Meet... CLAIRE!!

Who is Claire, you might ask? Well, Claire just happens to be our class Guinea Pig!! She is a sweet, little, furry, baby girl who has made a new home in our classroom.

Last night I brought her home and got her cage all set up and snapped a couple more pictures before I took her to school. I made her a little hammock as well as a hidey-hole. After putting up the hammock, I'm not quite sure she is big enough to climb into it, but at least she has a place to hide out.

"I'm not so sure about this hammock thing... What do I do?"

"The ground is much better!"

The students FREAKED out this morning. They had no idea we were getting a class pet! It was a total surprise. I used this little furry friend to motivate them to do things today. We worked on being quiet so that we wouldn't scare her, and so that we could try to listen to her talk. They also wrote about her during their daily writing time. Here is one journal response I received...

And just in case you can't read 2nd grade writing, here is what it says:

We have a new pet. We feed her healthy food. We love our pet. We love Miss Mayes cause she was the one that got the pet. Thanks Miss Mayes. The pet is a Guinea Pig. We have to be quiet. We have to be gentle. We have to be nice. She is little. She is scared. She was born wrong just a little. She is still pretty. She is still pretty good. She is my favorite pet. 

And yes... Miss Claire was born a little wrong. She has a deformed front foot, but can do everything she needs to. She was a big hit and I'm sure I will have many stories to share as the year goes on.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Hey y'all! 

Thought I would pop in and give you a quick look at my last few weeks... 

Albuquerque with my mom and sister was fun and tiring! We didn't make it to the state fair, but tried on dresses and registered for wedding gifts. It is so much fun to "spend" other peoples' money. 

Then Friday night our school invited students and parents out to the High School football game. Bloomfield whooped the Taos Tigers and it was fun being back under the Friday night lights. Several of my students showed up and they were just so excited to see me. I guess the tough teacher act works... They do what I need them to (most of the time) but yet they can still find it in their little hearts to love me! In fact, one of my little boys (the naughtiest one) told me on Friday that he just loved my necklace and my shirt and that they were just sooooooo pretty! "I guess you're not so bad after all kid!!"

Sunday, I went to church and out to lunch with a new friend and it was great! We went out to Outack courtesy of a gift card. Shout out to Joelyn Pafford! You are awesome and we both appreciated it so very much. 

Now this week consists of crafting and school... I hope to have my Etsy shop up and going by the end of the month. I can't wait to show you what I have been working on! 

Stay tuned for a surprise guest...

And no... It's not a cat. This one was just so CUTE!

Weekend Getaway!!

WOW!! Time sure has flown by and I think we are finally setting into a routine. I now leave the school at a decent hour and even though I take some work home, it usually doesn't take me too long to finish. I am also ahead of the game and have my lesson plans complete for next week! If you are a teacher and have not looked into Planbook, I highly recommend it. It is a great tool for teachers and my lesson plans maybe take a half hour at the most!! I am so lucky because my plans don't have to be super detailed and the district pays for Planbook. However, it is only $12.00/year and is totally worth it!

Now, that my lesson plans are done, I can focus on crafty things and spending the weekend in ABQ with my mom and sister! I'm so excited to see them and spend the weekend planning/shopping for weddings and eating great food!

I can't wait to upload pictures of my completed projects that will go on sale. I hope you will enjoy them as much as me!! I'm also hoping we can squeeze a trip to the State Fair in. It has been so long since I've been to the fair.

Don't be too jealous!! I hope everyone has a fabulous Friday and an awesome weekend!!

Africa Bound 2015 (Hopefully)!!

I have an awesome opportunity to go on a mission trip to Kenya next summer to build houses for the locals there. I have always wanted to take a mission trip to Africa and I'm so very excited that this opportunity has come up. It is quite an expensive trip and we will be doing fundraisers through the church, but I know that I will need to earn some more money. So, I am going to sell the crafts that I make. I want to open an Etsy store and would love your help promoting it. This will help me earn money as well as give you an opportunity to reach out to the people in Africa. I figure this is a perfect time to open a store because Christmas is on it's way. I hope to have a variety of crafts for you to choose from. I hope that as I get this up and running that you will help spread the word. I appreciate you all so much!!

Some of the things you will find in my shop...
Scarves
Hair Bows
Aprons
Baby Blankets
Baby Clothes
Kitchen Accessories
Beanies

I can't wait to share pictures of my creations with you!!