Back in the Swing of Things...

Hey there, long lost friends! To say I've missed you would be a complete understatement. Boy do we have a MILLION things to catch up on! I promise my blogging, or lack thereof, is completely justified. You see, I have some pretty *BIG* news....

That's right, my friends, the School Belle is officially engaged! My fiance, we'll call him Mr. Appleseed, knowing the obsessive teacher type of person I am, thought it would be completely fitting to pop the question in the place I love best, my classroom! For years, I've been asking him to put a pot on his head, grab a sack of apples, and visit my classroom as Johnny Appleseed himself. Not wanting to embarrass himself, he has politely declined every.single.year. So, when he asked to come this year, naturally I thought nothing of it. Clueless. Imagine my surprise, and my students, when Johnny Appleseed himself got down on one knee. 

So friends, I've been on Cloud 9 ever since, and too consumed with wedding planning to even THINK about blogging. But sure enough, I started to miss it and all of you, so here I am! 

It's so hard to believe that we are already well into the second nine weeks of the school year! This is by far my most FAVORITE time to be a teacher. The holidays are such a great springboard for wonderful lessons and activities. One of my favorites is teaching comparing/ contrasting two stories using The Gingerbread Man. 

Last year, I didn't have much time to focus on gingerbread themed activities, much to my dismay, and I simply refuse to let that happen this year, dang it. 

So, my little cuties are in for a week full of gingerbread fun, and I cannot wait! To help me prepare, I created a packet of 10 math and 10 literacy centers. While we read and write about our gingerbread stories, we will also be seeing them throughout all of our literacy and math center fun.

What I love MOST about these cute little centers is that they are holiday themed, and not Christmas. Perfect for us public school teachers...ya feel me? 

And they still add just enough holiday cheer to make me one happy teacher!

Click the preview below to check it out!

If you follow me on TPT, you may have noticed that I've been posting "Math with Meaning" center packets, and may have wondered why I chose that title.

As a teacher, one of the most difficult parts of our job {in my opinion} is making sure each of my students is challenged. I never want my students feeling bored in my classroom. 

To me boredom= me not doing my job.

 And I certainly don't want to go home with that feeling!

To help with this, I have started creating leveled/ differentiated math centers. Each center is aligned to the Common Core and comes with TWO versions. The TWO versions share the same recording sheet, which means its less work for you and less confusion for our cuties! 

To keep them organized, I place colored garage sale stickers on the back of each activity {pink for the lower level and green for the higher level}. My students are assigned a color, but don't know exactly what the colors mean. Doing so helps my students focus more on the task at hand, and not who is doing the "harder" work.

If you'd like to check out my differentiated math centers alone, I am selling them separately in my little shop! Click the preview below to check it out!

Well, sweet friends, I am off to enjoy my last few hours of Thanksgiving break! I promise I won't be a stranger! 

Happy teaching!

Why!

Hey there!

I'm back once agan today to link up with Blog Hoppin' to share my *why organization" tips. Well, let me start by saying that I am by NO means an organization expert. Try as I might, I just really can't seem to get it ALL together. But alas, the job of a teacher is never really over is it? And honestly, how is anyone really supposed to balance all those papers?

Still, today I'm going to show you a few tips that have seemed to help me hold on to the last bits of my sanity, while also appeasing my OCD tendencies.

 

 

First up, a look at my teacher books!

 

 

If you're like me, then you have a stash of books that you use specificially for lessons and units. Call me greedy, but I just don't want my students reading those books over and over again before I'm ready to use them. I absolutely LOVE the feeling of reading a good book to my students for the first time, and I always feel at least a little disappointed when one of them has heard it before. Therefore, I certainly don't leave my teacher books in an area where my WHOLE class can enjoy them before I'm ready. Selfish, I admit, but I truly think it helps keep them special.

 

I believe it was in my very first year of teaching that I realized my teaching books could simply not be housed in the same area as the student books. I realized that by separating my books, it not only prevented my kids from reading them over and over again and therefore killing their luster, but it also helped protect them and keep them pristine (well, almost). Since then, I have always kept my teaching books on a separate shelf, on another side of the classroom. I have my books organized by month. So, all the units and themes I teach in September are all in the same bucket. Books that I use for grammar lessons or math lessons fall into the last category of "school books". When I am on a particular unit, I move those books to this colorful little shelf (not pictured), so my students can access them while writing or researching. This system has NEVER failed me and I truly have never regretted this decision. I think if You keep the students library well stocked with equally great texts, its a win, win! Do you agree?

