#TipTuesday Getting It All Done

Raise your hand if you are a list maker.
Raise your hand if you love a planner.
Raise your hand if you write a to do list.
Raise your hand if you write tasks on the to do list that you have already done.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will LOVE this freebie today. I love a to do list, however I always have so much going on that I need so much room to write. This is why I created this adorable one page to-do list that allows me to feel inspired by all that I have accomplished, and motivated for all that is left to do. Here is a preview of it.

I keep a stack of them on my clipboard and jot things down throughout the day. This way I am constantly dumping my mind instead of fretting over it. Click the here to head to my TPT store and download it!

Stay special y'all,
Kaylee Ann

Family Weekend Getaway

Air is crisp, cabin is desolate, skies are clear, and snow is on the ground. Does this sound like a dream come true to anyone else? Well it sure did to my husband when he booked us this family getaway weekend! It was most certainly what the doctor ordered!

We packed our 9 month old, 7 year old Golden Retriever, and ourselves into my little SUV and headed north. We had only seen pictures of this cabin and were most excited about the views and hot tub. After we got through Atlanta, my husband handed me paper directions (who even uses those anymore) and said to be on the look out! Goodness gracious, I was not sure what I was in for over the next hour. We meandered through the quiet woods around curvy roads as a gentle mist welcomed us. I would explain to my husband the directions, sometimes going too slow for his liking. Thank goodness our little one stayed quieter during the uphill climb and blind turns on the gravel road.

When we finally arrived, we were greeted with the steepest driveway that I have ever seen. Bless, I was not sure we would stop when we made it down or just go on over the cliff. Did I mention I always think the worst? Well, if not here is my confession. This was our view the next morning. Absolutely breathtaking.

My husband did most of the planning this trip, which I was so excited to be surprised! We ventured to the sweetest little downtown area, ate lunch (mom always said if I did not have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. that's all I am going to say about this place), and then wandered on over to the orchard.

The Mercier Orchard, y'all, was magnificent. There was great food, good people, and samples! Our child is obsessed with apples, as am I. So we were happy to oblige her munchings with apples galore. They also have tons of butters, honeys, jams, and everything under the sun. During the season, you can actually go pick your own apples, berries, and take blossom tours. We may or may not have already planned to go back for that. We ate breakfast there, helloooooo buffet, lunch, and wandered multiple times.

One of the restaurants we ventured to was, Southern Charm. My husband said it was highly recommended on every website, so we had to try it. I am so happy we did. They serve apple butter and biscuits to begin with. Before we knew that, we splurged and got cheese sticks. When they arrived, they were not regular old logs of cheese, they were blocks of ooey-gooey creaminess deep fried. Their homecooked meals showed their love and devotion to the food. Our tummies were about to burst when we left! We have it on our definite go back list!

Our cabin was phenomenal. It had everything we needed and more. This cabin was two stories. Upstairs had the master, living area, and kitchen. There was tons of kitchen supplies (which I loved, since I brought food to cook and enjoy the cabin). Downstairs was the other bedroom, bathroom, and the game room. There was an air hockey table and pool table. If you went out onto the porch downstairs you saw the hottub and fire pit. The rental company told us on our second morning (after my husband broke the key off in the door #blessit) that there is a mom and baby bear that come around the yard often.

It was picturesque, which is why I included so many pictures below. I would highly recommend this little place of Heaven to go and relax with your family. There is many more opportunities to venture out during the warmer months, but it was perfect this time of year too.

Where do you enjoy traveling to? We are always up for suggestions!

Pictures, ignore the baby overload!


Stay special y'all,
Kaylee Ann

#FridayFavorites Mayhem Week

Fri-yay is more like it, right y'all?

This week has been one full of chaos and mayhem. I wanted to share what helped me survive this week.

1. Water bottle. I absolutely, positively, do not drink enough water during the day. However, I love being able to have a cute bottle sitting on my desk that reminds me to drink something every once in a while. This bottle keeps the water cold throughout the day. You can find the bottle here.

2. Instant Pot. Y'all, I got one on Christmas and absolutely love this machine. I was skeptical and honestly am not a pro at it yet, but I love that I can throw frozen meat straight in and cook it. Y'all, this is absolutely amazing thing that sits on my counter nightly. Mine came from Sam's, so I am not able to link directly to it! However, I wanted to make sure that you follow all my pressure cooker recipes on Pinterest.

3. Grove Cleaning Shipment. This is one of my favorite things that comes to my front door monthly. I hate chemicals, yet strive to have a clean-ish home for my little one's touchy hands. This monthly subscription can be scheduled at any time and you can put whatever you want in your box! This link  allows you to get five free items! Hello, free Ms. Meyer's! YAY!

4. Sharpies. Yes, I said it. I love the smell of sharpies and a new pack brings great joy to my heart. I have popped open a new packet this week to help kick off my last semester of graduate school! I love being able to have a variety of sharpies, but my favorites are fine point sharpies. I found a 12 pack for $6 (order now, because this is an amazing deal).

