Latest Beauty Favs

Do you ever watch makeup tutorials on youtube? A couple times a year I'll get in the mood to freshen up my makeup routine or see what new products are popular and I'll get hooked watching videos online for a few hours. I find I only ever have time to do this over a long break from school and usually during the winter. So over winter break last month I got the itch to try a few new products after I received a gift card to Sephora for Christmas.

Essential Oils: December ER Order

Here's a quick video I made to share what I purchased last month on my Young Living Essential Rewards order. I signed up for essential rewards over a year ago and each month I earn reward points back that I can use just like cash to purchase other products. A few months after I ordered my starter kit, I realized Young Living had so many different products I wanted to try AND I would be reordering some of the oils I had started using a lot {like lavender and lemon} quite frequently so it just made sense to order through Essential Rewards to earn FREE product! I hope to keep up with making a video each month to share everything I order. I LOVE getting to peek inside other people's orders to see what they love and are using. If you have any questions about essential oils or the video feel free to email me or comment below. Thanks for watching!

<< check out all my posts on essential oils here or to order your own starter kit click here >>

Get Organized: Printable Calendars

I'm excited to share these printable calendars you can use to start off twenty-sixteen prepared (even though its already the 10th!) and organized. I changed the look of this black and white calendar just a smidge but overall it looks pretty much the same! There is a landscape and a portrait version so just choose what works best for you and your notebook/binder setup or purpose for the calendar (meal planning, activity schedules, etc.)

I prefer the landscape version even though I put it in my 8.5 x 11" notebook. I just prefer the date boxes to be more square than rectangular so I don't mind turning my notebook to the side when I'm writing on it. I use a disc-bound notebook (find these here) so I can fold the entire notebook in half which makes it easy to write on without my fist/arm bumping into typical binder rings.

I also keep a copy of this calendar when scheduling my long-range plans for my classroom. I like to have a master copy that I can refer back to during the year to see when I taught different units/concepts.

Another copy hangs on my fridge for meal-planning like in the picture. I don't always plan out our meals like this every month, but its something I try to do as much as possible.

You can use these printable calendars so many different ways which is why I update them every year because I use them so much. Check out my these calendars in my Etsy shop HERE!

Free Christmas and Holiday Card Printable

I needed {and wanted} to make new Christmas cards to print and have ready to go for coworkers, my students, and to attach to a few gifts so these are what I came up with. I've been all about switching some of my home decor from a maroon/deep red to more of a "true" red this season. Just been my personal preference this year so that's what I went for on these cards as well. Click on the pics below to download from google drive or in my TpT store HERE for free. Enjoy!

Map Skills with a Holiday Twist

Last week we were reading all about maps and learning about how to use them. I came across a great map making activity by Kindergarten Corps. and I loved how simple it would be to prepare and that the kids would get to create their own maps! She even included a free printable legend. Since the holidays are just around the corner, I knew my students would love this activity but wanted to put a little holiday twist! We made "Christmas Village Maps" by using holiday scrapbook paper, stickers, and foam shapes. My students had a blast and I will definitely be including this activity next year. Go check out Kindergarten Corps post HERE about her activity and check out the pictures below to see how we changed it up for the holidays! 

Keep reading until the end to see what I'm teaching this week! :)

I grabbed the stickers, foam shapes, and washi tape at Michael's craft store. I already had the scrapbook paper on hand so I cut it into small squares (3x3) and cut triangles for the roofs to match. We used washi tape for the lines on the roads...thought that turned out especially cute!

As a class, we decided on 6 things to put on our legends. They chose lake, forest, my house, restaurant, toy store, and streets. We created the legend first and then they got busy creating their maps based off of the legend.

This week, we're reading The Legend of the Poinsettia, which is one of my favorite Christmas books! Most of my students don't know what a poinsettia is and they think its so cool to find out how they came to be...well, at least according to the legend. ;)

I'm using the Legend of the Poinsettia printables from my Sticky Note Holiday pack to work on making predictions and summarizing. I always have my students make a poinsettia out of red construction paper so if I get a chance I'll post about that later this week. You can check out my Sticky Note Holiday pack by clicking on the picture below. I have LOTS printables included in it for several favorite holiday books!