 

Next up, is how I keep student work organized.

 

After my first year of teaching kindergarten, I quickly realized that my sweet kinders are just like me. They want to stay organized, but they just don't know how. I tried everything! But mostly it all resulted in anger and frustration on both ends. This year, I decided I was going to tackle this problem head on, and vowed to never spend another minute frustrated about my students organization. Therefore, I developed the drawer system. Each student has a drawer that corresponds to their class number. Finished center work or seat work that is only for practice or a participation grade goes in these drawers. Graded papers are still turned in, but now my students have a place where all papers are housed, and none are flying out of their cubbies! When its time to hang up work or send work home, I know exactly where to go and what to look for! It's been a lifesaver, I tell you. My students also really adore having a special place to keep their work safe. Amen!

 

Lastly, I'll share my center organization with you. Let me preface this by telling you....I haven't exactly tested it out, yet. We're getting there though. It's only our first week of school so we haven't quite nailed down our center routines, but so far so good! Previously I used folders to store all recording sheets, but my students alwasy seemed confused by what sheet went with what activity, or they never put them back correctly. It was a MESS, and that's an understatement.

 

This year, I've decided to store all recording sheets on numbered paper trays. No more crinkled papers and folders, or mixed up sheets. Instead, students just grab the sheet after they finish the activity. VOILA! Easy as that! Check back with me in a week or two and you'll see the real results of this new design.

 

 

So, what do you think friends? Love it? Hate it?

I'm thinking it'll all work out! However, I will still be checking out all the other fabulous organization tips on the Blog Hoppin' Linky! Go check it out!

 

 

Happy teaching!

 

 

 



My Classroom Digs!

Hey ya'll!

 Phew, is all I really have to say right now. Today was our second *official* day of school, and let me tell you...I am EXHAUSTED! I always forget that my cuties really do start out as babies. But, in my two short days with them, they have already impressed me beyond words and shown so much growth! 

I really can't wait to show you all the fun stuff we've been getting into, but today I'm here to link up with Blog Hoppin' and show you my classroom digs! This year, I was fortunate enough to move into a brand new and HUGE room! It has been a dream come true for me, but still I feel like I am dying for more space. I guess that's something a teacher really will never be satisfied with. Especially if you have a basket hoarding problem like I do. 

First up, I'll share a picture of my calendar, and center rotation chart board! I totally changed up my color scheme this year, and as you can see, I also totally stole borrowed some bulletin board ideas from the amazing Kindercraze.

We have already put both boards to great use, and I love how bright a cheery they look! I also got my fabulous alphabet from the one and only Kindercraze. Now if only they would invent a tape that would actually adhere to cinder block walls....sigh.

Oh and that rolling container you see? Well this lucky lady happened to win that at  PD two weeks ago, and now I SERIOUSLY don't know how I ever survived without it. I'm not sure how much they cost retail, but I swear it would be worth every single penny. 

Next up, a little snip of my rug area. I was lucky enough to have enough space in my classroom this year to position a rug right in front of my Promethean board, and still enough space to have another massive rug in my classroom library. Blessed, I know. 

The pocket charts on the back of the bookcases are for center use. On the other side is where we store all of our math tubs. The buckets of clipboards are also used for center work, and the bucket of dry erase boards are used daily in a variety of subjects!

My next area up for show is our classroom library. Almost all of the books and tubs are labeled, but it's still a little bit of a work in progress. I'm realizing it's actually impossible to have every aspect of your classroom entirely done before school starts. If you are one of those lucky people who are able to do so, I don't wanna know about it. ;) I prefer the comfort of the idea that I am not the only one still scrambling to get it together!

My library definitely got quite the upgrade this year, and I was so thrilled to be able to add that sweet little tent of mine! All of my bookshelves were donated to my class via Donor' s Choose, and boy are they a lifesaver! They take up just the perfect amount of space, and have plenty of room for my ever-growing library. The buckets you see on the shelves to the right house all of our "word work" centers. This picture was taken prior to the numbering of each of the tubs. The paper trays above each correspond to a word work center, and house the recording sheets for each activity. 

Well, friends! That's all the pictures I have to share with you today! I realized after getting home that I have absolutely NO pictures of my student tables, small group table, writing center, or computer center, so that will have to hold off till another post! In the meantime, I'm going to make myself mighty busy checking out all the other wonderful classroom digs over on the Blog Hoppin' linky! 

