12/29/2021 1 Comment My one word for 2022For the past two years every New Years Eve my husband and I work on a vision board for the following year. Last year we included our oldest son to join us. We will continue that tradition this year and include everyone. From my eight year old to my fifteen year old. I know vision boards, setting goals, and choosing words for the new year isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's my tea. I tape our vision boards inside our cabinets above our coffee maker. I love looking through my vision board throughout the year and checking off things I have accomplished. Do I accomplish everything? No...of course not! I like to remind myself what I am working towards and my "why".
As you may have noticed I did not have one single entry for 2021 on this blog and I apologize for that. This past year was full of surprises. My husband and I welcomed baby number 5 in July. A beautiful healthy baby boy named Harrison. I transitioned from a classroom teacher to an administrator (also in July). I went back to work three weeks postpartum, but did end up taking some baby bonding time in October. I will go back to work in January 2022. In one of my principal facebook groups a fellow administrator had mentioned a book called, "One word that will change your life" by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page. Which got me thinking if I picked one word for 2022 what would it be? I couldn't just pick the word without reading the book, so I downloaded it off of Amazon. It is a pretty quick book you can read in under an hour. I highly recommend it to my school leaders. In the book it asks three questions to consider while you are thinking about your one word: What do I need? What's in my way? What is preventing me from having what I need? What needs to go? The why behind my your word... I need balance in my life. I am a very busy person, which isn't always a good thing. I am a mother of five. My youngest is only 5 months. My children are very very active in after school extra curricular activities. I am an administrator who loves what I do and am very busy, because it is my first year. So, what is in my way? What is preventing me from achieving what I need.......ME. I am in my own way. Not to get too deep, but I experienced some postpartum depression. During my baby bonding time I had to take care of myself, because of this experience I chose the word that I did. What needs to go? Toxic relationships!! of all kinds at work, friends, family. I don't have time for that in 2022. Drum roll please.........my word for 2022 is RISE. Why did I choose that word? I didn't pick the busy mom life/administrator life, it chose me....j/k. I know exactly what I signed up for. I love being a mother and school administrator. I need to RISE to the challenges of balancing my home life and work life. I also chose the word RISE, because I felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes after I overcame my postpartum depression. It's just a reminder that I can overcome anything. Even in darkness there is always light. Lastly, toxic relationships. I won't get too into this conversation, but I think rising above the negativity is something I will practice in 2022. What is your one word? I would love to hear it. Comment below, or tell me on IG.
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1/30/2020 1 Comment 100th day of schoolHappy 100th day of school! The day has finally arrived and my first graders had a blast celebrating. When my students arrived they were surprised with decorations, goodies on their desks, and a morning message. The 100th day of school goodies are from oriental trading and I used Class Dojo to project my morning message. Then, during our morning meeting I thanked students for coming to school everyday and I explained how they are now 100 days smarter. We had a 100th day dance party, which means we danced to GoNoodle's Count to 100 video. Once students settled down I explained our 100th day of school stations. I purchased my 100th day of school activities and centers on TeacherPayTeachers from Happy Hearts in 1st. So a big THANK YOU to her on a great product! Here are some more action shots :) My students really enjoyed these stations. I cannot wait to do it again next year.
1/26/2020 3 Comments Lunar new year 2020I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. One of my favorite memories from elementary school was celebrating Chinese New Year. I remember celebrating in my classroom and receiving red envelopes from friends. It's a great time to reflect and bring in good fortune. This year is the year of the rat. It's one of the zodiac animals and according to myth the rat tricked the ox into giving him a ride. The rat jumped off and become first. In Chinese culture, rats are symbolized as clever, being quick thinkers, and being successful. The rats are also seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. I love introducing my students to different cultures. We live in a diverse country. Every culture should be celebrated and represented in the classroom. When students arrived in the morning for breakfast there was a coloring sheet from Creative Clips on their desk. I played the Lunar New Year video from Brainpop Jr. I would pause during the video to explain certain things to my students, so they understood the meaning of Chinese New Year. During math my students completed a Chinese New Year Math Craft from weheartteaching. I love their resources, because it is academic and crafty. I love displaying my students work in my classroom. I cannot wait for parents to see their work during open house.
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