Back to School - Style Edition

If there's one thing that I love about getting ready to go back to school, it's picking out new outfits to wear! This year, I'm especially excited because I started a new clothing business this summer with LuLaRoe. I've been stashing away some of my favorite finds for back to school and I am super excited to put them into outfits and get to it!

Here are the first 5 outfits that I've put together. I think this is a perfect line up for the first week of school! 

Monday:

This outfit is perfect for labor day. It's the last day of vacation and I definitely try to spend the day relaxing and having a little fun before everything gets going on Tuesday! I love mustard and navy together....adore it actually. These floral leggings with a navy tee are perfect casual wear. The lacy Joy in mustard dresses it up in case I need to go out to any events that day.

Tuesday:

This outfit is totally my favorite and I think ti would be perfect for the first day of school. I love the reverse polkadots on the top. The black on white mixed with the white on black and the small/large combination make the polkadots pair so well together! I paired them with a pair of black skinny pants. I paired some gold jewelry with the gold details in my shoes. I love how the coloring of the snake print flats matches the polkadots perfectly!

Wednesday:

 

Next up, we have one day in the books so I don't have to be quite as fancy as the first day! I'm loving this Julia pencil dress with wedges and my mustard Joy really dresses it up! 

Thursday:

This skirt is totally a favorite and I'm so excited to add this to the mix on Thursday! I love the solid black Irma because it tones down the wild print on the skirt a little! I think the red polkadot headband adds the perfect pop of color to pair with the bright skirt. I have the wedges in rotation again. I added some gold jewelry to highlight the yellow tones in the skirt.

Friday:

I might get a little casual on Fridays. I paired some sandals with this black and white rose skirt! A graphic tee with a simple white phrase on a black background makes the skirt look more casual. The lace Joy in black over the top adds class and an extra layer of detail to make the outfit more interesting and dressy.

So, do you have a favorite pick from the bunch? Let me hear what it is in the comments!!

Want to try LuLaRoe? Head on over to my VIP page for all of the fun!

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Creation Crate Review - Let's Get to Building!

Hey there! 

Recently, I was contacted by a new sub-based company and they offered me a free Creation Crate box in exchange for a review of their product. I heard the words creation and elementary and knew that it was a perfect collaboration!

So, what is Creation Crate? Creation Crate is a beginner friendly, technology driven subscription box that's perfect for kids in upper elementary school. According to their website: 

"We started Creation Crate to give people a more practical way to learn - in a subject that's not getting nearly enough attention in traditional schooling. When most people think about careers in technology, the first thing that comes to mind is programmng. Not many people think about the hardware side of tech."

How true is that? I loved the idea and had to try it out. Here's what came in my box!

The box was pretty simple in its design and I was excited to open it up. When I opened it, I found all of the hardware components to build and program a lamp. How cool!!!

I love the tech inspired stickers. I would definitely save these to hand out to kids when they successfully build the design. The booklet on the left is the instruction manual.

The instructions are pretty simple. I appreciate that they're not super wordy. That makes it very helpful for younger kids. I also like the pictures that match up with each material in the box.

So, of course, I had to test out the instructions and I got right to building! I found that the instructions were simple enough to use and I was able to figure it all out and get everything put together. 

So, all-in-all, this product was super fun! I would totally bring this into my classroom and allow students to build and program. This is a great incentive for early finishers or class rewards. I loved putting this together and I have no doubt that other students would too! 

I think that I am going to get a few more of these and keep them in plastic bins to pass out as needed for activities!

Want to try out Creation Crate? Head on over to the website to get started!

Win a $100 TpT Giftcard and Other Great Prizes

Hello hello!

I am super excited because a few of my teacher friends have gathered together and we're hosting an awesome giveaway!! There are 3 huge prizes and they are all AWESOME! $100's of dollars to Teachers Pay Teachers, an adorable chalk board, a custom board by Amy Harris....WHAT???

On top of that, most of us are going to be hopping on Facebook live throughout the day to share our favorite Back to School resources! I can't wait to catch everyone's live videos and hear about their recommendations. This is an awesome group of teachers here!

