Sunday, October 27, 2013

A Week of Fall Fashion

As promised, a weeks worth of fall fashion... Just a few days later than planned.  I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.  I had a few days where I wasn't feeling great, all of these colds going around at school one of them got me, it wasn't a bad cold, more annoying, which of course led to me not tidying up my classroom as I should have.  After a few days of this my classroom was starting to feel like Professor Jones office in the Indiana Jones movies, which isn't such a great thing.  On Friday I had some extra energy (and was at my breaking point with the mess) so I made a to-do list and got started!   Still a long way to go for complete happiness and organization but I'm feeling less overwhelmed and I was able to accomplish a LOT over this work filled weekend! Thus the blog was shifted to the back burner, sorry! I really had to do something before the Seattle Times headline read "Teacher crushed by stacks of books, ungraded papers and unit tests in Seattle classroom" lol  

Monday: 
Black Silk Blouse (t. Babaton-Aritzia) Black Pants (Michael Kors-Nordstrom Rack)

I LOVE this outfit! The blouse is a staple of my wardrobe.  I splurged on it back when I was working two jobs and it was worth every penny of its $90 price tag! I want to buy a sleeveless one in black too or one with a fun pattern! The pants a new addition to the closet.  I need more teaching pieces for my wardrobe but I wanted pieces with interest.  These straight leg black pants with gold zipper details were just the ticket! Even better, I bought them at the Rack on red tag clearance :) 


Tuesday: 

Black long sleeve (BP-Nordstrom) Dress (Ella Moss-Barney's New York)

This outfit probably looks familiar... It's basically the same outfit I wore last week, but without the denim vest and a different BP black longsleeve, yes I have more than one, this one is a little bit longer and super soft! 


Wednesday:

Bordeaux Sweater (t.babaton-Aritzia) Pants (Mossimo-Target) Boots (Steve Madden)

As you all know if you've read previous posts, I LOVE these boots! They are amazingly comfortable and have just the right amount of sass via the gold spikes :) 


Thursday: 

Black Maxi Skirt (Nordstrom Rack- I cut out the tag, it itched so I don't know the brand) Striped Tank ( J Crew-sale rack) Lace Sweatshirt (Free People-Mom for Christmas via Macys)

I'm not sure why I hadn't thought to put these pieces together before, I've had them all for over a year and I love them all individually but then I had a stroke of genius Wednesday night when I was picking out an outfit, I decided I wanted to do the cute and comfy thing for Thursday, it was going to be a day with less an the optimal amount of sleep, so comfy was a necessity! Also, a few of my students asked me what I looked like without makeup, which I thought was interesting since I don't wear a ton of makeup anyways but I decided to oblige their curiosity and go makeup free on Thursday... Ok maybe I applied a thin, single coat of mascara, but that's it! 


Friday: 

Purple and Gold Sweats (Husky Atheltic Department Surplus), T-Shirt (UW bookstore), Black Zip-up Hoodie (America Appearl via Mak's Closet), Black Vest (The North Face via Mak's Closet) 

Oh how I love Fridays! Not only do we get to wear college gear, but it was W Day in Seattle, which is the Friday before the UW Huskies homecoming football game, and thus gives everyone in Seattle the excuse to wear even more husky gear than normal! 

So there you have it! I promise to put some academics in the blog this week not just clothes :)

Unit next time,

Karissa 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Oh How I Love Sundays...


I apologize for the lack of posts... I was having some internet trouble at home and kept forgetting to hit publish when I was elsewhere with internet.  Anyways, internet is fixed and I'm back to a mostly normal schedule.  Last week was a bit crazy... It started off like any other Monday, running late, kids forgetting the basics over the weekend, like how to raise your hand, and a desperate need for caffeine... The kids figured it out quick as they were reminded they had a unit exam on Wednesday.  

So Monday was review day, pretty standard.  On Tuesdsay we had one of the councelors at our school come and talk to the students about college and career readiness.  It's an awesome program that informs students about options after high school, how high school choices effect those options, and how to navigate those choices.  This is particularly important because for many of my students this is the first place and maybe the only place they are getting information around college.  Wednesday they took their unit exam, Thursday they had a science field trip.  I didn't attend but instead worked with the kids that didn't go and helped them get caught up on missing work. Then Friday... Friday is what we call an activity day... Class periods are 25 minutes, and the last two hours of the day are filled with an activity, usually a school dance, with other options like open gym, a movie in the auditorium and open library/computer lab.  As you can imagine, students get a little excited about the activity, and 25 minutes is not a whole lot of time.... So my students did a little "essay" question to connect with the unit exam from Friday, they were a little bummed but they did an awesome job and I'm SUPER proud of them :)

Needless to say, after that week of craziness, I'm looking forward to a more normal week in the classroom! Due to all that craziness, I only have one outfit picture from the week.... I took pics two different days, forgot the other three oops! But one was blurry and thus we are only left with one outfit, sorry!

