The Busy Classroom!

 I enjoy decorating my room with tons of art work, classwork, and enrichment bulletin boards.
We made the EARTH out of balloons, paper, flour and water. Then we painted them. I had a parent help.

      Paper chains help for keeping track of our hundred days.
I also use paper plate crafts. The one you see above, is the SUN!!

      Students collect fake money for good behavior, good deeds, great papers, listening, and through many other ways. Then they can go to the class store and "buy" something. This helps 1st graders with using coins and money. Parents donated what students buy. They get excited to buy something before recess every day!

Bulletin boards can focus on the best papers of math, spelling or writing works. I change them out to the most recent work weekly. At the bottom of the board are tissue flowers.

 We take a field trip to the tide pools. Students made crabs out of paper plates, star fish with cheerios on them and put them on our board that had sand glued on it.  They had a blast making this board. I have shells on the book shelf, they can hear the ocean with the conch shell . After our field trip we put pictures of the students with their parent or guardian who came with them!

 We studied homes of people and animals then each student made their own home. We put them on the white board and drew a street in front of the houses.

This Board had measurements on it. Above, watercolor paintings.


Yes...this room is VERY busy, I cover every inch.
School starts early this year, August 14.
Hope you have a restful summer and enjoy each day as a gift !
I count my blessings and am thankful for so much.

DAY #5 Healthy Living- Blogging 5 Days/ 5 Ways : Household cleaners

                             

DAY #5

Healthy Living without toxic

Household cleaners

 The toxic effects of breathing bleach and formaldehyde from the cleaning products lingering in the air can cause allergies and upper respiratory problems. We need to eliminate toxins in our home environments that can make you sick.

                                                                

DIY Cleaning products

You can make our own cleaning supplies by just using a few              

simple ingredients. You may already have some of these in your cupboard or pantry like- 

                                       Lemons- they have acid in them and can fight bacteria,good for brass and copper, a natural bleach

Baking Soda

White Vinegar

Borax

                                        Essential Oils (from health food stores)

Castle Soap

Spray Bottle

Using these are healthy for you , not to mention less

expensive than buying costly cleaning products.

Homemade solutions

    Window: A bit Vinegar on a towel,wipe clean.

               Toilets: Put into the toilet,baking soda, vinegar and a drop peppermint essential oils. Let sit for awhile,brush and flush.

Kitchen counters: Castle soap,essential oils. 

1 part castle soap/ 6 parts water/a drop of oils 

            Air Freshener: Put lemon juice and baking soda in a small dish, set it out.           

       Floors: Vinegar,water, essential oils, mix together

            Carpets: HOT water with baking soda. I rented a Carpet cleaner from Home Depot for $20 for 4 hours. 

I was amazed how clean my carpets are. 

 Here are two sites that give more cleaning recipes.

http://www.theherbsplace.com/Essential_Oil_Recipes_For_Cleaning_And_Deodorizing_sp_177.html

 http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm

                         

                                                Natural Cleaners

If you don't have the time to make your own you can buy some natural products from the store.

Castle Soap

     Seventh Generation

Method

J.R. Watkins

Melaleuca

     Dr. Bronners Magic Soap

Green Forest

                Comet (if you must get one cleaner)

You can buy these at a health food store,Target, Wal Mart,

Home Depot, Markets and some Pharmacy stores.

Thanks for coming by...I learned SO much from researching information for you, I hope you did too!

Healthy Living- Blogging 5 Days- 5 Ways Day #4 : Cosmetics

The lurking Dangers.  Day #4


Yes, believe it or not...the cosmetics,hair spray,sunscreens, lotions,shampoos,creams,lipsticks,blush,nail polish,
shadows,mascara.........all have toxic chemicals. 
They have paraben, pesticides,DTT,petrochemicals,sodium laureth / lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, polyethylen glycol, PEGS,PGS,Formaldehyde,synthetic dyes, artificial fragrances, and many more that I can barely pronounce!
All of these toxins go into our bodies. Some research suggests that all of the chemicals we put on our bodies lead to cancer and other ailments.


I am trying to get away from this toxic cosmetics. I am half way there. I started slow, choosing less toxic cosmetics.
 The scale goes like this:
                                      Conventional Cosmetics
                                      Naturally inspired
                                      Semi-Natural
                                      Pure Natural
                                      Organic (certified)


I have a list of some cosmetic companies that range from the organic to the Naturally inspired. 


