Our librarian posted this challenge for the New Year:
I love it, although I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it all.
Week 1 (01/01-01/07):
Alexander, Who's Trying His Best to Be the Best Boy Ever by Judith Viorst.
I literally just discovered this sequel to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and am using it in my class on Monday (1/08) to talk about goal setting and behavior.
I shall count it as the book with a name in the title:
So on to week 2!
Week 2 (01/08-1/14):
The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan.
I'm currently over 100 pages into it with high hopes of finish it soon (ya know, by the 14th). Since it's the third book in the Magnus Chase series, I'll check off the trilogy box when done.
Any suggestions for the other 50 books?
I didn't do so well with June's goals, so hopefully July turns out better! Granted, the month is half over, so let's keep things short and sweet.
In the next thirteen days, here are my thirteen goals:
1) Have the house totally cleaned for when my mom, bro, and his gf come up for my bridal shower at the end of the month. My bestie and MOH can't make it, but her mama is making the drive up from AZ! She gets to see our home for the first time, so I want to make a good impression.
Now the house isn't dirty per say, I've just been in a binging and organizing mood. Bags have gone to Goodwill full of things that don't bring me joy or reflect the life that B and I are building together.
Granted, having most of my classroom in my garage & den isn't helping the situation!
I am enjoying redecorating and organizing the house. B and I had a talk about our future plans for the living room. We'd like a sectional. He'd like new end tables. I'd like larger bookcases (not my ancient cheap ones) and to move our art pieces over a few feet.
However, none of that is financially possible at the moment so I calmed my redecorating urges with redoing our baker's rack:
I struggled to find bookcases I liked (and could afford) when I first moved to Vegas, so this baker's rack was a perfect find. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's a black cast iron frame with dark wood shelves. Normally I'm not a fan of the mixing of black and brown, but it turned out to perfectly match our furniture. Almost everything I owned was black, but he's more a fan of brown, so we are compromising and blending the two. I snagged this rack at a JC Penney home store on clearance. I recently purchased the new illustrated copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and naturally wanted to display it. However, he wanted his Denver Broncos things on display as well, so we compromised. He got a football shelf (and hasn't noticed I snuck my Cardinals Mr. Potato Head in there!) while I got a shelf for my books.
Of course, a new couch is far down on our to buy list. Besides the wedding, a new water softener is our next major purchase! Then a security door and new bedroom set...then new carpet and tile for the master bedroom...then a patio set...then a new couch. Then, because that's obviously a several year plan, it will be time to (hopefully) decorate a nursery.
2) Finish Wonder.
I've heard great things about the novel and want to read it before my students do.
3) Finish rewatching The Office with B on Netflix. He's never seen the series and it's one of my favorites. We're making excellent progress.
4) Try some new recipes. This Buzzfeed {video} popped up on Facebook...
...and these bbq chicken sliders are on the docket for Tuesday's dinner! It's not really a recipe, but I also want to make champagne ice cubes for my bridal shower!
5) Attend my bridal shower and not be offended that I'm not allowed to help decorate. My future MIL is co-hosting the shower (with my momma and maids) at her house and despite my deep rooted desires to be in charge of everything and craft all things, she has banned me from helping. She wants to pamper me and I tried to talk her out of it, but I lost.
6) Set up my new phone. My Galaxy 4 died around Easter, so I used B's backup G3. With the issues I had in my classroom involving theft, I wasn't going to buy a new phone until the summer. I wanted to wait until the end of this month, but alas, my clumsiness won. I dropped my phone and did a stellar job of ruining the screen:
However, Tmobile is close and I got a new phone. I even managed to accidentally match my nails to the case!
There are lots of new tools and apps to figure out! (But Pokemon Go! is not one of them!)
7) Finish most of the long range plans. I {shared before} that we're trying units of study. We mapped out the first one and while I spent hours typing up notes, my ancient computer crashed and I lost all of it. I had our ideas jotted down on paper so it wasn't a total waste, just a frustrating afternoon filled with tears and curse words.
