Scotch Thermal Laminator...A Teacher's Best Friend

(Discloser: This post contains an affiliate link.)

On the top of every teacher's must-have list is a laminator. I have been through several in my years of teaching, but I will tell you the one I have now is my all-time favorite. It is easy to use, affordable, and so far after two years is still working like a charm!

I laminate everything...literally everything! Even though sometimes I know I may not use it again, it is getting laminating because I love using my laminator. Prior to purchasing my own laminator, I would have to plan ahead- way ahead- to have my items printed, pre-cut, labeled, put in a file, and sent to the media center to wait their turn to be laminated. This could sometimes take a little while depending on how many teachers needed laminating, how many lessons were going on in the media center, if we were out of laminating film, if the laminator was jammed, etc. I think you get the idea.

Anyway, one day I decided it was time to finally just purchase my own. My first one was not a very good one; it was cheap and did not hold up very well. I got exactly what I paid for with that one. Lesson learned!

I did a little research, and read online reviews. After the research was complete, I decided to purchase the Scotch Thermal Laminator 2 Roller System and Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches. (Links to both of these are at the end of this post.)

So now it is your turn. If you do not own a laminator of your own, there are five reasons, your deserve a laminator. 

1. No More Wait Time! - Your time is precious! Do not spend it waiting around wondering when you are going to get to laminate your items; or if you are in a school where you have to drop your items off to have laminated, you do not need to spend time wondering when they will be finished. If you have your own laminator, your wait time is when you want it to be. 

2. Prep When You Need and Want to Prep! - It's your call. Your laminator gives you the flexibility to be able to prep whenever you are ready. You are not waiting on anyone, and you do not have to prep so far ahead to have it laminated for you. 

3. Prep at Home or at School...It's Your Time! - Do you want to prep at school? Great! Would you prefer to prep at home in your pjs? Awesome! It's your call! You can do that with your own laminator because it is portable and light. I carry mine back and forth all of the time in my bag when I choose to prep in a different location. It's easy and allows me to focus on the things I need to focus on at the time. 

4. All Pieces Stay Together! - I am not sure about you, but I have lost task cards here and there and parts of my bulletin boards over the years to and from the media center as my laminating has journeyed to and from my classroom. Once I purchased the laminator, this no longer happened. Win-win! 

5. Tax write-off! - I am not an accountant, nor can I give tax advice, but I know in my state teachers are able to write off certain educational expenses. Keep your receipts from your educational expenses throughout the year, and make sure your ask your accountant about this. 

If you are a teacher and do not have a laminator, I promise this will be one purchase will not regret! I know this is one of my favorite purchases I have ever made...okay, besides colorful pens and Sharpie markers! 

Happy Day, Everyone!                                                                        Graphics provided by Ashley Hughes.

Stitch Fix- Summer Lovin'

Sweet, sweet summertime...well, almost! But, school is out so technically it is summer if you ask anyone who lives close to me. We have managed to get one trip in the books (the daughter snuck in a trip without us, so she has gone on two trips). When we arrived home from our trip, I had a familiar little box waiting for me. Yep, it was my Fix!

Since it was time for summer, they sent some fun clothes. They were so cute! They even threw in an adorable purse in a neutral color that can go with anything. 

I was headed out tonight and had one of the shirts on, so I asked the hubby to take a pic (okay, he had to take a couple until he got the final approval that I was satisfied) so I could share). This shirt is one of the pieces that came with this month's Fix. Isn't cute and fun? It goes great with jeans, capris, and shorts. It has a relaxed look that is fabulous for the summer. 

Have you tried Stitch Fix? If so, how was your Fix this month? If you have not tried Stitch Fix yet, CLICK HERE to sign up to try it. I promise it is super easy. If you don't like it, you can send everything back in the prepaid postage envelope they send you with your Fix. 

Teachers Pay Teachers Headquarters is...Amazing!

Exactly one week ago I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Teachers Pay Teachers Headquarters. All I can say is...Ah-Mazing! 

I am not really sure what I envisioned it would look like, but it was booming place. I guess I thought it would be more like sectioned off offices where people tended to their own business and did their own work. It was anything but this. The room was very open. There weren't cubicles or anything like that either. The best way to describe it is long table-like desks with computers in rows, almost like a computer lab. It is a very open working environment. There were several conference rooms available if groups needed to meet. There were actually several meetings being held while we were there.

Samantha and Jillian were fabulous hostesses who answered my initial questions and were super nice. I was able to talk to Adam and many others at lunch. The entire staff was friendly. It was a wonderful experience!

If you are a buyer or a seller on TpT, please know, there is a team of fantastic, hardworking people who are doing phenomenal work behind the scenes trying to make your work as a teacher as smooth as possible. Thank you for all your hard work! 

One of our favorite things we did while in New York was walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked into Brooklyn, had ice cream from the Ice Cream Factory, rode the carousel at Jane's Carousel, and walked along the waterfront. 

As we were walking across the bridge, we took in all of the sites. My daughter has this love of water towers; she finds them absolutely fascinating! Where we live, water towers are all on the ground and there may be only one to three water towers per town. She had already conducted her research to know water towers in New York were much different than in South Georgia. She loved looking at all of the water towers on the buildings. Before we left TpT Headquarters, Sam showed pointed out on her phone there were two water towers we would want to look for our little adventure. One was a stained glass water tower, and the other was a red and white striped water tower. (The pictures below definitely do not do the beauty of the water towers justice.) 

We opted for the subway back to Manhattan so we could make it back in time for some more activities, but it was well worth the walk across the bridge. If you ever have the opportunity to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, I highly recommend it. 

Prior to leaving for the trip, I asked my daughter what was the one thing she wanted to do while in NYC. She said she "had" to go to the Statue of Liberty. We went and were able to go as far up as the pedestal; the crown tickets had been sold out for the date we wanted to go for a couple of months, but the pedestal was good. If you are going to the Statue of Liberty, my advice of to get there early to be on the first or second wave of ferries; otherwise, your wait could be a long one. We were lucky to get there early, but when we returned, we saw long, long lines. 

The last night we were in NYC, we went to see Matilda. It was fabulous, and it was a wonderful show for my 8-year old daughter to see. The singing, dancing, and acting were all phenomenal! The adults and kids in the show were spectacular. It had my daughter sitting on the edge of her seat! The show was a wonderful way to end a great couple of day in NYC. 

NYC, it was great! TpT, thank you for a memorable time! We hope to see you all again soon!