It's here...Popular Purple!!

There is something about stationary supplies that makes my heart flutter and this is no exception! Classroom Friendly Supplies graciously sent me their newest sharpener in their newest color...Popular Purple!

Definitely go visit Classroom Friendly Supplies to see this new color and the other colors they have in stock. You won't be disappointed!

Fun, Fun, Fun Summertime Blog Hop

I'm so excited to be linking up! Getting students to beat the summer slide is certainly a challenge!
After thinking about my students and the lessons I taught, I was so excited to create this pack on Johnny Appleseed!

You can get this pack by clicking {HERE} It'll be discounted for the duration of the blog hop :)

And because I'm happy that you're visiting for this hop, here's a freebie for you...

It's a book recommendation form. I use these throughout the year and I have the students fill them out when they finish a book. You can get it {HERE}

Thanks for stopping by! Click on the button below or click the the link to head over to the next stop...Sasha's Creations

Plan With Me Sunday

I’m so excited to share my planner with you! I have to admit that my planner usually stays blank until the summer—it’s when I can really sit and think about my goals, products, and posts. The school year is overwhelmingly busy and with 3 monkeys in tow, life is anything but slow! Please tell me I'm not the only one!?!

 

The way I use my planner is less like a daily keep track and plan {occasionally I do use it to keep track of appointments and events on the calendar section} and more like a fancy notebook!

I don’t really pay attention to the day or the date—I jot what I’m thinking. In this case, I’m planning a tech series since I used a lot of technology in my classroom to differentiate my groups. I wrote my probing questions, decided to include a template, and listed my materials for my post.

I set my own due dates and if I miss them, I’m not really too hard on myself. I set a new one—no biggie!

In the products department, I’ve really lost my mojo. The curriculums that I’ve taught for the last two years were heavily scripted and dense that I have a hard time creating new products. I either don’t have the time to make them or I have no ambition to do so because of the other things I have to do. So I’m taking the summer to revisit some of my favorite products in the hopes of regaining my motivation…I’m hoping the baby steps work and new inspiration hits me!  

 How do you plan for your posts and products? Do you mix it with your daily to do lists or keep them separate? 

Don't forget to enter these awesome giveaways to help you get your planning started!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

<!-- end InLinkz script —>

A new venture...Making Liquid Soap

Wow! It has seriously been a long since I last blogged...too much teaching and everything in between and not enough life...lol!

Well...teaching is slowing down for a bit...the state tests are next week! I always love how the state makes us administer these tests just off Spring Break! I don't understand the logic...if there is any!?

One of my goals for this vacation week is to start blogging again {check} and another goal leads me to the title of this post...making liquid soap! {check} Two birds with one stone :)

Soooo the making of liquid soap...
   I decided to try this out for two reasons...{1} the twins use A LOT of soap when they wash their hands and the majority of it ends up all over the sink and on the faucets--boy do they make a mess! {2} constantly buying liquid hand soap for the bathroom is expensive (especially when said twins like to lather...EVERYTHING!)

The whole process is fairly simple...         

Here's what you need...
*2 cups of filtered water
*a large pot
*2 bars of soap {shredded}
*3-4 tsp glycerin
*15-20 tea tree oil
*4-5 cups water
*an immersion blender
*whisk

The process...
1. Bring the 2 cups of filtered water to a boil over medium heat. Once you see little bubbles throughout all the water, add in all the shaved soap pieces.
2. Lower the heat and whisk the soap pieces. You want to try to dissolve the pieces in the water, but don't whisk too vigorously--that creates bubbles. You are going to be whisking for some time--until the mixture becomes like paste. Once that happens--turn off the heat.
3. Keep the soap paste in the pot and add the glycerin. Whisk it in.
4. Add the tea tree oil drops and whisk that in as well. The consistency of the mixture seems perfect at this point (other than the soap chunks!), but it's not. {This was where I thought I was done! I walked away from the pot to find some empty soap containers to rinse and get ready to fill. When I went back to the mixture in the pot, it was as thick as thick could be!)
5. Add 4-5 cups of water to the mixture a 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk in between until you get the consistency you want--not too thick, not too thin :)
6. Take your immersion blender and blend the mixture in the pot to get rid of those pesky chunks. It should be cooled enough at this point to then add to your bottles. The remaining mixture can be added to glass containers for use at a later time :)

You can also experiment with adding other essential oils to the mixture. I didn't because the soap I used was already scented.

Has anyone else ever tried this? I'd love to hear what you think :)