You’re getting ready to set up your classroom. You’ll be sure to have a stapler, bulletin board border, and all of those cute and obvious items you need. As a veteran teacher, I want to share with you a few small overlooked items that make a huge difference! They make your life EASIER! I am also linking to my Instagram Stories so you can see them in action!
This magnetic staple remover. It is so much better than the claw type. The claw version will tear up your border, paper and cute items! This removes the staple with minimal damage.
Magnet wand. Have you ever found yourself on your hands and knees picking up stray staples? Have you ever swiped a bunch of staples into your hand only to be stuck by one? If you have, your wheels are already turning wondering why this item isn’t already in your life. This magnet wand is just what you need for picking up all those staples you remove from your bulletin boards.
Putty knife. Need to scrape vinyl letters off your white board? This tool is your best friend. It makes quick work of the job so you can move on to something else. I use it for dozens of other small jobs around my room as well. Must have!
Magnetic level. If you need to apply vinyl letters to a white board or any other magnetic item, this is priceless. They will go on straight, effortlessly.
Check out my Instagram Stories (“Teaching 2” Highlight) to see these gadgets in action in my own classroom. Follow me for more ideas!
These tools can make your job easier and help you be more efficient. If you appreciated this post, follow me on WordPress. You’ll be sure to get an email notification for future posts that way. Also check out my post, Master To Do List for Teachers Before Going Back to School. I am an Amazon Affiliate and can receive compensation for the items included in this post.
The past few weeks I have tried imagining our life without my beloved Santa Fe, and I never imagined I would be this sad about giving up a vehicle.
I asked my family and close friends to help me understand why I was so depressed about giving up this car. I have even cried about it on more than one occasion. Instead of teasing me, they were so sympathetic and empathetic. They helped me see I wasn’t crazy or irrational. It leads me to believe that this may be more common than I had realized, perhaps even universal. There are several reasons for this, I think.
We live our life in our cars. My husband reminded me how many memories we’ve made and how many road trips we’ve been on. Our children have grown up in this car. They were age 4 and 8 when we got it, and we’ve had it for 7 years! I looked back at old photos of our kids and this car, and invoked even more tears.
My favorite memories are the vacations and beach trips we’ve taken. We’ve been to Charleston, Tybee Island, Florida, and Gulfport. We believe in enjoying the journey as much as the destination so seeing that rocket at the Tennessee Alabama state line, going to Bucee’s and grabbing a peach milkshake at Peach Park will long live in our memory banks.
The day to day errands and running the girls to all the things are equally memorable. We’ve been on Girl Scout camping trips, to Space Camp, soccer games, gymnastics, swim team, horse riding lessons, piano, guitar, and all of the other activities the girls have explored. We’ve taken car rides with the girls’ friends with the sunroof open singing Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen at the top of our lungs. The time spent in our cars with family and friends means so much, but so does the time we drive solo.
We spend so much time by ourselves in our cars. It has been a safe haven and a quiet space for me when life has been hard, but also such a place of joy as I have spent these 7 years exploring exactly who I want to be going forward in life. Going for a drive can be an escape. It can be therapeutic and even healing. I’ve had many a good cry, gotten frustrated with Siri for botching my voice-to-texts, and yelled at many a bad driver – if only they could hear what I’m saying!! Taking a drive by ourselves in the car can also just be downright fun. So much glorious daydreaming and the best music, cranked up loud.
I love all of the bougie features of my Santa Fe. I love my heated seats and steering wheel. I love my power everything, large and numerous cupholders, and I love the third row with the option to fold it down. Above all, I love my pano sunroof the most.
As days passed coming to terms with saying farewell to my beloved car, and I continued to feel sorrowful, I felt the need to write this in order to process all the feelings. I am reminded of the quote that goes “don’t cry because it’s over, be smile because it happened.”
