'tis the season...

R and I bought a lovely fake tree on Friday (and, no, we didn't trample anyone in the process) - this is going to be our first Christmas together as husband and wife. I think it's so romantic. R feels the same way; he just doesn't talk about it as much as I do!














We started decorating the tree yesterday. It still has a ways to go - we need to collect more ornaments from our parents. :) Since we're starting from zero on Christmas decor, I decided to choose a color theme - orange (because it's R's favorite color), aqua (because it's my fave), and green (because it's neutral territory). Also, I decided to start collecting bird ornaments because I think our house looks like a bird house. The bows are from ribbons I had saved off our wedding gifts!

















These blue dishes are from the thrift store, the balls are from Michael's, and the birds are little clippy ones from World Market. The glittery garland is also from World Market. Sorry I sound so materialistic, but R and I did some major shopping on Black Friday. We were able to use up most of the gift cards we had received for our wedding. Although it was done unintentionally, it was a really good idea because we got such great deals on house stuff!














I love these bulls on our mantle. I got them from an antique fair this summer, and I think they're pretty humorous! I'm going to put some pine boughs up there with them soon.
















I filled all my blue dishes with Christmas balls and birds and put them all over the house. The mirror is off of a medicine cabinet I bought at an antique fair this summer for $3. The knob is from Anthropologie. We were going to hang the cabinet in our bathroom, but it didn't work. I like the mirror on its own anyway!














I found the little bird salt and pepper shakers at Target. I think they look sweet with the balls and the corn in a tray on our coffee table. The second pic is of another blue dish on our guest room dresser - I'm in love with that orange phone ($5 at the thrift store).

I'm sure you're all ready for me to go back to school tomorrow and start blogging about the Montessori world again! :)

busy hands

Last week was a short school week because of Thanksgiving, so I don't have very many pictures of busy hands. The highlight of the week was reading "Stone Soup" and then making our own veggie concoction. Yum!

Don't worry - no fingers were lost! Here's what was going on across the room:
(excluding all photos of children rolling on the ground in excitement-overload :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful...

to be married to my soul mate and my best friend

to be a native Montana girl

to live near where I grew up, so I'm able to have old friends and new friends

to live close to both my husband's family and my family

to be in good health

to have a job that inspires me to be a better person

to work with strong women whom I greatly admire

to live in a country where I can laugh and be creative

to be looking forward to Barack Obama's presidency

to see the mountains every single day because that's where I find my spirituality

Raspberry Chipotle Brie
This isn't the only thing we ate for Thanksgiving, but it was the only thing I made!

Ingredients:
brie cheese round
fillo dough
egg
raspberry chipotle sauce

Pour a little of the sauce on top of the brie (~1/2 cup).
Wrap the whole thing in several sheets of fillo dough.
Spread beaten egg on the top of the dough.
Bake on a cookie sheet @ 350 degrees for ~45 minutes.
Drizzle a little more sauce on top after it comes out of the oven.
Enjoy with crackers, bread, etc.

Thanks Christy for the yummy recipe!

ski day #5

What do Montessori teachers do for fun on their days off?

creative writing 101...

The inspiration for this lesson came from refrigerator magnet poetry.

I love that stuff!

This lesson is mostly for the older ones in my classroom - the beginning readers.

The "Bob Book" readers.

I wanted to give them extra practice with
capital letters at the beginning of sentences,
useful words like the, his, and my,
spaces between words,
and punctuation at the end of sentences.

This lesson also provides
a little writing practice
and an opportunity to read for meaning.

Pink words go first,
orange next,
then green,
and finally a black period at the end.
(There's no particular reason for these colors
other than that was the paper I had to choose from :)
It doesn't matter which words the child chooses
as long as they're in this order.

The words are laminated
and stuck to magnets.
I also made a color-coded line
for the children to use as a control

for their word order.

ski day #4

Reporting back from my fab weekend of skiing. These pictures are from day #4 on the ski day count - there was a #3, but I'll post those another day... I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat! :)

Mr. L proposed to me - in nearly this exact location - so many months ago.
5 to be exact...













Now, I'm Mrs. L...

pretty wild, huh?!

Mr. L doesn't usually look back to check on me...












because he knows I'm one tough cookie.

busy hands