Favorite Things Linky: Beauty Basics

I'm linking up with Halle from Across the Hall in 2nd Grade for her Favorite Things linky! Beauty basics...what to say? I LOVE makeup. Oh my goodness. I can't even lie, I love to wear makeup...bright, sparkly makeup. At all hours of the day. I have been asked to work at makeup counters. I have had dozens of children stop me mid-sentence to let me know that my eyeliner matched my shirt. I don't mind waking up an extra 10-15 minutes or so early to have time for my makeup routine...I like looking in the mirror and feeling "done." I don't cake it on (please don't picture me like RuPaul or anything), but I like to have smooth skin, pretty eye makeup, and lip gloss on at all times. Let's get to the good stuff...

Y'all like the artistic background? It's my purple fleecy blanket...

Skin - As far as my skin, I use Olay 4-in-1 Daily Facial Cloths for Combination/Oily skin. They don't break me out or anything, so I like them! Garnier's Refreshing Gel Cream is a nice, chilly (?) moisturizer. I put it on about 5-10 minutes before I put on the rest of my face makeup. After my face has marinated with the moisturizer, I put on bareMinerals READY SPF 20 Mineral foundation. I LOVE both the bareMinerals loose and powder foundations...they look so natural. I used to look like a powdered doughnut when I first started using the brand, but then I realized how important it was to only use a LITTLE BIT and moisturize! I highly recommend the bareMinerals brand...it's not inexpensive, but it's so worth the money! I use Nars blush in...a word that rhymes with Borgasm (a little naughty, and this IS my teaching blog) so that I don't look like a mannequin. The blush is a pretty coral with a slight gold shimmer - I think it looks good on everyone!

Eyes - Urban Decay is my brand of choice for eye shadows and colorful eye liners...their Naked 2 palette is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I also like the Deluxe Shadow Box for its fun, bright colors (JUST SAW IT'S ON SALE FOR $10 ONLINE...GET IT NOW). My usual look for school is a neutral shadow on the lid/crease and either a dark or colorful liner to jazz it up! If you are in the market for a long-lasting dark eyeliner, skip the expensive stuff and buy Revlon ColorStay (pencil) eyeliner! I go through black eyeliner like I go through Pepsi One (quickly), and the Revlon one is fantastic and affordable! As far as mascara, I LOVE bareMinerals Buxom Lash for everyday looks. It's very soft, very dark, and lengthening! An AMAZING special-occasion (whether it's party, date, or you have a huge zit and need to divert attention) mascara I've found is Jordana Best Lash Extreme. It's very inexpensive, but it will make your eyelashes FANCY. Try it out, thank me later!

Lips - I'm not too picky with lip glosses. When I want to wear fun colors, I usually pull out my beloved Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters. When I'm just in a clear lip gloss mood, I smear on some Maybelline Baby Lips (in the lime green tube) and I'm done!

Nails - Man oh man, I love nail polish. I have hundreds of them...I REALLY need to weed through them eventually! Four of my all-time, year-round favorites are OPI Cajun Shrimp (prettiest orangey-red cream), OPI Jade is the New Black (awesome jade green cream), Orly Emberstone (most amazing red/orange foil...try it on a pedi), and a new addition, Sally Hansen Salon Manicure in Gilty Party (the best metallic neutral...it somehow looks gold and silver at the same time). 

Wow, I just typed a whole lot! Sorry for rambling! :) I can't wait to read all of the other linky posts as well!

<3 Kelsey

Back in Action 2.0

Hello! After taking a LONG break from blogging, here I am again! I finished up my first year of teaching, and I am now fully enjoying my summer! I certainly hope you are too! :) I've tried to split up my time sort of evenly between me time (aka pool/nap time) and teacher time...some days are more balanced than others hehe! Here are some things that are happening during my teacher time...

1. LAURA CANDLER WORKSHOPS! Can y'all believe that the AMAZING Laura Candler lives in Fayetteville too? She is hosting two workshops in July, which I am SO happy to say that I'll be attending! I'd love to know if anyone else is going! If anyone needs me, I'll be the nerdy girl with the bangs happily writing down everything Laura says...

2. Playing with my new iPad - I used my supplement money to make the biggest purchase of my young life...a fabulous iPad! I'm trying to load it up with great apps to use during small groups...do any of you have any good recommendations? If you do, please leave a comment! In return for your great suggestion(s), you can choose a product of your choice from my TpT store for free! :) Don't be shy!

3. Revamping my spelling program for next year - I didn't like how my spelling system worked out this past school year. I am trying to create a fully school-based (no homework) spelling program based on the Words Their Way system. I feel like sending my kids home with 16 words a week and having a test on Friday did not serve my class well. Yeah, they could spell "resplendence" for me on a given Friday...but would they know it a month later? NO! I want to focus on actually helping my kids grow in their spelling knowledge and ability to apply spelling patterns to their own reading and writing, not just learn to memorize from a list. I have a really great idea of how I want to introduce the words and how they will work with them during the week, but I am still figuring out the assessment piece. Any suggestions?

It is good to be back! :)

<3 Kelsey

Back in Action!

Hi all! I hope you've had a wonderful past few weeks! I'm sorry I've been MIA! We just finished up our Teacher Appreciation Week, and it was fabulous! It was so nice to be singled out and treated...not what I ask for, but nothing to turn down either ;) Many thanks to my sweet students, parents, and PTA! 

I actually had to request a sub yesterday morning for the first time this year...yes, the youngest, scrawniest teacher somehow held out like a champion (health-wise) for a very long time! The bad news is...I apparently have a stomach bug and a kidney stone bobbling around inside me at the SAME TIME! How? Oh well...I'll still be at school on Monday! I am a tough cookie! 