What I'm Teaching in December

I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the fact that December is almost upon us but alas, it's a must. But, I'm not complaining because this is such a fun time to be a teacher. Sure, the students are bouncing with a lot of EXTRA energy, recess turns bitter cold (at least here in Kansas) and there are days that seem to drag ooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn, but overall it is such a fun time to teach! With that said, I thought I'd share some of the themes/concepts/standards that I'm going to focus on next month....which is already next week so I better get to prepping all of this! I've shared links of resources I'll use where applicable.

Subtraction //  Our math series spends a great deal of time on addition and parts of 10 so we are just now starting subtraction. Since we use a guided math model, I use several different types of activities to keep my students engaged during our math block. I love to use math journals and Reagan Tunstall's are my favorite...so easy to prep and great independent practice for my students. 

Reagan's December Math Journal

SunnyDays Addition Gingerbread Bump (for addition review)

Number Line Addition and Subtraction

Light & Sound //   I'm using a few lessons provided by my district but I'm also on the hunt for a good unit on this for first graders. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Map Skills //   Our reading series integrates map skills next week so we will read several stories about maps and I'm looking for a project idea also! I might try out this freebie below!

Kindergarten Corps Map Freebie

December Holidays //   I love integrating holiday read-alouds into my reading block! Some weeks I ditch the basil  and create my own unit around seasonal/holiday books while focusing on the same reading skills the basil had planned. I love to spend a few days on The Legend of the Poinsettia...such a great book! I use my Sticky Note Holidays pack to practice all kinds of reading strategies and skills with my favorite holiday books!

A Sticky Note Holiday

Long Vowels //   We will just barely get into Long A before winter break but some of my favorite resources for teaching long vowels have been the resources below!

Abby's Long A Word Work Activities

Christina's December Just Print Fluency Pack
Christina's Fluency Spinners Long Vowels

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Great news! If you are looking for December resources there is an AMAZING sale happening over at TpT on Monday, Nov. 30 & Tuesday, Dec. 1!!!! Up to 28% off with the code SMILE. I have been loading my cart with new stuff so I can't wait to save a little extra money this holiday season. Don't miss out on this great deal! Below are a few of my other resources you might want to check out. Click HERE to go to my store or any of the product pictures below. Happy shopping! :)

                                

         

    

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Daily Oil Routine

1  //  I drink Ningxia Red errday y'all. Why? Because it's amazing. A drink made from the wolfberry...the ultimate superfruit! Its great for overall wellness support as well as energy.

2  //  A couple drops of lemon oil in my water to start the day. I try to drink a glass of water before I get my coffee. Just a little personal rule that makes me feel responsible. Ha.

3  //  I put Stress Away on daily because I love the smell. I put it on my wrists and my neck.

4  //  Diffusing Thieves and Lemon is a daily combo in our house. Usually in the AM since we are home for the summer.

5  //  At some point during the day, usually afternoon, I love to put a drop of Grapefruit in my water. So so good.

6  //  We usually run the diffuser a couple of times a day. Citrus oils are our favorite go to oils in the afternoon to perk us up!

7  //  The Kidscents oil collection is used on a daily basis. We use Bite Buster and Owie the most but love them all.

8  //  Summertime means a whole lotta bug spray. We make our own with Peppermint, Thieves, and Purification along with witch hazel and distilled water. Smells amazing!

9  //  I have a roller with diluted thieves for putting on our feet before bed to assist our immune system.

10 //  This blend of Frankincense and Helichrysum is another way I support my eye health. I have it in a roller ball bottle to easy roll on before bed along my eye bone. While being very careful to not actually get any in my eye. That's a no no.

11  //  For my youngest, I usually diffuse Lavender or White Angelica in her room to promote a good night's rest!

This is an overview of my daily oil routine. I use other oils depending on what my or my family's needs are for that particular day. Do you use essential oils? What is an oil you can't live without???