What is the most used app on your device? Most people would more than likely respond their email, or some kind of social media. Mine is hands down the Notes App. Probably because I use it in so many ways. I’d love to share just some of the ways I use Notes and hope you find some new ways to use this albeit basic, but highly functional App.
Gratitude list. I like to write 5 things I’m grateful for each day. And I’d like to thank Oprah. I remember sitting on my couch in high school and hearing her suggest doing this on paper. I don’t always have pen and paper, but I always have my phone on me. I set a reminder to add to my gratitude list each night before I go to bed. Doing it right before bed helps ensure the last thoughts I have before drifting off are good ones.
Things to do at work. I don’t do well with just one overall to do list for the day. One of the best choices I ever made was to make my home and work to do lists separate. And when you make yours, use the clickable bullets function. It’s so satisfying to click each item and watch it drop to the bottom of the list as day goes on. Anything not done on any given day just gets bumped to the next day.
Positive quotes list. I keep two of these – one for daily quotes that I share with my students and one for me personally. This is one of my favorite and most frequently used notes!
Appointments. This is a list of appointments to make, and appointments I’ve already made, with dates for myself and my children. I only recently started this list but it’s so nice to see everything in one place, broken down by month and household member. Organized by month, I look at and update this list for each family member. It’s nice to see the month at a glance, and to be mindful of appointments coming up and those that need to be scheduled. Obviously these go on the calendar, but having them all listed in one location has also really helped me to make sure everyone gets their basic appointments scheduled on the regular.
Keeping me up list. FAVORITE. I started this note at the recommendation of my therapist and I use it almost nightly. This is one to use when you can’t go to sleep and can’t seem to shut your brain off. I am not sure why this works, but typing my concerns and the things that are keeping me up allows me to go right back to sleep. It’s like I’m releasing them onto the note and letting go of them. 100% recommend!
Books. This is a really long list for me! I see books all the time at the bookstore or have friends recommend books to me. I will not remember the title unless I write it down. I keep books my kids want to read on this list too, under their name as a separate category. It’s bulleted so I can click them as we read them. We are a public library family so I will always see if the book is at the library before I buy it. We have tried being Kindle readers but all love that tangible book experience. I need to turn pages!
Packing list. I keep several packing list notes. One for the beach, one for winter travel, and one for camping. After years of reinventing the wheel, I love having these master packing lists to build from. Huge time saver.
Supplements. This is an odd one, but I am huge on taking supplements. Everytime I run out of a supplement or someone recommends one to me, I enter it here. I believe that we can either care for and nourish our bodies now, or we will medicate them for ailments later. Prevent instead of treat!
Grocery list. This one is on-going, and focused on the perimeter of the store (that’s where the healthy foods are). One of my favorite parts of this list is a subcategory I added which is meal ideas. It really helps to think about meal ideas as a whole when you are shopping. I make it bulleted as well, but it doesn’t have to be.
Movies and Shows. This one stays at the top of my Notes, because friends, family members, coworkers and podcast hosts are always recommending shows and movies! I will not remember what they tell me if I don’t write it down! It’s so great to pull up this list when we feel like there is “nothing to watch.”
Things to Cancel. This list has saved our family more money than any decision I’ve made in the past year. I made this list of all of our subscriptions and expenses on paper, then highlighted the ones we could do without or cut back on. It ended up being a list of 11 different things to cancel including: Hulu, one of our cars paid off, lower phone bill (cut by almost $100 a month just by asking), Amazon Prime video, Amazon Freetime, Amazon Music, and I cut out a redundant life insurance policy. If we aren’t using it, it’s getting cut!
Birthday wishlists/Christmas wishlists. I keep these for my husband and each of my kids and they help so much with gathering ideas and making sure to get everyone exactly what their hearts desire. I start my list a couple of months before Christmas or their birthday month.
Bucket lists. These are some of my favorite lists to make! I keep one for summer, spring break, fall break and Christmas break. I keep a lifetime one as well. So fun to check off so make it bulleted.