Thanks for checking in and, as always, happy teaching!

Back To School

Believe it or not, back to school is officially here! With the first day of school right around the corner, I am working like a maniac to get everything ready. I am sure most of you are going through exactly what I am, but every year it still feels like it's my first. Will it ever end?

But, despite all of the hard work, I truly look forward to the start of the new year, and can't wait to meet all of my new babies next Monday. Until then, I have made use of my hard earned money and bought myself quite a few things during this weeks Back To School Sale on TPT. Did ya'll participate? I sure hope so! There were killer deals, and I definitely racked up. So tonight, I am so excited to share some of my recent purchases, as well as a few of my newest products, with you!

As you can see, I was feeling pretty ambitious at the time. I can't wait to put all of these great new units and clip art packs to good use! If any of the products I've posted tickle your fancy, just click on their picture and it'll lead you write to their product page!

Up next, I have a few fulfilled promises for you. If you remember, I recently posted my math homework packet with the assurance that a phonics and reading comprehension packet would be following shortly. Well guess what folks?! I am proud to say I have officially finished and posted both units this week, and I absolutely cannot wait to use them!

All three of my packets (math, phonics, and reading comprehension) were made to be used together or individually. My phonics packet includes practices pages for every phonics skill addressed in 1st grade, and includes enough practice pages to use for homework and extra to also use at school. If you've got homework covered already, no problem. This packet is absolutely PERFECT for small group instruction, intervention, or assessment. The best part about this packet is that it assesses decoding, fluency, comprehension, AND writing. It is balanced literacy at its finest.

Here's a peek at just one of the fun pages included in the packet. There are several pages that are found repeatedly throughout the packet, but each phonics skill also comes with uniquely themed practice pages to help maintain student engagement!

For an even better look at this packet, you can click on the picture above to view the product page.

My next unit was definitely a labor of love. It really stretched my creativity and allowed me to really take a long hard look at the comprehension skills my students need to acquire. And thus....Read Your Heart Out! was born. Just thinking about this newest packet gets me excited! 

In this comprehensive unit, I included enough close reading passages to last all school year. The passages vary in genre and theme, and are just wonderful for homework, small group, or whole group instruction. Each passage contains activities for 4 days of reading. This set-up encourages students to read, and most importantly, RE-READ! Then, students are challenged to ask and answer questions, identify story elements, retell the stories, analyze vocabulary, identify synonyms/antonyms, search for phonics chunks and SO much more! What I love most about this packet is that it was created in conjunction with my phonics packet and reinforces all of the skills. In addition, the texts gradually increase in difficulty. Early passages focus on CVC words and sights words, and gradually move to more complex texts.

These packets have truly been an answer to my homework prayers. I'm sleeping easier knowing that I will have one less "to-do" off my list each week. For a closer look at my close reading packet, you can click the picture below! And, as always, both products will be on sale for the next week! Hooray for back to school!

I'll be back again soon to show you how I organize all these papers to go home! Until then, I will be busy printing and laminating all the new goodies I purchased! To see more fabulous finds from the TPT sale, check out BlogHoppin's linky!

Happy Teaching!

Teachers Be Shoppin'

Hey, ya'll! As promised, I am back here once again to share my latest teacher (and un-teacher) related purchases, courtesy of Elizabeth at  Kickin' it in Kindrergarten.

To kick it off, I'll start with an overview. I know what you're thinking, "This chick is craaazy." But I'm not ya'll, swear it. Every purchase I've made this week has been completely intentional. The real test will be if intentions ever meet reality, but that's for an entirely separate blog post. For today, I'll just stick with the updates. You see, I'm moving to a brand spankin' new classroom this year, and I couldn't be more pleased. With an entire work day scheduled for tomorrow, I am beyond excited to share the final results with you. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen a bit of a sneak peek, but that doesn't even begin to cover it. 

 That plethora of  (blurry) scrapbook paper you see? Well that's just for a little art project I have planned for one of my bulletin boards. You'll have to exercise patience to see the fruits of that purchase, but I promise it'll be worth it. With any luck I'll have it up and posted for you by the end of this week. Until then, I'll leave you with a little hint....you'll definitely be "blown away".

