Lorax Mustaches!

As you all know last week was Dr. Seuss’ Birthday! We decided as a school to celebrate for a whole week. It was so much fun! We had a whole spirit week thing and got everyone involved. 
Monday - Cat in the Hat Day: Wear your favorite hat to school! 
Tuesday- Fox in Socks Day: Wear your craziest socks to school! 
Wednesday- Wacky Wednesday: Wear your clothes mismatched and crazy! 
Thursday- Oh the Places You’ll Go Day: Dress like what you want to be when you grow up!
Friday- Lorax Day: Wear a mustache to school! 

This spirit week idea was such a fun idea and the kids just loved it. I decided on Thursday night to go look for mustaches because I didn’t have anything for Friday. I searched a little on Pinterest to find something related to the Lorax’s mustache. I found a template that I could print Lorax mustaches and then draw the mustache on some foam. When I was at Michael’s I got this great idea to make enough for my whole class so no one would feel left out! I found these adorable orange and white paper straws for super cheap and bought enough for my class. Then I found yellow foam sheets for the mustaches to match the Lorax. Finally I picked up some glue dots (Zots) to help them stick together. 

My kids totally loved them and they were like the coolest kids because they all had one! It was the greatest and so easy to make! The whole project was very inexpensive and really didn’t take too long. The longest part was cutting each one out. That wasn’t even that bad though. Below is my final product. You might notice that I put the straw on the side instead of in the middle. I liked it better on the side because then it didn’t block their faces when they held it up. Enjoy! Have fun making these! 

Stained Glass Art

Every Friday we try to do a craft of some sort since we do a lot of work during the week. This week I wanted to do something new that I had seen done in the past. Stained glass art! Hearts were perfect for this month of February and it wasn’t too hard to do it. Below you can see what the final product looks like! Cute right? 

When you are finished and they are all dry you hang them in the window as stained glass art. Picture for that will be coming Monday as they were still drying before I left. 

Okay so there are a few things you need for this. It may seem like a lot but it really isn’t. You need this materials listed below. You will need to first make an outline. I printed an outline of this heart below and then cut out the outside and the inside. Make sure you fold it in half. I then traced the half of a heart onto a file folder so I would have something more sturdy to trace on. When that is done I had a wonderful parent volunteer trace this folded heart onto folded black pieces of paper for the outline. The kids then cut the outline just as I cut the original. It has to be folded in half so then they can cut out the inside easier. :) 

The next few things you might need prepared, well at least prepared right before you do this with the students. You will need paintbrushes, liquid starch, and wax paper. The wax paper is great if you have it already cut out for the kids before you start. It goes under the outline. Then they use the paintbrushes to paint on the starch on outline/wax paper. In the middle you put tissue paper until the whole heart is filled. Make sure there are no wholes so when you peel the heart off the wax paper it doesn’t rip. Let dry then peel the heart off the wax paper slowly then done! It turns out beautiful and goes on the window or hang up in your room. 

It was so much fun and my kids loved it! Let me know if you try it or need to ask a question. :) 

First Year

"Welcome to the first year of teaching! Where you will be exhausted, working all hours of the day, night, and weekend and not having a life!”

Pretty much I feel like this is a quote that might have as well come attached to my contract. Seriously who knew the first year of teaching would be as much work as it is? At least I have a great team working with me to make things go much smoother but I seriously had no idea. This is something that should be apart of the teacher courses in college. While in college they should make us take classes on the REAL pieces of teaching. Like dealing with crazy kids and crazy parents and how much you really will be working! I knew teachers worked way more then paid for but I seriously had no idea how much I would be working. It can be so exhausting sometimes. Anyone else feel this way or have any suggestions on how to survive the rest of my first year of teaching? 

Temporary Contract

There are pros and cons to being on a temporary contract as a first year teacher. Some of the pros are things like I don’t have to worry about joining any committees or doing any observations until next year when my contract becomes more permanent. I feel like this makes my life so much easier because I don’t have to worry about these silly little things like all the other first year teachers do. This makes things a bit easier in my life.
Being as I am a California teacher I have to complete my CSETs in order to become a permanent teacher on a regular contract. I am right now studying my brains out to get my last dumb CSET test out of the way so that I can move on and have my school approve this as student teaching so I can continue teaching next year. This is such a pain in the butt. I can’t even begin to describe how hard this has been for me or how much of a challenge it has been for me. I hoping and praying I will pass this last test that I am taking on February 3rd! Let’s do this!!

Hoping and praying that I pass this test otherwise I am not sure what will happen with my contract next year. I know they want to keep me but come on! If you are a California teacher and you have advice please feel free to leave some for me! Thanks!

First Blog Post!

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!
I thought as part of the new year I would officially start my blog and get it all ready! I have no idea what I am doing but I am going to learn and have fun along the way. I am hoping to get the hang of it and just enjoy doing this. Well here is the part where I am going to tell you a little bit about myself.

My name is Mariah Mason. I am 23 years old and I live in Southern California. I live in a city that most people do not even know exist. I have a wonderful boyfriend named John, who I have been with for five and a half years. We have been together since I was 18 years old. He is the love of my life and he supports me in everything I do. I have the best family because we are as close as can be and always support each other. I am currently still living at home because I am in the process of saving for my first house! My boyfriend and I plan to buy our first house this year and it is going to be a very exciting year for us!

Last year in October of 2014 I got hired in a district near me and I got my first teaching job ever! It was very exciting because I was a substitute teacher before that. I enjoyed subbing but it is nothing like teaching. They hired me on a temporary contract and I have an emergency credential because I have not completed my last CSET subtest and my RICA. I am super close to actually being done and having my credential but not quite. This is the year I am going to pass my test and get my credential so that I can be hired on next year.

I am currently teaching Kindergarten and loving every minute of it! For anyone that knows me, they know that I have been wanting to be a Kindergarten teacher since I was in Kindergarten myself. It has always been a dream of mine and it completely blows me away that I am actually living my dream now! I love that I get to inspire myself and my students each and every day to become better people.

Finally here are some things that I love to do. I love to read! I am a huge reader. I haven’t been lately because of school and work and trying to pass all my tests but I am getting back into it. I love watching movies with my boyfriend and family and friends. I love to do anything that I can with the people in my life. I love to be involved with my family and friends. I love to hang out with my loving dog Missy. She is my baby and I love her to death! I also love to decorate and plan in my Erin Condren planner. That is my crafty place and a place for a little me time. I am also currently a Jamberry Nails Consultant. If you haven’t heard of Jamberry Nails they are amazing vinyl wraps that you apply to your nails with heat and they can stay on forever! Better then polish. If your interested let me know! 

Well folks that is me in a nutshell! I hope you stay tuned for more entries in my blog! Enjoy and have a wonderful and blessed new year!