I decided it was time to go back to school shopping...except I didn't want to spend a lot of money. Problems that I've run into in the past is trying to save too much money when it comes to clothes. You're probably wondering how could you ever save too much, right?!? Well, I would buy cheaper pants and shirts and the problem with those is that they would fall apart even before the school year was over! So I decided it was time to grow up and buy from better brand labels. Lucky for teachers, at least female teachers...Ann Taylor Loft wants to help you out! I found out that on their website if you go down to the very bottom of the home page, there is a link to 'Ann Taylor Loves Teachers'. When you sign up you immediately get a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase in stores and another coupon for 20% off online too. You'll always get 15% off your store purchases on full priced items. Just remember: if you plan on going into the store you'll need your school ID to prove you're a teacher. Pretty good deal! :)

If you're like me, then you love pocket charts! Only problem I was running into is finding a stand for them. I was shocked to see stands in teacher magazines and in teacher stores normally priced from $70 to $90 dollars! Well, my teacher salary doesn't really allow me to buy pricey things like that! So, I ended up stapling most of my charts to my wall. But because I'm a little picky about putting holes in my pocket charts to begin with (those charts are expensive too!) I was soooo happy to get this tid bit of information. Instead of buying those pricey chart stands from teacher stores...you can buy them at Target or Walmart for less than $20!!! What's the catch? There are none! You just need to find your way to the laundry organizer section and there they are...portable clothing racks that look and work perfectly for pocket charts! Just buy some extra notebook rings at any office supply store and you have the perfect and cheap pocket chart stand!

Summer break is winding down and I'm ready to get into my classroom and start planning. There's only one problem...our brand new school building isn't completed yet! It should be done next week so there is hope, lol! I'm just one of those types that needs to be in my room and getting everything ready to go. Not only do I have to get ready, I have to unpack everything from my other school and hope that everything makes it to the new building (I did an in district move).

I'm hoping to update this blog almost daily with the goings on in my teaching career and little finds that might be useful in your classroom too! Please bear with me as I get this blog up and running!