Oh, Vacation is Bliss! New Boots, New Books, and a Homemade Caramel Macchiato!

Have I told you that my husband makes the best coffee? OMG. The. Best. His espresso tops any drink I've ever had at Starbucks or Peet's. Don't get me wrong... I'm very happy with Starbucks and Peet's drinks. Love them, in fact. But Ken's drinks are even better. Several years ago, he started talking about buying an espresso machine. And then came the research... and one day he came home with an Italian, black and silver machine that cost... ahem...several hundred dollars.  I was aghast. All I could think about at the time were all the groceries and kids' shoes that I could have bought with that much money!

HOWEVER, when I drank the first mocha he made... I was immediately convinced! What a smart man! Omiword! So good! And now, several years later... maybe eight? The machine has more than paid for itself. And so today, I've been lounging in bed... a little reading, a little work... and a homemade caramel macchiato! (And he made the caramel, too!)



 

Bliss! Don't you love winter break?!

And I'm excited... I'm ordering these boots today!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My fabulous kindergarten and first grade families gave me all those gift cards, and one will make a significant dent in the cost of the boots. I have a brown pair already and I love them! Cannot wait for them to arrive! I've had my eye on these for ages!

And books... Books!

My kiddos know that I love books! I have more than 4,000 books in my classroom. I know that because one year I had my son tally the books in each book box... farm books, habitat books, school books, weather books, books by Mo Willems, Patricia Polacco, Mem Fox, Tomie dePaola, Donald Crews, Kevin Henkes, and the list goes on and on and on.

So those sweet kids told their parents how much I love books, and I was treated to some gift cards that I can use to buy books, too. And here are a few of the books I'm buying:

The Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Conner 



Such a fun story! And it is perfect to use with a paper snow globe project like the one I did with my students last week.

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft



 

 

 

 

 

 

When we get back to school in January, my students will be learning about the ways in which different animals survive the long, cold winter. This book is a great resource, and I've been wanting my own copy!

And New Year's Day by David F. Marx



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone else feeling like they just can't have too many informational texts in the classroom? I love the Rookie series... good information for young children, and appropriate for their age!

I'll share more books tomorrow. I've got a long list, as you might have guessed!

Happy, Happy Winter Break to you all!