I have been intrigued by all of the burgundy nail and lipstick combos I've seen out there in fashion magazines, Pinterest, other blogs, etc. and thus decided to give it a try!  In the spirit of trying to save money for a trip to Spain this summer, I'm trying to cut costs where I can, like painting my own nails (sometimes lol), buying drugstore makeup for trendy colors, and Starbucks only on special occasions.  So I did a little research and found a couple lipsticks that were recommended/rated high for a Bordeaux lipstick for someone with fair skin.  Of course, I could only find one of them at the Target I was at, CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain 450.  I can't say I loved it, it was a little dull... Quick fix though, I threw a little of my favorite lipstick, MAC Russian Red, over the top and it was fabulous! I went with Essie "a list" nail polish, it was a little more on the red side but I love it!

Here you can see the lipstick and nail polish combo, they ended up matching really well, a pleasant surprise! 

And here's the outfit :) 

Skirt (actually a tank top maxi dress, Ella Moss- Barney's New York) Long Sleeve TShirt ( BP-Nordstrom) Denim Vest (Talula-Aritzia) 


I really love this outfit and my lipstick/nail combo! It will certainly be making a reappearance very soon! Perfect for fall!  

Look forward to a full week of outfit posts, and some of the map work I've been promising :) 

Until next time,

Karissa 


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Hump Day

Today one of my students asked me why people call Wednesday hump day, which of course made the class explode into a fit of giggles "OMG! He's said hump...hahaha". Oh middle school kids... Anyways I then of course explained that when you make it through Wednesday, you're over the hump of the work week. Some kids got it, some didn't... Oh well, maybe when they have a job it will sink in lol 

Today I opened up my class with a short video clip, asking the write about what the clip means to them.  It was an awesome and inspiring video you can watch here, just 3 minutes but so worth it.  My students were extremely engaged and most wrote whole pages in 5 minutes about motivation, never giving up, and doing what makes you happy... It was well worth the five minutes I usually use for a history related do now.  I love doing fun little life skills and motivation based do now from time to time, plus it makes me happy, which is always a plus! 

On another note, two of my students said I look like Buffy the vampire slayer today in two different periods, on both occasions fellow students agreed.... I don't see it, but you be the judge! 


Blazer (Nordstrom Rack) T-shirt (Crisis Clothing-a local company) Pants (Savvy-Nordstrom)

And of course the best part, my shoes :) 

Shoes (Tory Burch-Nordstrom) 

This is one of my favorite outfits, a little edgy with classic touch... And of course I added more edge with the rocker poof, I was having some fun with it :) 

In other news we have no school Friday, one of those lovely teacher Professional Development days that I swapped for a day of PD this summer, which means a day off! Yay! So since I have a day off, keep your eyes peeled for a post on the map work I've done with my 7th graders so far this year!

Until next time!

Karissa


Monday, October 7, 2013

A case of the Mondays...

When I woke up this morning I knew I was in for a long day... When my alarms went off I had that feeling of "why in the heck is my phone going off I just went to bed" despite my 6 hours of sleep, but after too many days in row of 5 or 6 hours my body was not having it. However, as I am a teacher, not a fabulous CEO that can move her appointments back at a time suits her better, I dragged myself out of bed and got on with my day.  One where I'm feeling particularly sleepy, I usually don't wear the outfit I previously selected and instead go for one of my three favorites.  With the mentality "look good feel good" I figure that on days I need a little extra something I should dress in something with "a little extra something", and let me tell you, quite often it works!

And of course, until my heater decided to turn on I had to wear my favorite item in my closet, the trench coat!
Trench coat ( t. Babaton-Aritzia) Skirt (J Crew-here) T-Shirt (Etsy) 

But... When it does come on, I feel like I'm teaching somewhere tropical... So for most of the day, I really looked like this....




This morning, however, the Mondays were determined to make it a long day! I got my self ready, running a little later than I prefer, but still in good shape, heated up some milk to make some hot chocolate, and then this happened....


Seriously universe?! It's my FAVORITE mug! I know it's a Monday and you're trying to mess with me, but did you seriously have to mess with my Minnie Mug? Uncalled for!

Needless to say I was not happy! But now, on the verge of being late if I didn't leave pronto, I made my hot chocolate, poured it in a travel cup and was on my way!  I started to get the feeling of success when I arrived at school on time (I HATE being late places, so that was crucial to a good day), I got into my classroom and remembered that I didn't feel like organizing Friday night and that meant I needed to Monday, it's like coming home from vacation to a pile of laundry you didn't do before you left plus what you need to do now. But I managed to get started, check my email, decided I'd organize after school and went on with my day, which turned out to be quite fabulous! My students were awesome, the little 7th graders are starting to learn about the first English colonies in what is now the United States.  They were so intrigued by the idea of the lost colony of Roanoke (find out more here is interested, it really is fascinating!) I'm positive I have future detectives and historians in my room! 

