Changes

In the next handful of weeks, this little blog will be no more. 

Fear not! I will not be disappearing, more like having a makeover and rebranding. 

As life is changing, I have felt the content of my blog shift, and the things I want to write about don't necessarily fit the original theme or topics I had intended to write about here. 

I am making the move to a self-hosted Wordpress platform, as I feel the layout options and general ease of use is more tailored to my changing needs. 

All content from Love Miss Walker will still be available to read in the archives of my new space, and posts won't be changing too much, they will just be a bit narrower in subject and there will be no Teaching component. When I started LMW, I had intended to make it predominately a Teaching blog, but discovered that as much as I truly love my job, I wasn't passionate about writing about it. I found I am most passionate about sharing beauty products, organisation projects and tools, travel tips and reports and home life. So that is the direction the new website will be taking. 

Once I have finished the re-branding and changeover process (I am hoping in around a month from now), this blog will be linked directly to the new website. 

In the meantime, there will be no new posts on LMW, as I will be busy creating content for when the new site goes live.

Thank you to all of my loyal readers, I am still surprised that people other than my husband actually read my posts and are interested in what I have to say! I hope that you will continue to visit after the move.  In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Instagram or Pinterest to see updates. 

Much love to you all, 

Brooke xx 

Felt Play Makeup

This week in a role play area in my Kindergarten class, we have set up a 'Salon' where the children can role play the roles of hairdresser and makeup artist. It was a big hit (with both my girls and boys!) and I had many parents asking how I made it, so thought I would share it here for others to see as well. This is by no means my idea - I have see this done around the www before, but I just made the procedure up as I went. I luckily took photos of the process  - albeit not very good photos - my current apartment has horrendous lighting in the afternoon. Oh how I can not wait for a house full of natural lighting!! - so I apologise for that in advance! But I thought bad photos are better than no photos at all, right?? Or perhaps not in this case. You be the judge...

Chocolate Playdough

I love playdough. It promotes creativity, discussions, role play and fine motor skills, just to name a few. I always try to match my playdough to what every topic we are talking about in class. I have made everything from Space to Frozen themed playdough and the kids just love it.

Today I will share with you the playdough I have made for our Easter unit we working on in the lead up to the holiday - Yummy Chocolate Playdough!

This amazing recipe smells good enough to eat and we had to have very detailed discussions during our morning mat session that playdough is not edible. Here is the easy no-cook recipe :

2 cups plain flour 
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tbsps cream of tartar
2 cups of boiling water 

Simply mix the dry ingredients together, add the oil, boiling water and mix until thoroughly combined. Let the mixture stand until cool to ensure the boiling water 'cooks' the dough. Don't be scared if at the start it looks like a disaster - good things come to those who wait! Once it has cooled, knead it on a clean surface until smooth. Store in a zip-lock bag or airtight container. It will last for weeks, however I like to change my playdough fortnightly as many, many little fingers touch it day in and day out. If making it for home use, it should last you a month or so. 

The key to the success of this recipe is to make sure that the water it absolutely boiling. I have used a school kettle in the past and the few times I did, the playdough did not work. I couldn't figure out why for so long, then realised that the water temperature was the cause! If you have a good quality kettle, this shouldn't be a problem. My school kettle cost about $10 from Coles...go figure!

This is the consistency you are after. Looks good enough to eat!!

I will finish this post with a look at our Easter-themed classroom. I love Easter decorations - the colours make me so happy! I managed to find most things at Kmart this year, their decorations and stationary choices are improving each year. 

Happy Easter Bunting! 

A closer look at the cuteness

Our playdough table! So happy and colourful 

Easter decals are perfect for creating Easter Treats.
 I use silicone cupcake moulds quite other for playdough play.
Easy to wash & reuse and impossible for curious little fingers to break

Supplies 

These signs were a part of an 'Easter Hunt' pack from Kmart. 

Decorating Easter Trees. I find these hanging eggs from dollar and discount stores each year, the kids love it. 

Happy Easter everyone!!

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Organisation with Erin Condren

I have a slight 'Type A' personality. Meaning I am organised, and I like things to be perfect. Some would call it OCD. My Husband likes to call it 'Highly Organised Individual' syndrome. Which ever way you want to look at it, I LOVE organising. I could make a career out of it. I spend countless hours reading Organisation blogs like The Sunny Side Up by the gorgeous Erin, Iheart Organizing by Jen & simply organized by Samantha - and that is just to name a few.

I have tried and tested countless Day Planner/Organisers and Erin Condren has by far been my favourite. This is my first year using a Life Planner, and I love it so much I also ordered the Teacher Planner to keep track of my full days at school.

The hardest part of having an Erin Condren is choosing a cover...seriously, there are so many designs, I spent so long going back and forth. This was the design I ended up choosing:

Confetti Cover

On a Sunday Afternoon I like to sit down (quite often with a glass of wine) to plan out my week. Of course things do pop up after Sunday, but if I have a clear plan of how my week is looking come Monday Morning, my head feels clear & I am able to add extra commitments with ease & confidnece that I wont have to cancel because 'oh my gosh! I forgot I had something on!' (that is the WORST). 

I use washi tape (from a variety of locations!) to add colour and block of days when we might be on Vacation. I also use various stickers and my favourite Staedtler Triplus 'Rainbow Pens'. Oh how I love them!

Week at a glance

Typical planning tools

Coming Soon...

Coming soon to Love Miss Walker :