 I found that precious picture frame above at Marshall's for all of about 3 bucks. I previously owned a small and boring white one, so when I saw this frame in my new classroom colors I knew I had to snag it. Personally, I use the frame to display my small group objectives. However, I can think of a million or more ways you could incorporate them in your classroom.

 Center directions, anyone? 

Do any of you own the same, or similar frames? I would love to see how you use them!

 Another item I'll share today is the colorful pennant I also found at Michael's. Now, let me just say, I am typically a Hobby Lobby kind of gal, but I just so happened to be in the neighborhood of a Michael's yesterday, so I decided to take a gander. It was a trip I certainly do not regret. In fact, I even had to put BACK a few items before finally checking out. See, I do have some restraint! My plans for this pennant? Well, I'm not quite sure yet. But I am full of faith that it will all work out tomorrow.

 My last purchase is absolutely, positively, 100%....unrelated to school. I found this beauty at Hobby Lobby and proudly used my 40% discount to snatch it up. 

Holy cuteness, when did Hob Lob get so chic? If this keeps up, I'll be out of money in no time. I plan to place this newest purchase right where it belongs...in my bedroom, of course.

So, how'd I do this week? I'd love your feedback and suggestions for making use of my newest purchases, so please fill me in on how you've made use of any products I've shown above. And of course, you can check out how other fabulous teachers have spent their hard earned money by linking up with Elizabeth!

 Be sure to check back soon for more classroom updates, and some information about my newest products. Until then, happy teaching!

Hit the Jackpot Baby

Ok, ok, so I lied. I swore I wouldn't continuously rub all my Vegas fun in your face over and over and over again. But here I am, ya'll, about to do it again. Don't you worry though, this time it's for a little fun!

You see, I may have mentioned that I made some fabulous friends while at the Vegas TPT convention a couple of weeks ago, and I totally meant it. These girls are just great, and I feel so lucky to have them in my teaching/ blogging/ TPTing/ personal life. And because these girls are so fabulous, they've decided that it would be a great idea to join forces for a little giveaway!

Queue the drum-roll...

That's right, folks, my wonderful gal pals, Becky, Alyssa, Kimberly, Elissa, and I have teamed up to for a little Vegas fun! You can enter the giveaway below for a chance to win your own copy of each of the following products! See, I told you it'd be fun! 

The raffle will be open until next Monday, and then we'll select a winner! So, if you weren't so lucky in Vegas, let us help you out right at home!

If you hit the jackpot, you will be receiving 4 wonderful packets from my amazing friends, along with my "R" controlled Vowels phonics packet! I created this packet to give my sweet kiddos hands-on practice with one of the hardest phonics sounds, and I would be thrilled to pass it along to one of you!

 For a closer look at the packet I have up for grabs, you can click the picture above.

 So what are you waiting for? Go enter the raffle! Until we announce the winner, keep checking back for more exciting updates. Good luck, everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linkin' Up!

Hey there, friends! Today I am linkin' up with Kickin' it in Kindergarten to talk about one of my most favorite hobbies...shopping.

Since becoming a teacher, I've realized that this is a quality almost necessary if you want to have a well organized classroom. But let's be honest, shopping for teaching supplies isn't the only the thing I'm addicted to. Fortunately; however, I have been SO consumed with back-to-school business that I've had hardly any time to shop for items unrelated to my classroom.  But guess what that means? I've got plenty to share with you today!

First up,  the newest addition to my library...

Seriously. Cuteness overload.

 Was it necessary? No. Do I really have room for it? Probably not. Did I make it work? You bet I did. And now, I absolutely cannot wait to get my new batch of cuties and see their excitement each day as they enter my reading center. I'm completely aware that this tent may also be the catalyst for many disagreements in the classroom, but for now I'll just choose to look on the bright side of things. #aintnobodygottimeforthat

Next up, I have a three in one picture for you....

If you've followed me for any amount of time, then you probably know I use a "microphone" in my classroom to control rug time. The microphone is not only fun for my kiddos, but it truly is an easy way to keep their blurt outs in check without them even knowing! Unfortunately, my original microphone, from my very first year of teaching, bit the dust by the end of this past school year. Not to worry though, I was able to snag a new one for this year, and I must say it's even snazzier than the first!

Oh, and that precious elephant? Well that's Ellie, of course. She's our new class mascot for the upcoming year. I have been wanting to incorporate a mascot that could be sent home each week, and now I've finally gotten around to it. I told you third times the charm! 