The Mondays did manage to catch up with me though, unfortunately.... When I got out of my meetings today I was really feeling tired and decided to call it a day, go home, eat, fold some laundry and get a couple things ready for the rest of the week at school....what actually happened: got home, turned the drier back on for a few minutes, ate a few bites of cookie dough ice cream, turned on Monday Night Football, took clothes out of drier, folded three items, fell asleep on pile of laundry for a the first half of the game and halftime, woke up to a 21-14 Jets lead, looked at my to do list and stared blankly at it wondering why little animals from all over Seattle didn't come into my apartment and cross a few things off my to do list for me like they do in Disney movies.... I feel gipped.... I swore I was a Disney Princess! 

Since woodland animals are going to help, I suppose I should cross a few items off myself. I hope the Mondays didn't come after you quite as much as they did me.

Until next time,

Karissa

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October or Oktober?

I just love October! Pumpkins, costumes, sparkly bat decor, and boots! Fall fashion is my absolute favorite time for trends! Boots, scarves, leggings, coats... What's not to love?! I've been digging through my closet, bringing all my fall favorites from the inner depths to limelight! It makes me so a happy :) But before we get to teacher outfits, I'm had a really awesome couple days of lessons with my 8th graders.

In Washington, 8th grade history covers Washington state history and world geography.  We are currently looking at the Native people in Washington state, focusing on Coastal Native Americans for the last two weeks and Plateau Native Americans coming up next.  To start off the unit I read the students a creation story that is prominent in many Coastal tribes, they LOVED it! I thought they would have interest but I was not expecting so much buy in from reading one story.  After finding out how much they LOVED the creation story, I went with it and did a whole art integrated week of lessons and guess what, it was a huge success! 

Like I said, I started off with the creation story (here).  I read it out loud as they followed along, using their reading strategies (ie. circling words they don't know, making connections to prior learning and writing questions in the margins, and underlining important details), partner turn and talk trying to infer what the story was about, who is was told to, why it was told, etc., and for homework they had to write a one paragraph extension of the story. The students where so creative with it, it was fabulous! We did an art analysis the next day, looking at art from several coastal tribes, both current works made by tribal members as well as much older and traditional art. They took some notes on what the cultural and spiritual characteristic of some animals, shapes, colors, etc., found in the art observed.  THEN the fun part came.  Now that they had all of this amazing background knowledge, that they were totally eating up I must say, they got to create their own art inspired by coastal tribal style, the colors used, animals we learned about, shapes or the creation story they had read.  After they finished their piece, they created a story to go along with it.  Some stories were informative, many taught lessons, and others were rather whimsical. Over all I was SUPER impressed by the amazing art and written pieces they turned in! 

Here are two of the pieces:

This piece was done by quite the little artist. She titled it "Beaver".




This is was done by a young man, he titled it "Salmon".

I think I was most excited by how genuinely interested and intrigued my students were about a culture they had no real prior knowledge of.  Many of the m expressed wanting to learn more about other cultures and many were inspire to learn more about their own culture! As a teacher I'd call that a success! 

Now, enough about the learning, on to fall teacher fashion! 

On Monday I was feeling quite cheery; so I decided to add some spice to the typical boots, cardigan, black trousers by throwing a pink flower in the hair and putting on my favorite pink lipstick :) 

The one full length picture that I took off this outfit came out blurry -___- ugh! But at least you can see my flower and lipstick! 

Yesterday I got to deal with a flat tire, boo... But I was feeling like a rock star before hand, so here this is my rock inspired outfit :) and big thanks too B for helping with my car situation! 

Sweater (Wilfred-Aritzia) Pant (Mossimo-Target) Boots (Steve Madden-Nordstrom)

Let me just tell you about these pants! Last holiday season I was shopping for my lil sis Mak at Nordstrom and of course couldn't refrain from trying on a few things myself, and the lovely people at Nordstrom always bring you more things to try on.  One of those items put in my fitting room by the sale associate was a pair of pants, black cigarette pants made from a fabric with black velvet flowers.  I am not much of a velvet fan but I loved these pants as soon as I tried them on, just KNEW I had to have them! That was until I looked at the price tag.... a whopping $280... As much as I loved them, I am a teacher after all and that's not in my price range! A few hours later I stopped at Target on my way home for some holiday bows and wrapping paper, I happened to walk through the clothing department and found THESE amazing pants, for $24... And just like my mom, LOVE a good deal! 


Here's a better picture of the fabric :) 

And one more selfie... Aftert Monday's fun with makeup I decided to go more natural with the look on Tuesday.... And you can tell that my sweater is actual more of a wine color. 

