2016 New Year Remember, Reflect, & Goal Set! Link Party!

Is this is the last blog post of 2015?? Gosh, the year just flew by! It wasn't shabby at all.

I'm joining Passion In Portable Land for her Remember, Reflect, & Goal Set Linky Party! It's 10:30 pm. I'm a little late to the party but I made it!!


Questions to ponder as you remember...
1. What were the best memories of 2015?

This is one of my very favorite memories. My little boy asked Jesus to be Lord of his life this year. We will be together forever!

2. What do you remember most about 2015?

I feel that this year teachers connected more than ever before. How?? Periscope!! It all began last summer during the TPT conference.  I love that it's still going strong! I love that we take time out of our busy schedules to support each other. How in the world did we ever live without Periscope???

In 2016 I will...

1. Have more "me" time.. I'm a busy mom of three boys, mom of a puppy, wife, and full time teacher. I'm busy. BUT I've got to figure out how to get some me time in my schedule. I will in 2016...somehow.

2. I want to laugh more...love more... have fun...I want to enjoy life! 

3. Like everyone else, I plan on working out and eating healthier....I'm thinking this could be my "me time". ;) 

Link up and reflect with us!

I hope that your 2016 is amazing!!

Teachers Ring In The New Year

What a year 2015 has been!! It's been great. I looked back on 2015 and made a list of accomplishments and happy moments.
1- I Passed Component 1 and Component 2 of National Boards Certification. WooHoo!
2- I presented two workshops and actually did a good job! It takes a lot to get this southern girl out of her comfort zone. Presenting is definitely one of those times!
3- We got a Yorkie puppy, Paisley. She's precious, absolutely precious!

I've seen God answer lots of prayers this year. He's faithful! He's good!!

The teachers from My Day In K and Teach Talk Inspire are having a New Year's Resolutions Blog Link Up. You can join in by posting on your blog or Instagram by hash tagging #teachersringinthenewyear.

My New Year's Resolution is to make me a better me! I'm a busy mom and wife. I go nonstop from the time I wake up until I jump in bed. In 2016, I plan to change fix that just a little. I know I can't stop all of the things I do but I plan to fit in some good things for me...I hope!

I hope your 2016 is full of love and laughter!

Giveaways

This Christmas break has been good GREAT! Oh y'all! I have needed this time off! This morning, I took a shower, put on my fuzzy new pajamas, and hopped back into bed. I have Netflix, coffee, and my laptop. Life is good!

I found a couple giveaways I would like to share with ya. They are great! Really great!! Besides entering, you may find a few new blogs to follow. It's a win win situation!!

Momma With A Teaching Mission is doing this giveaway. You have 5 more days to enter. Hop on over!

This giveaway has 4 $50 TPT Gift Cards raffles.  You can register {here} at The Primary Pals.

I hope you are enjoying your time off!

Christmas Around The World

Happy Christmas Eve, Friends! Later on tonight, I am going to my husband's parents home to exchange gifts. Before I go, I thought I would drop by and blog a little about the things my students learned in our Christmas Around The World unit.

Kwanzaa-We make handprint kinaras. 

Hanukkah- The kids made paper dreidels. I wish I could have gotten them a real one. I've got to put that on my to do list for next year!

Italy-LeBefana the good witch was my favorite tradition to talk about. I had not heard of her until I did this study last year. Where had I been??? 

Germany-Pickel in a tree-My kids laughed and thought it was funny. They couldn't imagine why someone would hang a pickle in a tree. I explained to them that the child who found it received an extra gift. Then they all wanted their parents to hang pickles on their trees at home....silly kids!

Mexico- I love the story of the poinsettia. I've always loved that Christmas flower!

The last day of school, I read The Candy Cane. This book is wonderful! 

I hope that your family has a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Party

Last Friday was so much fun! The kids were excited that it was the last day of school. I was excited that it was the last day of school. All that excitement got a little CRAZY!!

First, we packed up our Christmas ornaments. I really liked these simple ornaments. The elf was my favorite!

We unwrapped presents.

 And more presents...

Then, my awesome home room mom gave us a Christmas party. 

The kiddos ate and played BINGO. For a few minutes, the game was serious!  They are competitive little fellas!

 We ended our day with a little visit from Santa.

After our students left, the administration fed us a nice lunch. I wonder if I looked a little like this when I left our parking lot..

 Today was my first day of Christmas break. I have enjoyed being LAZY on this rainy day. I hope that you are enjoying your break too! We deserve it!!

Halloween Fun!

Friday was SO much fun! My school held a "Field Day". Although the entire day was planned out and was extremely organized, I was exhausted by 3:00. That's ok though. It was all worth it. I think! I thought I would share a few fun pics!

 We began our week writing about our mummy craft. Our language arts skill was proper nouns with special titles. I encouraged each child to use titles within their writing. Some kiddos did, some kiddos didn't. I'm still happy with the way their writings turned out!

Aren't these little Frankensteins the cutest??!!

We threw a little graphing in the mix. I was surprised that most of my students aren't afraid of spiders! Hmmm...

The wall was so stinking cute after all of the crafts were added. Same as always, the bats were the most popular thing we discussed all week. What is it with bats???

We began our day carving a pumpkin. This one had very little goop! Score!! Each student grabbed a handful and started counting. This pumpkin had 525 seeds!...It made our room smell good!

A fireman discussed fire safety with the students.

Our school officer discussed ways to be safe trick or treating.

Treats, TrEaTs, and more TREATS!

