I love fall, a fun project and a little chalkboard tip!

Good morning everyone!

I am so happy that fall is finally here! I am in love with this season. And so is my boyfriend! So we go a little crazy when fall gets here :) A good crazy! I absolutely adore everything this season offers us every year. I am talking fall food (anything with apples, pumpkin, spices, everything in the slow cooker...mmmm), fall weather (the joy of having to put on my leather jacket that I love so much or being able to put a cute sweater over my t-shirts, not having to sweat through school days where students can barely sit straight because it's so hot and uncomfortable), fall celebrations (Halloween and Thanksgiving! fun!), fall smells (thank you Bath and Body Works for always being able to make my home a little more fallish.... last year with the delicious smell of Pumpkin Patch and this year with Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.... oh my gosh! I've got the soap, the candle and the plug-in! smells so comforting!) and let's not forget, the fact that all the good TV shows are coming back!!! Welcome back to Revenge, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother :) YAY!

And also, this year, fall comes with another great surprise for me: The beginning of my second trimester! My nausea and fatigue are still here but I'm doing much better! I see light at the end of the tunnel :)

I wanted to talk to you about a fun project I am doing with my kids for Halloween. I've done it two years ago and for some reason I do not remember, I did not do it last year, and I missed it! My sweet little 6th graders had to choose a country they wanted to research. ( And no, in grade 6some of them do not know many countries and they think Europe is one.... ;)Not that I was any better at 12 years old! So I had to provide many options for them to choose from!) Now, they have to research the country and they will present us their findings on Halloween. Here is the fun part: They must dress up with traditionnal clothes from their country and bring a traditionnal dessert too, for the whole class to taste! Students are extremely excited about the project and have already started working on their costumes and testing out recipes at home. I can not wait to see what they come up with. Two years ago, the presentations were amazing! We had so much fun! And wow did I eat! Donuts, cakes, cookies, pies.... and because I'm the teacher, they always wanted me to get a bigger piece so let me tell you I was pretty full by the end of the day! I'll be sure to share with you how it all turns out! :)

Also, I wanted to share a great chalkboard tip with you. Washing my board has always been quite the task. I wash it daily, as I always want it super clean. but it takes FOREVER and sometimes I have to go over it a few times to remove all the chalk residues and the end result is not always as perfect as I would want it. But now, I've found an amazing solution! Lemon oil!! Have any of you every tried it? Any lemon oil should do the trick, just make sure it's not soap. I have the Pledge kind. Put a few drops on a washcloth that you will keep in a little ziploc bag. If your board is really dirty, you might need to do a quick wash with a sponge before. But if not, the lemon oil should be enough. So you simply go over your chalkboard surface with the lemon oil and voila!! It makes your board super shiny and it looks soooo clean! And you don't have to rinse the washcloth! You just put it back in the bag! I wanted to take a picture to show you a before and after shot but of course I forgot! Lemon oil can be found at the dollar store or Wal-Mart or probably Target (but not that I would know as I do not have the luxury of having one here yet :p) If you try it, let me know how you like it! Be sure to put only a few drops though because if you put too much the board will stay oily and you won't be able to write on it for a few days... Happened to my colleague!

I'm currently working on my 200 follower giveaway! Yay! A few bloggers have agreed to join in and give away some great items! Let me know if you would like to participate as well! The more the merrier! :) Just email me at misselementary@gmail.com

And for those of you interested... tomorrow is my first ultrasound!!! I don't even know if I'll be able to sleep as I am so excited! It feels like Christmas! On Thursday, I had my first doctor's appointment and we heard our little baby's heart :) If I was super excited about that, I can't imagine how I'm going to react tomorrow when I actually see the little bundle of joy! :)

Have a good day everyone and for those of you in love with fall... I think a little stop at Bath and Body Works will make you smile :)

Until next time,