5 Back to School Outfits for Teachers

Back to school is quickly approaching... and do you know what that means? Back to School SHOPPING!

Now, we all know that when it comes to a teacher's budget we're not working with a lot of money, so places like Target, TJMaxx, Marshall's, etc. are the place to go to spruce up the new school year's wardrobe. I'm very fortunate that the couple schools I work in all have air conditioning, but I know that there are some that are not as lucky (come on administrators, it's 2017!!!)

So, I've compiled a few work-friendly, warm weather, back to school teacher outfits and trends for fall that I found at Target. I've tried my best to link them to the Target website if I could find the item. Hopefully for all the items that I couldn't, you can find them in your local store. (Sorry Canada, I feel for you not having Target) I normally wear a medium or a large depending on how things are made. I'll try to give an idea of how the size fit.

It's kind of hard to tell in the pic, but it is a pinkish color with a white palm kind of detail. I believe it was $27.99 and was the Merona brand. It was the last dress I tried on and I think it was my favorite! It was very lightweight and fit true to size. I thought it was pretty flattering as well. I wore it up on my shoulders, but they styled it as an off the shoulder sleeve. Perfect for after work, right? Check it out here

I loved, loved, loved these two skirts. I didn't buy them, but I am going to be ordering them p.r.o.n.t.o! They fit so well and were comfortable (yay, elastic band!). They're a great length for a teacher. Plus, I'm a sucker for stripes. I didn't particularly love the shirt I picked out to go with them, but it worked. I like to tuck shirts into skirts like this... (a plain ole t-shirt would work on this as well). Here is the floral one and the striped one. I wish I would have seen this one.

Couldn't find this one online, but I'm sure you can find something similar in the store. They had a lot that were this style. There was a slit up the side to the knee, so it was not anything too risque, but I did think it was pretty long for the average person (I'm 5'5"). I do like the elastic in the middle to make it more flattering, but it wasn't my favorite outfit. I do love the print though.

I suppose this is more for a little cooler weather, but the shirt was very lightweight and cool feeling, so it wouldn't be bad on a little warmer days. This is another one of my favorites. I love a crisp white pant with a simple top. So easy, so timeless. Couldn't find it online (aaaaah, Target!!) but hopefully you can or in store!

The last two are not the absolute best choices for teachers to wear to work, but I had to include them! I love the trends!

These shorts are the cutest! It's hard to tell but there are little pineapples on them! Adorable! I saw pineapples EVERYWHERE in Target. Made me want a pina colada. Also, can we talk about this chambray shirt? Nothing could have been more comfortable and softer than this shirt. Go with the half-tuck and maybe a cute green cardigan and voila! shorts are here and I have seen this tee everywhere on everyone and I looooove it!

I love the look of these and the comfort level is fantastic. It's almost romper-like, because there are actually shorts underneath and a dressish, capeish, kind of bottom over top. It's very different, but momma like. Couldn't find the exact one online, but here is a similar one

So, that's it. I wanted to buy it all, but I did not because...

Someday, Target, someday!

The Teacher's Summer Bucket List

If you're a teacher, chances are summer is your favorite season. Yes, we all love our jobs and working with the kids that we do, but it's also a big relief when the year is over. I don't know about you, but for me it's a time to recuperate, refresh and revitalize myself for the coming school year. I know most teachers do school work during the summer, so I've made a list of things to do during the summer INSTEAD so that you can truly be at your best when it's time to head back.

1. Get a massage.

I know that I can get SUPER stressed during the school year as I imagine most other teachers do as well. I HIGHLY recommend splurging and finding a good masseuse in your area. I tend to get especially tight in my neck and shoulders and love a good deep tissue massage. Heaven!!! Trust me, you will not regret it.

2. Have an entire day that you do not change out of your pajamas and you just Netflix binge.

Some of you may already do this all the time, but there are a lot of teachers who feel guilty on days when they do nothing. I say forget it! Chill, relax, binge. You deserve it! (I do recommend The Walking Dead, The Unbelievable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange is the New Black, and Stranger Things.)

3. Make a must-read list of at least 5-10 good books that you've been meaning to read and devour them.

Or maybe even a better idea, grab a few of your teacher buddies and start a book club. One of my fellow teacher buddies and I did just that last summer. We've been meeting (about 5 of us) once a month for the last year. Each time we rotate who hosts. That person chooses the book. We actually sit and talk about the book for probably about 20 minutes and then just talk, eat, drink, and play games for the other 2 or 3 hours, but it makes for a really fun night. Some of my favorite books in the last couple months have been: A Man Called Ove, anything by Karin Slaughter, Ugly Love (and other Colleen Hoover books) and so many more I can't even remember. I also recommend checking out the website Good Reads for recommendations, reviews, and ratings!