Since my classroom "theme-ish" is the circus, I thought an elephant was totally fitting. Each week I choose a "ringleader" to lead the class, go first in line, and run errands. Now, the ringleader will have the added bonus of taking Ellie home for the weekend {in that cute little canvas tote that needs some decorating} and writing a journal entry...or blogging...or writing a letter about it. I haven't totally worked that last part out yet, but I'm getting there. Promise. 

And lastly, since my first year of teaching I have been using dry erase circles at my small group table. If you haven't tried this yet, it's a must. Totally life changing. I'm not sure where I got the idea from, but I bet you I didn't dream it up myself. Whoever did give me that idea, thank you, thank you, thank you! My kids love nothing more than writing on their very own, colorful, dry erase circle. The only downside to these cuties is that they are really only good for a year, depending on how often you use them. But trust me, ya'll, completely worth the money. 

Well, that's about all the shopping I can handle talking about without freaking out about the crazy amount of money I spend on my classroom. But don't you worry, there's plenty more where that came from. I'm thanking Elizabeth for enabling my shopping addiction. Check back again next week for more of my recent finds and splurges! And for more awesome shopping finds, check out Elizabeth's linky! 

Happy teaching, and shopping! 

Math Homework Made Easy!

Hey there teachers! I hope you are enjoying your remaining weeks of summer as much as I am. Actually, that may be only partially true. I've been working my tush off lately trying to get things prepared for the upcoming school year. You know what they say, third times the charm. If that saying has any truth to it, then this upcoming school year should be an absolute breeze. 

As part of my preparation for school, I have been getting together my homework packets. You see, homework is always something that I absolutely loathe getting together. I have a hard time sending home lots of work for my students to do, but I also want parents to stay involved and have opportunities to work on school with their kiddos. Many times, I'm disappointed with the homework pages my curriculum has to offer, so this year I've decided to homework into my own hands. Drumroll please....

Let me introduce you to my newest labor of love: Mastering Math. Of course, the sole use of this packet is not just for homework. The great thing about it is, you can use it in any way that works best for you! It would be a great independent practice piece, or for re-assessing kiddos who need a little extra help.

This packet goes hand in hand with my math assessment packet, and has enough work to keep your little ones busy all year long! I included enough practice pages for each week (Monday-Thursday). I also included a homework rubric that will go along with my phonics packet that I will be posting soon (pinky promise). When I get that up and posted, I will share with you just exactly how I plan to send home my homework packets each week. Until then, I wanted to highlight a few of the activities in the Mastering Math packet and show you how I keep it all together.

To start, I printed off every single page in the packet (just once!). Then I placed each page in order in page protectors ( back and front). I have the pages organized by skill and labeled by standard. So, I printed all the header pages (see picture) and put the corresponding practice pages behind them. That way, I know what standards go with each and know exactly where to look when I'm teaching say...addition.Or subtraction. Or time. Or any other skill you address in first grade. I promise...they're all there! 

Now, when I go to prepare homework for the week, I know exactly where to look. No searching through files or textbooks. Easy Peasy! 

Sounds pretty simple right? If you'd like to get a closer look at the activities in this packet, you can head over to my shop by clicking the preview picture below. I will have this packet as well as my corresponding math assessment packet on sale for the next week! Get them while they're hot! 

I'll be back soon to give some classroom updates, and to post my phonics homework packet. Until then, enjoy your break! See you soon, loves!

Happy teaching!

Top 5 Tips from Vegas!

Have I mentioned I've been to Vegas recently? Please pardon my repetition, but it was *hands down* the best trip ever. As I mentioned in my last post, one of the best things about the trip was all of the wonderful women I had the opportunity to meet. One of these women just happen to be my new friend Becky. Have you heard of her? Sweet Becky made the solo trip from Tennessee all the way to Vegas to attend the TPT conference on her BIRTHDAY! Yep, that's right. Talk about dedication ya'll. I was fortunate enough to meet Becky and share a small birthday celebration with her, and now I'm fortunate enough to be linking up with her on her blog to share a few of the tips I learned from Vegas.

Be Authentic

One of the most emphasized pieces of advice throughout all of the conferences was the importance of being yourself. By doing so you can bet your work will be unique and valuable. Nobody wants to see the same thing over and over again. Staying true to yourself is a great way to make sure your products stand out against the crowd.

Give it a test run.

