge, I use my evenings to pack my lunchbox.  I mentioned that I have a mini-fridge at work.  This allows me to take just about everything into work on Monday.  This is a time saver for me!  I take a screen shot of my weekly menu and put together my lunches right at work.  

Tip: I love taking my salads to work in mason jars because the seal is so tight it keeps everything fresh through Friday.  Dressing on the bottom, veggies, egg, cheese and protein in the middle and top with the greens. 

What about Dinner?
I'm all about convenience.  I love my slow cooker(s) and make almost everything in them.  All our proteins (meat and chicken)  cook while I'm at work.  If we're having sweet potatoes, I toss them in my slow cooker as well.  
When I get home I just toss a salad with my pre-cut veggies, quickly steam some veggies, or rice.  

Along with my weekly prep day I also go on a monthly freezer binge.  I prepare 10-15 freezer meals every month.  These are used on the days that I don't cook with the slow cooker or my husband is home and takes care of popping them in the oven.     

Hopefully this gave you a better idea of how I meal plan.  It really is key to keeping me focused and avoiding cheating or slacking off. NO EXCUSES.  If I can do it any one can do it.


 

Healthier me

As I continue on my road of change, I have really taken the summer to focus on a healthier me.  Back in October I set a goal to lose weight for my brother-in-laws wedding.  I made great progress, but didn't reach my goal weight. I did fit into the dress!  That was the beginning of my journey.  The wedding was in January and since then I have really been slacking.  One of the biggest obstacles for me is finding a system that works and then making the lifestyle change.  I love to eat, I love food.  It's a cultural thing.  Dieting just doesn't work for me.  After looking at my options and figuring out what has kept the weight off and made my body healthier, I have concluded... food and exercise.

Key Factors

With these two in mind, I went on a hunt.  I factored in my work schedule, the family schedule of daily events, my 2 year commitment of going back to school 1 night a week and the fact that I'm mom and dad 3 days a week.  This of course left me deflated and making excuses.  Once I got over the reality that is my life, I narrowed my thinking to 2 essential questions.  What workouts can I do that don't involve the gym or an hour?   What am I going to eat each day that I can easily apply once I'm back to work?  With the eating question I made an addition..."What are WE going to eat each day that I can easily apply once I'm back to work?"  I can't be making 4 different meals everyday, so it has to be food that we will all eat.

So what's the plan?

I will be using a little of this and a little of that and together have created a plan that works for me.  I like the ease of not stressing out about breakfast, so I am going to continue with my morning shakes from Herbalife.  My target calorie count for the day is 1200.  This is where things get messy for me.  I hate counting calories and tracking what I eat but the truth is I need something that tells me what I can eat each day and still hit that mark.  So I will be using the 21 day fix containers and their clean eating meal plan to jump start the healthy eating process.  21 day fix is used by the Beachbody/Shakeology program which is the not the same as Herbalife.  I'm not endorsing either, just picking what works for me.  To get my exercise in I will also be using the 21 day fix videos.  Main reason- 30 MINUTES a day!  The videos push you at your level.  It's better than just walking on the treadmill and it's cheaper than a gym membership.  Again this is what works for me.

Since I'm home for a few more weeks I am hoping that I can get in a groove that will easily transition into a back to school routine.  I have two young girls who don't sleep in so I start my day just as early in the summer as I do during the school year. The only way I can get a workout in will be first thing in the morning.  After work, running mom's taxi service, homework and dinner, I'm exhausted.  I'll need my evenings for school work and my own homework.

A peek at my routine

5:30am - 30 minute workout- pick a video

6:00am- Breakfast- Herbalife shake

6:05am- shower/get ready
 
6:30am- girls get up

7:00am- everyone out of the house

7:30am- Breakfast- fruit (don't have it in my shake)

10:45am- Snack

1:00pm- Lunch

3:00pm- Snack

5:00pm- Dinner
 
7:00pm- Snack

10:30pm- Bedtime

In order to reach my caloric intake and get all my "containers" in I have worked my daily snacks around my teaching time.  I have a lot of snack breaks verses the mini meals that some people do.  I drink water around my breaks as well, because 64 oz of water doesn't just wait until you get home from work. 

I prep all my food on Sundays and then get everything organized before I go to bed each night.  In the morning I just grab lunchboxes out of the fridge, toss in ice packs and leave.  To make things even easier for myself, I eat pretty much the same things when I am at work.  I stock my mini fridge on Mondays and usually don't have to bring anything else in.

Meal planning and prepping are KEY!  If I don't plan and prepare ahead of time, I won't stick to my routine and I will find myself cheating. 

 

Stitch Fix #1 Review

As I mentioned in my last post there are BIG Changes ahead!  I have ventured out into the world of fashion.  Yes I'm going from frumpy to fabulous.  Well that's the plan anyway.  I'm beginning to flirt with forty...she's not that far away you know.

Today I received my first box from Stitch Fix.  It's the new thing in fashion! I have some younger friends who suggested I give it a shot.  So after some research I decided Why Not?!  

What's it all about? 

Haven't heard of this amazing service, let me fill you in.  Stitch Fix is a personal styling service tailored to your taste, size, style and budget.  To get started you set up an account, you can use my referral link if you wish.  You will be charged $20- that’s your styling fee, which can be used as a credit towards your final order. While there’s no obligation to keep anything in your box, you’re basically out the $20 if you don’t. If you do decide to keep any piece, you get to subtract $20 from your total at checkout. If you decide to keep everything you get 25% off the entire purchase, it's about a $100 savings (plus your $20 off).  My first box was worth about $300.  I know YIKES, especially on a teacher's salary, but keep reading.  Keep what you want, send back what you don't (postage paid).  Not a bad deal if you ask me.

