Mondays with Jack, 4th edition

Welcome to the fourth edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

Apple pie magnet from Bananamoo

“When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmmmmmmm, boy.” -Jack Handey

It's for the dogs

Today ends my first week back to school with the kids! It's been a long week, but a good one. My first graders are so cute! I taught fifth last year so their small little selves were a bit of a shock at first, but I love them.

Part of my job that I'm not really fond of is Lesson Planning. It's a necessary evil, I suppose: I'm a far worse teacher when I just try to wing it. What really annoys me is that on top of my own personal lesson plans, I also have to submit a separate lesson plan with this special format for the principal. These are a waste of time because the format doesn't lend itself well to... well, actually teaching.

I think this cute little magnet from Cafe Press says it all:

Crafting with kids

Do you have kids? I don't (maybe later!), but I do have a classroom full of kids and most of them love to craft! It's fun to craft with kids because they take such a joy in the PROCESS of creating -- not in the end product. I'm not sure when we start to obsess about the perfection of the object we're creating. I wish I could throw my perfectionism to the wind sometimes and just enjoy the journey more!

If you're looking for inspiration, One Pretty Thing is your best friend! Go to Categories, and search under "Crafts for Kids". You might find this page where there's a link for a fabulous tutorial for a Texture Book.

Texture Book tutorial from b kids

Laurie from Tip Junkie can always be counted on to bring you the best of the ideas from around the Internet. She has a great roundup for summer crafts here. This pom pom garland is my favorite!

Pom Pom garland tutorial from Views from my Window

What crafty sites do you enjoy with your kiddos?

Mondays with Jack, 3rd edition

Welcome to the third edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

Oil painting by Leslie Culpepper

"I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain, because later you might think you're having a good idea but it's just eggs hatching." - Jack Handey

Favorite quote

Today ends my first week back at work, filled with meetings, meetings, and... more meetings. On Monday, the kiddos arrive! So I thought it would be a perfect time to share my favorite quote with you. It also sums up quite nicely my personal philosophy of education. And Mr. Rogers said it! Do you remember Mr. Rogers? With the cardigans and King Friday? Good times....

So here it is:

"It's easy to convince people that children need to learn the alphabet and numbers. How do we help people to realize that what matters is how a person's inner life finally puts together the alphabet and numbers of his outer life?

What really matters is whether he uses the alphabet for the declaration of war or the description of a sunrise, and his numbers for the final count in Buchenwald or for the specifics of a new bridge"

Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)

Just beautiful! I should really frame it and put it on my desk at work -- for a little encouragement when I'm feeling too tired to be a good teacher...

I found some lovely prints on Etsy to go along with the theme of the quote:

Alphabet animals from Ink Tree Press

Ocean numbers from The Paper Tray

Now I know my ABCs from Sugar Fresh

Mister Numbers from Sugar Fresh

Fun with photos

Have you guys heard of Dumpr? It's this really fun site I heard about through Malia from Yesterday on Tuesday. I've been playing around with it, and I'm here to show off my creations ;).

I started with this picture of my sister and I eating ice cream at Disneyland this summer (I'm on the left):

Then I added in some special effects! Like paparazzi:

And photo to sketch:

And museum:

And something called Lomo:

And sketch artist:

Have fun playing around with your own pictures!

Mondays with Jack, second edition

Welcome to the second edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know how it all started, see here.

Daffodil buttons by Tessa Ann

"Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff." -Jack Handey

King of the grill

Meat lover's magnet set from Michelle and her Dog

Nothing says summer like grilling! We just got our new Weber grill in the mail yesterday, and it was like Christmas for my husband! We haven't owned a grill in about five years... It's nice to have one in our backyard again!

My husband Max made us some delicious shish kabobs with sausage, peppers, onions, and potatoes last night. He was thrilled with how well the grill worked, and I was thrilled at how yummy the food tasted! So it was win-win in our household yesterday.

These are the last few days before I head back to school on Monday so I am trying to squeeze out all of the summer fun I can!

What are you doing to soak up the last of summer?

Mondays with Jack, first edition

Let's face it: Mondays suck.

This is not something that I've thought of lately as I've been enjoying a leisurely summer break. But teachers report back to school this upcoming Monday in my little corner of the world, and Mondays are going to take on a whole new meaning very soon.

So in honor of the dreaded day, I'm going to start a weekly feature called "Mondays with Jack". Because we could all use a smile on a Monday!

Do you know Jack Handey? He's a comedian who writes hilarious one-liners. He used to write for SNL and has published books called "Deep Thoughts". Anyways, every Monday for the rest of time (or until I get bored with it), I'll be sharing a funny quote with you, paired with a related Etsy find.

So let the fun begin!

Alice's Sea of Tears from The Gorgonist

"It takes a big man to cry, but a bigger man to laugh at that man." -Jack Handey

Barn Love

I grew up in three places: California, France, and Germany. (It's a long story). Because I didn't spend much of my childhood in the U.S, I am ignorant in a lot of subjects--I'm getting better about it, though!

For example: I used to think big red barns only existed in fancy calendars. Imagine my surprise when I met my boyfriend's (now husband's) parents on their hobby farm in Michigan! There was a big beautiful red barn on their property! I was completely amazed! And enchanted!

We're spending some time with the in-laws now and I still love that they own a big red barn. Many Etsians are inspired by them too...

Red Barn Reflection photograph from Prevailing Winds Photo

Keep Calm and Love Cows from Keep Calm Shop

Country Barn Bulletin Board from Pegs Boards

Road trip!

So we're on the road for our last vacation of the summer. We're driving from Texas to Alabama, then from Alabama to Michigan so we can visit with the folks before the school year starts! That translates into a lot of time on the road. Many Etsy sellers out there have road-trip-inspired goodies out there:

I'd love to have this travel trailer keychain from B D Leather Designs. (One of my biggest fears is that we're going to get locked out of our own car!)

This print from 3 Lambs Graphics rings absolutely true for me! Does it for you?

I'd love to slow down and record all the fun and quirky things that can happen on a road trip.  Like when we asked for directions once in Alabama and the guy's accent was so thick I literally could not understand him! This road trip journal  from Red Star Ink would be perfect!

And, my personal favorite: this mug from Lenny Mud will echo my sentiments exaclty on the seventeen hour drive my husband insists on making in one full day!