4. Go on a vacation (even if it's in your own backyard).

Even if you can't afford a full out vacation (cause c'mon we're teachers here, let's get real) it's always relaxing and inspiring just to even get away for a day or two. Plan a short weekend trip somewhere within a few hours of where you live. Even if you can't afford to do that, at least Google some fun things within an hour or so around your house that you've never done. Sometimes those little gems are so overlooked! You might be surprised what is in your own backyard.

5. Check out an amusement park or water park.

I will admit I am a total chicken and did not ride my first roller coaster until 2 summers ago...and you know what? I kinda liked it. If you're from the Pittsburgh area you grew up with Kennywood. It's an old-time roller coaster park that helped revolutionize coasters of today. I didn't attempt the big, crazy fast one yet (80 MPH at like 300 ft? ehhhhhh maybe not yet) but I did love the Racer, Jack Rabbit, and the Thunderbolt (all older wooden coasters that aren't quite as high or fast, but still pack a fun punch). On the other hand, I'm a HUUUUUUGE water park fan. Our nearby one (Sandcastle) has some really fun rides and I don't get there as often as I used to a few years ago, but it's one thing I love to do every summer!)

6.Spend as much time as possible with your babies (whether they be human or furry)

Personally, I do not have any children (of the human variety) but I do have a dog and 2 cats who I consider my babies. I try to give them as much attention as possible during the summer. I take my dog out for walks almost daily, take him for car rides when I can, take him for ice cream when we go, etc. (He's so spoiled!!!) We don't try to do it, but our pets and kids don't get quite as much attention from us during the school year as we'd like to give them, so make sure you do as much as possible while you're off. They'll be thankful for the time and memories.

Finally, I'd like to finish by saying you all rock and deserve to let yourself relax in the summer. We have a very hard job that is incredibly demanding. Allow yourself to take the time off and forget about all school related things for awhile. It will still be there when you come back. Your brain, body, and family will thank you.

14 Tips to Help Save Your Sanity in the Classroom

Welcome to the VERY LAST STOP on the blog hop. I feel honored! If you stayed this long, you deserve to win something for sure!!!

The beginning of the school year is the time to set routines, teach clear procedures, and organize things so that you don't go absolutely BONKERS by the end of the first month. I like this quote.

August and September are crazy enough, so remembering to keep yourself, the classroom, AND most importantly- the kids on top of things is the best sure fire way to help everything run smoothly.
I've done some research (mostly on Pinterest, my best friend). Here are the best tips I could find to help you not look like this after your first day.

Setting Routines and Procedures

Everyone needs a break after a long, intensive lesson. Let the kids have a few minutes to have fun and relax. Join in with them! Use this cute idea from The Happy Teacher for Brain Breaks. She gives plenty of ideas of things to do and breaks them down in case you don't know what they are. 

I love using task cards in the classroom and when I don't feel like creating my own I go to Rachel Lynette on TpT. She has almost every imaginable topic covered with task cards. Here's her set for teaching classroom procedures. 

Teaching procedures can be a bit of a drag for both you and the students, but the Pinspired Teacher came up with a really cute idea of a way to jazz it up a bit. Go over and check out her "game" that she created to help practice important procedures. 

Many teachers in elementary classrooms use little chants or sayings to gain students' attention. This cute collection of attention grabbers is a good reminder of a few oldies and some different ones that I haven't heard. Check out Mrs. Heeran's Happenings for more ideas!

I love this freebie from Tamara Russell on TpT. It covers 127 (!!!) Classroom Management Questions. No wonder teachers feel completely overwhelmed at the beginning of the year!

Managing Students

Here's a cool alternative to keep students engaged during a lesson when you want to call on them. Instead of using the typical sticks with names on it use this app called Decide Now. Tonya's Treats for Teachers even used it to decide on a classroom reward. Awesome idea and it's FREE!!

A lot of the times when students are working in centers, I will be working with a group of students as well. I've used this idea before, and I think it's a great way to minimize distractions. Teach your students different hand signals to show that they need something. Ashley from One Sharp Bunch has posters available to put up in your room to use as reminders of the signals. I'm so using this one! 

Managing students' desks is a big issue. Here's a great layout that is well thought out from Hannah at The Classroom Key.