After wrapping friends in toilet paper, tossing candy corn in plastic pumpkins, playing basket ball, jumping on blow up toys, listening to a few community helpers, and eating cupcakes we called it a day and went home. As my kiddos were leaving they said, "This was the best day EVER!"...I'm glad they had a great time. I'm even happier that Halloween was on a Saturday. I'm sure I'm not alone here. Friends, we dodged a bullet! HAHA!!!

I hope that you have a fabulous November!!

Move Your Bus Book Study

I am linking up with Second Grade Sizzle for her Ron Clark Book Study. 

Our school is participating in a Move Your Bus book study. Each week we look at certain chapters and collaborate ways to make our school and ourselves better.  This book has been an eye opener. I was excited when I read that Second Grad Sizzle was having a weekly book study. It's been fun reading bloggers posts and recognizing that my coworkers have had some of the same dificulties. I've learned a lot.

Chapter 17

Allow the Runners to reap the rewards

Let me begin with this...I think I am a fast jogger who gets caught up running occasionally. Here's Ron's definition of each. 

Runner-consistently go above and beyond what is required.

Jogger-Do their jobs well without pushing themselves.

I work in an inclusion classroom with 19 students. I feel that I do my job well. At work, I am 100% in! 

At home, I am a wife with 3 little boys. I feel that I do that job well too. At home, I am 100% in! ...until they go to bed then it's TPT, Periscope, Blab, Twitter Chat, IG, and Blogging time! 

I am not a consistent runner at school. I am OK with that! I go above and beyond in my classroom, just not with extra curricular things.

"Please try to be happy and supportive of the runners who carry the lion's share of the work. Understand that they deserve the perk!"p. 93...I agree with that! 

Chapter 18

Exude a sense of urgency

Ron quoted a quote from his grandmother, "People who walk slow ain't got nowhere to go."p. 95 That lady is soooo right!! It bothers me when teachers walk around slowly. I want to scream, "Put some pep in your step people!"

He also talked about an employee at RCA, Kennedy Reddick. He is a "beast". "This man knocks things out, but the best part about it is that when he's given a task, nothing stands in his way." p. 97 This man reminds me of our school counselor. She is a "beast"! She has a heart of gold and is a workaholic!!

Chapter 19

Find Solutions

Ron told his staff he wanted to "find some dragon DNA, grow an adult dragon, have her lay eggs, and then crack the eggs open and fill them with candy and t-shirts."  He wanted this "dream" to come true but had no idea about how to make it happen. Dear sweet Hope King stepped up and said, "I will do it!" She made it happen! At the end of her project, it was going to coast $20 to mail each package. Hope decided she would hand deliver each package to each child. It was cheap AND made each child feel special!...Meeting Hope King is on my bucket list...

At the end of this chapter, Ron says, "trust me, your initiative will always be recognized and rewarded". 

Periscope in the classroom

I love periscope! I love watching teachers talk about their classrooms, their families, their lives..I love it! However, I don't love turning the camera and talking. I've only recorded one personal scope! It wasn't that great! :/
 BUT Periscope in my classroom is great!  My students love it!

Parents are forced asked to read books on periscope. The kiddos LOVE when his/her parent is reading! It makes me smile!

I also record periscopes during Gonoodle brain breaks, Terrific Kid Awards, special speakers, work stations, and student reading. It's nice to be able to allow parents and grandparents to have "a look" into the classroom...Maybe I will get the courage to periscope on my personal account someday. :)

If you want to periscope in your class, you can pick up Just A Primary Girl free parent release form here. The form is in the packet's preview. 

October Currently

It's time for October Currently! It's hard to believe October is already here!! I've had my school kiddos 42 days! I love those babies so much! They make me smile!!

Listening- to my favorite show Nashville. I love Deacan! I'm so glad he didn't die on the show!..Hope I didn't spoil that for anyone!
Loving- Move Your Bus. I'm doing a book study at school with the new Ron Clark book. It's great! The book has challenged me to be a better person and teacher! I've only got 2 chapters left to read!
Thinking- I finally joined Shelia Jane! A co-worker joined and loves it! So I decided to give it a try! Shelia is so much fun! I can't wait to see what her website is all about!
Needing-to do laundry. I have a confession. Its hard to go to sleep when I have a load of clothes that need to go in the wash. I just can't handle having dirty clothes in my house! B.U.T. tonight I don't care! This girl right here is tired! 
Bootiful-My sleeping family. I've tucked my 3 little boys in their beds and looked at their sweet little faces. (Hubby's asleep too) It's nice to have a few minutes alone!

If you haven't joined in the fun, link up here to share your currently!

Homecoming Fun!

On Friday, our high school football team had their homecoming game. Although the big kids dressed up every day, the elementary school didn't participate in the activities. That makes me sad! :( BUT we did paint paw prints on our faces to show a little team spirit! Go Dogs!

Ladies and gentlemen, I bought my first pack of flair pens. I just wanted to see what the fuss was about. Oh. My. Word.! They are awesome!! I love the colors! I love the way they write! They make me happy! Now I see what y'all have been talking about!!

During the summer, I signed up for an alphabet exchange with  First Grade Found Me . She assigned each class a letter to decorate. Our class was given the letter U. We chose to decorate it as "U is for underwater".  When we receive all 26 letters, I plan on taking a class photo and posting a write up in our local newspaper.  I hope that you sign up next summer. This is my 3rd year participating in the exchange. Every class has enjoyed participating.