Things I didn’t know I wanted. You may be familiar with the Instagram reels called “Things I didn’t know I needed off of Amazon.” I created my own personal list of things I didn’t know I wanted and it has been the most fun! It has become one of my favorite lists. When someone asks me for a gift idea for my birthday, Christmas, teacher appreciate or any other gift giving holiday I will often pull something from this list!
Prayers. This is a special note where I put prayers I love to pray over our family, each specific child and family member, over our finances, our health and more. Some I have found and copy/pasted, and others I have just authentically written myself but want them on repeat.
Repairs. I have a list of household and car repairs or maintenance that need to be made. I make it bulleted and clickable, not only for when they are completed, but also to help rank order their importance. I can click and then unclick to bump minor repairs to the bottom of the list.
Passwords. This one is a bit controversial, and some may consider it risky, but I need quick and easy access to many passwords. Not only for myself, but for my children. I keep a list for their school accounts as well as their personal use.
Food and wine. This is a fun one. I keep a list of restaurants to try and wine recommendations. Once I find a food or wine I love, I bump it to the bottom (so make the list clickable) and put a star emoji beside it. It enjoy returning to restaurants and wines I love almost as much as trying new ones.
Triggers. You will find that most of my lists are positive, but this one strangely may be the most beneficial and here’s why. When you know our triggers and are aware of the things that stress you out, you can put things in place to limit those stressor. For example, being late, crowds and traffic are high on my list. I have put things in place to minimize each of them. I’m not late as often because I strive to arrive early. I avoid crowds by going to the store at less crowded times and I take back roads to avoid traffic.
Writing topics. This list is a must for any blogger or writer. Anytime a topic comes to mind, if I feel strongly about a subject, or feel I am an authority on a certain subject, I add it to this list. Even if you aren’t writer, you might consider keeping a journal and having a list of topics for your journal. Journaling is such a beneficial way to get your thoughts and feelings out and to release strong emotions. It can help you process and problem solve in a way that just pondering can’t.
I hope you have found some useful ideas within this list of lists! I would love to know your favorite, or if you have found any great uses for the Notes app that I didn’t mention.
If you would like to learn more Apple Notes tips, this PC Mag article taught me a trick or two.
At church this morning, our pastor talked to us about praying as a habit. I was really relating to everything he was saying, but I was equally relating each of his points to writing as a habit.
You see, writing is my favorite hobby in the world, and yet I have not opened my laptop to write all summer. Until today. During this morning’s sermon, I was asking myself why that was? If I’m a teacher who’s off for the summer, and I have tons more free time, then why haven’t I written at all, three weeks into my summer break?
The short answer was simple. It hasn’t been my habit. I have so many habits this summer that most people would find admirable. I wake up between 5 and 6am every morning and go for a sunrise walk. I have my coffee, I read, I listen to uplifting podcasts. Writing is not on that list. I get ready, make breakfast and usher my children out the door for various summer activities. Before I know it, it’s time for dinner and bedtime. Where did the day go?
Life is busy and people are heavily scheduled. But the answer to how to make writing a habit has a simple answer too. Just like my morning sunrise walks and podcasts, just like making breakfast and coffee, writing needs to be intentional and planned. I’m an essential oils educator, and a quote I like to use with people when they tell me they don’t have time to learn about oils, is a quote that applies to those of us who love to write but claim we don’t have time: “We find time for the things that matter to us.”
For most people, the best way to form a habit is to do that activity at the same time each day. For me, I’m feeling that the morning would be the wisest time for me. The time I’ve been reading and listening to podcasts, absorbing content, could be spent creating content. And I feel like this comes and goes in waves for me as a writer. I would love to hear from those of you reading this blog post who write: Do you find that you have seasons where it’s important for you to take a break from creating content and to absorb and take in the creativity of others’ content?