Classroom chatter is probably the biggest issue for classroom management. Students should be talking in your classroom, of course about what they are meant to be talking about, but it should also be regulated. Jen Jones from Hello Literacy wrote a blog post about a cute website called Bouncy Balls. The balls or eyeballs bounce more as the noise increases. I'm not sure if it makes a noise once it gets to a certain level (I hope it does), but I have found that these types of visual reminders are great so that you don't have to keep interrupting with reminders to quiet down.

Another idea (which is nothing new) for student behavior is to reward positive behavior instead of always punishing negative behaviors. Hello Educational Psychology 101! The problem is sometimes it can be a pain to come up with fun reinforcers that don't include food. Beth from Adventures of a Schoolmarm has a great blog post about the rewards she uses and how she does so. This is going to be in my classroom this year!

Organizing 

Here's a genius way to use cheap containers to organize base 10 blocks. Thanks to Janaye from Tales of Frogs and Cupcakes for the idea! She mentions she got them from the Dollar Tree. (Excuse me while I go to the nearest one!)

Do you have students who often forget their backpack or are boggled down with too much to carry? Keep an emptied out wipes container next to the door on the wall filled with plastic bags. Thanks to Allie at Scholastic.com for this idea! 

This isn't much of an organizational tip as it is a classroom decoration idea, but I just had to include it because it's so cute! Marsha from Differentiated Kindergarten made this cute DIY table skirt to hide things under her table. How adorbs! This would be cute too as curtains or just a border somewhere in your room. 

I could post about 30 pictures for this next part from Stephany at Primary Possibilities, but I'll pick one that I am going to be using for sure. She did a whole post about things to get at IKEA for your classroom. Sadly, my closest one is about 1 1/2 hours away, but I look forward to a trip there every now and again. I'm going to be on the look out for these to use for station directions. How cute!

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If you'd like to start at the beginning of the hop, click below to start all over again!

The Back to School Giveaway Winner is.....

So, contests are awesome, especially when you're the winner like Georgette H! 

I emailed Georgette to let her know that she was randomly drawn by Rafflecopter to win and she was so excited! She told me a little about herself... she's pretty new to teaching. She didn't start until her late 40's when she got out of the Navy (thanks for your service, Georgette!)
She's now an early childhood special education teacher.

She lives in Missouri now, but is originally from PA (where I'm from... I knew I liked this lady!), although we're from totally opposite ends, that's ok. She misses this great state of PA for it's mountains (we do have some great scenery if you've never been here) and the good food (we can eat here in PA)

Congratulations again. Hopefully all the materials will help you and your kiddos this school year! Make 2016-2017 the best year yet!

(Just to recap--- Georgette is the lovely winner of a $20 Staples gift card, $55 in TpT resources from some GREAT TpT stores, AND nearly $30 in miscellaneous school supplies!)


To everyone who entered, thank you! Make sure you check back here often for more giveaways in the near future!

Back to School Giveaway!

Back to School...

If you are a teacher those three words may be enough to induce nightmares. Although I absolutely love what I do, I also absolutely love my summers off. It's a time for me to reflect, refresh, and relax! I think most teachers feel the same way. 

Here's how I respond when someone asks me: "So, are you ready to go back to school?"

I did a little soul searching and decided to face the facts. I head back to inservice in less than 2 weeks. I'm trying to get my head around it all. There's so much I want to do! I did pick up these awesome adhesive label holders from Target's Bull's Eye Playground (or whatever they're calling it these days).

Then my teacher brain started thinking up all the cute designs for some labels to fill these babies. I came up with a nautical themed set and a rainbow colored themed set. I'm also in the process of making a beach themed set and one with kids on it (possibly Melonheadz from Scappin Doodles on TpT!) I'll post those on here as soon as they are done! If you're interested in the two below, here are the links to my store.

Click to get the Rainbow Labels

Click to get the Nautical Labels

I also have created motivational posters that I am going to print out and put into some cheap 8x10 frames and make a sort of "gallery wall" in my classroom. ( I know I need motivation at the beginning of the year... and the middle and end, and I know the kids do as well!) They're some great quotes, and I think they'd work in any classroom!

Click to get the motivational posters!

To help ease the pain I'm running a BTS giveaway!

My TpT store- $10 store credit

Creative Teaching Resources- $15 store credit

Kristin Jason- $5 store credit

Teach Me T- $5 store credit

Ashley Wright at the Wright Nook- $10 store credit

Denise Hill - $5 store credit

Toadally Exceptional Learners- $5 store credit

Enter below to win! 

Winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 26th, here on my blog, as well as on my Instagram page

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