a month has gone by? neglect? what?

wow!!...i have neglected my poor blog this past month...hopefully i can manage my time better after my much needed fabulous spring break....i made a (long) list of things that i need to do better on an everyday basis...i still consume myself into my classroom,children,lessons, etc...which is goooooood...BUT on the other hand, everything else in my life i tend to neglect....which is not so gooooood. i'll let you know how it goes...ha ha ha.


today is the end to such a wonderful week...i was able to visit family in bowling green, ky and one of my best friends from my childhood (we met in 2nd grade and still going strong!) in nashville, tn where she moved with her husband!....more stories/pictures to come to give you a glimpse into my trips, but i have to finish my esl writing grading test...whoops (an other example of me neglecting something).


i wanted to share my lastest diy project i did yesterday afternoon...i'm really excited about how they turned out!

i decorated clothes pins.

the finished product! ribbon, fabric 'flowers' (from hobby lobby),
vintage buttons from my mom's collection, and clothes pins!

now off to do my esl work stuff...ugh. how i wish i wasn't such a procrastinator. hopefully the dave matthews pandora station can help me through this.

andy warhol. inspiration.

"I'm just so busy ... not working, but busy playing, because work is play when it's something you like." -warhol

when i am looking for inspiration....i look for the perfect song, quote, magazine article, blog, or look over my favorite book that has highlighted sentences/paragraphs from beginning to end.

tonight i ran across alot of andy warhol quotes that inspired me....so obviously i'm going to share them with you....and hopefully they will inspire you to do something great this weekend....

"I would go absolutely anywhere I heard there was something creative happening."-warhol

"You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you." -warhol

 "It's not what you are that counts, it's what you think you are." -warhol

'sophie warhol'
hahahahaha
this is a cover of an art book i made. if you can't tell its
a glittered black frame on top.

"If you feel you have nothing to lose, then there's nothing to be afraid of." -warhol

"You have to do stuff that average people don't understand, because those are the only good things." -warhol

if my warhol findings didn't help excite you, i'm sorry...but it is time for this teacher to go to bed (watch law&order svu or criminal minds) after my longgggg 12 hour Thursday.

what do you do to find inspiration??? 

quotes and music go a long way. i promise.

"If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in

the life of a child—become a teacher." 

-obama (state of the union 2011)

after watching/listening and following the state of the union on...twitter (yes, i said twitter)...i felt a shock of inspiration, determination, and motivation go through me...(all the 'tions'...haha) so i wanted to share some suggestions, and a couple of my favorite quotes that always help me feel empowered or inspired when I feel like I have hit a brick wall...

i have to start with this quote....you ALWAYS have to stay true to yourself.

     "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-Albert Einstein

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."      Albert Einstein

after reading this HOPEFULLY you feel empowered and ready to make a difference... NOW you need to listen to your absolute favorite song with the speakers up loud....and I promise that tomorrow will be the best yet...(if it's not...I don't know how to help...sorry.)

here is a sneak peek to my "i need a pick me up" music playlist...(no judgement, no order)

- for what its worth-buffalo springfield

- everybody i love you- csn&y

- the best of what's around- dave matthews band (duh)

- everyday people-sly and the family stone

- higher ground-stevie wonder

- drive my car/theword- the beatles (the beatles love mix version)

- nothing from nothing- billy preston

-  that's not my name- the ting tings (just because a girls gotta dance and good memories)

***for those of you wondering, yes i was born in the 80s.... i just have good taste.

my suggestion to you is, always start off your day by music, it just starts your day off up beat and happy, which leads to being inspired and determined, yes?  try this out tomorrow, and let me know how the rest of your day pans out....

A) do you feel happier?

B) do you have more drive?

C)are you more into that lesson, that you thought might be boring?

but most importantly....

D)did you make a difference?

ok now sleep on it, implement tomorrow....and let me know how it goes...did it work?

feeling inspired and now rambling,

“creativity is contagious. pass it on.” -einstein

"I would go absolutely anywhere I heard there was something creative happening."            -andy warhol

this quote is so me....in each and every way. which is why tomorrow is going to be such a fun day in second grade!!!....why???....we are going on a "creativity hunt" throughout our school to wrap up our "let's create" theme in language arts. here is a sneak peek.....i'll post more pictures and printable files this weekend!!!

...look what one of my students brought to school for me yesterday, my heart melted when he carried it in the room....a homemade peace sign, filled with some of my favorites....(see i need to cut back on the coke zero, haha) do you think he knows me well??? :) Obviously, our creativity theme has rubbed off of my kiddos. another example of why I love my job so much.....

anyways....happy friday....check back for more ideas, pictures, and printable's this weekend....here is another "andy warhol-ism"  for you...everyone should live by this, you'd be alot happier at work, i promise!!

"I'm just so busy ... not working, but busy playing, because work is play when it's something you like." -andy warhol

wasting time or not?? oh well....happy MLK day.

one of my projects i was able to check off my 'to do' list during this amazing 3 day weekend was....to clean and organize all my files on my macbook. it was so great to just sit and waste time on my computer because i never get to do that....it was a treat to say the least. i know it sounds boring, dorky, and a real waste of time....BUT it wasn't i promise.... 


anyways, while cleaning and filing the mac i stumbled across my poetry file, i made in one of my education classes while at texas tech. 


i thought this poem from my file was fitting for today.... ennnnnnnjoy! :)

more fun interesting things to come by tonight....fingers crossed!!!

think different.

I just came across this video on a friends tumblr site, and thought it was pretty amazing. If you know me at all, then you would agree that this video fits me pretty well...(am i right???)...  that is basically what I set out to do in my life.... become a teacher who makes changes and a difference in children's lives, and in the world. (baby steps, right??)


my goal for tomorrow is to blog some of my new projects I am working on, so be on the lookout!!!


also, something to think about....

this picture says it all.....

i'm pretty sure i did this maybe 40% of the time when i was little.... ok ok ok like 75%...oooopps....  i also posted this because...welllll, i love andy warhol....

Okay, well I hope you enjoyed my late night inspirations. (I know i did....)


xoxo, miss kranz

new to teaching and to blogging....

Being a first year teacher, I have had a lot of ideas, thoughts, laughter, and of course frustrations. It has been a wild ride so far....So  I wanted to start a blog to share my  first year craziness with fellow educators like myself, my family, friends, and pretty much anyone that is interested....

Hopefully you will find some ideas for your own classroom, have a good laugh, be entertained after a bad day, or at least some sort of inspiration from me to you.

xoxo, miss kranz