Want to enter!? Check out the details below!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best Beauty Subscription Box - Boxy Charm Review August 2016

I am so excited to bring you a Boxy Charm review today! I have been subscribed to Boxy Charm for 3 months and I wanted to wait a while to really feel out the sub box before recommending it to my readers. I have to say...this is THE BEST makeup subscription box that I have ever found.

I used to be a hardcore Ipsy fan but my excitement was dwindling. I felt as though I was getting more and more low-quality cheap products from China that were filled with nasty junk and not worthy of use in a professional makeup artist's bag. I couldn't rationalize the subscription anymore but needed to fulfill my makeup obsession somehow.

That's when a friend of mine recommended Boxy Charm to me. We both worked at M•A•C together and I really value her opinion so I went for it...even though it costs twice as much as Ispy. Let me tell you...IT'S WORTH IT! 

In the past three months, every box that I have received has had a retail value of over $120. Talk about a steal. One month, I received an $80 bottle of eye cream. Yes, I paid $21 for that box and got that eye cream and 4 other items. All of the items are full-sized. No more mini samples that are a one-time use. Plus, the products are higher-quality brands that I would actually use professionally and personally and most of them are free from all of that nasty junk that we don't want on our skin.

So...what was in this month's box? Take a look!

                      

Do I have your attention now?

Here's what the box looks like when you get it in the mail.

This card on top breaks down the prices for each item in the box, tells you what it is and tells you how to use it! LOOK at those prices! 

I really don't love the blank paper that comes in the box...but hey...that's a pretty minor issue to have. These products are so amazing that I don't even miss having a cute little bag from Ipsy. Let's be real....that was the main seller for me anyway.

This serum is heavenly! I've been using it for the past few days and it's lightweight, absorbs quickly, and doesn't leave my skin feeling sticky or weird. I haven't had any skin issues from it and I love the way that my skin has been looking. I'm definitely going to be ordering more of this!!

I try to change out my mascara once a month and I'm excited to put this to use next month! I'm always open to finding new mascaras to love!

If you know me, you know that I LOVE a bold, matte red lip! I love that this is a liquid lipstick. It makes the application so much smoother. This stuff is amazing. The wear really lasts. I applied this to my hand to swatch it lasted on my hand for about 8 hours...hand washing and all. I can't wait to try this out at work when school starts back up! 

Beauty for Real is the reason that I subbed to this box in the first place and I was super excited to get this gorgeous purple eye crayon in my box. It applied super gently and left a super-charged color payout behind. I couldn't believe it. It had a short window where the color could be smudged or moved. After it set, it stayed put. The swatch on my hand had to be scrubbed off at the end of the day...even through all of the hand washing I did during the day. WOW!

Now, if I'm being honest with you, this was the bust of the box for me and it was the first product that I have been less than excited for. I am not a huge fan of Coastal Scents. Their stuff is fine but it's not what I prefer to use. Even so, this would make a great gym-bag go-to and it's always nice to have another makeup brush around!

So, what do you think? Have you tried Boxy Charm before? Do you want to? You can click any link in this post to try it out using my referral code! 

xo

An Awesome Back to School Deal for Your Best Style Yet

I just had to pop on here really quickly and share this amazing deal with you! I have been eyeing these Nume wands for years. Have you heard of Nume before? They make curling wands, straightening irons, etc. I've seen pictures of people with gorgeously styled hair using these for years. I know they're real too because one of my friends uses one and her hair is perfect.

Today, I was doing my hair and thinking about how I really needed a new wand to keep at school (yes, I do my hair at school after the gym) and that I didn't have a lot to spend on one right now. Guess what happened next...I got an email in my account to get any wand for $29. WHAT??? I just saved $120 on a wand and I want to share the code with you! I can't wait until mine gets here!

Ready for perfect hair? Click the link below!
Back To School Flash Sale: ALL wands only $29

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#TPTDIGITALSALE on TeachersPayTeachers

Ready to get super techy next year?! We're here to make it SUPER easy for you!!! Don't miss out on this amazing one day, TpT sale for Tech Day! It's happening on Monday, July 25, 2016! 