5. Page flags. Sharpies and flags go hand-in-hand in my book (see what I did there). Graduate school has been full of reading, which I enjoy putting notes in as I go. This helps me concentrate. The book below is one of my books that I have had the entire time. It is full of resources and amazing statistics. I mark every chapter with these flags, using my sharpie. Then I mark notes of special importance with these sticky notes. I love writing my notes out by hand, then typing them up and add notes here and there. How do you organize your textbooks?

I hope that your Friday is full of YAY and your weekend allows you to recharge your batteries. Remember to keep everyday special, because we never need to be ordinary! 

Stay special, 

Kaylee Ann

#TipTuesday Teacher Bag

Good afternoon y'all,

Tip Tuesday is here and I can not wait to share this tip with you! Today will be all about my teacher bag. Have you ever felt like you are moving when you head to school in the mornings? Well I know I do! I have the BEST bag for teachers who need to carry something, yet is large enough to carry everything. It has built in pockets (I mean, who doesn't love pockets) and tons of compartments!

I did a Facebook and Instagram live on unpacking my bag. Scouts honor that I did not pre-clean it.

My bag is Vera Bradley, you can find it here. My pattern is retired, but I absolutely ADORE all of them that are available! My husband got this bag for me for graduation, they go on SUPER sale right before Christmas, which is when he snagged mine.

I always have these things in my bag:
- pencil pouch
- sticky notes
- forks
- cups
- personal bag
- jumpdrive 

Y'all, I haul this bag around like it is my job and it has withstood the test of time. I have linked some of my favorite products above, I hope you love any or one of them!

Keep it special,
Kaylee Ann

Lesson Planning in Special Education

Hey y'all,

I wanted to share with you about how I go about lesson planning for my classroom. A little background, I teacher third, fourth, and fifth grade resource. I have students come in and out of my classroom for prescribed amounts of time. During their time in my classroom, I will work with them on specific skills that they have not mastered. Our days are long and hectic, so I must be extremely flexible with my plans.

I just created a table on powerpoint to include all of my time slots (I run in 30 minute increments) and put the entire week on one page. This allows me to see exactly what I want to do each week. Here is a view of my upcoming week:

I am able to scratch out holidays, testing, and seeing when I might need to move tests around. I love how flexible these plans are. Of course, I create lesson plans that have details, objectives, and standards. However, this is my "game plan". 

Do you have to write lesson plans in Special Education? If so, what do they look like? 

Stay special, 

Kaylee Ann

Balance

Hey y'all,

I wanted to talk with y'all about trying to do it all. I have the type of personality that I think I have to do everything at all times. I must have a spotless house, perfectly dressed child, over-the-top lessons, and home-cooked meals. This just isn't a reality without major planning and sacrifice, which takes so much of my time.

Here at All Kinds of Special, I want you to see that we can live the best life if we are able to plan it out and have flexibility.

Here are my top five tips on how to balance:

1. Having a planner - I have already blogged about this here 
2. Meal Planning 
3. Setting realistic expectations 
4. Maintaing your home/classroom 
5. Setting routines 

I love to learn from other mother's that are older and more experienced. We all have something to teach each other. What are your ways that you balance work/life/family? Please share below!

Stay special, 

Kaylee Ann

Testing in Resource

Hey y’all,

Welcome back to All Kinds of Special. Today I am sharing with you one of my vital parts of my classroom. This part is my testing station. I have been teaching in a resource setting for 4 years now and this is one thing that I knew I had to conquer to be successful in my job.

This system was created out of desperation to get the stacks of papers off my desk in an organized manner. I did not know when each test was, who had a test and who didn’t, and keys were scattered around my room. Here is the game plan I finally have settled on. Remember, this system has to be taught to your teachers, students, paraprofessionals. It also has to be tweaked to fit your needs.

I have a rainbow cart (#loveallthecolors) that sits outside my door everyday. This is where all of my tests go. Yes, I know it may seem huge for some people and way too small for others. Keep in mind, that this works for my three grade levels I service. I have a drawer for each grade level’s reading, math, and science/social studies tests. I combined the last two categories because they are typically smaller tests and are not as frequent with my school system. This has taken time, patience, and constant reminders to teachers, however teachers write the student’s names and test date and drop them in the drawer. I review the drawers daily to see what tests we have coming up so that I am able to plan my lessons accordingly. My paraprofessional is amazing at keeping me on track and prioritizing our test dates.

On top of the cart, you will see a clear iris tub (that is broken by little fingers, but it is functional). This tub has hanging folders that are divided into each teacher team. This is where the papers go that have been completed and graded. This is not the primary way I communicate with teachers, but it has been great for containing papers between our two rooms.

