First Week!

Ready. Set. Go!

Our school year is about ready and we will soon be off and running!  I am super excited for this year. I've done a lot trying to get the year off to a great start. We started with redecorating my office and the teacher conference room:

Our theme is "Rooted to be Fruited" -- helping students be rooted in God's word in order to have the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Kids will get fruit to put up on our fruit stand when they demonstrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit and are recognized by a teacher or staff!

Teachers created this bulletin board with darling pineapple faces. We painted them at our staff retreat up at Diamond Arrow.

I'm getting ready by reading Lead Like a Pirate by Shelley Burgess. I love all the PIRATE books and have read many! The books truly helped me transform as a teacher. From their website: "In Lead Like a PIRATE, education leaders Shelley Burgess and Beth Houf map out the character traits necessary to captain a school or district. You’ll learn where to find the treasure that’s already in your classrooms and schools—and how to bring out the very best in your educators. This book will equip and encourage you to be relentless in your quest to make school amazing for your students, staff, parents, and communities." It is my hope that Victory Christian be continue to be the most amazing school for students, staff, and families! 

On a personal level, as much as I am loving getting ready for the year, I am being bombarded on all sides.  New school. New job. Mom just moved in with us. Mom has cancer. Son just had heart surgery. Husband flew out to be with ill dad. It's been quite a week. 

One thing is sure:

HE rocks - because HE is awesome. And...HE is my rock and fortress when times get crazy. I was able to participate in a book launch at just the right time...

http://www.stretchedtoothinbook.com/

If you are a working mom...or just a really busy person like me...this book is a must! I battle to do ALL things well. At the end of the day, I am often stretched too thin. Some of it is my own fault...I take on too much. Some of it is because of my perfectionistic tendencies. Jessica Turner helps you establish clear work boundaries, become more efficient and less stressed, and how to prioritize self-care. 

Okay. I'm off to some self-care right now! I'm choosing to relax on my front porch swing and read. ahhh.....

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Three Things to Do to Avoid Burn Out

I have known of way too many teachers - many new, young teachers, who have quit the teaching profession due to burn out. Let's face it. A miserable teacher really shouldn't be teaching. 

So, today I am going to write about how I have avoided burn out. At least, it's a guess of why I have avoided it! I'm not 100% sure - I just have some hunches. 

1. Give thanks.

There are so many things to be thankful for. When we focus on what "could be" or "should be" rather than what we have, we get the poor-me-syndrome. A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting a small orphanage/school in a rural part of Mozambique, Africa. It was fascinating. The classrooms were all painted a weird red/pink color on the inside and consisted of benches and a front chalk board. That's all. The teacher stood in front of the class and spoke with no manipulatives, no technology, no paper or pen...you get the picture. And you know what else I noticed? The kids were happy. They sang, clapped, danced, answered questions, smiled. They were "doing school" with nothing and it worked. I went back to my classroom and instead of complaining about all the things I wasn't happy with, I started listing all the blessings I had. There were many!

List your blessings, daily. Give thanks. It will cheer up your day!

2. Be a learner.

Strive to learn something new each day! Learning helps us grow and improve in our profession. Subscribe to blogs, follow awesome fellow teachers on Twitter, try a new class from Skillshare! Earlier this year I tore my retina and was bed-bound for weeks. I took tons of Skillshare classes. They weren't related to education, but I can use some of the things I learned in my career. Love. It. 

3. Balance.

Finding a balance between work like and home life can be very difficult for a teacher. Most teachers I know are also the hardest working individuals I know. You have to keep a healthy balance in order to avoid burn out. As a past teacher, I spent my summers getting ready for the next school year. I had a hard time saying no -  to myself! I was constantly working, planning, creating. Nonstop. I admit. Balance is a hard one for me. One thing I DO do, though, is make time for myself. I love to ride my bike, run, cook, draw, write, and paint. I make time for the things I love to do. Even though I work like a crazy woman most days, I work hard and play hard. My exercise time is built into my day and it naturally adds the balance I need. 

drawing on my iPad

a quick ride on a backyard trail

I'm sure there are many more ways to avoid teacher burn out. I've enjoyed working in education for 33 years now. Although there have been up and down times, I know that if I continually strive to learn new things, live a balanced life, and count my blessings, I won't burn out. I love it too much. 

What are your thoughts? What works for you?

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2016-2017 Classroom Reveal!

I am sharing with you my classroom reveal... with a little trepidation. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE my classroom. It's spacious, clean, up-to-date, and beautiful. The hardest part for me was taking pictures!! I have one wall on the third floor with a beautiful view. The problem is - it is hard to take pictures in their without everything looking too dark or washed out. The lighting is pretty naturally, but just doesn't photograph well. So, I ended up scrapping many pictures simply because I couldn't get the lighting right. 

Okay, on to my pictures!

Here it is before any work...

Nice view, right?!

I love this wood paper. I bought it from Amazon.

This is my growth mindset bulletin board. It is up by my small group area. The white pieces are whiteboard circle stickers and whiteboard tape! I will let students write on them and they should erase easily.

This is by my desk. I need to add some more family pictures - still working on that!

My desk area is a little unimpressive. I just didn't have the energy to put too much into it!

This is at the back of the room. It has my new light and community supplies plus the Instagram writing board. I'm not sure what I will put on the other board yet. 

I do like the VIP table! I bought a Buddha board for drawing and a box of supplies that my son was throwing out. I grabbed it and painted it black. I need to add a few more fun supplies. Any ideas?

I had to keep my same colors as I have used in the past simply because I didn't want to buy new book bins. Next year I may need to switch it up! (Spray paint, maybe? Have you sprayed this type of plastic before? Does it stick?)

How do I hide these Apple TV cords? 

Front of the room.

View from teacher desk to door.

It was hard to place the student desks. There are 30 students and not too many ways to fit them all in the room! I decided to do 5 groups of 6. Hope that works! 

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Making Fans!

I just couldn't wait for Monday Made It - I've been a busy bee! So, I will blog this early and link up Monday to my Made It!

I love decorating my classroom with fans - but don't really want to purchase them. I found that they are EASY to make and it is much more fun to have items that are unique, personal, and for my exact color scheme. I want to share with you how I quickly and easily make the fans!

Step 1:

Select your paper. I found a cheap deal at Michaels for a pack of odd papers. Honestly, I thought they were all wood design, opened them up, and saw that only the 1st two pages were wood! But - they work. 

Step 2:

Begin folding.  Fold the paper back and forth like an accordion. 

 Step 3: 
Bend the paper in half and staple.

Step 4:

Repeat this with one more piece of paper. Then, fan open and staple the two papers together.

Step 5:

To complete the look, I took another piece of paper, folded it twice, and traced a circle using a mug. I cut out the circles and ended up with 4.

That's all! Glue the circles to the middle using a hot glue gun. I typed out words to glue on top of the circles but you may do whatever you wish! Try using icons, pictures, group names...the list goes on!

Please share this with your friends and I'd love to see your creations!

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