Tag Archives: holidays

How to get ready for Christmas without the STRESS!

I know…BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

Folks..LIFE IS BUSY! Christmas time is BUSY!

Sorry to be the one to tell you that.

BUT…

30 days …from TODAY  (11.25.23)   4  SUNDAYS! 

 YES,  4 SUNDAYS…

Christmas will be here!

I  LOVE CHRISTMAS!

So??  

 How  to  get  ready??

PACE YOURSELF!

Think 

MARATHON…NOT  SPRINT!

 Where to start?

#1…..Make LISTS!

(I  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE   LISTS! )

List ALL ( YES ALL ) of the people you 

WOULD LIKE to give gifts to.

Now…

PUT A STAR next to the people you MUST give a gift to.

(I know that sounds weird..but..I would LOVE to give gifts to

EVERYONE…but…my bank account says I must prioritize).

It doesn’t mean I won’t give a gift…

just might be a “thoughtful”… not-as-costly gift.

Reality people!

If money grew on trees…

#2…..DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN DEBT FOR THE NEW YEAR!

 So…there is officially  1 more PAYCHECK until Christmas.

( Or figure out HOW many PAYCHECKS YOU have until DEC. 24 )

Take the number of gifts YOU MUST purchase 

and divide by EXTRA $$.

***If you have been SAVING for Christmas,  which you WILL DO for NEXT year,  add that too!

That tells you HOW many GIFTS you MUST purchase and the amount you have to spend.

That’s important because

 now you can begin looking for a gift

for the PERSON…not just a check-off on a list.

SLOW DOWN! Not ready to buy yet!

Now….start talking, texting, asking others…

#3…..DO YOUR RESEARCH PEOPLE!

ASK!!!!  

 What items do the people on your list WANT…NEED…LOVE?????

Add this to your LIST!

( If for kids…ASK THEIR PARENTS…sizes, likes, ages,etc )

Now…start looking…

online? Look for FREE shipping! 

(AMAZON PRIME ..I am speed dial!)

Friends & Family …FAR AWAY???  ( Sorry )

SHIP TO THEM!

Don’t ship to YOU & then pay to ship to them!

SHIP  DIRECTLY! FREE!

STOP!

YOU HAVE NOT MADE A BUDGET YET!

#4…..Figure out what you can spend…

AFTER PAYING YOUR BILLS & feeding your family.

They always come first…don’t forget to add them to your MUST list!

Your kids COME FIRST!

And NOT going into SEVERE debt!

Only charge what YOU can pay off the next month!

NO DEBT AFTER JANUARY!

OK..then..start listing whom you will purchase for.

After you purchase…keep the receipt! 

I write the name of the person I purchased it for on the back…

RETURNS?  Easy Peasy!

After you purchase…

or  it arrives from SANTA’S HELPER

 IN THE BROWN UPS TRUCK… 🙂

WRAP IT  AND   ATTACH  A  NAME  TAG!

( This is from a Santa’s Helper…who has forgotten and was wrapping WAY TOO LATE INTO CHRISTMAS EVE! )

After Thanksgiving..

#5…..I begin to look at my 

LIST of ” WANT to purchase for”

but NOT necessarily, 

 “Must Purchase For”

on my list!

 ( Yes I keep it in a little book in my purse! )

Now I have a better idea of “extras”…

Do I need to do “homemade”….giftcards…..”I thought of you- but have no $$ left” card? 

What kinds of gifts can you give for NO MONEY?

How about a picnic at the park?   A  TEA PARTY for kids?  A trip to the library to read books?  Take a young child to the ZOO???

Gifts of “ONE TO ONE” time…ARE THE BEST!  

And you can schedule them AFTER the holidays. 

The gift that keeps on giving!

Whatever fits YOU! 

RELAX!   

NO  GUILT!  

Christmas is NOT about who can GUILT YOU the MOST!

It’s about telling the people you care about..

THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU!

Enjoy the season.

Spend time with friends & family!

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!

Make Memories!

And when JANUARY comes around..

SMILE!

(And maybe  a mani / pedi  for  yourself?)

But…remember…

Christmas is from the HEART..not the WALLET!

Have FUN!  

Elf on the Shelf… FAILURE!

