The Desk Debacle

This is my desk today. 

This is my desk today with a tall coffee mug, two water bottles, and a hippo on it. 

This is my desk today with two professional books and a teacher's manual on it. 

This is my desk today with my planner, meeting notebook, and brain/clipboard on it. 

This is my desk today with lesson plans open, box tops forms that need to be turned in, and an encouraging note from coworkers on it.

This is my desk.

This desk is a sign of success.  

This messy desk shows that I did not sit there all day. 

This unorganized desk shows that I was a good teacher today.

I have given and received nearly 50 hugs today.

I have changed a lesson on the fly to better suit my learners today.

I have monitored my struggling babies, and given them encouragement at just the right moment(s).

I have dried a waterfall of tears today.

I have sung Frozen with my kiddos as we worked on projects today.

I have been a teacher today.

I will clean my desk tonight, come in fresh tomorrow, and mess it up again.

I couldn't be happier.

Classroom Reveal!

Dun duh duh!

Here it is!

Here are a couple panoramic views. The first is taken from the back of the room at my sink.

 And this next one is taken from the whiteboard.

 I have my kiddos grouped together with their most used supplies in a caddie. I think The plants (fake) really make the space feel more home-y and light.

 From the white board, looking to the right, its out morning meeting area, library, and the table where our student computers will go. Our window brings in so much good lighting! I think there is something magical about a sheer white curtain :)

 I LOVE this chair! My sweet sweet friend and mentor is letting me use this chair and it is so comfortable! It sat in my living room over the summer and was well used there as well. This is our "Author;s Chair." The kiddos love getting to share their writing pieces from this spot. 

 Here's a closer look at our Morning Meeting area. When we meet here in the mornings, our circle resembles more of a looong oval, but we still have a good time!

 I had a hard time giving this wall some purpose. A lot of other teacher's in the building have the decor that they have collected over the years displayed up there. I certainly didn't want to leave it blank, so it is now home to some inspiring words. Im visualizing some classroom snapshots up there as the year progresses. 

I LOVE the wind chime I found at Hobby Lobby! I had a hard time this summer finding one that looked and sounded just right. I found this one TWO days before school started. That was a close call!

 This is in the library, looking toward the door. You can see that my desk is placed in the center of the room. This was very important to me, because I wanted to not only make it accessible to me, but I also wanted to make the whole wall the library. I had a couple challenges in making sure my desk would work here, such as fining internet cables that would extend that far, and finding a way to cover up said cords. I have been very impressed with the responsiveness of our tech department. They ROCK!

 And lastly, gere is the view from my desk :)

Here's to a year of laughter, love, and learning!!

Stop: Planner time!

Woohoo! I have been waiting all week for this and I finally did it! I purchased my teacher planner for next year!

As this is a teacher's blog, the need to justify my love of planners is moot. A teacher's affinity for any school supplies can be equated to my puppies and sticks.

All sticks are great. 

Some are better than others. 

They know where to find the best sticks.

 Sharing sticks with others *cough* students *cough* can be very difficult. 

(Aren't my fur babies just the cutest!?)

As a student, I didn't find my soulmate planner until mid-high school, and stayed brand loyal for a good six years. The planner and I worked wonderfully together, going from class to class, always by my side. 

Last year as an aide, there was a completely different story. My schedule, even when it stayed the same two days in a row, scattered me throughout the building. I was never anywhere long enough to use it like I needed to. My iPhone became my crutch. More often than not, my plans changed within hours and setting reminders on my phone was the only way I could keep it straight.

Thankfully I will have a relatively more stable schedule this year as a classroom teacher. And this requires a new planner set up!

I have been familiar with the lovely Erin Condren, but still wanted to explore. I quickly made my way to Etsy and found a some really cute printable options. That would be awesome being able to pick and choose pages...but I know me... And I'd probably mess it up without even realizing it. 

Oh wow, there's seven weeks in August? Better get to work! At least there's no September this year.

After cutting out that option, I found the wonderful, San Diego based PlumPaperDesigns and fell in love. Their planners are attractive, clean, and cute-but-not-cutesy. Perfect! 

Now, because I have to absolutely know that this is the right choice for me, I watched 46383 5 YouTube comparison videos. 

I love the Internet. If I were to ask the closest person in grabbing range to give me their opinion on which planner will complete my life, the look on their face would quickly answer it for me.
Honey, you need more than a planner. 

But the Internet will indulge your queries because someone somewhere is making then life altering decision as well, and was even kind enough to film it. Love you ladies, keep it up!

If you would like to visit my planner, as I will be for the next three-four weeks until it gets here, you can go here.

Muah!