I could be hard on myself for this long hiatus, but I do feel it’s served me. I get so many ideas and feel so inspired from the seasons where I am just a consumer of content. Though quite a bit of time has passed since I’ve written a blog post, on my phone, I keep a note on my Notes app titled “Blog Post Topics.” I add to it every day! Almost every book and blog post I read, almost every sermon or podcast I listen to inspires me and ignites my own creativity so that now as a strive to get back on the writing horse, I have this exciting list of ideas to fuel my passion.
They say it takes 30 days to form a habit, so then dear reader, I plan on carving time out for myself these next 30 days, and I will follow up at the end of that 30 days and report back to let you know how it’s going.
I hope this has inspired someone else who loves to write but for whatever reason has not been. If you have any words of wisdom for me and others who may stumble open this blog post, I would love any and all ideas for how to make writing a habit and show up for this extraordinarily soul feeding hobby.
If you’re a mama, near Bowling Green, and find yourself with alone time, keep reading!
My oldest daughter is doing a gifted program at the local university each Saturday of the month so I find myself pleasantly and strangely in Bowling Green without children and time to explore.
Whenever I have the opportunity to explore a different city, there are several common things I am always interested to find: a nice park or outdoor area to walk and be in nature, a local coffee shop, and an experience unique to the area.
I read about several local parks in Bowling Green the week leading up to our first visit and the RiverWalk stood out to me, mainly because I have always been charmed by bridges and being near the water. Granted it is winter and no leaves on the trees, but I could imagine this would be a most beautiful place to walk in spring and fall.
I was surprised and mesmerized by the powerful churning of the river water as I stood on the bridge. I must have stood there for a good ten minutes, just thinking no thought and listening to the sound of the water, watching the white foamy water rapidly move downstream.
On my walk I also was able to see one of the longest trains I had ever seen in my life pass by. We have trains near our town, but the length of this one was so impressive to me, and it blew it’s horn the entire time.
I also chose the park hoping to find solitude early on a Saturday morning, and that’s exactly what I found. I only encountered one other person jogging, but felt the rest of my walk that I had the park all to myself.
After my walk I was eager to make way to my next stop, a Himalayan salt cave. Visiting a salt cave was interestingly enough a new bucket list item for me, and I had just learned about them a few months ago. The concept of the cave intrigued me: skin benefits, release of toxins and negative energy, and support for the respiratory system.
When I arrived I told the lady I had a Groupon. (Look into this – it saved me $16.) She informed me that there was a private session going on and to come back the next hour which I did.
I asked for her help with my search for the best coffee in the area and she mentioned a Starbucks across the street or a local shop. I was quick to let her know I wanted the local shop! She directed me to Q Coffee Emporium which was only three minutes from the salt cave. If you would like to know more about my salt cave experience I shared all about it here in a separate post.
I was delighted as soon as I pulled into Q Coffee Emporium. It had garage doors that looked as if it would be open air in the warmer months, and the entrance and parking was in the back. When I asked about what they were known for, the barista told me they get their coffee from Nashville, and it’s the same coffee they have at Frothy Monkey. Well, I adore Frothy Monkey. So Nashville Frothy Monkey friends, take note. I had a cafe latte and toasted bagel with cream cheese and butter. Both were delish.
If you’re looking for an enticing atmosphere, Q Coffee Emporium delivers. It’s oozing with charm. There is a cozy area indoors with couches, books, games and natural light. There’s an area that makes an excellent workspace with tables and outlets for charging. There’s an outdoor area with firepit and blankets. This was my personal favorite. There’s also a more traditional looking area that is better suited for dining.
I also appreciated the bathroom doors labeled “Humans” instead of the traditional “Men” and “Women.”
I spent the better part of an hour here, and left feeling like I had three different experiences: I ate, sipped coffee, wrote for a bit, and cozied up by the fire. I left there thinking, “If I lived here, I would be a regular.”
Essentially Better Living 