Do OVER!

What do YOU do to get ready for CHRISTMAS????

Veteran's Day 2019

Happy Veteran’s Day from A Proud Military Family

Veteran’s DAY!

We are a military family.

Army & Navy.

We have heard stories from WWII to Korea to today.

Great Grandpa’s, Grandpa’s, Dad’s, cousins, sons, daughter-in-law…

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

In MY classroom

I spend a lot of time discussing MY SON

ACTIVE US NAVY…

and why it is SOOO  important to say

“THANK YOU” for their service.

He is currently on deployment…

He was married to an active military US NAVY  wife,

AND they had …MY GRANDDAUGHTER!

( She is sooooo  cute!)

But he left them behind to live on a ship and PROTECT US!

So how can we say THANK YOU?

We send  letters, pictures, stories, and cutsie art projects.

And this MOMMY sends BOXES of COOKIES! 🙂

I try to send things at least once a month.

This month’s ideas…

( Pinterest is GREAT FOR THIS! )

Let’s Talk Turkey

Next   Month…… DECEMBER CRAFTIVITIES

Just a little something to remind them of

All of us at home who CARE!

When my son is no longer on a ship…

 we send things to friends & family who are

ACTIVE soldiers & sailors.

AND

We send things to the local Veteran’s HOSPITAL.

All who serve and who have served…deserve a THANK YOU!

I searched GOOGLE for a local VA Hospital address…

takes a little searching, but time WELL spent!

ALL  will appreciate it.

 Parents who cannot ( or are not) with their own kids

appreciate a little art project or note from a child, any child.

A little smile, a little laugh, a warm fuzzy from home.

No need to put names on them.

Here are a few addresses …

To those Veteran’s ( active or inactive )

AND THEIR FAMILIES …

THANK  YOU!

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Wendy

625 Valentine Cards in our classroom. Where do we keep them BEFORE the big day?

625 Valentine Cards??? Where do we Put them ALL?

 VALENTINE  CARDS

It’s that time of year when we share Valentine cards!

Kindness cards, Friendship Celebrations, Valentine Parties

Whatever YOUR site chooses to call it.

IT’S  HERE! Let the Valentine Card sharing begin!

The time of year when we color,cut & glue

to show our FRIENDS  that WE LOVE THEM!

Pinterest has LOTS ( I mean LOTS )

of Valentine IDEAS!

These are a few from one of my collaborative Pinterest boards

Valentine STEM Activity fro The Trendy Science Teacher

Valentine STEM Activity fro The Trendy Science Teacher

Valentine STEM Activity from
The Trendy Science Teacher

Check out this fun  Valentine Post  about

Valentine Resources

You need NOW!

 

Kindness Cards

Kindness Cards


CLICK HERE FOR FREEBIE

WE LOVE VALENTINE’S DAY!

But WHAT TO DO WITH ALL OF THOSE VALENTINE CARDS???

How to MANAGE them ALL?

2 days before our “Friendship Celebration”…

*We are NOT allowed to call it a VALENTINE celebration

(separation of CHURCH/STATE thing..)

we make our BAGS!

Now I have done LOTS & LOTS & LOTS of different types of cardholders…

(Again…THANK YOU PINTEREST!)

But I think the MOST important thing to remember is…

WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THEM?

If you have 25 students…these take up a LOT of space!

So the choice is yours!

Just remember…

ALWAYS…ALWAYS…make 1 extra!

(That student who was absent on CRAFTY day…will want a bag on PARTY day!)

ALSO….

Have your kiddos write THEIR NAME ONLY on the cards.

One in each bag…PLOP..PLOP…PLOP!

NO need to MATCH their friend’s name to the bag.

One for EVERYONE!

When we open our bags…we say THANK YOU to each person who gave us a card!

MANNERS COUNT!

So good luck.

Check your CRAFTING SUPPLIES.

Find out where you want them to be …they will be there for two whole days.

AND enjoy!

Don’t forget to make one for yourself!

I am sure your kiddos will have “TREATS” for you too!

Do you NEED a few more Centers for Valentine’s Day?