Burt's Bees-Target-$$
Alba Botanica-Organic$$
Ava Anderson-organic- on line $$$
Ecco Bella- organic - Whole Foods $$$
Origins-organic- Macy's $$$
Jason - Organic- Whole Foods $$
Lush- stand alone stores $$$
Bare Minerals- stand alone stores , Macy's $$$
Zosimos Botanicals-organic,Vegan, on line $$
100 Percent Pure-Beauty Collection(LA) $$
Josie Maran-Organic, Sephora $$$
Koh Gen D- Sephora $$$
Physicians Formula- Local Pharmacy,not premium,$
Jane Iredale-Bloomingdales $$$$
Rejuva Minerals - $$$
Dr.Bronner-Organic- $$$$
L'Occitane-Some products $$$$
Jurlique-Some department store $$$$(love this)
Mac- Some products natural- Nordstrom


Many are cruelty free and vegan. There are many more companies. So glad the cosmetic industry is moving in this direction! 

Take a look at Days 1-5. I learned SO much about Healthy Living. NOW I want to try to put them into practice! Good luck !

Healthy Living- Blogging 5 Days - 5 Ways Day #3: Vitamins

                             

                                    

                            DAY #3
             Vitamins and Supplements!


You can get a lot of you vitamins by just eating healthy foods. Even if we do eat all the right foods we would still need a good Multi-vitamin.  We may also need to take extra supplements for our other health concerns. I am not a Doctor and these are only suggestions. 
I take:
Muli with tons of good stuff!
Vit C-great antioxidant, more when I feel a cold coming,citrus
Calcium/Magnesium/Zine- minerals(mag is good for regularity) all in one tablet
Potassium- eat bananas for that too
Ginkgo Biloba-for my memory,fish oil good too
Flax Seed Oil-Omaga 3 ,you can use fish oil too
Glucosamine/Chondroitin complex-for joints
Vitimin D3-more in the winter when there is little sun
Resveratrol-heart(found in red wine!)
Yin Chio or Echinacea when I feel a cold coming on.
Melatonin - to help me sleep. I only take a half and it works great!
Take with plenty of pure water!

Get plenty of sleep

Eating healthy,sleep,watching the stress levels, and a positive attitude all help with a healthy lifestyle.

Have an optimistic attitude.

Tips for an optimistic outlook(something I REALLY have to work on!)

Develop a genuine smile

Laugh

Pray

Gratitude

Compliment others

Treat difficulties as challenges

Decide to be happy

Pay it forward

Be Thankful

Hug someone!

Do something nice for someone else!

Thanks for coming by! Come back tomorrow for Healthy living Day #4

Healthy Living-Blogging 5 Days- 5 Ways DAY #2 :Exercise

                                                   

                 Make sure you                

                        EXERCISE!!                                                                                      

Walk, run, play sports, Yoga ,Pilates, weight training,

classes,go to the gym,bikes,treadmills, Stairmasters

swim, and do whatever it takes to MOVE!

Follow Jeanette she is AMAZING! She has You Tube classes too! Free!

Jeanette Jenkins 

@JeanetteJenkins           http://www.thehollywoodtrainer.com/

                               


                               


If we have a sedentary lifestyle it could lead to high  
blood pressure, heart problems,fatigue,weaker immune 
system,diabetes and many more health problems.




                         
         
                             Exercise with a partner!
                             
                             Drink plenty of Water!


                             Get strong!


                             Get aerobic!


                             30 minutes, 3 or more days a week!


                              Lose weight!
                             
                              Commitment!

                                              


                             

            
      


              Total Woman Gym and Day Spa

                                                 And many, many more local gyms!

Click here            http://youtu.be/l2N9o5qKJjM                                                                             Watch this fun video...What's in my gym bag from Check in the Mirror.

I hope this will encourage you to " just do it"!!
Good luck and never give up!

             

Healthy Living--Blogging in 5 Days-5 Ways: Food we eat

DAY #1
The foods we eat every day!
            Try fresh  ORGANIC  clean foods.

I know organic can be expensive. I have found ways around that. I have my own organic garden(take a look back at my blog about it). I shop at Trader Joe's for most of my organic foods and veggies, and what I don't get there, I get at Whole Foods. The crazy thing is that I sometimes go to the 99 Cents store and find organic veggies! 

My MOST,MOST, favorite place to get organic and non pesticide veggies................................

Some local farmers are organic but can't call themselves that for 7-8 years until they are certified. Their prices will be lower than the certified organic. 

I adore the culture of the Farmers Market shopper too. You will find interesting people shopping next to you!

 *Try to not eat as much "drive thru" foods.

* When you go to the regular grocery store, shop the perimeter of the store you will find less junk and chemically laden foods. 

*Eat grass fed meats and cage free eggs.

 I hope this encourages you to eat healthy, clean and fresh!