A Good Luck Charm

I've had the wreath finished for about a week now. I've just been busy with my little 4th graders and barely have time in the evenings to post anything crafty. I'll get better.

My MSU wreath is finished just in time to cheer on my beloved Mississippi State Bulldogs at their first home game against LSU on Thursday. I have I said that school gets out early on Thursday? My students are as excited as I am! (Them probably being more excited that we have a half day on Thursday.)

I want to make more of these to sell to friends, family or whoever. So if you or anyone you know might want a ribbon wreath of any kind, let me know!

If you know anything about me, then you know that I absolutely love to cook, and that I am on the crafty side. I have this lamp in my room that I have been meaning to do something with, and a stack of old magazines that I have yet to recycle. I'm sure my next post will have something to do with the lamp. Until then, love and peace.

Just In Time For Football Season

After being obsessed with Pinterest, and stumbling upon this blog post by She's {Kinda} Crafty blogger Stacey, I just HAD to make a wreath in my Dear Ole State's colors of maroon and white. While I have not yet finished it, I am giving you readers two photos of what it looks like now. It is almost finished, I just have to get the letters on it. It's my first attempt at doing a wreath, so don't leave too many negative comments on how it looks. The pictures are also not as good as I wanted them to be since they were taken from my phone. Oh well. The finished one will be taken with a real camera.

The materials to make the ribbon wreath.

The ribbon wreath minus the MSU letters and football cut out. It's a terrible quality picture. I'm ashamed to say I am a photographer.

I am waiting on my letters and football to dry, then I will put them on the wreath. Just in time for football season!

Dress Shopping and BFFFL Time

I should be getting ready for school, but I really had the urge to blog. This morning I am more excited than usual. No, not just because it's Friday, but at 3:20 this afternoon I'm hitting the road to go here

to visit this pretty friend of mine in the pretty green and white dress.

I am so excited to see her and I'm counting down the hours. She is my wonderful Best Friend Forever For Life or BFFFL as we say it. She is also getting MARRIED in May to another one of my friends, and I'm so very happy for her. Aside from not seeing her in about a month and a half (the main reason for the weekend trip), we're also going to pick out bridesmaid dresses (another important event of the weekend).  I am also delivering her engagement pictures that we took in June. She's probably more excited about that than seeing me......kidding. She's excited about seeing her BFFFL, but I'm pretty sure the excitement for seeing her pictures are next to that.

It's about 6:00, and I should be getting ready for a fun filled Friday with my precious 4th graders!

LK

Pinterest and Mississippi State

I have recently been acquainted with Pinterest. This is my new obsession. It has everything from craft ideas to teaching ideas. Along with some other "must make" DIY ideas I just HAVE to make this (In my dear Mississippi State's colors, obviously!):

It seriously broke my heart made me cringe to put something with Florida's colors on my blog. I hope my fellow State fans can forgive me. I want to make it before football season begins (9 days away).  A trip to Hobby Lobby is in order.

Adventures in Teaching

I'm a teacher. It looks weird even when I type it. I can't believe it, but I'm already into my 3rd week as a first year teacher. It's going by faster than I could imagine. I have 22 little 4th graders, who have already captured my heart. I am quickly learning how different my students are from one another. I'm seeing first hand their success and their struggles. Student teaching prepared me material and ethics wise, but in all honesty, nothing prepares a first year teacher to be in charge of her very own classroom. I am so grateful that God has placed me with such a wonderful group of students. The first week was great, as was the second week. There were a few rocky places, but we worked together as a class to smooth them out. Just like it's their first time to be in 4th grade, it's my first year to teach, so we learn together. I am now emerged in the lesson planning, paper grading, pencil sharpening first part of the school year, with so much more to come. I look forward to each and every day with my students, even on the hectic days. They are precious to me and I can't wait to see how each of them shines throughout the year.

Thanks to Pinterest, I have stumbled upon quite a few teacher blogs. I love blogging, even though I haven't been as avid of a blogger as I have wanted to be. Hopefully that will change now that I am in week 3 of the school year. Each of these teacher blogs offer something unique, whether it's classroom management 101 or decorating your classroom on a tight budget. There are fun activity sheets and penny pinching ways to do fun things in the classroom. Seriously, if you're a teacher (Or know one!) check these blogs out. I've put a button to each of them on the sidebar of my blog! Enjoy!

Happy Teaching!
Laura Kate

Getting It Together

I'm an official teacher now. Accepting the job and signing the contract was the easiest thing about teaching. I am now a first year teacher faced with pouring my knowledge into the minds of 4th graders so they can become better learners and become the leaders of tomorrow. I know that last line is cheesy, but it's true. 

Before I go into detail about all of the teacher-like things I've been doing, I feel the need to brief you readers on a few things. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you'll know that I recently had ear surgery (a week ago today to be exact). I was missing my eardrum due to chronic ear infections during my childhood. The absence of an eardrum left my hearing bones vulnerable to all sorts of things, including calcification of skin cells, which was my case. This prevented my hearing bones from being able to move as they should. To make a long story short, they removed the calcified skin cells and performed a tympanoplasty (which basically means they grafted an eardrum for me). I think that's pretty cool, even if I do have some of my hair shaved. (That was the first thing I asked when I woke up from the surgery). Well now because of this surgery I can't lift anything over 15 pounds for 2 months. 

That bit of knowledge is crucial because I am a first year teacher with my very own classroom. This classroom has lots of things that need to be moved. The majority of those things are over 15 pounds. But thanks to an amazing mother and father, and my wonderful boyfriend, my desks are arranged and the heavy things have been moved to their resting places for the school year. Now I don't mind being waited on every now and then, but after being cooped up in my house for a week, I was about ready to fly the coop. My sweet father took me to my room last Thursday (My first day out since my surgery). We worked in the room for a few hours until I was too tired to continue. Friday my sweet mother, Stefan, and I worked in my room all day! I was so excited to be doing something for my classroom, even if it was only sitting in a chair and directing where things should go.

Today I worked on color coding AR books and putting up some things for my bulletin board. I'll post some pictures once I get my room in some kind of order. I feel like I have accomplished NOTHING, but I know that it will get finished. I'm sure after a few years of teaching, I'll be able to do this with no stress.  We'll see.

A Prayer for Georgia Grace

There is this sweet little girl I know. This sweet little girl is someone who always brightens, not only my days, but the days of each person she meets. She has the smile of ten thousand sunshines. One smile from her and the world doesn't seem so bad. She has a heart of gold, and I rarely see her without a smile on her face. Her name is Georgia Grace, and I believe she is God's gift to this world. My family and I met Georgia Grace and her family when we first moved here, and since then, it has been nothing but a blessing to watch her grow up. She is such a wonderful little girl who is so kind to those around her, but the one thing I admire most about her is her bravery. On Thursday morning at 5:30, Georgia Grace will undergo heart surgery to replace a pulmonary valve that isn't working as it should. If you are reading this, I ask that you pray for this sweet girl and her family. Pray for her doctors and medical team. Pray for a smooth-sailing surgery. Pray for God's blessings over this family. Pray for peace of mind and bravery. She is a light to this world and I know God will use her in such amazing ways.