Just search #TPTDIGITALSALE and you'll be hooked up with great resources for a great price!

Want to see products and blog posts from the sellers involved in this sale? Check out the links below!!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Tackle The Tech Monster: Google Drive for Elementary Education

Can I be honest for a minute? I hope you're saying yes...because I'm bringing some honesty either way!

I always start the year with loads of goals and intentions to start 100 different "totally amazing" and "super cool" and "most creative" ideas ever. Care to take a guess about how many of those things I actually carry through during the year? If you guessed between one and two, then you're correct.

This year...I want to focus on just ONE thing. One intention. One change .

This year's focus is on adding more digital instruction to my school day. 

Now we all know about good goal setting, right? Goals should be SMART.

Specific

Measurable 

Achievable

Realistic 

Time Bound

Here's my plan for making this happen! 

Why am I so insistent on getting this whole train rolling anyway? FIRST, my whole school is going 1:1 next year. I am so excited because we will have a SmartBoard, 1:1 Chromebooks and Apple TV. I also own a few iPads of my own to add to the mix. Why would I let this great technology go to waste?

Also, I believe that integrating technology purposefully is the perfect way to boost students' career and college readiness skills. You may not know but I also teach at the local community college. I hate to say it but I feel as though a lot of these students were not prepared to use technology as college-level students. I hope to instill a love of technology for learning in my students and support them in learning HOW to use technology to purposefully. 

So what's the big deal? It can be HARD to change the way you do things. And...TIME. Right??

Along with all other things worth doing, it takes WORK to make it happen. Besides modifying my curriculum to be technology-driven, I have to change my routines. My procedures. My current practices in grading, editing, etc. There's so much to think through!

That's why I'm starting with only ONE area. Let's check in on some SMART goals for getting started with using Chromebooks or other technology in your classroom.

Specific

If you're anything like me, you're going to try to jump right in and implement technology in all subject areas. I've tried that. I failed. I've now refocused my energy. I will implement my Chromebooks specifically in my independent reading time (or Daily 5). I'm going to rework my current independent work to fit in with technology.

Close Reads?

Does your school use a digital reading service (MackinVia)? Ask your librarian if there's a way that students can annotate text in the reader and send it to you via Google Docs or another platform. I found out that we have that capability and my paper/pencil close reads will be decreased. Alternatively, you could use NewsELA for free to work through close reads.

Reading Response?

Easy!! Create a template, share it with students, or teach them how to build it themselves. Have students respond and share it to you at the end of the day/week/etc.

Word Work?

Think of how you can use Google Slides to create interactive vocabulary work. Can students add pictures from the internet to define the word? Can they edit colors and manipulate text to demonstrate understanding? What can they do with the words to show that they understand the context?

Writing?

Writing can be so rich in a digital environment. You can create templates. You can share photos IN COLOR. You can teach digital revising. You can even share text and mark it up together on the screen. Of course, there's always free writes too!

Measurable

How will I measure my success in achieving this goal? Well...I will set a goal that for the first month, one of my activities is digital. The second month, three of them will be digital. The third month, all 5 of my activities will be digital. The step-by-step increase will help me not feel so overwhelmed. If you picked an activity to implement first, which one would it be? Start there.

Achievable

Is this achievable? For me, yes. However, it's not for everyone. If you don't feel comfortable creating digital projects yourself, seek out sellers who produce digital products for the classroom. There are some amazing sellers out there who have awesome digital projects. Some of them are linked here for you and you can check out there projects in the link up!

Realistic

What's realistic for my classroom may not be realistic for you. Maybe the whole Daily 5 block is too much for you. Can you implement something smaller? One read aloud? One read and respond? One math project? Morning quick writes? What makes sense for you?

Time-Bound

My time frame here is to be done implementing digital activities in my Daily 5 block by the end of the first trimester. This is going to keep me on track. What would be an appropriate amount of time for you? 

So, I hope this helped you figure out ways to think through tackling the technology overwhelm! Do you have plans to integrate more technology next year? I'd love to chat about your plans! 

Want more tips and advice?! Head on over to read tips and tricks from other great techy bloggers!!

An InLinkz Link-up