Finding a Balance!

Hi friends! Hope everyone is having a better day than we are. It's been a real doozy. Brittany said to me "I feel like I take one step forward and ten steps back." I know this isn't exactly her quote, but today it really should be. Do you ever have those kinda days in the classroom? When you think, "Wait?!?! I did teach this, right?" Yeah… that was today.

I absolutely hate days when you feel defeated! The kind of day when you're not sure if ANYTHING was accomplished. Ugh! We're just teaching so much… and so fast this year. I feel like I should time my "brain breaks" to be less than a minute because we just don't have the time to dance around. I try and remind myself that they are six-year-olds and they need to move but the pressure of what we need to cover is totally overwhelming!

The more intense the curriculum becomes the less time I have to really get to know my students. I've always taken that relationship very seriously. I know it makes me a better teacher. But this year we just don't have time to chat. I rarely get to ask my students questions and inquire about their interests. I want them to feel that they have a teacher that really cares, but we're more focused on balancing equations than balancing any type of relationship between home and school. The whole thing makes me sad. It also makes me wonder if there in something more I can do to fit it in. If you have the answers… please tell me your secrets! I do lunch bunch on Fridays and take in all the chat time I can during dismissal, but with 22 kiddos it's just not happening! It's nice to know that I'm not alone though. At least I know Brittany feels the same way… I bet a few of our fabulous followers understand, too!

Here's to another day! No back stepping tomorrow!

TOTALLY NEW TOPIC starts now…

After a not so cheerful little blog post I want to change the subject and the tone to something FABULOUS! Ever since Britt and I started reading blogs years ago, we have adored a fellow blogger called Pink Lou Lou. She's witty, fashionable and just plain adorable! What's not to love? She's not a teacher (everyone has a flaw) but she has many of our same interests, the most important one being SHOPPING!

Well PinkLouLou loves loves loves this website called Jane.com. Have you been to it? GET OFF THIS BLOG AND GO NOW!!! No… seriously, this blog will be here but the amazing deals on Jane.com will not. Don't delay because these items go fast. Fashionistas… I'm obsessed! The deals are A----MAY-----ZING!!! How did I know about this sooner??? I mean, think of all of the deals I've missed. You need to check it each day because there is new steals everyday for all ages!

Here are some of my new faves:

$6.99 Watch Blow Out!

$9.99 Chevron Watches

7 different painting stencil designs! $6.99

Not sure I can pull these off but I really want to try!!
Multi Print Leggings $10.99

Super soft microfiber kitchen towels $5.50

Chevron Scarves $10.99
I LOVE CHEVRON!!

We met, we married, we live sign $5.50

So go check it out! You won't regret it!!! These frugal girls are OBSESSED!!!

100 Posts and a freebie!

Wow! I just noticed that this is our 100th blog post! How cool! Our goal is to post many, many more!! Here's a little freebie from our first Unit 4 packet! Have a great night everyone! I'm heading to bed early since I woke up with a fever. Crossing my fingers it's not the flu!

Freebie and new packet available!

I sure hope Britt and I aren't the only bloggers feeling lazy after the holidays! It has taken everything in me to sit at the computer and get started on our weekly wonders packets again. Finally found a little motivation today to finish Unit 3 week 4 and almost finished Unit 4 week 4. It felt good to get something accomplished! Hope everyone is having a great weekend! As a THANK YOU to our incredibly patient followers here's a freebie for ya!

To get the entire 74 page packet click here! 

Happy New Year, frugal Friends!!! We hope everyone had a wonderful winter break spending time with friends and family! We sure did! Brittany and I are both a little sad that today is our last day of break but also both a little eager to get 2014 started! Don't get us wrong… we love our job, but the first few days back are always a little rough. Not setting an alarm clock feels so good! We didn't do many teacher related things over break, despite our plans. However we did recreate this little 2014 New Years foldable. Hope everyone can find some use for this little freebie!!

We have so many great things happening this year and we can't wait to share all of our frugal happenings with all of you! One of our main goals is to give this little old blog a lot more attention! It's time to go enjoy the last day of break (even though that means heading to the classroom to prepare for this upcoming week)! Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Wishing all of our frugal family and friends a HAPPY HOLIDAY!  We hope Santa was good to you! Melissa is celebrating with her family in Stewart, Florida today while I'm here in good ol' Ocala celebrating with mine! We are both resting up to hit the after Christmas sales tomorrow!  We'll be sure to post about any amazing deals, finds, and/or bargains!  Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Long I freebie

Finishing up our Long I packet so here is a little freebie for ya! Hope you're having a great weekend!!!

Happy Anniversary and a freebie!!

Hi friends!!! It's been so hard to keep up with blogging lately and for that I am truly sorry!!! I have gotten three new students in the last three weeks and it's starting to feel *crowded* in our little room! I tell my students to kick back and read for CAFE and they usually literally "kick back" by putting their feet up on their desk and reading for their given time (we are at 14 minutes) it's a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. However, right now they can't fit in their usual, comfortable kicked back position! We are jam packed and our teams are practically touching! I love all my new students, they are sweet as can be, but we have maxed out our space and are over capacity! Hopefully that's it for awhile!

Meanwhile, it's Brittany and Matt's ONE MONTH wedding anniversary tomorrow, Nov. 20th ! Since we seek out any and all reasons to celebrate, we have decided to post a freebie from our newest packet for Unit 3! We are also going to put everything in our store on sale tomorrow 20%!!!

The newlyweds are loving married life and they are busy building a new back porch that they hope to have completed before it gets chilly! Fire pit time! Can't wait! Brittany also got some new wheels!! October was definitely an amazing month! So happy for my best friend!

On another bright note our unit 3 packets are coming along smoothly and unit 3 week 2 should be posted tomorrow night! Just going to add a few new things to keep our first graders engaged! We decided our packets needed a few more center activities for unit 3! We have been overwhelmed with the fantastic support from all of you and are so very thankful!!

Hope everyone has a great night!!!

Click here for  the freebie: