Staples Steals

Teachers: Staples has some rocking sales this week!

If you didn't know already, with your teacher account you can get 25 of the Sun-Wed extreme deal items (instead of the 2-3 limit). The new catch is that you need to spend at least $5 to buy extreme deals. So spread out your more expensive supply purchases and hit it up! They have had lackluster deals this summer but this week is making up for it!

The penny deals include:
2 pk of Sharpie Accent Highlighters
8 pk of #2 Pencils
100 pk of 3x5 index cards

Yes, for a whopping 75 cents you get 50 highlighters, 200 pencils, and 2500 index cards. For realz. 

Another fav of mine is the Expo two-sided dry erase slate (1 blank, 1 lined). It includes an expo marker! This week only $2. Can't wait to add to my guided rdg collection for a classroom set. If I spread them out on different trips I may get a whole lot of penny deals this week :-)

Happy Shopping,

Trash to Treasure Teaser

I have been so busy lately getting ready for my first classroom....well that and reading Harry Potter for the first time (I know, about time, right?) Anyway, I have thrifted a ton and blog stalked some AMAZING teaching blogs.  There are some fantastic ideas/resources out there- thank you Blogging Teachers. I hope to get some of my arts integration stuff up here soon to contribute to this growing community.

Today I hit the mother-load with thrifting/garage sale-ing. At the garage sale I met the two sweetest older ladies, one of whom  had taught in the inner city where my job is for 15 years! It was so great to have her advice. Once we got talking, I found out they used to belong to the Christian community I'm part of and we had a ton of mutual friends. Small world! They prayed with me and for my students and gave me some great materials! It was definitely a blessed time. I happened upon the ad on Craigs*list about an hr before it ended and decided to zip over there. So glad I did.

It's similar to this, but mine is the old version.

Then I hit up the 2 thrift stores I've been frequenting and had another unexpected surprise. There was no price tag on an item I was eying and when I went to ask about it I just happened to throw in the "I'm a teacher in the inner city" and the guy gave it to me for $3.99! This wasn't just any little item-

It was a 4-tier shelf/organizer with 12 thick plastic bins...in good condition. This just happens to retail for around $60! 1 bin alone is more than $3.99!


Someone's trash was definitely my treasure today. The bins are light pastel (yellow, lavender, baby pink) which reminds me of a 1980s dance studio (and definitely don't fit my Broadway/NYC theme). But never fear- I will be armed with spray paint tomorrow and transform this baby into something amazing for my library. Stay tuned for a tutorial....

Lots of love,

Out of the Mouths of Babes Linky Party

I have had so much fun lately visiting other teacher's blogs and learning from them.
Thought I'd join in with this"Out of the Mouths of Babes" funny story Linky.

I have shared this one before but it STILL cracks me up.
My 8/9 yr old students seemed quite concerned that I was not married (YET). While the girls logically tried to figure out my age all year  through the use of notes in my mailbox (aka "circle yes or no" :-), one of my boys went the more direct route.

Child: Ms. Wright, are you a "Ms" because you lost your husband at D-Day?
Me: Um, excuse me, what did you just say?
Child: Did you LOSE YOUR HUSBAND at D-Day because you know a lot of girls lost their husbands there.
Me: Well that is true but, when was D-Day?
Child: 1945...
Me: Yes and it's 2011....do I look like I'm over 80?
Child: Well, where's your husband then?
Me: Good Question....

Another one comes from the book of Treasured Goodbyes my students gave me at the end of Student Teaching:

Dear Ms. Wright,
I will shrivel up and die with boredom without you.
(Insert very graphic and dramatic stick figures)

Gotta love small children. They make even the hard days so very worth it!
 If you want to link up go here:

Thankful Thursday!

I have a lot to be thankful for right now!


1. I have a JOB for next year!!! Thank you God for opening that window :-) I will be a 4th Grade Teacher at an Inner City Performing Arts Charter. I am so excited! I taught at this school 3.5 yrs ago as an undergrad for a creative writing partnership and I LOVED it. It's a good school doing some pretty GREAT things in the city. I will also be starting an after school dance club for the itty bitties...K-1-2's :-)

2. Because I have a job, and grad school is over, I get to take a break! Well, I'm trying too....in and around planning, shopping for, and prepping my new classroom :-) There is a certain art to doing nothing...it's tricky but oh so necessary at times. I need to be refueled by mid Aug!

3. I have/had a lot of weddings to attend this summer. After a few crazy years (including that 1 yr intensive masters :-) it's been SO nice to catch up and spend time with old friends! What a blessing.

There it is friends, my big news and my top 3 pics for Thankful Thursday.
Happy Weekend,

Open Windows.

My poor neglected blog. 
It feels like I start every post lately with something along those lines- my apologies!
I can say I'll try harder but I don't want to jinx it lol.

I went through a bit of a rough patch with my job hunt- long story short, a job I thought I had in the bag fell through. This economy is pretty frustrating. Yet, I totally believe that everything happens for a reason-

I am sure that the perfect teaching job for me is still out there!
I've been rocking the quote "when God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." (Sound of Music anyone?)

Speaking of Sound of Music- 3 years ago two friends and I took an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip around Europe. We went to 10 countries in 7 weeks. Of course being the musical-obsessed person that I am, I had to visit Salzburg. It just happened to be the opening of the EuroCup that day so the city was overrun by mad futbol fans (well that was cool too) but I managed to see a few of the movie locations. Here's my proof :-)

Look closely- we were rocking the "hide from the Nazi's pose"- what Tourists:-)

Anyway...the window.
Yes, a new school popped up and I had my 3rd interview there today.
It's actually not new to me because I taught there 3.5 years ago with a creative writing partnership. The same semester when I knew I had to be a teacher. Coincidence?
I think not.

It's a perfect fit- a performing arts school. They equally value academics, character, and the arts.
I won't give too many details yet but my interview today was led by someone pretty famous.
That was just the icing on the cake for an already GREAT school.

Join me in praying it works out?
I'm ready to jump through this window into the next stage of my life.
Whatever that holds for me-