sutton062

On this hot, humid and gloomy Monday I have linked up with Amanda of at One Extra Degree  for... This summer has proved to be a relaxing one. I have been super busy but...I have truly enjoyed getting stuff done for me! I have been able to get stuff done around the house (inside and out), spend time with my family and friends, coach, make new products for TpT and help my husband get his business up and running. Here are some of my summer highlights so far: The number one thing I have enjoyed is spending time with my husband. During the school year we don't get to spend quality time together because I am always working. Even when I come home at night it was extremely difficult for me to turn it off last year (it was a stressful one!). So I have really enjoyed sleeping in, snuggling, making him breakfast and watching movies. Here is a photo of us at our friends beautiful backyard vintage wedding. I also have recently started coaching again. Before I was offered my current teaching job...

I am going to take some blog space today to share a little bit about my husbands growing business. He is currently studying graphic design and will be finished in April. We are very fortunate to be able to have him attend school full time and not have to work. During his time off from a "real" job he has been exploring the world of clip art. He has mostly made things for me and the products I create for TpT. When he finishes school he would love to do something with illustrations or make clip art full time. He really enjoys creating the packs and the freedom clip art allows . He is always looking for new ideas and clients :)....He loves me but he says I am the worst client lol. I can't imagine why... I don't see how hovering over him and pointing out the flaws mid design can be any bit annoying :). In the end he always WOWs me with his creations and I am very proud to share his hard work on my page. Here are a few packs he has created... Check out our TpT page to vie...

I love incorporating tasks into my classroom that students can use over and over. I like this for a couple of reasons. One being that the students are able to develop a routine and can build independence and second, they are a time saver! After all we are already busy writing IEP's, attending meetings, tracking data, dealing with behaviors, managing support staff, oh and teaching :) Even though I love incorporating routine tasks into my classroom, some of them are not appropriate for all of my students. This past year I had a very large range of abilities in my classroom and it was my goal to get them all completing the same tasks. I felt they were all capable and it was up to me to figure out how. I found some awesome tasks from Sasha over at The Autism Helper  that were a perfect addition to my classroom. I love these tasks because I can use them with all of my students. I have some of my students do these activities the traditional way, by sorting, writing and turning in their ...

What a week....here we go! My husband has a minor,  ok huge fear of storms (shh!). Lets just say when a storm is a brewin' we know about it at least a week in advance. Due to the way our house is positioned on our lot and the proximity to our neighbors any bit of wind sounds like an F5 tornado whipping through. In hopes to get any sleep we head on over to our nana and papa's house and hangout. I know, it sounds funny but heck, free food, good conversations and a good nights sleep...I'll take it! Oh and how can I forget, we get to spend time with this cutie! During my stay at nana and papas I had some time to do the things my lovely para professionals usually take care of for me. I colored, cut and mounted about 12 file folder games. They are ready to be laminated. I just love these, especially for students to take back to their general education classroom to work on independently.  I was also able to get caught up on cutting some laminate....I am sure I laminated these back...

I am so excited to get started with the summer program a co-worker and I run.  Our program is offered to students grades K-5 who currently have an IEP (individualized education plan) or are considered at-risk.  Last year, we struggled with trying to figure out what kinds of activities we would prepare for our students, due to the varying ages and abilities. When we were approached about running the program again, we knew we had to have a different plan of action. So after speaking with our special education director (who is just as fabulous as they come) he told us to team up with the tech department (who are just as fabulous) and TADA! we were introduced to Geocaching. Geocaching is literally a real life treasure hunt. Here is the exact definition from the geocaching site :         "Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.                       Participants n...

I know, I know, you're thinking why the heck would this crazy teacher title a blog post summer slump? Don't get me wrong, I love ice cream, lake days and bonfires but, I have crazy ideas for next year flying through my mind. The bad thing about this you ask? My building is closed for most of the summer and I am moving rooms. I can't help but sit here and think, "I wonder what my new room will look like", "Ooohh, that would be awesome for "Johnny"", and "ahhh, how will I ever have time to get everything set up before the kids come?"  I don't know about you, but I am a planner. I like things neat and orderly. When placing items in my classroom I think about all of the things that could possibly happen such as...if I put this here can "Johnny" throw it?, How mad would I be if these baskets got destroyed, paper ripped or pencils broken? All of these things put me in a summer slump. I would rather spend the time in my room wo...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I just wanted to take the time to say Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful fathers out there. I'm sure we all say this about our own dads but, my dad is truly the greatest dad in the world. He has taught me so many wonderful things in life and has never let me down. He is one of the hardest working men I have ever met and I can only hope I am able to instill his qualities into my children someday. My dad is funny, loving, caring and a real life Mr. Fix it! To my dad, I love you, and to all of the dads out there, I hope you enjoy your special day!

Due to my lack of computer knowledge my old blog was way too difficult for me to edit. I love how user friendly Blogger is and how many resources are available. I am super excited about being able to update regularly and inspire others. I will be posting more, once I can get into my new classroom and the school year gets underway. For now I will be posting things I am working on for the new school year. If you have any questions, concerns or blog post ideas please visit my contact me page. I would love to hear from you. My parents lake house....we spend a lot of time here :)