We LIVE in a SCHOOL BUS!

Hey there!!! Welcome! And THANK YOU for being here!

We are a family of five who sold our home and traded it for a renovated SCHOOL BUS! 🚌

And I'm a former teacher who sells books. 📚

Oh, and our last name is Bell. 🛎

How fitting is that? 

Here's a sneak peek inside our new tiny home. Bus tour coming soon - be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you don't want to miss it! 

You want to know something else wild about it all? We decided to buy the bus BEFORE Covid officially exploded in the U.S. In fact, it was announced that schools would be closing because of Covid-19 in Utah the very same day we flew to purchase the bus (and of course we had purchased the tickets a few weeks prior, oblivious to the crazy pandemic we would all soon be navigating). Talk about timing. 

Watch that epic adventure story here. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1IcVi1K2j_zGlurnDKeEQ/videos

That was all back in March 2020, and now it's November. 

Since then we managed to:

Sell our house of 6 years ✓

Turn a 36 ft. school bus into a home ✓

Live in it for 4 months and counting... ✓

Lose our cat of 9 years in Moab, UT 😭 ✓

And successfully continue my cancer healing journey naturally ✓

Yes, you read that right. 

It's been a wild year... well, couple of years really. 

Obviously we're ok with going against the grain. 

I love to dabble in lots of different hobbies... and art is always one of them. You may be familiar with my award-winning gingerbread houses donated to the Festival of Trees, or my hobby cookie and cake decorating business @tangledwithtinkering from a few years ago.

Lately, with my primary focus on healing and homeschool in the bus, I've been loving doodling on the iPad. I love to share my work with you and hope people will use it to make all sorts of beautiful things.  Please send me a picture and a message when you do! You can purchase it on my TeachersPayTeachers store (click the image below). And for your purchase, THANK YOU! 

To learn more about us and our story find us here: 

Blog https://medium.com/@thelostbells

Instagram @lostbells & @tangledwithtinkering

Youtube @lostbells

Website www.thelostbells.com

Want to work together? Send us a message! 

Back to School Picture Book Linky Parties

Chrissy @ First Grade Found Me  is hosting an awesome Back to School Picture Book Linky party, plus Lindsey, The Teacher Wife hosted an awesome MUST HAVE Picture Book Linky a few weeks ago.  I LOVE books.  I make weekly trips to the thrift store just to peruse through the books.  And Kid-to-Kid has a free book club.  You can get a free book EVERY month with any purchase.  Sometimes I buy a book just so I can get another one free.  Anyway, here are some of my favorite back to school books.

Strega Nona is a cute, clever, catchy story PERFECT for illustrating the importance of following rules and the justice of consequences. Students love it, plus it sparks great class discussions.

  

You are Special is so wonderful for creating a positive classroom community, recognizing each child's worth and unique strengths and talents, and discouraging labels and judgements.

 

Heckedy Peg is my childhood favorite.  I LOVE the story and LOVE the hand-painted pictures. Kids absolutely adore this story and beg me to read it again and again. This suspense-filled story also underscores the importance of listening to instructions and following rules. Check out this awesome picture below.

 

Last, but not least, Hooway for Wodney Wat.  So cute, so funny.  This is another great story for creating a positive classroom community environment.  The kids identify with Wodney Wat and quickly understand the importance of not bullying others.

 

Now I know these last two aren't exactly "picture books" but they do have pictures and they are GREAT beginner chapter books.  My students love reading them in small guided reading groups and LOVE it when I read them aloud.  You can check out either of these units that I created to go with them if you're interested. 

 If you haven't read any of these awesome books, you definitely need to give them a try. I promise your students will love them and I think you will too! :)