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Teacher Feature: Bonnie Kathryn Teaching

Posted on July 17, 2019July 13, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

Bonnie is a fellow Christ follower and she is an awesome educator. She teaches elementary, but I was drawn to her because she creates Bible studies for teachers. She also has a group called TEACHERS IN THE WORD.

She has an awesome website where she blogs and tells more about her daily life. She also shares new products and Bible studies. Click the photo below to visit her site:

If you are interested in growing in God’s word as a teacher I definitely recommend her bible studies. They can be found in her tpt store.

I hope that you will take a moment to look at some of her products and see everything she has available. I have joined her facebook group – teachers in the word and I hope you will join me too!

“Iron Sharpens Iron, and so one man sharpens another” ~ Proverbs 27:17

Teacher Self Care – Bible Journaling

Posted on July 15, 2019July 13, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

I am a teacher, but way above that, I am a Christian. Self-care has been a huge buzz word as of late and I do agree that we need to take time to ourselves. It is like the oxygen mask on the airplane – you have to put yours on before helping others. We cannot continue to teach if we are constantly used up by our students. That is what leads to burn out.

The thing that aids me and sustains me as a teacher is my relationship with Christ. When I feel like I cannot go on I can pray and he is there to give me exactly what I need. If you are not a Christian, then this may be strange sounding to you. You may also question how I could possibly teach science as a Christian – but that is a tale for another time.

Recently, one practice that has helped me is to take time to Bible Journal. If you look up bible journaling you will get many different ideas about what it means. Some people paint all over their Bible and create wonderful works of art. For me, it simply means to write – annotate – & to reflect on God’s word.

Above you can see what a typical page in my Bible – you can see that I circle keywords, underline details and add annotations about what things mean. I also have coloring pages in the margins of my Bible that I add color to and I also add tip-ins with further notes. This has greatly helped me to learn more about God’s word and what it means for me!

If you would like to look at some of the methods I have used you can visit my board on Pinterest! I add to it at different times.

I hope that this has helped you to see how I study God’s word. It truly does give me peace and helps to anchor me when I am feeling overwhelmed in the day to day aspects of teaching. Until next time…

Teacher on Break!

Posted on July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

When I was a new teacher I would spend the entire summer – every free moment working on stuff for the next year. It was only when I had my daughter that I realized the importance of taking time for myself and my family. So, this summer I have spent relaxing, traveling, snuggling with my precious girl and every once in a while thinking about school…

That is truly what summer is for – to get refreshed and ready for the upcoming school year. I hope you haven’t missed my posts too much as I have taken time for myself. In the coming weeks, I plan to share some of my ideas for back to school and the upcoming school year.

For now let me share some of the pictures from my summer adventures with you 😀

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I truly hope you are having a great summer! What have you been doing to refresh yourself this summer?

Teacher Feature: The Simply Organized Teacher

Posted on May 23, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

One of my favorite things to do, if/when I get a moment alone in the car, is to listen to podcasts. A few months ago I found this awesome podcast called THE SIMPLY TEACH PODCAST. This podcast is done by Kelly who used to be a teacher in the classroom and she interviews amazing educators and shares organizational tips.

I wanted to add her to my teacher feature this month because she has some great ideas about packing up and cleaning out at the end of the year. She also has some amazing resources for rejuvenating over the summer and starting off the year right. Click the photo below for a link to the show notes from episode #43 –

If you want some one on one help in your classroom she offers coaching sessions along with other resources in her shop.

So, if you want something neat and teacher-y to listen to, go to iTunes or google podcasts and search for simply teach!

End of the Year Graffiti Wall

Posted on May 20, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

I had this idea to make huge posters for each of my classes and then have them decorate/design them using concepts we learned in science. The idea included using old magazines and markers to add to the posters.

Unfortunately, I was not able to make this a reality this year, but I wanted to share with any of you who may want to use it.

If your school has a poster maker you can use this to make a large poster for each class or even one for each student to reflect on the year.

Field Day 2019

Posted on May 17, 2019May 24, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

Can I just say that I love field day at my school! It is exhausting and I am super tired when I get home – but we have a ton of fun.

We have houses at my school and we team up for field day with a partner house. So, all day field day we are on either the red or the blue team. Then we travel to stations together and compete in water events, volleyball, track and field, soccer and kickball. At the end of the day, the points are tallied up and we competed in relay races to determine the winner of field day!

This year was even better because my team – Moedige/Shauku WON!! 🙂 What are your field day traditions?

It’s Gonna be May! (a little late)

Posted on May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by chopstickstomasonjars

After a bought of sickness, I am back in my classroom. And I cannot believe that it is already MAY. I survived testing and jury duty and now there are only 17.5 days left including weekends!

I only have a few weeks left to share with my sixth graders. May is always a bit bittersweet for me. My students are moving on and I will have a brand new set of students next year! At this time of the year I try to finish strong, but I cannot help to look forward to things I want to do next year.

Lucky for me and the other teachers in the United States that around this time we have Teacher Appreciation Week! Tomorrow TpT will have its annual sale and I cannot wait to stock up on some goodies for next year!

Some of the Items on My Wishlist:

I already use the doodle notes from this teacher-author about the seasons. I think this would be great to use at the beginning of the year because it hits some key ideas that are a pinnacle of our learning throughout the year.

I purchased these a couple of years ago. I love using them to update my syllabus. If you don’t have a great template check these out!

One of my weaker lessons is talking about Gravity and Inertia. I would like to look at this set and see if it would add to what I already use.

My classroom has a cactus & succulent theme. I love these posters for my classroom. I am looking for some easy ways to spruce up the room without re-doing everything (which is what I have done every year I have taught!).

What kinds of stuff will you be shopping for?