Can You Make 10? Valentine Math Canter

Can You Make 10? Valentine Math Canter

Can You Make 10? Valentine Math Canter
Missing Addends Math Center for Valentine's Day

Missing Addends Math Center for Valentine’s Day

Missing Addends Math Center for Valentine’s Day
109 pages of Math Task Cards for Valentine's Math Center

109 pages of Math Task Cards for Valentine’s Math Center

Happy Friendship Day!

Wendy

1stgradefireworks

YOU want to…P.P.Paint ????

Just hearing the 

“P A I N T”

word.

Sends shivers down my back!

I have nightmares of 

spilled water, ruined paintings,

our janitor YELLING ,

“NO!  STOP! NOT ON THE NEW CARPET!”

 Ok…NOT yelling…but  you know…”NO!”

So, I guess

24 …   6-year-olds

sitting at desks, 

painting beautiful pictures

was NOT was I thinking about!

AND

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

I admit…it was ALL about ME!

WHAT WILL  I  HAVE  TO “Deal With”?

And you know what?

NOTHING.

Every time we paint

(and I try to do it once a month)

THEY AMAZE  ME!

Clean, quiet, detailed, HAPPY!

They worked for about 45 minutes…

TOTALLY  ENGAGED!

(I wish some of MY lessons were SO ENGAGING!)

I start with my BFF…

PINTEREST!

I have some GREAT pins on my boards.

Check them out!

This months “painting inspiration”came from

Elyse 

@

PROUD to BE PRIMARY

And now we are…
ALL ready for JANUARY!

Here’s a few of ours!

They are sooooo cute!

AND

NO   SPILLS!

I think they are getting the HANG OF IT!

Duh…   you mean with

PRACTICE

we get BETTER!?

I wonder what wonderful teacher gave them that ADVICE???

Anyways…

we will PAINT!

And we will PAINT..a  LOT!

Next month… 

I’m thinking SNOW, and Penguins, and Nature Scenes.

Maybe some “still life”…    Hmmmm.

MONET!     DEGAS! 

Watch out WORLD OF ART…

HERE  WE  COME!

Check out pinterest for more ideas!

Clean up 2017

Can you hear the song?

Here’s a link to help you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY-H2WGThc8

My NEW YEAR’S Mantra!

CLEAN UP!   CLEAN UP!

I LOVE to start the NEW YEAR with cleanliness!

NO ...I AM NOT  OCD ( quite the opposite ).

I like to start the year off with a clean slate…

doesn’t always stay that way!

So here I  go!

MY Closet! 

ICK!

Keeping these…pants together..skirts…etc

Hubby even did his shoes! 🙂

Pile to GO!
Cleaned out my closet…found my LOST slippers!

YIPPEY!

Pile of unneeded hangers!

Gave some of them away with donated clothes.

Kept some…yes..I got rid of the WIRE HANGERS!

HAHAHAHAHA

So I am DONATING 2 bags of 

“UNUSED” clothes & shoes

( Doesn’t fit, holes, haven’t worn, aren’t going to wear…)

to Goodwill.

Have you tried this COOL  closet  trick?

Take ALL of your hangers and turn them 

BACKWARDS!

As you wear something…

turn the hanger forwards.

Next year…

ANY hanger still turned backwards…

YOU HAVE NOT WORN IN ONE YEAR!

DONATE  IT to someone who will!

The Christmas Decor!

I LOVE my Christmas tree.

I turn on the lights, sit in the dark, and watch it twinkle!

But…it has been up since November.

( Yes, before THANKSGIVING!)

I didn’t have Thanksgiving at MY house..so..

UP WENT THE CHRISTMAS DECOR!

Makes me happy!

But…Time to “CLEAN UP, CLEAN UP!”

Gma loves help! Such a decorator!

It takes a LONG time to put ornaments away!

You have to touch each one…remember when or where you got it…

the memories are sometimes OVERWHELMING..

Sniff..sniff..giggle..giggle

We started this years ago…

When we travel, or have a special place…

we buy an ornament.

Check out my UPDATED post on 

“In Life…there is NO “Do OVER!”

Newest member of my snowman ornament collection.
Don’t forget the year!
Little sister got married  in HAWAII!

We were ALL there!

So FUN!

and last…

ME!

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions…

I don’t need ANOTHER thing to worry about!