Earrings (Kate Spade-Nordstrom) Watch (Michael Kors-Nordstrom Anniversary Sale) Bracelets (Etsy-see previous post) 

And finally, the end of this novel post, today's outfit... What can I say, I really do love all black! 

Trench Coat ( t.babaton-Aritzia) Pants (Joes Jeans-Nordstrom) Blouse (Mossimo-Target) Shoes (Tory Burch-Nordstrom) Tourquoise Bracelet ( J Crew) Watch (Micheal Kors-Nordstrom)

This outfit just screams NYC to me, maybe it's because it's all black, or maybe the trench coat, I'm not sure but regardless, I really do LOVE this outfit! Well I apologize for the novel length post but the last few days have been a bit hectic, so I put it all into one, during Criminal Minds commercials of course! Now off to focus on the end of the episode :) 

Until next time!

Karissa

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Casual Friday :)

TGIF! Many of you are familiar with this end of the work week sentiment... However, while I was browsing through Pinterest last night I saw the BEST alternate use of the phrase:


This just makes me smile, and will be my mantra :) 

But on a more traditional sense, I am SO excited that it is Friday.  You might think that I have fabulous plans that await me, BUT no, it's just been a LONG week! I had the fabulous opportunity to attend a Family Night at the Spiritwood Boys & Girls Club, which is in a brand new beautiful facility in the Lake Hills area of Bellevue.  This particular Boys & Girls club is located in a government assisted housing site and serves children in low income families at both Spiritwood and the surrounding community.  This particular club is near and dear to my heart because I used to work there while I was in Grad School.  In addition a good friend of mine and coworker from back in my Spiritwood days, Markeese, now runs the site.  I had a lot of fun seeing past kids I used to work with and seeing all the fabulous things Markeese was doing at Spiritwood.  

As much fun as I was having yesterday evening, it made me realize exactly how tired I was, and boy I was exhausted! So exhausted in fact that I didn't even have the energy to finish the movie I put on (Kingdom of Heaven... History nerd, I know!) or do a short little outfit post from yesterday.... So here is yesterday's outfit!



Blazer (Nordstrom Rack) T-Shirt (Aritzia-found here) Pants (Skinny Minnie-JCrew here

And my FAVORITE part of my outfit from yesterday, my shoes!


Shoes (Converse) I saw these shoes on Pinterest, which took me to a link where they were being sold, with the studs for $130.... As much as I loved them, and will certainly drop a pretty penny for clothes and shoes I love, I decided that I could buy the shoes, and the studs, and do them myself... Which I did :) total cost $57, $50 for the shoes, $7 for the studs, shipped to my house! 

Normally I wear that outfit with my favorite Tory wedges, but I was a little bit sore, my trainer friend LC kicked my butt at the gym the night before and heels seemed like cruel and unusual punishment' therefore I went with my trusty studded chucks.

Today however, I didn't have to worry about still being sore, because it's Friday, and Friday means casual Friday :) I decided to show a little Seattle support with today's outfit, a t-shirt from the Woodland Park Zoo (the zoo here in Seattle). 


Tshirt (Woodland Park Zoo) Jeans (7 For All Man Kind-Costco... Someone made the mistake and returned a Nordstrom pair of 7s, had the Nordy's tag still attached, and Costco sold them to me for $50! same style different wash found here) Watch (Michael Kors-Nordstrom) Shoes (Toms-I know you can't see them but I thought I'd share anyway) 

What I love the very most about my appearance today is my curly hair :) Those that know are fully aware of my love to straightening my hair, in fact there was a time in my life where if it wasn't straight it was in a messy bun.... Then I started teaching, and not being a morning person it was just in a messy bun constantly... But recently I have started embracing my curls... And don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't love my curls, it's just the time and effort it takes to make them look good, mainly showering in the morning, as a perpetual night showerer this whole morning shower idea is not only foreign but completely ludicrous to me. Why is the heck would I get up an extra 30 minute just to have wet hair all day, or an extra hour and half to blow dry and straighten it?! Yea... That wasn't going to happen... But thanks to hair products and some effort my hair is looking fabulous curly, so I'm embracing it! 

Well I think it's time for a nap and then a workout! Happy Friday!

Until next time,

Karissa


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Feeling Fabulous!

Today I did NOT want to get out of bed... My alarm went off, I looked at my phone expecting that there had been a mistake, after all I swore I had only bee asleep 5 minutes... much to my dismay it really was 6 am, damn! I stared at the clock on my phone in disbelief for a solid 17 minutes, at which point I realized I really needed to get up, since 6 am is later than my normal alarm time.  Thankfully, my outfit, including jewelry, makeup, etc was already laid out and I had leftovers for lunch ready in the fridge, yes! Success! So I decided to add a little flair to my day, in the form of red lipstick.  I LOVE bright lipsticks; there was a time in my life when red lipstick was worn frequently, however in the last 4 years of teaching I have toned things down to tinted lip gloss status... Until today that is, and guess what, I love it! Something as small as red lipstick really did put a pep in my step and it lasted all day :) Between that, old school Usher blaring though the speakers in my car/phone/iPad and my awesome lesson on Coastal Native American Art (a later post on this), how could my day be anything but fabulous?! 