During the set up process you fill out a Style Profile.  This is KEY, be honest.  Your personal stylist will use this when picking out your pieces.  You can also help your stylist by setting up a Pinterest board with a variety of outfits, pieces and accessories that you like or would like to try. You can check mine out here or go searching, it's very addicting!  You will be sent a box with 5 pieces to pick from.  

Get on with it already!

Now that you know what to expect, check out what I received in my first box.  Here's a peek at the packaging.  I read somewhere that it's like Christmas morning, well for this momma, who never shops for herself, it sure was! 

Inside this adorable package was a personalized note from my stylist Kelly along with visuals of how to pair my pieces.  No guess work needed.  

 

What's in the box?

Now for the fun part...

Item # 1- Jace Textured Dress by 41Hawthorn ($68)

First thoughts- Adorable BUT will it fit?! I really wanted this to be a winner.  It was a perfect first day of school dress.

Final decision- I didn't love the color maybe something brighter. I got half way up my back when I hit the middle seam (whatever that white piece is called).  After trying several times to finish zipping it up myself, I enlisted my 6 year old who had no luck, I decided it wouldn't be something I could wear all the time. Hence not a keeper.  

Item # 2- Just Black Dean Skinny Jean ($78)

First thoughts- 78 bucks for skinny jeans!

Final decision-They fit PERFECTLY, I mean like a glove.  They have ankle zippers which I didn't love but was ok with.  I just couldn't get over $78 for jeans.  I tossed this one around because I really liked them. In the end not a keeper.

Item # 3- Papermoon Croydon Knit Top ($38)

First thoughts- YIKES stripes!

Final decision-Ya know I really liked this top once I put it on.  I can get so much use out of it.  Work, weekend, evening out, the possibilities really are endless.  Definitely a keeper.


Item # 4- Le Lis Maude Floral Dress ($78)

 

First thoughts- Love the black and white pattern, but a bit too "fancy" for the first day of first grade.

Final decision-I really liked everything about this dress.  Perfect fit and perfect length.  Although not what I was hoping for the first day of school and pricier than my usual spending, it was definitely a keeper to wear to my brother's wedding this fall.

Item # 5- Bay to Baubles Beldan CZ Long Necklace ($38)

First thoughts- I don't wear much any jewelry (except my wedding rings) but I was excited to try it on.

Final decision- Sent back.  It was too tangled to even attempt to try on and that in itself made my decision for me.

*I had made a note to my stylist in my profile that I was looking for a "back to school" dress.  Hence the 2 dresses. 

 

Loved It

What I loved about Stitch Fix was the convenience of having 5 fashionable pieces delivered right to my doorstep with NO obligation to buy.  Well in essence I had to buy something or I was out $20, but still.  I kept a dress and a shirt for under $100.  I also loved that I was able to try on some different pieces that I'd otherwise never get the chance to. The surprise factor is also a bonus! I love that you can specify upcoming events and specific needs on your profile.  This really made it personal for me. 

Hated It

As a frugal mommy and teacher, I just can't justify $78 for a piece of clothing.  The cost is high but the quality can sometimes outweigh the cost...or so I keep telling myself.

I am currently on a monthly fix but it can be easily changed to accommodate my wallet and need.   I am going to try it again next month and see how my stylist (hopefully Kelly) does next time around.  

*Thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not asked to do or "sell" anything by Stitch Fix.  Just providing my views.

To check out my other reviews visit the links below:

July 2015- Fix #1

August 2015- Fix #2

September 2015- Fix #3

October 2015- Fix #4

January 2016- Fix #5

We Meet Again

Reality of 180 days

SO as you can see, most ordinary teachers cannot maintain an active blog during the school year.  It was quite a year and for the first time in 13 years I can say I was relieved to see it come to an end.  I am amazed at the teachers out there in cyberspace that can successfully maintain a blog, post products on TPT, all while keeping house; my hat goes off to them.  As for me it too 180 days to return, lol.

Those that know me know I love to write and have to-do lists and notebooks everywhere of ideas, but I find that the only free time I really have is during the weeks of summer break.  Besides spending time with my family, I use this time to read, catch up on what's happening in the real world, on television (DVR and Netflix are amazing creations) and get my head together.  

Dream Big

This summer I've really taken the time to figure out where I'm headed.  As if I needed a compass or something.  I just feel that I've given myself so many labels; teacher, wife, mother, friend... somewhere I lost ME.  It's been 14 years since I became a teacher, 8 a wife, 6 as a mom and 36 as ME.  The problem is I'm not the ME I want to be.  

Like many I dream BIG!  I dream often but those dreams don't always pan out.  I am blessed, so very blessed but being blessed and grateful mean nothing if you don't live it each and every day.  So this summer I made some BIG decisions and there are some BIG changes ahead to get the real ME back.  Not just for myself but for my family. 

Big changes

I have always dreamed of being a reading teacher.  SO this summer I enrolled in a 2-year cohort to do just that.  I love to travel, so I booked a family cruise for February vacation.  I haven't felt healthy, so I am starting a new fitness and eating routine.  I've started looking rather frumpy, so I placed a Stitch Fix order for some new clothes!  

Stayed tuned and I'll share my big changes with you as I experience them.