I must also keep in mind that this could have been much worse. This could have happened during the school year when I don't have the luxury of binge watching Netflix and multi-tasking with typing up notes. We talked through ideas for the first unit and part of the second unit. Mrs. H and I have very different personalities (she's linear and sequential in her thinking while I am a complete squiggle), but we balance one another well. Plus we both like to try new things and are pretty similar with our teaching styles. Even if the rest of the grade level doesn't want to try our plans (which is fine), I'm excited for them.
Excitement was something that was a tad lacking in my classroom last year, so I'm hoping this complete change is exactly what I need.
We're meeting up again this week to keep working on units. It's not too painful to set aside one afternoon a week during the summer to try and get ahead for next year.
8) Send out birthday cards in a timely manner. Two of my bridesmaids, my future MIL, and brother have birthdays within the next five weeks. I've got gift ideas in mind, but I'd like to get their presents to them before their birthdays.
9) I'd say exercise every day, but that's unfortunately a bit of a lofty goal when I haven't done so great this entire summer. I am going to the gym with a colleague on Mon & Wed of this week, so that's a start. If I can fit in at least two other work outs, I'll consider that a success.
10) Finish going through our junk mail pile. I learned the hard way that you can't do tons of shredding at a time. I also learned the hard way that the plastic on the outside of envelopes can ruin the shredder blades. So I'm determined to make shredder #3 last for a while because quite frankly, there are many other things I'd like to spend my money on!
11) Be more consistent with my small businesses. Having a new phone should definitely help with my {make up business} because I won't have to wait for B to get home to use his camera.
I did try out a new {lip stain shade} last week and celebrated with some selfies:
Of course, one of my helpers is there too! I wasn't actually going out for the day and didn't want to do a full face of make up (just primer, foundation, brows, and lips...so five minutes of prep), so I seized the opportunity to rock my new shades and bypass doing my eyes.
(Side note: thank you Target for having cute, polarized sunglasses for twenty bucks!)
12) Help my mama set up her new phone. We found a really good deal on a new phone for her and she's getting it as an early birthday present. We got her a case and screen protector to go with it. First on the must have app list? Ibotta and Cartwheel of course!
(If you haven't checked out Ibotta, do so with this code: uvnspet
I'm up to almost $40 in rebates! Once I hit $100, B and I are going on a fancy date!)
13) Nap. I've got a lot of time consuming goals and I'm going to practice some self care as well. I love naps. I will be taking advantage of them while I can.
Next year we're trying something new.
Well, not new, we're going "old school". We're going back to units of study.
We haven't discussed it as a grade level because not everyone wanted to meet over summer to get ahead for next year. Not that I blame them, especially since one has been subbing (year round schools) on a frequent basis. However, since I've got to completely move back into my classroom (because of summer school and my room being painted), have no prep periods, and am still (tentatively) scheduled for sinus surgery in early August, I want to get a head start on next year.
We want to blend reading, writing, language arts, science, and social studies into units to make learning more authentic for students.
We've got the backbone of one of our four units mapped out. We decided to cluster all the standards into social studies units. Next year we'll be focusing on Native Americans, Explorers, Colonies, and the American Revolution.
Social studies standards allow us to use both informational and literature standards, blend in all types of writing (narrative, expository, and persuasive), integrate language mini-lessons, and imbed technology and science content.
We're using a modified version of Engage NY's curriculum for math which is why that subject isn't included in our planning.
You can snag our unit planning template guide {here} for free!
We left ourselves space for including vocabulary, primary source documents, ideas for close reads, and more!
Welcome, 2016.
I have some big goals for you. Twelve in fact, so let's get started on this new year.
1) Make healthier life choices.
I'm competing in my school's "biggest loser" competition, so I'm enjoying my last weekend of glorious, fattening foods. Starting Monday, healthier habits will ensue. I'll be giving up soda. We'll be cooking more at home and eating dinner before six pm. There will be less chips and more veggies and fruits. I'll hit my 10,000 steps a day and Waffles will get more walks. When we're watching television, we'll do stretches and lift on commercials. Smaller, healthier changes are in store for both of us. Both financial gain (biggest loser) and appearance (hello wedding dress in November) are huge motivators.
2) Be more adventurous...in the kitchen.
