Here is how I felt about my experience going out braless. This is the first time I've done this though I know women going braless isn't anything new, it's just new to me.

Two years ago, my class was starting to get pretty squirrely….and it was the beginning of November. I knew I had to do something to stay sane until Thanksgiving break. So, I printed out a turkey and some feathers. The idea was that students had to earn a certain amount of feathers and ... Read more

I often get a question from my readers - how to sew straight? In this guide, I will show you how to easily keep stitching lines straight. I will talk about topstitching mostly because keeping seam allowances equal is a different topic. Have you ever had problems with crooked stitching lines? I bet you had. Even intermediate sewists are struggling sometimes to do it and had to rip and redo stitching. But sewing in a straight line is much simpler than you think. And I want to help you to sew straight every time.

I always wanted to get in to screen printing but there's just so many steps and lots of things to buy to get started. A few years ago I heard about freezer paper and how to use it to make stencils for t-shirts. Back then I had to use an Exacto knife to cut out my designs. It's so much easier now bei

This morning I was feeling overwhelmed with all the little things I had to do today. I was wishing I could do something that "mattered"—and I was sure loading the dishwasher didn't make the cut. I found myself thinking about the boy who gave his lunch to Jesus, and I had one of those "aha!" moments where I realized

With this solo travel itinerary, you can experience the best of this Hungarian city with just 2 days in Budapest. It's the perfect blend of history and culture!

Evernote is free desktop download that works like a large reference file. I like to call it my "external brain." What is great about this application is that you can store documents, photos, and webpages all in the same place. Everything is keyword searchable. What is really cool is that any text that appears in your photos is also keyword searchable inside Evernote. If you are new to Evernote, here is a list of 21 ways how you can use Evernote to get you better organized this year:

Don't know what you should be doing with your life? Take these powerful quizzes to help you find your passion and narrow down your purpose in life.

Kindergarten music centers can be daunting to try! These centers with a huge success with my students! See how I did it!

Have you ever had one of those parenting moments where you realize you thought you had taught your kids something, but realized you actually never had? I realized recently that my daughter doesn't know what being flexible means. I say it to her all the time and I always thought she understood w

If you're like me, you have tried a thousand options for bell ringers/bell work. No matter what, the bell work needs a home, and for a long time, the bell work "home" has been in a notebook. Then, what do we have to do to grade it? COLLECT 125 SPIRAL BOUND NOT

There are lots of ways to sew a bias binding to finish a garment, so I've put together a series of tutorials to walk you through three of my favorite options! You'll see...

Last week we sent a bunch of Scout Books to SXSW in Texas with @rohdesign and @austinkleon for their Visual Notetaking 101 Panel. These guys take awesome notes, and they designed this pocket notebook to offer you a chance to create beautifully illustrated notes, too. The cover features illustration exercises for better notetaking. Count yourself lucky if you were at the panel and received one of these! They ran out right away! Collectors item.

It doesn't matter how many years I have been teaching, the back to school section, the feel of fall in the air, and the smell of new books always brings on the same anxious feeling I had as a child as school was about to begin.

Within three months, I had 6 clients and was averaging $90/hour. Here's how I started and marketing my tutoring business in my spare time.

Save money and create your own DIY easel for your teaching classroom! This blog post tells you step by step how to DIY easel for very little money!

Hello sweet friends! I'm back today with an oldie, but goodie! I first shared this post two years ago as part of our Furniture Fixer Upper series! I'm going to share the links to my friends' fabulous furniture makeovers from this day at the bottom also! I scored this hutch at the thrift store for

Last summer we spent a week in Croatia and visited nearby Dubrovnik from our resort of Mlini. We loved it there and here's what to expect in Mlini, Croatia.

I suppose we all have some rough days, right? Well, this is one of the most difficult days of my life. I have to say goodbye to the man I'm still not quite ready to

I finally got around to a project I’ve been wanting to try for a while – making Ali coloring pages of some favorite photos. And actually, it was quite a bit easier than I had anticipated. I have Photoshop (the cheap version), but I’m pretty sure a similar effect can be found in most photo

Everywhere you look, someone is trying to sell you something – but you may not even realize it! Unlike walking into a car dealership where you’re bombarded by a salesperson trying to convince you to buy a car, everyday advertising is subtle and uses emotional connection and storytelling to draw you in. This is copywriting! […]

Simple strategies for improving your credit score.

