Five for Friday - Classroom Prep, Videos, and Stitch Fix

Hey there! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs again for Five for Friday. 

1

I did it!

I actually went to my classroom and stayed there this time--despite the mess that awaited me.

I'm pretty excited about the things I got accomplished. Here's a peek:

A - Smart Tags prepped--yes, I changed the name. It is a play on making "Smart" choices and it fits my classroom better than the more common name. I made some of them, but most are from Lucky Little Learners.

B - Prepped my "Dealing with Math Homework" instruction cards (Amanda Madden). You can see how I use them in my classroom here and find links to Amanda's post about them.

C - My son got in on the action with the bulletin board. He was actually finished already, but had to pose. Ha!

D - I got my Math Helpers printed and laminated. I love these things!

2

I made a back-to-school video for my kids! It tells them about making an "About Me Bag" and I shared mine so they could get to know me. Be kind--it is for them so who cares if I'm a bit of a dork! At least that is what I keep telling myself. :-)

3

I've been meaning to share my graphics and fonts binder for awhile now and never got around to uploading pictures. Then I decided this would be easier. Plus I haven't made you a video since last summer!

4

My first Stitch Fix was awesome! Too awesome! I asked for all tops in this fix (you can do that, request certain things). 
My stylist definitely used my Pinterest style board and sent me things I had pinned.
I loved every piece and really wanted to keep them all! 
I would have, too, except for this black beauty.

Dry clean only with a price tag of $78. I just couldn't do it. I knew I needed to send it back. But if I bought all five, I was going to get a $75 discount which would make it practically free. 

So then I knew I had to send something else back or it just didn't make sense. So I chose to send back the cardigan. Then I realized that for $40 more, I could keep both so I had to send one more thing back or it just didn't make any sense to send anything back! So I chose to send back this striped top also.

I think I am going to request that they send me the cardigan again and the striped top in black and gray (if possible)...like I said I really liked them so it was hard to send them back! The cardigan especially--because it was a color I wouldn't have picked for myself  which is kind of why I wanted to try Stitch Fix (to get out of my comfort zone).

That left me with my two absolute favorites that I just couldn't part with and it was more friendly on my wallet too. :-)

I have never even tried on polka dots before - LOVE this! 

I had pinned this one...knew I would like it. AWESOME!

I'm so excited about my first fix, I already scheduled my next one for September. You can choose to have a fix as often as you like, but with my budget every other month should be about right.

If you're like me...fashion challenged and hate shopping or if you just want a little push out of your comfort zone, you might want consider it.

**Disclaimer: If you use the links here and end up scheduling your first fix, I will receive a one-time $25 credit. I'd very much appreciate it, but of course, it is not necessary. If you don't want to give me credit, just type in their web address and go for it!**

Also, no need to worry that this is going to become a fashion blog because while I enjoyed using their style cards and trying on the outfits, I did not enjoy the pictures! Ha! I won't be doing that again!

5



So this happens this weekend--starts tomorrow! Stop back by to see what goodies we are giving away. :-)

Have a great day!

Video - What am I thinking?

I'm kind of putting myself out there with this post...literally. It is a little scary.

Up until now I've been a virtual stranger...words on the computer screen. Thinking that you will now hear my voice and how I talk. There is just something weird about that. 

Not to mention you'll be able to make fun of all my mistakes. And believe me there are some...I had to leave my perfectionism at the door for this video. 

Well, after take 25.

Okay, not 25...but probably 5 at least.

Anyway, let's get on with it. This idea sprang from Kristi making the transition from creating in Word to PowerPoint and asking a lot of questions. It is something I had started doing awhile ago - back when I was on a quest to learn how to make a document editable. 

By the way, there are a lot of great tutorials and videos online about using PowerPoint and creating things for TPT and TN. I'm certainly not claiming to share something new, but maybe for another audience.

Kristi is always asking how I am able to work so quickly on a project. I don't really know the answer because I just do it. Maybe it is because before I became a teacher I was in business/accounting so I became very familiar with computers and lots of software. I don't know...but I decided that maybe I've picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that might be helpful to others.

This is my first video (and maybe the last if rotten tomatoes are thrown - LOL). It is how I get started when I'm making a project along with a few tips about organizing graphics and giving credit. If this video is well received, I will share more tips and tricks in other videos. How will I know it is well received? Comments, of course. Hint. Hint.

One last thing...my TPT and TN thoughts. 

Most of my products are created for use in my classroom first (robots may be the exception because our school had already decided on Seuss for next year, but I just love them - maybe next year...). Our position has always been if we can make a little extra money selling things we are making anyway, why not?  I have also made things that were requested (the reason we have so many I Have...Who Has..? games). I love I Have...Who Has...? but I could never use ALL of our games in one year! :-) 

We don't want our blog to turn into an ad page, but we feel occasionally sharing our creations is okay. I don't even follow some of the first teacher blogs I found anymore because it feels like I am being bombarded with advertisements disguised as blog posts. 

I'd love to hear what you think of the video...just don't judge this first-timer too harshly! Ha!