Anyone who knows me knows I hate cooking. I hate it. I always come up with a variety of excuses (it's hard to cook for one, I hate left overs, it's time consuming, etc). So, we're taking baby steps to counter act this. B and I will be trying one new recipe each week. We're starting with some crock pot meals and branching out from there. We're planning ahead and making grocery lists, together.
3) Be more organized.
I wrote about my first steps towards organization {earlier} and am looking forward to making small, purposeful changes.
4) Work smarter
Just small tweaks at work will make a huge difference. First, I'm going to print out rosters for each subject. Second, I'm stapling answer keys to the back of the rosters. Third, I'm setting a timer. I work best in the morning, so that's when I'll complete my tasks. Instead of grading at night, I'll grade in the morning. I wake up early enough to be able to set aside an hour before work each day (if needed) and still have time to get ready. I need to shut my door and be more focused when I'm at work. I'll never get everything done...and that's okay.
5) Stop Comparing Myself to Others
This one is self explanatory, but crucial. I'm not like my coworkers and I'm only in competition with myself.
6) Read more
I've got five more books for Battle of the Books by April, but I also want to make sure I'm taking time for myself to read each day. I've got a stack of books that I'm dying to dive into!
7) Take more "me" and "we" time...without feeling guilty
There's a running club at school I'd like to visit after school on Wednesdays. Some of my students are in it, so I think it'd be a nice way to build up a relationship with them. I also want to limit technology time and do more fun stuff as a couple, not just simultaneously work on things in the same room and call it together time. I'm also giving myself permission to leave work on time and do fun things on the weekend. For me, this means craft time, nap time, and reading. For B, his "me" time is soft ball (which I'll try to go to more games) and video games. We also want to go hiking and do more couple activities with friends.
8) Focus on the right people
I set ridiculously high expectations for myself. I often invest too much energy and emotion into friendships, which when not reciprocated, leaves me devastated. So this year, to the best of my ability, I will not focus on those that don't want to be my friend and instead cultivate the relationships that matter.
9) Work Less, Live More
As a teacher, I far exceed forty hours a week. With three side businesses ({Teacherspayteachers}, {Jamberry}, and {Younique}), I often feel pulled in several directions at once. I'm going to set small, purposeful goals and then spend the rest of my time doing things I want to do. Sure, I'd like to hit promotions within my small businesses, but I'm also not willing to be that annoying, crazy sales lady. I hope my friends know that I'm all about girl time, mimosas, and bonding. Essentially, my business motto is this: If you want pretty nail wraps or make up, let me know! If you're just here for the brownies, that's cool too.
10) Fiscal Responsibility
News flash: weddings are expensive. I'm blessed to have help from my mom, B's family, and loved ones. While we're both seizing opportunities for overtime, I think we need to curtail our spending. Part of this will come from planning ahead for meals, so we aren't tempted to pick up take out on the way home. Part of this means focusing on big expenses (security door, new couch, new bedroom set, new flooring, vacations, and so forth) rather than short term items. We're couponing (thank you Cartwheel app!) and B's been doing a better job of comparing the prices of items, rather than just grabbing something off the shelf. In 2015, we paid off our new dishwasher, our security door, a new water heater, his wedding band, and his truck. We'll have our credit cards paid off in February and my car will be paid off before the wedding. I'm already funding my 403b at work on a monthly basis, but I'd like to be more serious about funding my Roth IRA and saving for the future. Luckily, most of our friends are feeling a bit poor after the holidays (you know, like the rest of the country) so we're all in this fiscal responsibility thing together!
11) Find more joy
Teaching, at times, is the most disappointing of careers. There's a lot of politics involved and I'm not paid enough, plain and simple. But instead, I'm going to focus on cultivating joy and authentic learning experiences in the classroom.
This extends outside of work. I'm excited about my wedding. But there's lots between now and November to be thrilled about as well. Waffles will turn one in March and have a Barkday celebration. The cats will turn five in April (how did that happen?), B and my bestie both turn 30 (uh oh!). I've got two other weddings (that I know of...), engagement shower(s)?, and engagement pictures. We bought our close friends an escape room ticket, so a group of 8 of us will be doing that soon.