Today's outfit! Two of my students said I looked like a movie star from back in the "black and white film days", which of course made me smile :) What it actually came down to was no time to straighten my hair, but hey, I'll take it! 
Leopard Print Sweater (Aritzia), Jeggings (Joe's Jeans-Nordstrom), Trench Coat (Aritzia), Pearl Necklace (vintage)

This outfit will certainly come back, but I think with straight hair :) 

Until next time, 

Karissa

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Getting To Know You...

I've talked about my "Day 1" classroom activity a few time, but never actually explained what it was! Getting to know you're students and building a positive, tight-knit classroom culture is by the far the most important thing that needs to happen the first month of school.  In order to do this teachers try to come up with activities that students will actually be in to and that will help with the goal... I have tried a few over the years that I liked, but decided to do something a little different this year... The get to know you beach ball! Not only did I love the idea of it, but it ended up working even better than I imagined!

Here is my beach ball:

You might be wondering what all the writing is, they are questions that help students get to know you, and each other, and of course helps you as the teacher get to know a little bit about everyone.  I decided to theme my questions but the colored section on the beach ball ( those that know me are absolutely shocked! Not lol), color coding is a major part of my life, as you will come to find out.  

White: Academic/School related questions (ie. easiest subject, most challenging subject, one academic goal, etc)

Green: Favorites (favorite color, movie, tv show, musical artist, etc)

Orange: Do You... (Have any siblings, pets, speak other languages, have a hidden talent, etc)

Blue: Personal Characteristics (personal goal, three adjectives to describe yourself, nickname, if a. Movie was made about your life what actor/actress would you want to play you, etc)

Red: This or That (chocolate or vanilla, pepperoni pizza or cheese pizza, beef or chicken, etc)

Yellow: Dreams (what would your dream vacation be, dream house look like, dream car, dream job, etc)

The get to know you beach ball! Beach ball bought at Target ($1 at end of summer sale), questions/categories written on with a sharpie

The best thing about this beginning of the year activity is that it can be done/used more than once! For the first month of school, any time we had an extra minute or two at the end of class I'd grab it from behind my desk and toss it to a kid.  When I did this the first day of school I had students sit on top of the table, at their assigned spot.  Since that is how the activity was introduced, my students immediately put their stuff away and sit on top of the table at their assigned spot as soon as they see me grab the beach ball.  You could of course have the students sit in their seats if you didn't want them sitting on their tables or desks.  

This activity is so great (can you tell I'm a fan? lol) you could totally use it with another group of people, not just students... Sports team, project team at work, whatever! Can you tell I'm a little excited about it? 

Now for today's outfit! Usually I pick out my outfit the night before, hang it on the hook on the outside of my closet door, set the coordinating jewelry on the bathroom counter, pull out the makeup I'll wear and hair products and set my shoes out.  I do this for two reasons, if I don't plan out my outfit I get really indecisive in the morning and I'd rather spend that time sleeping, the other reason is because I move SO SLOW in the mornings, my brain isn't quite working so I like to have everything planned out.  However, last night I decided to take a candle light bubble bath, put on some slow jams, pour myself a glass of champagne and relax... After said relaxation session I was quite sleepy and decided to just call it a night, without laying out my outfit.  Thankfully, my brain was working this morning, otherwise this could have been disastrous, like navy blue and black together, or gold clothing accents with silver jewelry disastrous! In the end I left the house is a fabulous rock inspired outfit, if I do say so myself :) 

Blazer (Nordstrom Rack) T-Shirt (etsy) Corduroys (jcrew: toothpick skinnys) Studded Boots (Steve Madden, Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2013) Bracelets (Etsy)


Well you can't totally see the fabulousness of the boots, they are fabulous, let me tell you, but you get the idea.  Off to do more grading, I swear it never ends!

Until next time,

Karissa

Monday, September 23, 2013

Sorry for the Delay...

The first couple weeks of school are crazy for a teacher (duh!), I know, I'm stating the obvious, but it's true! This week is the first week that schedules are normal, class rosters are more or less stable, printers/copiers are fixed and you really start to dive into curriculum.  It's also the first week that I've felt 100% since school started! Yay! Of course, being sick/feeling under the weather for the first 2.5 weeks of school does create a bit of a backlog... I mean there are grades to update, emergency sub plans to make, bathroom passes to sign and pass out, etc. I guess it's a good thing I love my job :) 

Anyway... Something I intended to start from the beginning of the year was a teacher outfit post, but having been sick/slightly overwhelmed with the beginning of school it hasn't happened, until now of course.  All of my fellow Seattleites know this, but I suppose I should put a couple disclaimers out before I get comments like "you wear that to work?!"  

