Make your Masterpiece: Week 3

This week for the TPT Seller Challenge, the theme is Make your Masterpiece!  While I wouldn't call this my masterpiece, it's something I've been needing to finish because I think it will be a great routine for my firsties this year!

This resource has 20 prompts for every month of the year!  It also has 40 extra prompts for anytime, for a grand total of 280 prompts.  I love giving students a chance to choose what they write about, so I created this to give them a structured choice.  I plan on using this in centers, but you could use it for early finishers, homework, morning work, and honestly anywhere else you like!  In celebration of finishing a product, this is just a dollar for today only so snatch it if you'd like it right here!  The prompts do contain holiday and culture references specific to the US, so if you don't teach in the US you might not get such a great benefit from this product.

What's your masterpiece?  Or an awesome product I should check out?  Let me know in the comments below!

Work it Wednesday!

Hey, friends!  Today I'm linking up with Katie King for Work it Wednesday!

First, you have to know something about me.  I don't like getting fit.  I don't exercise, I don't sweat, and I ESPECIALLY don't diet.  But for some CRAZY reason, my husband decided to do all of that at the beginning of this year.  And he lost A LOT of weight.  Meaning right now, I weigh more than him.  Sometime in my life I'll probably be okay with that fact, but right now I feel like a giant when we're out together.  Soooooo...I decided to get fit in attempts of not feeling like the Jolly Green Giant.  Sigh...

So if you're looking for great advice for how to get fit, you will probably want to just hop onto another blog.  If you HATE everything you possibly have to do to get fit and want to know how you might not hate it so much, then go ahead and keep reading.

I have some inner rules for myself.  They're probably not good rules, but I'm pretty stubborn about them so here's the first one.

That's it!  Never.  I can't stand paying that much money for something I may or may not use.  A gym is great if you really want to get in shape, but it costs you every single month.  I know myself well enough to guarantee that if I have to leave my house to go work out, I will never work out.

Instead, this is what I did...

I got this for my husband for Christmas a few years ago.  I think it was $200, but I know there are many even cheaper than that (less than $100).  In my eyes, $200 for my husband and I to work out for as long as the machine works is a lot better than paying $30+ a month, every single month, for both of us to have a membership at a gym.

I don't like this machine just like I don't like working out.  The seat is probably the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on, and it makes me love my fat-padded booty even more.

But, as much as I hate it, it's getting me fit because of this little tray right here.

See that thing?  Right above the silver part is a glorious tray.  You know what can sit right there?  MY PHONE!  YES!

I'm working on reading the Bible through in a year on my Bible app.  Let's just say that I'm way behind...as in May's readings may or may not be done yet.  Every time I work out, I multitask.  I'll start reading my Bible and sometimes I get so interested in what I'm reading, I'll forget I'm pedaling while sitting on a rock!  It's fabulous!

Other times if I'm having a rough day, I'll watch Ellen while I cycle.  That woman is so funny, I have cycled for 40 minutes before without even noticing (and that's a BIG step for this girl right here).

I'll even get on a Teacher Blog binge sometimes and start reading those until I forget I'm cycling.  It's amazing.  PD and fitness at the same time.

So if you hate working out just as much as I do, find a hobby to do while you work out so that you don't realize you're working out.  If you like bird watching, go take a hike to watch the birds.  If you like listening to your Pandora station, put some headphones in and walk to the beat.  If you have kids, spend time with them by playing tag or other outdoor games.  If you like reading and watching TV, invest in a cycle for a lifetime of fitness.

Dare to Dream: Week 2

This week for the Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Challenge, the theme is Dare to Dream.  I'm sharing with you the reason I make products for Teachers Pay Teachers and what I plan to do with my life...besides teach.

I love everything Disney.  I especially love Disney World.  I don't think I can really express how much I love it, so just believe me when I tell you I do.  It is really my happiest place on earth.  I have so much fun acting like a kid again with my husband!  I love seeing his goofy side, and when they say "Show us your Disney Side" on those commercials, they aren't kidding!  My husband has a Disney Side!  And it's so attractive!  Okay, back to dreams...

I learn so much as a teacher in Walt Disney World.  Just watch a child carry on a conversation with a character.  They're completely engaged, completely engrossed, and soaking in everything that character is saying.  Perhaps it's because they've watched Frozen 2,934,123 times and they are obsessed with Elsa - so every word out of Elsa's mouth is sacred.  Or perhaps it's also the magic that Walt Disney World creates in itself.  I think it's some of the first, but a lot of the second.  That's the whole reason I called my blog "Simply Magical Learning."  I want learning in my classroom to be like Walt Disney World every single day.  All smiles and excitement, soaking up words and making learning fun.

So right there is my main reason for selling products on TPT - trips to Walt Disney World.  They're rejuvenating for myself as well as next year's classroom environment.

If I really go far on TPT (or grow up and have kids someday), I would love to go to Grad School.  I LOVE LIBRARIES.  In my list of favorite places to be, it goes like this: 1. Disney World, 2. Anywhere that sells ice cream, 3. Libraries.  I would love to be able to return to school to get my Master's in Library Science to become a librarian.  I'd still be teaching lessons on books, but I'd be able to range from picture books to young adult novels.  I don't know if this is a practical goal, or a reachable one, but I'm daring to dream it anyways.

Makeover Madness: Week 1

For this week's Makeover Madness, I had to pick a product from my TPT Store and redo something about it.  This has been on my to-do list FOR-EVER, but I have absolutely zero motivation to do it.  I'm so happy this got me pumped up for it!

So here's one of my first products from last year, My Word Wall Book.  There wasn't too much content-wise I wanted to change, but the cover, clip art, and borders definitely needed some updating. 

So now it's a whole lot prettier!  My kids loved this last year and I know my kids this year will love it even more.  And because I want you to experience the prettiness and wonderfulness of it, it's on sale for $2 (regularly $3) through Friday. Just click here to go visit my shop.