Teacher Planner Reviews and Thoughts

My fourth year teaching is coming to an end. Each year I search to figure out what planner will work best for me and be acceptable if anyone else needed to ever look at my lesson plans.

My Favorite!!

Year One
I tried a traditional plan book, worked well the first few weeks but it just was not flexible enough for me, so I tried an online format but forgot to save previous lessons so it was hard to go back to previous weeks or lessons.

Year Two
I did not teach an entire day, so I created my own format to fit my needs. I had searched through Pinterest and other sites and found what I thought would work best for me. My coworker liked it, so I adapted it to her needs, which she used for at least 2 years. I liked it but it was time consuming to create, print, and organize into a binder.

Year Three
The school year started but I was without a job during the summer so when I did get a job during the second week of school, I scrambled to pull together my teacher planner. I could not adapt my binder from the previous year in a timely manner because I was an interventionist and did not need a traditional binder. So I searched through TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) and found an entire binder already put together with editable elements. This was easier and more timely to get me going.
I really liked the planner but it just was not exactly perfect and cumbersome the way I was using it.
The product was great but just not exactly right for me.

My 3 in binder...full of everything!

Year Four
Throughout the summer, I kept seeing Erin Condren planners on Pinterest. I watched a few youtube videos and decided to look into it. After finding what I liked and adding a few extra features, I created a $70 teacher planner. My husband thought I was crazy but thought I should treat myself. I found a link at the bottom of a youtube review video that saved me $10. (I am sucker for a coupon!)
The link is like this one:
https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/amylaney0504-0907
I am sold and super excited to continue using the Erin Condren Teacher Planner
*important savings note if you read this before May 31st
Erin Condren loves TEACHERS and there is a 25% discount on Teacher Materials.
Follow this link:
https://www.erincondren.com/teachers (code TEACHER25)

ERIN CONDREN TEACHER PLANNER REVIEW
First of all the delivery box is very cute. Every little detail is thought of to make the cost worth it!!

 The planner is well organized by section-

Folder pocket and a ziplock pocket with a bonus of stickers and labels

This is how I used it.

I started the year with color coding my pens to the calendar pages...that didn't last long.

I used washi tape throughout the planner to mark and divide things within the planner.

Double pages after each calendar month were great for meetings.

More washi tape to divide times that did not need an entire black. My favorite addend was the labels for the class section. My school has one early release day and that schedule is different than the other days, so I used Avery labels for the subject and class time. That saved a lot of time!

I added extra checklists but I did not use as many as I thought I would. It comes with 7 but you can choose to do 14 or 21 total pages. 21 was more than I needed but found ways to use them. 

Lastly, the planner comes with one one page protector, but I added two more. I should've just ordered it with one. I only used one page that had testing deadlines and never used the other two pages.

Even though I have designed my own lesson plan pages and downloaded other custom planning, the Erin Condren Teacher Planner is my day to day teaching assissant and goes to meetings and trainings, and keeps me on track. I will use the other binder for data organization.
Super excited to get started organizing my planner for next year but I will be waiting until closer to August!! So until then, I am excited for my newest addtion for the Deluxe Notebook with a Calendar from Erin Condren. It is my transition into a Life Planner but those are unavailable until the fall.
https://www.erincondren.com/deluxe-notebooks

Home for Christmas

When I asked my mom what she wanted for her 70th birthday, her response was to have all 3 kids home for the holidays. Even though there has been numerous trips home, it had been since 1998 since we were all there at the same time, for the holidays.

We figured that since we were driving, that we visit as many parts of our family as we could. So in 13 days, we covered 7 states (x2 due the round trip), 3 homes, 3 hotels, 18 hours of driving one way, then 5 hours another day, 4 1/2 hours another day, then 15 hours back home, all to see 1 set of siblings, both sides of parent(s), and 1 set of aunt and uncle with a bonus of 2 cousins and 4 second cousins. Totally worth it!

So we loaded the car and headed to Kentucky.

   

We started in Bowling Green to visit my family and spend Christmas with them. It was a week full of family meals, games, and relexing. 

Game Night

I was even able to squeeze in a brunch date with my best friend from high school!

Christmas Eve with the whole family.

     

Reminiscing where our wedding photos were taken.

All 3 siblings.

The family.

 

Family Dinner

Christmas morning casseroles...

                                 

Recipes

Hashbrown Casserole-

1 bag frozen hash browns

1 stick melted butter

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 bunch green onions

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix it all up. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.

Breakfast Casserole-Pinterest Find

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/baked-breakfast-casserole.html

We were ending our Kentucky part of the trip and getting ready to head to Ohio.

At the hotel, Sam likes to make himself at home.

Jeff and his mom.

Sam met the dog uncles and loved Max!

Off to our last stop in Illinois, for the extended holiday

Met Jeff's cousin's new puppy. Sam was not interested.

The boys schooled Jeff on Madden. He got beat twice by the six year old.