For those who don't know, Seattle is a very casual city, makes sense if you think about it, a city full of technology companies who believe that as long as you're good at your job, you can rock your jeans and Pink Floyd t-shirt, running shorts and marathon t-shirt or distressed jeans, peplum top and stilettos (I wish!) and socks and sandals really are a common occurrence, tragic as it may be.  So yes, compared to other parts of the country I might be on the casual side, but in Seattle I'm quite put together, I promise! Also, we have college gear/Seattle gear/school gear Fridays, where teachers pretend they're back on campus of their alma mater and wear their UW t-shirts, Seahawks jerseys, and our middle school hoodies; which is not only acceptable but highly encouraged! Phew.. Now that that's out of the way, here's today's teaching outfit :)

Maxi dress (Roxy store in downtown Disney), Sweater (Banana Republic), Necklace (H&M), Watch (Michael Kors), Earrings (Kate Spade-Nordstrom on sale!) Bracelets (Etsy -Craftistikone)

This is such a Monday outfit! I didn't get enough sleep last night, who am I kidding I never get enough sleep lol I need like 9 hours, I know, what a funny joke, in reality I get about 6 and last night I got 5, it's ok though, it was worth it... However as worth it as it may have been I still woke up not wanting to wear real clothes and yoga pants with an oversized sweater was out of the question :( but maxi dress to the rescue!

 This one I love even more because it comes from The Happiest Place on Earth, DISNEYLAND, to say I love anything and everything Disney is an understatement. Well this beauty was screaming my name while walking through downtown Disney with my parents and sibs, and my dad told me to go ahead and try it on, which means if it fits, I'll buy it... Seeing as this rarely happens ( both me shopping with my dad and him buying clothes) I took full advantage of the situation and said gee thanks daddy! And of course it fit like a dream!

 The sweater might be my very favorite thing from Banana Republic ever! Right out of grad school my mom took me shopping for "teacher clothes", she too thought that yoga pants and oversized sweaters or UW hoodies wouldn't be classroom appropriate and took me to find some things that would be, with the stipulation of course that the things I've found were on sale, and not just on sale but like REALLY on sale.  This item however was not, but I convinced my mom that this $60 sweater could be worn with a multitude of outfits and pieces I already owned and she bought it for me anyway! I know I have the best mom ever! But I will say this, it was probably the best $60 she ever spent (maybe with the exception of my camo capris from Abercrombie & Fitch I had to have, I wore those from 9th grade through college, at least once a week, man I loved those! sorry, back on topic best $60 she ever spent...) because I seriously LIVE in this sweater in the fall and winter! In the classroom with slacks and a blouse, over a dress, with leggings and boots out for drinks, yoga pants and a black tank so I don't look homeless grocery shopping on Sundays (in between football games of course!)... Needless to say this sweater is a very versatile favorite! 

Stay tuned for at least 3 teaching outfits a week... I will try to do everyday but then you will notice that I have favorite outfits that I wear all too often, and you really don't need to see that post every week! Well, I should probably tackle grading this pile of quizzes in front of me, hope you have a fabulous Monday :)

Until next time,

-Karissa

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Classroom Tour

I know, I know... This is long overdue, my apologies! With new kids, backpacks and all the joys of starting a new year you also get lots of germs, and unfortunately I caught something... Can you imagine a worse time for a teacher to get sick?! I think it's just a bad cold (so I have been teaching and utilizing cold meds and hand sanitizer) but after two weeks of this I'm finally going to the doctor tomorrow.  Anyway, long story short, my evenings and days without kids since school has started (last Wednesday) have consisted of hot tea, naps and the occasional low brain function required school assignment.

So the new year has started, I love my room and I love my kids! I say being two for two is an AMAZING way to start a new school year.  One plus of my job this year is that I moved from teaching 5 periods of 7th grade history and 1 period of 8th grade history last year to teaching 4 periods of 8th grade history and only 2 periods of 7th grade history, which means that I got to loop with a lot of my students.  It makes the beginning of the year that much easier when over half of your students already know your routines and procedures.  Obviously they need reminders and I still go over it, for everyone's benefit, but there's less complaining about the rules they don't like (no chewing gum, for example). Oh my 7th graders, they are so little and cheerful, it's fabulous!  We did a couple ice breakers that were fun, informative and went really well... You never really know with middle schoolers, some things they think are awesome and others they think are the lamest thing on the planet.  I'll do a post about those later, but here's what you actually want to see, my classroom: I'll give a tour first and then focus in a some of my favorite things!

