Draw Write Now Rocks!

When I had the chance to collaborate with Barker Creek , I was super excited! For one thing, they are in the Northwest like me.

Barker Creek has amazing products ranging from borders, manipulatives, to my  fave, Draw Write Now.

I do love to doodle, but could use an improvement and these will be fabulous to have and use. You may wonder how a sub would use Draw Write Now, so I'll tell you!

I often have to start a writing prompt and the very first thing (besides writing my name and thinking of a topic), is drawing a picture. I always fall back on drawing/writing about my cat. I'm sure the kids are sick of hearing about Checkers haha! So it will be nice to draw about other animals and things. I got the 8 book boxed set that has things from weather, Native Americans,  the sea, the US,  to animals of the world. The book that I think I'll have on hand all the time will be book one which has the farm, kids/critters, and storybook characters.





If I know ahead of time what class I'm in and they are studying something specific, like 4th grade does Native Americans and 1/2 does the ocean, then I'll bring those books with me. But I'll be taking book one with me for now because it will be perfect!




What will I use it for besides the illustration for writing? I often have to do anchor charts and these will perk them right up. Also, I sometimes like to draw on the board and the kids will write about story about it. Or if we have 10 minutes to fill, I do doodle time.

Why do I love Draw Write Now so much? Let me show you!




Ok so I may use 'cute' a lot! Lol.

Barker Creek has amazing products and are fab to work with! I mean hello, look at this!

Something so personal about a handwritten note <3 I fell in love even more with Barker Creek just them.

So I did draw a farm picture. Because that is a very popular topic and I know I'll have to draw it lol. The results? See for yourself.
Not shabby at all! I actually really love it. Best horse I've ever drawn, hands down. I look forward to drawing with the students using these books, that is for sure!

And then I had to teach someone to draw of course. Who better than my dad!!!


Pretty good job dad, pretty good job! Thanks again Barker Creek. If I can teach a grown adult to draw, I'll be able to teach kiddos!

I would recommend these for sure! Click here to go to Barker Creek and check out their other products or click here to see Draw Write Now. You can get a boxed set or individual books.

I know that Educents is having a deal right now on these books and it's a good deal!!!! Click here for the deal.

**This was sent to me as a review. These are my honest opinions on the product**


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Reunion and a Winner

Happy Weekend! Tonight is my 10 year reunion. Wow, time has flown past. It doesn't look like many can make it tonight as they are spread across the US, but it still should be fun. And maybe the 20 year one they will be able to make it!


We're doing a bbq and everyone brings a side. I hit up my fave website, Skinnytaste.com and made a Southwestern Black Bean Salad that I made on the 4th of July.

 So yummy!  

The cilantro, lime, pepper, and olive oil.

And now for a flashback to a few of my high school memories. I honestly had the best time. Newspaper (we traveled to Phoenix and San Fran for Nationals), National Honor Society, FBLA, STARS, and homecoming were the best memories!

 My fave yearbook out of the 4 of them. It was designed to look like a magazine. And at the end, everyone in the school was linked together somehow!!!
May Day was always a blast. That's Paul on his tractor and he kept coming in and out after the acts riding to "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy". Yes, I'm from a farming area. And yes, some kids did come to school on tractors for fun. Many had pick up trucks. We did have hicks.  Lol.  The "burned" pictures up top were taken by me at our senior 'skip day". It's not a skip day truly because some of the school staff came with us.    And the bottom pic, it's all of us that went to school K-12. Yeppers. And our class of 116 was the largest in school history. We knew everyone's first/last names in our grade and pretty much the whole school. Small town livin'!


And my winner from the decor set giveaway was Erin! I sent you an email!



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Decor Crazy

Confession. I have a secret love of creating decor sets. Maybe it's the mentality of if I create enough then I'll be able to use one in my own classroom someday? I don't know lol.

My favorite one from last year that I updated would be my safari room decor set.



This year I've made a ton!   Monkeys, Yellow Brick Road, Beach, Pirate, Sock Monkey, Rainbow Chevron, Chalkboard, Peace, and my latest, neon love.

Love the green dots!!! 

Aren't the girls cute!







