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!

It's Currently January... WooHoo!

Wasn't I just talking about Currently YESTERDAY?! Oh yea... and I completed the December edition so late the "collection" had already closed?! (That's a first... and not one I'm proud of! My heart ached over that one But I've moved on! It's 2014 and I have another twelve tries to do better!

Swirly frame by Ginger Snaps Clip Art HERE on TpT!

So, for January, I am not last. And I will be "in the collection." It's like being in the in-group in high school (I wasn't, by the way. I was in the middle. Does that make sense?) Oh dear. I am digressing in paragraph two after spending twenty minutes trying to find the right shade of turquoise for the font on the Currently graphic! I am never going to get on the list this way!)

Well, if I type really, REALLY fast, I might be able to break into the first one hundred. What a great way to start out the new year. I was looking for a post from my pal, Middle School OCD, and a Currently graphic flew by! Do you know Susan? She is a true sweetie pie. And if you are an upper grade teacher, you should stop by her blog. You will love her language arts posts. She works with some struggling learners (like me!) and she always makes me feel motivated... and hopeful! Click on her button below to visit her! By the way, Susan REALLY wants to get to 300 followers on Bloglovin' so if you're reading this... Please click on the BlogLovin' botton (It's very cute!) on her site. She would be so thrilled to see that "magical number" and you could help her do that!

Which brings me back to Currently! The thought that this vacation may someday end is starting to creep into my conscious thought. I keep pushing those thoughts away, but I know in my heart that one of these many "Sundays" (during vacation, all of the days seem like Sunday to me!), it really will be a Monday and I will have to go "back." Ooooh. Big shiver.

Time out for coffee.

Mmmmmmmmm. Good pot o' Joe! (Hey! Why Joe? Why not Kim? I'm sure I drink more than my fair share!) I'm particularly pleased with this batch of goodness. I didn't have any coffee filters so I ended up using tissue paper from the Christmas wrapping box. At that last minute I decided against the red-and-green striped piece. Wouldn't THAT have been a mess!

Don't you love my cup?! I bought it during my first year of student teaching! That makes it over thirty years old! It's probably made of some toxic lead-based material that is mutating my chromosomes as we speak (heeheehee). BTW, any reports that I have a hoarding problem are absolutely UNtrue!

I know... A better photographer would not have had that funny blue blur in the middle...

Now, back to Currently. I really want to be more HOPEFUL and POSITIVE this year. I don't think those are my one two little words this year, but I was trying them out. I have been feeling a bit discouraged that my kids don't seem to be learning much this year. One day they even told me so! (Now THAT is a blog post for another day...) So, I want to go back to school BELIEVING they will learn more... and doing everything I can to make that happen! Believing. Nice word... But, no, not it.

Which brings me to another part of Currently. I am SOOOOO bad about writing my lesson plans. I always usually know what we are doing. After thirty years, I can predict where we're going, where we've been, where we could have been, and where we are not going. I just don't write things down. And I don't compress the activities into the amount of time I have, so I just keep teaching and teaching... and then June arrives too quickly. So, I am VOWING (so NOT my one little word) to be more consistent and diligent in writing down my plans and planning farther ahead.

Well, it's clear that I have wandered all over the place with this post. And I forgot to add in the Currently graphic. So here it is! (I'm rather pleased with the shade of turquoise in my favorite Christina Bainbridge font... It's called CBPlain and you can find it HERE on TpT). And, honest truth, I am going to rush and post this, since I have slipped from a possible #28 spot all the way to spot # 52. Afterwards I am going to go back and edit all of my spelling and typing mistakes. Let's hope I don't add in another paragraph or two of semi-connected thoughts!!!

With that, I am off to another cup o' Kim (Joe can get his own coffee!)

Now, remember to make Farley proud (and happy). Check into Currently. Add your lovely (filled in!) graphic and your thoughts. And then join in the party. Most importantly (and dearest to Farley's heart), leave some love for the people before you and after you in the link up. In fact, click all over the link-up. Find some new friends... you don't even have to click on the links in order! (Although some people do... because they're just that way...)

Wishing you a HAPPY New Year with many wonderful blessings in 2014!

 

PS I'm not positive--but I just think it's likely... that my one little word might be... JOY!

January Currently

How I LOVE Farley's Linky Parties over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade.  It's like going to an Open House, but not having to bring (or spell) any hors d'oeuvres!

This round has been particularly fun for two reasons.... First, I have enjoyed looking at everyone's chosen "word."  Second, there's an added incentive of what may simply be the coolest--or at least the quietest--pencil sharpener on the planet!

If you haven't linked up, head on over to Farley's... just click on the big ol' January Currently picture.  It'll take you right there!  And while you're there, explore some other bloggers' January offerings.  And then, take a peek at some of Farley's other posts.  There's a reason she has OVER A THOUSAND FOLLOWERS!  (Congrats, Farley!)

Happy January!