This is the view from the front of my room, my desks is in the back left corner, student notebook bins are under the tables in the back and center table is my supply table the student tables are in a modified horse shoe.

Yes those are mason jars, since I work with middle school kids I can get away with mason jars knowing that they probably (fingers crossed) won't get dropped/broken.  I keep popsicle sticks in them with each students' name to use to call on students equitably.  Each class period has their own jar.


 This is the left side of my classroom.  The door to my room is on the far left, left side of the wall is for student data (standards proficiency) and exit tickets for each class period.  The grey bulletin board says Social Studies, that is where materials on our current unit are.  For the beginning of the year I have the Declaration of Independence reproduction, a poster on the Presidents and a poster visually showing the history of the US flag.


And here is the front of the room. The little black rectangles to the right of the Ms Willhite's Class sign have exit procedures.  I have my teaching point and the standard(s) being addressed on the far right side of my board, one column is for 7th grade, the other for 8th.

 My "About Ms. Willhite" board, and my teacher's toolbox. 

The "Influential People" board and my clipboards on the bottom.


My desk :) please excuse the mess, this was before school actually started... I was still in chicken with my head cut off mode trying to make sure everything was ready for the kids to arrive.  The table under the Influential People board houses student supplies like pens, pencils, rulers, kid scissors, highlighters, etc. a hole punch and a paper cutter.  You can see a plethora of small white binders on the book shelf; I keep one per class period, which has student information sheets, behavior logs, hard copy attendance, allergies logs, and a class list. The white roller bins act as my desk drawers, as I actually have two tables acting as desks. And of the course, class mascots Minnie Mouse and my sock monkey zebra watch over the class from the bookshelf with my Spirit Week award trophy from last year... Yes, I am that teacher that dresses up for spirit week.


And finally, the back wall... The white graphs will be for class period data tracking.  For each standard addressed, the class proficiency average will have a pin at that number, yarn will be tied to each one, with 80% being the goal (hence the line at 80%), with the unit test score average as the last pin.  It will be redone for each unit. The numbered black trays are turn in trays, the milk crate is where absent students find what they missed and the black bins are labeled with class periods as well, which is where students keep their notebooks. 

Okay.... That might have been the longest post ever... If you're still with me, you just be a teacher or family, otherwise I'm sure you got bored by bulletin board 2.  More to come from the world of Middle School Social Studies soon, in the meantime, more tea and cold medicine and seating charts! Hope everyone's school year is going fabulously!

Until next time!

~Karissa 




Thursday, August 29, 2013

A Classroom Sneak Peak

My classroom is no where near complete, I keep saying I have until after Labor Day like that's a lifetime away...when in reality I will have babies in my room on Wednesday, like that's six days away! Six still seems like a decent amount of prep time, but do to the waxing of floors and other such things, the school isn't open most of the weekend... So I actually have Friday and Tuesday, which is stressing me out just thinking about it.  I keep hoping when I stop by my room quickly in the morning before our trainings, that little teaching/interior decorating fairies decided to organize, decorate and clean up my room for me, so far I have not been that lucky -___- 

BUT I have accomplished a couple things that make me feel better about being ready when kiddos walk through my door, and I'm actually falling in love with my classroom! Last year I had a new room in a new school and didn't get keys until 2 days before kids walked through the door, so functionality was the top priority and I hated my room, I mean literally hated being in my ugly, unorganized room. This year, having some time over the summer and coming in a week before meetings started, allowed me to start creating a room that I love. 

A couple things that I've accomplished so far that I love: 

My bulletin board that shows kids how a heading looks in my class (History) on assignments and in their Social Studies Notebook (ie. composition book)


My room is old school, red, black and white chalkboard theme, hence the color scheme of the board.  But I LOVE my glittery clothes pins that I'm using to hang the sample notebook pages.  I will also be using these as a means to hang student work, which will allow me to change work more frequently since I don't have to staple and remove staples all the time... Here's a closer look at these fabulous clothespins! 


I bought a 25 pack of clothespins at Target for $0.99.  I then applied a coat of glitter modge podge to the flat sides of the pins, one coat was not sufficiently glittery and fabulous for my liking so I applied two coats ( ps. If you are not familiar with modge podge, specifically the glitter modge podge you are missing out on a life experience, like it might be the 8th wonder of the world!) I finished them off by hot gluing a silver push-pin to the back so I can stick them in the wall anywhere and hang stuff, they might be my favorite little addition to my room :) 

The last little thing that makes me happy is my W on my teacher board.  I have an "about me" board behind my desk.  On that board I traditionally have photos of myself and my family & friends, concert & sporting event ticket stubs, UW (University of Washington) memorabilia, a Seahawks jersey, etc.  This year I found a thin, wooden W from Michaels ( a craft store), applied a couple coats of my glittery modge podge, and hot glued some fabulous polka dot and ABCs ribbon to have a cute little monogram behind my desk! 