Just click the pics for a link :)

I'm trying to decide which theme I should do next. I have several on my list like Western, Hollywood, etc. I decided that I'm going to do a quick giveaway of one of my decor sets. Any from my store or you choose my next theme!!! And I mean it is a quick giveaway, ends in 2 days! 




a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Broken or No AC? 10 Ways To Beat The Heat

Yep, my AC is broken. Which led me to asking some friends what to do to stay cool in this warm weather? And they came up with some great ideas!
10 ways to beat the heat

 1) Use a fan. Thank goodness I have my fan still from college. LIFE SAVER!

2) Go swimming or have a sprinkler. If you have a local pool, that's where I'd head. Or a lake. Maybe I can borrow my neighbor's kiddie pool? Or maybe I'll pull out my mister.

 3) Wet a washcloth. Did that last night. Soaked a washcloth in cool water and squeezed the water out and put it on my neck. I have some neck cooler thing somewhere but couldn't find it.

4) Pjs/sheets/pillowcase in the freezer. I think I may have to start with pillowcases in the freezer.

5) Go shopping (or any other place with AC). You bet I'm going shopping. And maybe the library.

6) Drink lots of cold water. It keeps you cool, plus this is good for you!

7) Cool bath/shower. This is a quick fix!

8) Have your windows open at night and close your blinds during the day. Don't worry, I also have a stick in my window, so people can't nab me ;)

9) Popsicles! Oh yes, I've been having cool treats all day. Iced coffee too!

10) There are some interesting tips out there (none of these were by my followers). I see where they are coming from, but they are still interesting...

- lay low to the ground
-put ice water and salt in front of a fan
- think cool
-eat spicy food
-don't move, just sit in one spot.

Do you have any 'cool' tips?

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I'm Back With A Vegas Recap!

I'm back!!! Did you miss me? Lol.  I left Sunday for Vegas and came back yesterday. I didn't want to bombard you, so I tried to collage them lol. I met the most amazing people and blogger friends you could ever want! And made new friends too!

 The view from my room in Treasure Island. First night we had dinner 15, of us. Rachel Lynette, Sally from Elementary Matters are top right. Mrs. Hoffer's Kindergarten and Hilary from Rockin' Teacher Materials bottom right. And my fab dessert!

 Ron Clark was an amazing keynote speaker and I enjoyed attending sessions with Kathy Griffin and Dan Brassell!
So I ended up hanging with the fabulous Hojo, Hojo's friend, Sally (Elementary Matters), and Rachel Lynette for a lot of things. They'd never been to Fremont St., so I knew we had to go there. And I won $6 on a penny machine!

 Then Tuesday night was the blogger meetup. Be still my heart. I got to meet Amber Polk, Lindsey Noren, Hadar (Miss Kindergarten) and Kristin (Teeny Tiny Teacher) and Cheryl (Primary Graffiti)!!!!!

It was kind of amazing that I had people want to take pics with little ol' me. Like fans. Like for reals!
 Then I won Letters on the Chest and Hadar, Kristin, and Christy from Crayons and Whimsy also won stuff!
 Be still my heart. I finally got to meet my buddy Kelley from Teacher Idea Factory. Love this girl!
 Every one say hi!!!!!!!   I got this from What The Teacher Wants. Those girls are so sweet!
This is all the bloggers! Also from What The Teacher Wants. And yes, I met Deanna Jump. She is a sweetie and so down to Earth!

 My girls and I went to dinner after. LOVE these girls. Kristin, Stephanie (Falling Into First), Hadar, Kelley, and myself. Yes , the feet pic has extra feet because one is Christy and one is Melissa from Lesson Plan SOS.
I got to see some great shows as well like Mystere, Menopause the Musical, and Thunder From Down Under. Hojo told me to take a pic of the drink holders in the bathroom stall lol. And look at the Cookie, Cookie Sundae we ate at in New York, New York. I love the cobblestone floors!

It was so great to meet John Yoo from TpT and Amy!!! I had dinner with her and she is so sweet and has a passion for TpT, that's for sure.

Alright. I have to unpack and do laundry. Glad to be back home from the 108 degree weather!!!

