Resolutions

It's naturally that time to start thinking about resolutions, both professionally and personally.

In 2015, I resolve to:

-Find more time to be crafty.  I enjoy craft projects and DIY projects. I'm excited to redo our bathroom cabinets and rip out the carpet to replace it with tile.  (On a side note, no one should ever put carpet in the bathroom.  Silly choice, previous home owners!).  I can't wait to paint, but that's a long weekend project.  So I will fill my time with smaller projects, like this one.  I had a great time making this wreath over the weekend:

I can't wait to make more!  (On a side note, I needed 60 feet of burlap...not the 30 that pinterest suggested!)  It's for a friend, so I'm going to add her last name initial and a large chevron burlap bow. I'm excited for how it'll look once it's done.

-Go line dancing more.  I like the gym, but I'd rather go dancing with my girl friends.  It makes me happy, it's the same distance to the gym as it is to the saloon, so I might as well go there too.

-Take more time for adventures.  Go watch B's softball games.  Go for more walks around the neighborhood.  Try new restaurants.  When coworkers ask about my weekend, I want to have more stories to share.  Granted, there will be the occasional lazy weekend of binge watching Netflix, but that shouldn't be all the time.

-Read more.  It's taken me a few months to get through The House of Hades, which is a great read, but I'd like to carve more me time.

-Continue to develop products for my students, which will then be posted on TpT. 

-Give myself permission to leave work on time.  I get there early because that's when I function best, so I need to be okay with leaving after the parking lot is clear.  I will never have everything done for my classroom.  I will work on prioritizing what must be done and just be okay with a never ending task list.

-Finish those last 5 credit hours to bump up to my next pay scale.  Look into a second masters program.

-Stop comparing myself to other teachers.  The great thing about moving to my new school is I have so many teachers to learn from.  I am more than willing to try new things and have great ideas to emulate and make my own.  I just need to be more patient with myself and allow myself time to try new things. I have to give the new ideas time to see if they're effective.  I have to be open to constructive feedback, but shrug off criticism when it's rooted in anything other than a genuine desire to help me improve.

-Stop justifying my educational decisions to others (with the exception of my admin).  I'm not the type of teacher who is going to wing it. I'm not going to apologize for being meticulously prepared for things. I'm not going to apologize for veering off the lesson plan for teachable moments.  I'll do what's best for my students and the rest will just fall into place.


What are your resolutions?