In case your curious, that is fabric and not butcher paper that in covering my bulletin boards, if you haven't thought about it, it's great! It is a little more expensive, (I bought mine at JoAnn fabrics every time I had coupons.  It did take a couple trips but there is one right by the Target I go to, and if you're like me, Target trips are a very common occurrence) BUT it lasts all year, and even multiple years, it doesn't fade like paper and best of all it doesn't rip! 

I hope you like the sneak peak of a few of my favorite things that I've created and put up in my room so far, stay tuned for a full classroom tour soon :) 

-Karissa 





 


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Meetings, Trainings & More Meetings...

Today marked day 3 of our four day "teacher university", which is really a creative way of saying beginning of the new school year staff meetings and trainings.  It was another long, 7 hours in the school Library listening to various speakers, BUT I will say there was a lot of good information that was covered and elaborated on as well as some interesting ways to look at concepts and challenges through a different lens so to speak.  One of those teacher activities was based around a short story,  from a teaching book, simply titled A Parable.  For those that aren't familiar, you can read it here, but it's about a village of people that found bodies floating down the river day after day.  Some of the bodies were dead, some were very sick and some ended up being just fine.  Ultimately the village set up elaborate measures to help the people who floated down from upstream.

After we read the story our VP (vice principal) asked us what could the people of the village done better, one fellow educator suggested that they could have gone up river to see why people were dying/ending up in the river daily.  This was my first thought... What?! Are you insane?? I wouldn't go up the river, haven't you seen horror movies? Someone hears a weird sound, so what does the person do, goes to check it out and gets killed by an axe murderer… you go up river you'll find a man eating dragon, an army of livestock sized spiders, a serial killer convention, who knows but I sure as hell don't want to find out!

Thankfully my teacher brain kicked in (figures I would be the random teacher they called on to share out how the story applies to the kiddos at our school); but really, the story did have a good point!  If you don't know the root of the problem you can't fix it, change it or otherwise help find a more desirable outcome; which in this case would be less dead bodies, and ultimately no dead bodies floating down the river… just like with my students, if my kiddos can't do something we need to find out, in the most basic form, what it is they don't have in order to do that particular thing.  You might be thinking well duh, if a kid can't do something you need to figure out where the concept falls apart in their brain, BUT it's a good reminder that this applies to social, emotional and behavior skills too; maybe that kid that can't stay in his seat doesn't have the tools in his tool box to deal with anxiety, frustration, nervous energy, etc in a more productive or more desirable way... Lets be honest as you read this a specific kid popped into your head that just couldn't seem to figure out how to keep his bottom in the chair.... Yes, that still happens in Middle School....  

Enough food for thought for one day, classroom decor and bulletin board pictures coming next so stay tuned 

-Karissa

Monday, August 26, 2013

Hello & Welcome!

This blog is a long time coming... More on that but I suppose I should introduce myself! Hello there and thanks for taking time out of your crazy busy day to read, especially those of you that are so intrigued you put your work day on hold just to read what I felt like sharing today :) I'm Karissa to my friends and Ms. Willhite (or Ms. Dub) to my students. I teach 7th and 8th grade history in Seattle at an amazing school that serves an exceptional diverse student population.  I absolutely LOVE my job, like most teacher's, duh... Nature of the job haha. Anyway... In addition to teaching, I'm an avid reader, while I do enjoy my Hemingway, I love some good (and by good I mean totally predictable and trashy) chic lit ie. 50 Shades of Grey.  I love to cook, paint, anything creative, changing up my classroom decor, hiking, sports in general and am a HUGE Seahawks fan!

Enough about me, I'm sure y'all will get to know me more than you care to as I keep writing.  Like I said this blog is long time coming, I've been planning on writing a teaching blog for the past 3 years (since I started teaching), but teaching is a crazy, hectic, chaotic and amazing profession in which my to-do list seems to perpetually grow no matter how many items I cross off and I just couldn't seem to find time to start one.  Now that I have a few years of teaching under my belt, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the start of the year, as good as you can anyway, and decided now is the time!

 I've found there is a plethora of elementary blogs, don't get wrong I love them, read way too many of them and sometimes find ways to make their fun holiday art projects middle school relevant and appropriate, but there is a serious of shortage of Secondary blogs.  Of the Middle School or High School teacher blogs I've found, most of them are a little dry, great information, I'm sure they are fabulous teachers but still a little dry.  Therefore I decided it was my duty to write an (hopefully) entertaining blog about teaching Middle School.  Well, now it's time for me to do the homework assigned by my principal for staff training this week, school in Seattle doesn't start until after Labor Day, stay tuned for more and a classroom tour soon :)  

Karissa