I want to make my weekends mean something, and that means adding more joy (and less work) into my life.
12) Use the internet with intention
We've all been there. I sit down to check facebook real quick, but then I'm reading things I don't need to. I'm checking up on what other people are doing instead of living my own life. Then pinterest calls, and soon enough, an hour has gone by with nothing to show. The internet is crucial, but I want to set time limits and use it with intention. A large part of this means to stop multi-tasking. Yes, it seems counter productive, but I need to focus. If I'm working on a region ppt, I should have open ppt and only internet tabs related to what I'm working on. It seems simple enough and ties right in with working smarter.
What are your goals for this new year?
As I {previously shared}, I got through about half of my {September} goals...and that's okay.
Let's do some goal setting for October!
1) For the love of all things holy, I need to finish this dang book:
It's good, I'm just struggling to find time to read independently...without pets on my lap.
2) Purchase and start this highly anticipated book:
I thought it was Annabeth's brother, but alas, Magnus is her cousin. It's in the newest Scholastic book flyers that I distributed, so I'll be buying myself one. There were lots of other great books, so I might spend some of my points and stock up on new things for my students.
3) Work on our wedding website. We decided (okay, I decided) to make a free one to fill our out of state guests in on events. I've started one on the knot, I just have to finish it.
4) Buy a new computer. B's is....eight. Yes, eight. It's a third grader. It's time for a new one. We're visiting my family at the end of the month, so it's a perfect time to get my brother's feedback (since he works for Microsoft) and get a new one. It's not perfect timing (because it never is), but we've been putting this off for about a year. He needs it for school and I need it for work.
5) Make the second {DEN ambassador meeting} even more awesome than the first! I've already got a few more teachers interested in attending, which is great.
6) Attend a cultural event. We're actually going to Greek Fest tonight, so this one will be easily accomplished! One of the great things about Vegas is that there are lots of fun things like this.
7) Visit the {Bellagio gardens}. We went over the summer and enjoyed their underwater display, but I guess they've changed it again for fall. It's free to get in and there's a chocolate store nearby. If B doesn't want to go (or has class), I'm sure I can talk some of my gals into going...right?
8) Make something with apples. It might be an apple pie. It might be apple cinnamon sangria. Okay, it will probably be the sangria. A friend just sent me a video of a new recipe and it looks fairly easy.
9) Have a girls day. We're doing a Frankenstein Jamberry Wrap Swap on the 17th and playing with make up (always fun), but I want to do a happy hour with my bridesmaids (the ones that are here). I also want to do a happy hour with some of my lovely coworkers. Y'all down for that?
10) Catch up with old friends. It's been far too long since I've talked with some of them on the phone. There's been some childish antics with "friends" here, so I'm ready to cut my losses and focus on the amazing people that I do have in my life.
11) Start Battle of the Books! Mrs. H, the librarian, and I have been hyping this up to the fourth and fifth graders. We're collecting permission slips and getting ready to start our after school book lounge. We're offering the kids some guidance, but the Battle of the Books is totally up to them. We wanted to give them extra reading time in the library after school and offer structure, but it's up to them.
12) Catch up on grading (almost done), finish the next two regions for social studies (the West Region is part way done), and maybe even get ahead in terms of planning (a girl can dream).
13) Continue to be extra patient with my students. Some of them have a lot going on at home and act out in school because they're having trouble coping. This is totally understandable, it's just taking some additional patience on my end. Patience that I quickly feel I'm running out of. It's hard with 34 students. It's hard when some of them are able to focus for thirty seconds at a time and constantly shout out. It's hard to continue to be patient when I have ten different private hallway conversations with a student on a daily basis about class norms. But...it's necessary.
14) Figure out my school costume. We're doing a theme for fifth grade...and the theme is balls. We're not the most appropriate ones, I know. It's more of a joke for the adults. I'm thinking of being a disco ball or a bowling ball. Totally fine costume by itself, but then when the teachers realize that all of the fifth grade teachers have something to do with balls...hilarity will ensue. The kids won't get it. But it makes us giggle.
So apparently my "top ten" got a little over zealous and I now have 14 goals for the month. But...overplanning is how I live my life.
What will you accomplish this October?
