Common Core Workbooks

These Common Core Workbooks seem to be a fantastic resource for Common Core activities.  They include posters of the standard, pre-made center activities to practice the standards, and worksheets for each standard.  If you post a blog about them in the next few days, they're offering a free download!  And as much as we teachers spend on our classrooms, resources, and supplies......free is awesome!  I checked out the free sample of the book on their website and it looks great!  The posters are clear and easy to read, the centers are colorful, but simple to put together and for students to play, and the worksheets look like a great way to assess whether students "get it" independently before moving on to testing.  Check it out!

New Year, New Chances

With each new year, we all have new chances.  New chances to make changes, hopefully for the better, new chances to do the right thing, new chances to do the things we've always wanted to do, new chances in our career, new chances to make new habits.  A new year is like a universal fresh start for us all.

Most people come up with these grand, unattainable "resolutions."  Promising themselves they'll do something daily for the next 365 days.  But honestly, I can barely promise myself that I'll do something consistently for the next 3 days.  So I've never really been into the whole resolution idea.  In recent years, I've seen a lot of goal-setting, reflections/lessons learned, or other variations.  This appealed more to me than the resolutions, but I still can't say I've really participated.

However, this year feels different.  I think this year feels different because I can finally look ahead with a little less fear, and a little more care.  Up until I got married, I was kind of care free.  Never really bothered with resolutions or goals because I was to focused on the present, like finishing college and planning a wedding.  Then we got married, and life was kind of day-to-day.  We moved a lot, we both were trying to get good jobs and not having much luck, I finished school, he briefly went back to school, we lived with my parents and his parents.  There just didn't seem to be much to look ahead for.  But things have a taken an upswing in the last year and a half.  We both have those good jobs, and while we had to move 10 hours away to do it, things are going really well.  That's not to say we have the next 10 years planned out, or even the next 1, but it's a little less scary now.  It finally feels like we have our feet under us, on a good foundation, and we'll be able to take that with us wherever it is that life takes us.



So, partly inspired by this feeling of being ready for new chances, and partly inspired by a friend's blog this morning (although I don't have 28 like her ;), I've thought of some things I want to focus on in 2014.

1. I want to spend more time with God.
2. I want to spend more time with my husband that is not in front of the TV or computer.
3. I want to eat healthier.
4. I want to cook more.
5. I want to read for pleasure more.
6. I want to go to more trainings to be a better teacher.
7. I'm ready to be a mom.
8. I want to have at least 3 Scentsy parties this year.
9. I want to make more things (craft-wise).
10. I would love to learn to sew.
11. I want to improve my friendships.
12. I want to keep my house cleaner.
13. I want to get in better shape.  I know this one will be a struggle, but it's a struggle that will be worth it.
14. I want to write more.  It's so healing.

I think that's plenty.  I think that's a good place to start at least, for someone who hasn't done this much before.  Plus my slight OCD finds it convenient that there are 14 things on my list for the year 2014.  ;)

Happy New Year everyone!  Take some chances of your own!