Currently... Almost 2015!

I am posting a Currently before the new month begins? WOW. Vacation must be affecting my brain. That's like turning in an assignment before it's due. (Rather than three days late with a list of excuses!) Early is kind of exhilarating! (Clearly EARLY is a word that is not often in use in my vocabulary!

I just LOVE our BlogFriend, Farley. It's like she gives us a present each month through Currently. All of her posts have a funny line (or twelve)--and they are, at the same time, often the source for much reflection for me! Farley is sort of like a Public Service Announcement for "Take Care of Yourself." After you link up today, be sure to link back and read a few of her "other" posts--along with Currently, of course!

Here are my musings now and for the month ahead...

I've truly enjoyed my vacation this year. I have done a lot of resting and relaxing. I've watched TV, and read books and magazines, and taken naps whenever the mood struck. I have to admit I am getting comfortable with this laid-back lifestyle. I just hope I don't fall asleep in the middle of the day when I return to school!

I really want to have a plan for my after school time when we return to school. I am NOT an afternoon kind of person. I like to get up early (often before 5:00) and I can stay up late into the night. But the middle of the day...

We are an "early start" school. We have to be there by 7:20 and "duty" starts at 7:25 if you have a morning assignment.  I have playground duty or "Greeter" duty most days, and I'm almost always on time. But our school day ends at 2:00 (which I love, love, LOVE!). Of course, there are meetings and IEPs and tutoring after school, but I can be out of the parking lot by 4:00 on most days... if I don't work after school. Since this time of day is not my most productive, I am usually a work-in-the-evening kind of gal. I love planning after dinner with my coffee close by. But before I can plan I need to organize what I have dragged home. Too often my way of finishing the school day is to dump everything in sight into a box and take it all home to be sorted, graded, etc. (And, sometimes, I don't look at the box at all in the evening.)

If I am a little more strategic, I would be a lot more organized. So, I am thinking of making an "After School To Do" list. I may even make it into a sticker chart! I am not beyond working for extrinsic rewards--how about a mini Kit Kat if I get it done?! I just need to do one hour of concentrated work after school, so that I don't have three hours of chaos in the evenings. Make sense?

Like everyone, I'm sure, I have plenty of goals for the new year. At the moment, I have Kit Kats in every room (My students know me too well!) and I am going to have to give them away if I am to find space for an apple or two! And I want to exercise more and sleep more--which can be accomplished if I don't say YES! to every project, training, and activity that comes along.

With all of that extra time I'll be saving by organizing myself after school, I could learn to do something new. At this moment, I am thinking I'd like to learn how to play the violin! Or... maybe I'll just eat a few more Kit Kats, take a nap, and dream about it!

Don't forget to link up with Farley...

 

Wishing you a happy, JOY-filled New Year!