Oh and before I forget:

A huge thank you to our sponsors who made our Vegas meet-up possible!

Thank you to those who donated some fabulous prizes! 
Check out these links to see some amazing products just for TEACHERS!



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Back To School Shopping

Ok, I may have started panicking when I typed the title. It is NOT time for school. No way, no how! For me, school goes back in September, so it's still a ways out there. But I still want to get ready beforehand and not panic when I realize it's time for school and I'm not prepared.

So how am I prepared? Well first, a teacher has got to look good! So I did some shopping on zulily.

This will look nice on Fridays.

Love these!

This I can dress up or down.

Then I snatched up this set:


It's normally $79 (yikes!) but I snatched it up for $28 (and I see the price has already gone back up)
But seriously, I'll just bring one along for a back up, for those just in case classes.

And I've got my own products that I can bring along, like my Reading Activities, my Mad For Math, and my sub plans.






I'm really excited because I'm working on a back to school theme sub plan set for K-2 and the writing, math, and reading are CCSS aligned!



Some other things that I've got in my bag are from some buddies of mine.

My pal Denise from Sunny Days has these EZ Prep Centers.


And from Alisha at The Bubbly Blonde has these fun packets! And she has them K-5.




And I've got my planner from April at A Modern Teacher to keep me organized and on track with stuff!



Speaking of school stuff, this month's blog sponsor is from Stick it 2 Me. From wall decals to stickers, they've got you covered and help with fundraisers where schools and organizations can get 40%-50% on each item sold. 

Any way, are you ready for back to school? Do you have something I should add to my bag of tricks? Let me know!


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Substitute Preparedness #7: Sub Binder

,
Welcome to my monthly series here on Journey of a Substitute Teacher!




So I know I usually do a sub tub freebie thing to add, like the math games. Don't worry, I still have a freebie! Today I'm going to talk about the sub binder (or folder). I love coming into a class that has a sub binder with all the info I need about the school and class in one spot. One of my schools used to require this for every class. The binder has student names, map of the school, list of phone numbers, and different sections for each subject that the teacher put extra copies for fillers in, also a generic lesson plan.

Another one of my schools has a sub binder with the school special schedule, phone numbers in the school, emergency info, and then the teacher can add what they want to the binder. A map is stuck in the front.

My two other schools in the district have folders with phone numbers and maps and the info for logging into Powerschool for attendance.

Some teachers I sub for have their own binders with all the info tucked in pretty and neat. I'm at the point in my career that I'm just happy with lesson plans haha! But you never know what kind of sub you will have. This may be their first time!  And it's never too early to get ready for the sub binder! 

Here are some sub binder ideas:



And if you have a long term sub:
Here is the freebie I created for you! It's a simple and basic sub binder with blanks for you  I also gave two options for the covers, one with white frame and one with black frame.

sub binder




Click the cover or here to grab the freebie. I hope you enjoy!




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Fun on the 4th and a Recipe

The 4th of July was great!

I started the day out with being in a parade, walking with a fire truck and representing our Relay for Life.






Beautiful!

With our banner


However, we walked uber fast because the truck was going super fast and we had to catch up lol. And I even knew some people watching because even though it's not my town, locals like to go. I may have given extra candy to kiddos I know hehe.




 Um yeah, they are spazzes. They wanted to dance to the renegade drummers.


Then I walked around with some friends at the rodeo grounds and looked at the bulls.

Beautiful dancing horses

I ended the day at another friend's house for her annual bbq and it was small, but great quality time! I made a salad that was soooo good and used tortilla chips to make it into a dip.

I got the Southwest Black Bean salad recipe from Skinnytaste but tweaked the recipe a bit. Here is what I did:

15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
9 oz cooked corn, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 1/2-2 limes, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cilantro minced
salt and fresh pepper

Mix it all together and marinade for 30 minutes before serving. That's it! Gina (Skinnytaste)  put avocado and jalapeno in hers, but I didn't have those handy, so I did without and it was still fine.

I didn't snap a picture, darn it, but lucky for me Gina took some of hers lol.

If you want her recipe, click here.




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