ANYWAYS, here's a great activity my sprouts completed last week...fraction kites! We are focusing on area models in fractions, which, admittedly, do not naturally lend themselves to as many cute activities as set models. However, I saw this cute idea on Pinterest (it was originally from Step Into Second Grade), and it got me all excited! 

A group of kites in our "Fresh Picks from the Patch" area

Here's one up close!

I love how this turned out! It was a fun, easy reinforcement activity! I hope you all have fantastic remainders of your weekend, and I hope the upcoming week is a joy as well! :)

<3 Kelsey

Regions Brochure Project

Happy Tuesday, blogger friends! I'm super busy and not feeling too hot, but I wanted to put up a picture of our completed North Carolina region brochure bulletin board! My sprouts did an AWESOME job with their brochures...they worked in groups, completed a TON of research, and learned how to use a detailed rubric to solidify their chances of getting a good grade! 

Clearly an iPhone picture, but you get the gist :)

If you like the idea of a state regions brochure project, here's my rubric on TpT! Check it out if you get a chance! I would love your support and feedback! As a matter of fact...the first person to comment on this post will get a copy for free! Have a fabulous first day of May tomorrow! :)

<3 Kelsey

Peace, Hope, Love, and Kindness

Good evening! I hope you had an amazing day at school, at home...wherever you spent your time! :) I'm linking up with Ideas by Jivey's Peace, Hope, Love, and Kindness party! My first linky...yay!

I can't lie, I've been SO blessed to have such a kind, tolerant group of students for my first year teaching. What's really something is that they all come from strikingly different backgrounds, and still meld together beautifully. One sweet memory that pops up is when I was walking down the hallway with one of my parent volunteers. Her son popped out of the art room with another boy in my class, who could be considered a wreck by some standards (horrible home life, rough appearance, hyperactive/hyper-impulsive, the whole nine yards). This boy called out to his mom, "Hey! I wanted you to meet ********...I love him, he's my brother." My other boy was just smiling from ear to ear...I doubt even some of his family has proclaimed that kind of care for him. It was such a sweet, genuine statement that my heart just melted.

We recently started an advocacy project in social studies - I am having each student choose an issue that they want to positively impact, and they will make and present informative posters. During a discussion on possible topics today, one of my students told me that they couldn't choose just one topic, because they want to help with many. It made me want to jump out of my chair and sing! I think being cognizant of the world around us and driven enough to make a positive difference is SO important, and my sprouts are sharing that belief! Let's all spread peace, hope, love, and kindness!

<3 Kelsey

Finding Balance...

Hello! I hope you had a FABULOUS week and weekend, and that you're looking forward to Earth Day tomorrow! We talked a bit about Earth Day on Friday afternoon, and I challenged my sprouts to think about some ways they could personally show their love for our Earth. I hope they put their thinking caps on at some point during the weekend, because we'll be working on a fun writing assignment tomorrow morning! They should turn out very cute, I'll be sure to post pictures!

Administration sent out an e-mail the other day, informing us that we have 27 school days until our EOG tests, and 35 school days until summer vacation. What I am gleaning from this information is that we are finally in TESTING SEASON! (When I type those words, I envision myself as an Elmer Fudd-type character, and all my little sprouts are silly little hound dogs.) We spent the bulk of last week taking benchmark tests and practice EOG's...not the most exciting activities for any party involved, BUT a necessary evil. 

Since it is my first year of actual state test preparation, I am really trying to find a balance between introducing new subject matter and reviewing 27 weeks' worth of information! My principal offered to disaggregate our grade level's student data by class based on the practice EOG's completed (not like he has a million other things on his plate...seriously, super nice of him), and I am using the information he provides to make whole-group and small-group review materials. My stations will be primarily review materials as well! I'm also going to have to find more ways to help my sprouts practice bubbling, which we admittedly don't do very often outside of our ACC Math program (blame that on me, womp womp). How are YOU getting your students ready for testing? I'd LOVE any of your input and advice! As a special thank you, the first two people who give me feedback will get...

A) A bear hug from me (through cyberspace)
B) One product of your choice from my TpT store for FREE! :)

Since this was a long and rambling post, here is a picture of me locked up in "jail" from our school's Spring Fling this past Friday :)

Have an amazing week!

<3 Kelsey

Happy Birthday to ME! :)

Happy Saturday! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend so far! Today is actually my birthday...I hit the big 2-3! I spent Friday night and most of today in Raleigh with my boyfriend, and we had an awesome time as usual! Over the course of our visit, we ate at Piebird, saw the Evil Dead, went to the flea market, ate at the Yard House (Google it...my FAVORITE restaurant), and rode around on the motorcycle after getting home...lots of fun!

A funny birthday story from yesterday...while I was eating lunch, one of my girls came up to me and informed me that 22 years from Saturday, I will be 45. What? At least she WAS applying math in a real-world situation! :)

I'm done talking about me...here are are couple of things my sprouts worked on at the end of the week!

Our "creative" small group activity for point of view...I wrote all over my kidney table to make a giant sort, and then the sprouts categorized some passages based on their point of views. It was a great activity, but it further proves the point that I am essentially a graffiti artist in my classroom. ;)

We created a simple four-flap foldable to keep track of some of Earth's landforms! We are going to start talking about different bodies of water this upcoming week. I am excited for more opportunities to compare and contrast...I am clearly trying to reinforce that reading objective as much as humanly possible! Speaking of comparing and contrasting, one of my little sprouts came up to me on Thursday and informed me that he was comparing and contrasting two texts by the same author! Cool, right? I looked over at his desk and saw he had two different Big Nate books out...I then watched him read one page of one, and then one page from the other. It cracked me up! At least he was trying to demonstrate mastery of one of our objectives, right? :)

I hope you have a happy, relaxing Sunday tomorrow! :)

<3 Kelsey