Here are links to all of my products: 

Rainbow Cart  - https://amzn.to/2LUgAyR

Clear Tub – https://amzn.to/2C5oC3t

Hanging Folders – https://amzn.to/2RgeHm8

Labels -  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Free-Editable-Labels-2946810

I hope that this has brought you some inspiration for you classroom, home, or life in general. Please let me know what is your main way to stay on track?

Remember to keep it special, 

Kaylee Ann 

#TipTuesday

Good morning y'all,

I wanted to start a weekly tip session, so that I could share something awesome I wanted to share with you! Have you ever had one of the "I was today years old when I learned this" moments. Well, I have these often.

Today, I wanted to share with you how you can cut down time in the kitchen! If you are anything like me, you probably don't enjoy chopping vegetables. Well, I have found a way to chop them all at once and have them for the whole month!

My favorite grocery store is Aldi (I will post all about that soon, I promise), however you can not just buy one onion. I did not the entire bag of onions going to waste because I couldn't use them all. So I set to figure out if I could freeze them, and guess what? You can! I love to use my freezer as a storage option! I have chopped and freezed onions, bell peppers, green onions, and many other vegetables.

Here is my process:
1. Chop the vegetables in whatever size you would like, I do a variety for various meals
2. Place the vegetables in different snack zip top bags
3. Store all of the snack zip top bags into a gallon freezer bag
4. Label and call it a day

It is amazing the time you can save with this prep and I love the way I will always have vegetables ready to go and use them more often since they are convenient!

Hope this Tip Tuesday finds you well.

Remember to keep everyday special in some way,
Kaylee Ann Wilkes

Here are the links to my favorite kitchen essentials:
Hand Chopper - https://amzn.to/2suzHH4
Zip Top Bags - https://amzn.to/2DbQGDS snack size
https://amzn.to/2DaROrr freezer gallon size

Holding It All Together

Hey y'all, 

Are you feeling like you are running around like a chicken with its head cut off? That is me on good days at times, but there is one thing that holds it all together for me: my planner. Yes, I said the most cliche thing in the world. However, I use my planner like my safety net against the world. 

Now, I love to watch videos, search on pinterest, and but supplies to make my planner cute. However, you have to find your planner peace in what works for you. My planner is Lilly Pulitzer brand, which I have been using since college. This planner holds my entire life, so that I can plan the rest of my life. I have a large desk calendar at school, which helps me visualize my month at a glance. But everything personal, business, and school are included in my planner. 

I carry my planner around in my purse or teacher bag, so this is the perfect size! I also love being able to keep running lists in my calendar. Currently, I have a packng list for upcoming trips, possible gift ideas, and blog posts. What kind of lists do you always have?

Here are some action shots from the upcoming month! I have included my month-at-a-glance page as well as week-at-a-glance. There is many things I have about this particular planner, but mostly I love how much room I have to write (hello, I have BIG handwriting).

The cover, isn't it beautiful?

month-at-a-glance

week-at-a-glance

I have linked my planner below and my pinterest board on all my planner inspiration! 

Planner: https://amzn.to/2FaqBXl
Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/kleeannwilkes/planning-peace/

Remember to keep everyday special,
Kaylee Ann

100th Day of School Shirts

Hey y’all,

Hearing these words brings out the teacher’s macaroni tubs and mom’s Pinterest ninja skills. Shirts are going to fly off the hangers from Target and hot glue guns are heating up now. This day is a day of stress and excitement no matter the role you are playing. If you are a teacher, this will make your heart happy and patience even happier. If you are a mom, then you can say adios to Pinterest searching throughout the night.

There is many options and as well as an option to custom order.

Do not forget that All Kinds of Special wants to make everyday special for you!

Links:

Where to Order - https://www.facebook.com/AllKindsofSpecialTPT/

Favorite vinyl supplier - https://www.vinylcouture.com/

Cricut - https://amzn.to/2RrcUKc

Cricut mats - https://amzn.to/2Rs1XrM

Word of the Year

Word of the Year 2019

I chose the word hustle so to remind myself that this year is the year to make it. Last year was a year to enjoy, however this year is something that I want to make count. I want these 12 months to be full of productivity and new things. My goal this year is to launch my business, grow my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and increase my online presence.

My brand, All Kinds of Special, was created to celebrate all things special in a life of a teacher, mom, and southern lady. I debated whether or not to create separate accounts for my personalization business and my teaching lifestyle. However, I decided to keep them as one. In this day in age, we are able to make the choice for what content we bring into our lives and what we want to keep out.

What would you like to see from me in 2019? Here are some ideas I am brainstorming:

• monthly monogram subscriptions 
• Bring-Your-Own blanks parties 
• Teacher inspiration 
• Teacher Humor 
• Mom life 

I want to do all of this and more! These are all just dreams in my head until I can have YOU help me bring them into reality. To follow along with me, make sure to follow me on my social media pages! 

Remember to keep everyday special, 

Kaylee Ann