Before making a product "live", try it out on your little ones! I know first hand that my students are the best way to catch a mistake. Trying it out first helps you know whether or not your activities are helpful and realistic for the classroom.

Protect your work

We put SO much time into all of the wonderful activities we produce, so it's important to make sure we product all of our hard work (and the work of others). Make sure you put your copyright information at the bottom of your pages, and secure your documents to prevent others from copying the clip art you use.

Check and Double Check Your Work

This goes hand in hand with testing out your work before posting. Edit your work yourself, but also have others check it over. Chances are they will find mistakes that you looked over.

Treat it Like a Business

If you want to be a successful TPT seller, you have to treat it like a business. That means setting time aside each week for creating, marketing, revising, and whatever else you need to do. It will pay off in the long run!

As you can see, I learned a whooole lot on my short little trip. I am excited and inspired to start implementing these tips in my personal life. If you'd like to read more about what others learned from the recent TPT conferences, check out Becky's blog. 

Check back soon for my updates! 

Happy teaching, sweet friends!

Viva Las Vegas!

Hey there, sweet friends! So happy to be back here on this little blog of mine. After taking a break from blogging for the last few and crazy months of school, I thought there was no better time to rekindle our friendship than after spending an amazing weekend in Las Vegas with some exceptional educators.

That's right friends, I was lucky enough to attend the very first TeachersPayTeachers convention, and let me tell you....it did not disappoint. My bestie Ms. Winter and I managed to make our way west for the week of a lifetime.

First up, we started out with a keynote speech from the man himself....Paul Edelmen. Ya'll, words cannot express the wonderful and inspiring messages he shared with us. I have never felt so proud to be an educator or a part of TPT. Totally and completely life changing.

Following the keynote I had the privilege of listening to some truly amazing women share their TPT tips and experiences. Seriously....I was pinching my cheeks in disbelief. I am still in shock that I was able to sit in the same room as all those ladies who never cease to amaze or inspire me. 

No you aren't dreaming, that is most certainly Erica Bohrer, Cara Carrol, and little ole' me! 

It's ok to be a little jealous. 

However, my most favorite part about this weekend was meeting all of my new friends. 

Hands down. 

My greatest takeaway was the connections I formed with some wonderful ladies who I would have never met without TPT. That alone is what made this trip truly money well spent.

Now, don't go thinking that my trip was all conventions and connections.Of course, we snagged a little free time for some fun!

Well friends, that about wraps up my weekend.

We laughed, we cried, and...well you know how the story goes.

Now I'm heading back home to put all this new found inspiration to good use!

Please check back soon for some truly exciting news from myself and my new friends!! 

Fit and Fresh!

Hey ya'll! 

Today I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to share a few of my New Years goals! I, like most people, have made fitness goals for the upcoming year, so I felt today was a perfect day to join the party! Overall, I pride myself on the healthy life style I lead. However, like most women, there are ALWAYS ways I can improve myself. I never want to become complacent with a routine or find myself in a rut where there is no room for growth. Therefore, I have deemed 2014 my year to "live lean and clean!". 

Although I often feel like the picture above, fitness is undoubtedly the ONLY way I can keep my sanity. I have always followed a pretty strict weight lifting/ running exercise program. I am also a fairly picky and conscious eater. However, lately I have found myself making little  muscle growth through my current workout routine. While searching the web for healthy recipes, I stumbled upon an exercise program and instantly fell in love! The program is called Jamie Eason's LiveFit. Have any of you tried it? The workouts were pretty similar to those in my old routine, but what I like about this program most is that it provides me with guidance and methods to make my routines more challenging. Most importantly, it also inspired me to adopt the eating 5 clean, high-protein meals a day diet. That's right  FIVE meals. At first, I was more than happy to jump on board with any lifestyle that requires me to eat as often as possible. However, living on a teacher's schedule makes this a little more challenging. But, with the company of my favorite {and only} workout partner, Ms. Winter, I know I can stick to it!

Here we are after our workout today: shoulders, abs, and a little HIIT (high intensity interval training). And, on the menu today:

Organic baked chicken, organic Basmati Brown Rice, and steamed veggies. YUM!

Well friends, that's about it for my fitness goals this year. It's been a busy day of eating and exercising. Now, it's time to get my booty in gear for school! I wish everyone luck with their  fitness goals! I will be back soon to post my plans for our upcoming Polar unit! Don't forget to link up!

Happy Teaching!