Game night with the kiddos and uncle Bill and aunt Cathy.

After one more hotel in middle Kansas, we finally made it home!

Pumpkin Beer Update 2014

Fall is slowly winding down but the weather has been perfect for my pumpkin beer obsession.

As the season changes, the leaves are now on the ground or already raked up and the limbs are bare but fall is still my favorite season.

Thanksgiving is around the corner and the pumpkin beers are disappearing but I wanted to share just a few more that I found this season to add to last year's post.

Last year, I decided I wanted to try the various versions that breweries had developed. (My friends must have realized this because one day I came home and found a gift on my front porch...thank you Beer Fairy!)

This year, I decided to continue to try as many new pumpkin brews that I could find from traditional to ciders to the specialty bombers. Eventually, I figured that I need to develop a favorite one for the years to come, and decided I needed to make notes...so I am sharing my personal opinion to what I have tried. I have planned to break down the reviews in categories of 6 packs, bombers under $12, and bombers over $12. 

If you have a favorite that I did not cover, leave me a comment. I am always open to try a new one out there.

My ultimate favorite is still- (stocking up on this one!)

Shipyard Brewery - Pumpkinhead

Some favorites from last year

A couple of new ones from this year...

THESE ARE NEW BEERS OR BETTER DESCRIPTION FOR THE ONES FROM LAST YEAR...

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale-$9 a 6 pack

I only know Shipyard because of this beer. It is a nice balanced, refreshing beer. The spice is there and the pumpkin is evident without being too much. MY FAVORITE

Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin-

An intense version of Shipyard's flagship beer, Smashed Pumpkin is a bit on the high ABV side than Pumpkinhead, at 9 %. I only had one of these and never went back for it. I remember it having a little more pumpkin pie element to it.

Cambridge Brewing Company Great Pumpkin Ale-$10 for a bomber

The spices are subtle and the finish of the beer is dry. 

Southern Tier Pumpking-(Imperial Ale)

By far my favorite beer that I have found but the problem is that I can't find anywhere. This beer is the definition of pumpkin pie. It even has an almost creamy finish, like the butter of the crust is coming through.

Southern Tier Warlock-(Imperial Stout)

The darker counterpart to Pumpking. Lots of similarities and obvious differences. One thing that I feel that makes the most sense is drink Pumpking in October and Warlock in November as the weather changes.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale-

Easy drinking but full bodied pumpkin flavor, not to spicey

Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale & Shocktop Pumpkin Wheat-

Easy drinking but not ones I go back for on a regular basis.

Harpoon UFO Pumpkin: Light on the aroma and spice, Harpoon combines pumpkin with the drinkability of a wheat beer. It works well, if that's what you're in the mood for. You could drink more than one of these and not feel like you downed a whole pumpkin pie. Not the best beer we tasted, but far from the worst.

New Belgium Pumpkick-(2014)

Last year, not a fan. It was light and the cranberry/pumpkin flavors did not seem to meld well. This year, it seems like a much different beer. Stronger pumpkin flavor with a bit of sour but not too cranberry tart. Really like this one, this year!

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale-

Least favorite, honestly cannot remember much about this beer.

Samuel Adams Fat Jack-$8 a bomber

Surprisingly tasty compared to their 6 pack beers.

Uinta Punk'n Harvest Pumpkin Ale-

First pumpkin beer I ever tried, so I have to get at least one 6 pack a season. Definitely a real pumpkin taste. Spicy but mellow. 

Obviously, I cannot try them all but follow this link to Beer Advocate to see what others say my choices as well as others.

Beer Advocate Pumpkin Beers

New one I just found this weekend-

Cambridge Brewing Company-

Overall a well balanced pumpkin beer. Cloudy, amber color. Made with sweet pumpkins which is a prominent flavor in this beer. Not to spicy but definitely pumpkin!

Happy One Year Blog Anniversary

It has been one year since my first blog!

Happy Anniversary To Me!

The experience has been fun to share but I wish I had more time to focus on it...

I have some new ideas coming soon to share my classroom setup and other teachery ideas, as well as non teachery topics!

Camping Comforts

As summer comes to an end, (aka school starts), I think about my favorite thing to do during the summer months-CAMPING! Through the years, we have backpacked and car camped. While car camping, we have definitely found certain things that make sleeping, hanging, and eating outside more comfortable for us, as well as our 4 legged family member.

Having a dog bed has been good for Sam but also keeps less dirt out of the tent. As well as having portable chairs are a must!

Bringing yard games keeps us entertained after hiking or whatever.

Pancakes! Easily done.

The hubby prefers the French press style coffee but I discovered this fabulous product this summer. The are other brands but having an iced latte in the morning is great!

Road trip grill us the best. It is compact and versatile with the griddle and grill.

I am hoping for at least a couple more camping outings before the cool weather rolls in.

If you have camping comforts that make your camping better, please share!