But..

I have changed my eating habits!

( Lost 32  pounds …so far )

YEAH!!!

My new favorite “treat”…

APPLES & Peanut Butter!

But wait!

 Isn’t Peanut Butter FATTENING??????

Here’s my SECRET..

Slice apples ( I buy mine pre packaged & sliced ). 🙂

Put them single layer on a plate.

Put 1 Tablespoon ( Yes I measure ) peanut butter in a small zip-lock bag.

Close bag. Microwave PB ( mine about 20 seconds).

Snip ( tech term) the corner off of the bottom of the PB bag.

DRIZZLE over apples!

It’s like FROSTING the cake!

* UPDATE…  You CAN use PB.

BUT…

My newest LOVE

PB2.

Powdered Peanuts…NO  FAT!

Mix 2 TBL powder with 1 TBL  water!

PRESTO!

PB  with NO  FAT!

I LOVE LOVE  LOVE  the PB2 with CHOCOLATE!

CAN YOU SAY…  REESES???

I have it on my toast in the AM.

So…I am beginning my

CLEAN UP 

mode.

I should start on the kitchen cabinets, or the bathroom…..

I think I hear 

APPLES & PB

calling me!

Happy New Year’s,  my friends!

Give from the…HEART!

Teachers  are  givers.

Kids are TOO!

We want EVERYONE  to  have 

ALL of their WISHES come true!

BUT….

So how?

How can we teach curriculum,  maintain  sanity,

and MAKE WISHES COME TRUE?

Give!

GIVE  FROM  THE  HEART!

In our classroom we  make ornaments.

NOT all of the ornaments are for CHRISTMAS.

Some of my kiddos don’t celebrate Christmas.

BUT…

They  create.  They  inspire.  They  give.

From the  Heart.

My  favorite things are HANDMADE.

( Sniff… from the heart)  🙂

Where do we get our  ” inspirations” ?

PINTEREST!

(You can follow me here…)

No stress…pictures…some directions…Ahhhhh.

My  happy  place!

Here are some of MY  favorite  ideas!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AauKHq04s3VIDuE8bceSrLCmvzxEHKxLIV9dfmZwn2y-Qrg2qgtIP88/

Popsicle  sticks! 

Glue! Paint!  Decor!

Let the imagination go!

NOT ALL OF MY KIDS MAKE THE SAME ORNAMENTS!

Let them have choice!

I show them the pictures.

 I share the BASICS.

I let them GO!

MY  choices and their choices MAY BE DIFFERENT!

Different is good! 

Give from YOUR heart!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101260691599483836/

SALT  DOUGH!

Who doesn’t  like  DOUGH?

Squishy, squeezy  balls of  FUN?

I  LOVE  handprint ornaments.

(GMA  HERE)  🙂

Our kiddos are small for such a short time.

Make those MEMORIES!

I  bring out ALL the cookie cutters I can find, borrow, beg for.

SUGGESTIONS…

Don’t let them be too THICK.

Let them dry FOR A LONG TIME ( 3-4 days ) 

before PAINTING!

Hot glue string on the back after dry,

OR

Poke a hole on the dough with a straw BEFORE drying.

MY newest LOVE!

HANDPRINT   SNOWMEN!

ALL of MY kiddos make this one!

I make these in small groups

( I can only do 3-4 kiddos at a time)

If you have a PARENT HELPER…

this is a PERFECT craft for them!)

Paint on day 1.

DRY  day 2.

Faces ( I suggest  BLACK SHARPIES )  Day 3

Scarves  (  felt, material/ paper scraps…srapbook paper works great!)   Day  4

Let EVERYTHING DRY 

& then 

add  a  string  for  a  hanger!

BE SUPER CAREFUL when sending these home!

( No dropping )

Place in a gift bag

 ( we use hand decorated lunch bags)

with LOTS, LOTS, LOTS

of tissue !

So…we  GIVE FROM THE HEART!

It’s not about the $$ amount 

when giving.

It’s about the thought, the effort, and the LOVE

that goes into it!

Here is another gift I do FOR my kiddos.

See the blog POST here.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL Holiday SEASON!

Make memories.

Share the LOVE.

And

Give From the HEART!