These food processor recipes for satisfying meals, savory snacks, and sweet treats will help you cut down on prep time.

I wrote this article to share this low sugar, no pectin, simple cherry jam recipe. It's so easy, and it’s great to have delicious jam with less sugar! This is hard for me to admit, but I do not like making jams. I do not like canning, either. As a homesteader, aren't you supposed to know how to ma

After replacing wooden window blinds, I knew there had to be something they could be turned into. I love using fabrics so I had an idea. I used nine window bl…

I'm trying to help my students be more aware of the grading process in art. Sometimes I get the feeling they think its just a place to come...

Tips for starting out as a new school psychologist

Do you love laminating? I do! For years I have laminated the small pieces of my games and centers to make sure they will last. Because I use small pieces,

An Italian travel bloggers guide on things to do in Cefalu, Sicily, a colorful and vibrant fishing village.

It is official! No school tomorrow, it's... I saw this on Ms. Fultz's Facebook Page and I had to use it! I love it..."because Ch...

Although there is no "right" way to recover, there are some things that if I had to do it again, I would definitely prioritize in sobriety...

I recently had a chance to explore the Christmas markets of the Stuttgart region . The markets were amazing, but there are so many more things to do in Stuttgart, that I think it would be a fun travel destination at any time of year. These are my recommendations for the best things to do in Stuttga

This little tip on how to quickly fill a hole in your wall is perfect for renters or people dorming. I remember quickly filling in holes at 3 in the morning wit…

Are you out of shape and wondering how to start exercising after 40? Read on for tips on cardio, strength training, and some great challenges you can join!

I'm linking up today with 4th Grade Frolics for another edition of Monday Made It! Bonny had to head back to New Jersey at the end of January, and of course, it was right when the big snow storm hit. Her flight back was cancelled three times! So, we decided we had to drive her back. Timm and I "made it" to New Jersey and back to Michigan in 30 hours! Ugh. It was not fun. It was nice to spend a little more time with Bonny, but it was exhausting. We arrived at her apartment, helped her shovel out her car... grabbed some Chick-fil-A, and then headed home. We got home about 11:15 p.m. and had to be to work bright and early the next morning. I've been working on making some new reading intervention groups and activities for a few of my kids. I got out the whisper phones I made a few years back and have a student working on his oral reading fluency. I also signed up for a free two week trial with K5 Learning. This is an online program for reading and math, though so far, I am only using the reading part of it with three of my students. It starts out by giving them a placement test to determine what areas they need to work on and what level they are at in each of those areas. I was surprised by how accurate the levels were that they came up with compared to the DRA and STAR test results that I have for each of my kids. After that, the students can start working through lessons which seem to be very interactive and engaging. One of my students that I have working on this program has struggled with staying on task and motivation. He is now coming to me throughout the day to ask if he can work on another K5 Learning lesson when he finishes other tasks. He completed five lessons in just a couple days, which I can see by logging in and clicking on his report. I'm hoping to use money from the PTO to continue my membership once my free trial is over. If you would like to check it out and start your own free trial, just click on the button below. My third Made It is my Homework Club that I started this year after I saw this pin from I Love Labels... Here's my version... I have had these awesome little magnets that you can slide a piece of paper in forever! They were perfect for this! I have been holding onto them for years, knowing that someday they would be just what I was looking for! This is how the Homework Club works. On the first day of the month, everyone is in the Homework Club. If you have a single late assignment, however, you are out for that month. I found this great little box that I keep on the marker board ledge for the magnets of the kids that are out. All the kids that are still in the Homework Club on the last day of the month earn a prize. To be honest, the September Homework Club was really small, only a handful of kids. Their reward was popcorn and pop during silent reading time. That did it! October Homework Club was about triple the number of kids! I just finished putting together my Homework Club Board set which includes everything you need to create a Homework Club of your own. You can find it in my TPT Store. Check out all the other Monday Made Its at 4th Grade Frolics! Also, make sure you stop by next week for another edition of Show & Tell Tuesday! I'd love for you to link up!