planning

  • summer plans

    Summer Update!

    We’ve officially been following my summer plans for a month (you can read more about those here), so it felt like time for an update. This is the first summer that I’m home with my daughter everyday, and having structure and materials in place was really important to me. So far it’s been super helpful! We keep things really flexible, and won’t always get to everything on our list – but I think that’s the difference between summer and the school year. There has been one major snag, my girl broke her arm last week, so we’ve been modifying a lot. Of course it’s her right arm, so we’re currently…

  • preschool lessons and activities

    June Exclusive Activities!

    I just added the month of June to my Month of Preschool sets! I’m so excited to share this one with you because it has some brand new exclusive activities that can’t be found in my store on their own – they’re exclusive to this set. Organizing all of these resources is such a labor of love because I know that they would’ve made my life so much easier when I was in the classroom everyday. It’s invaluable to be able to focus all of your attention on the kids and what they need, and not on planning or prepping new preschool lessons and activities. Every Month of Preschool set…

  • embracing summer in the classroom

    Summer in the classroom

    There are so many different kinds of summer child care and preschool program situations – so it’s impossible to generalize one “right” way to do summer in the classroom. In my own personal experience, I’ve always worked for full-year, full-day childcare programs. our summers typically look exactly like the rest of the year, but summer always FEELS different. I like to embrace that and really do my best to incorporate the very best parts of summer into the classroom. For me, this has always included a little less structure and a lot more time outside. Now don’t get me wrong, we still do a ton of learning! It just feels…

  • Summer activities for a kindergartener

    Summer Plans!

    This summer is going to look very different for our family – it’ll be the first summer that my girl and I will be home together all summer long. The idea of giving her a fun summer while I’m still working stresses me out a bit, so I took some time to do the one thing that always puts my mind at ease, some serious planning! If someone asked me to choose ONE word to describe myself it would definitely be the word “planner.” I truly love to organize my thoughts, lay them out on paper and fill in any missing pieces. It helps me feel in control and gives…

  • spring themes

    Topics to Explore in Spring

    Spring offers so many relevant topics to explore, so I wanted to put together a list with some old favorites and some new ideas – we all need to shake things up every now and then. Doesn’t looking at this graphic just give you ALL the spring feels?! This also gave me a ton of new ideas, I’ve got some work to do! Here’s the full list of 30 different themes, the ones that I currently have resources available for are linked. 1. Rain 2. Gardening 3. Seeds 4. Flowers 5. St. Patricks day 6. Easter 7. Weather gear 8. Bugs 9. Wind 10. Plants 11. Water cycle 12. Recycling…

  • March Clipart and Planner Stickers

    We all need a hobby right?! I used to be a scrapbooker back in the day, but that got hard to keep up with – and who prints photos anymore? Now I use my planner as a pseudo-scrapbook, and I’m obsessed with planner stickers. Making this clipart each month is an extension of that for me and I love that I can share it with all of you. The set of March planner stickers that I’ve put together just might be my favorite yet! I use this with my Cricut to print and cut out the stickers that I want. This makes it really easy to get the sizes I…

  • one little word

    One Little Word for 2023

    The holidays have been a whirlwind this year – we started our break a little early after getting the flu, and once we recovered it was full steam ahead for the last week of the year. Right now I’m exhausted, but also ready to take a deep breath and embrace the opportunity for a fresh start that comes with the beginning of a new year. One of my favorite ways to set a focus for the year is to identify one little word to keep me grounded. My one little word for 2023 is BELIEVE. This year will be a big leap for me – the first year that I’m…

  • Preparing for Snow Days

        Now that my daughter is in elementary school snow days have a totally different meaning! Last week her school had 2 (TWO!) fog days in a row after an already scheduled two-hour delay day. I’m not complaining about the fog days, I fully support the school in keeping children safe, I am however realizing that I need to be a little more prepared in order to keep her busy, and myself sane, on these days! Fog days were easy, once the fog lifted we were able to go do things, like visit the library. Snow days in our area are a different beast – I don’t want to…

  • Something new and fun!

    If you’ve read any of my previous posts you probably have an idea of my love for organization – it’s not a secret! One way that I’ve really been leaning into this is through my planner. I’m a hardcore fan of an old-fashioned paper calendar, and mine have become beautiful scrapbooks over the years. To say that I’m obsessed with planner stickers is an understatement.  Over the last few months I’ve been designing my own clipart and using it to create planner stickers. Not only do I get to release some creative energy, but I get the satisfaction of having exactly the kind of stickers that I want to use…

  • Making the most of planning time

    Has it hit you yet? You know, the end-of-the-school-year-don’t-want-to-do-anything mood? Planning is always the hardest for me at the end of the year, my mind wanders, there are about a million things to do, and I really just want to spend the entire day outside.  This is the point in the year where I lean heavily on my planning systems to use my time as effectively as possible.  Here are some of the things that always help: Recipes for the Classroom – All kinds of dough, sand, bubble, and paint recipes! Seasonal Party Sign-ups and Reminders – to help get me through the final events of the year A Year…