January

I can't believe that January is almost over!!! It seems like it was just Christmas yesterday! Not much has happened since then...just the same old, but at the moment I am enjoying my second 3 week break of the school year. Oh yes, I needed it so bad! So did my class! You can tell when they are having an extremely hard time focusing on their work and the boys start pulling down each others pants! Yikes! Yes, that actually did happen the week before we went off...oh the joys! :0 Don't get me wrong, I love my class but I am still having a hard time managing them! This time off has helped me clear my head a little though and think about what I am going to change to help them learn better when we come back on in February. I am thinking of making their warnings fewer and their consequences more severe, because it just seems like they don't care and aren't scared of the consequences I have in place now. I also want to focus more on the positive behaviors so they are more willing to have good behavior if they get more recognition for that. Any suggestions????

Anyway, they did do something that was really awesome this month though. Every year I have my class choose, plan, and carry out a service project. This year they chose to collect toys for Primary Children's Medical Center. So, they brought in boxes to put by the Main Office of our school, passed out flyers and had it announced every day over the school's morning announcements for 3 weeks. Well, we filled ALL FIVE BOXES, plus more! When I packed them up after it was done, we filled about 7 or 8 big, black garbage sacks full of toys! WOW! Here are a few pictures:





Needless to say, I really do have a great class and the school is surrounded by a great neighborhood, willing to donate so much!!! I even had one of my parents pick up ALL of the toys and take them up the the hospital.

With the remainder of my off track time, I am going to go on a cruise to the Western Carribean with Sally and another friend, Candyce! I leave tomorrow and am so excited to get a little warmth and sun!!! I will definitely post pictures when I come back, but for now, enjoy!

Christmas Fun!

Wow, what a Christmas! It came and went just like that, but it was great! It started off with a Christmas party on the last day of school with my class. Boy they spoiled me with all kinds of presents (enough candy and lotion to last me a whole year or more!). Then my parents and me opening presents on Christmas morning. I got SPOILED by Santa as well! He gave me gorgeous black boots for work and church, Wii Fit and Wii MarioKart, and a beautiful necklace to match a pair of earrings I got a while back. Then I got a GREAT picture of Christ from my friend Sally and a cute necklace as well.

Then it was off to Scott and Kim's to see what the kiddos got and for the best surprises of all! :) Little did my mom know that hiding there was the 4-wheeler with a snow plow for her...boy was she surprised! Also, my dad dropped the bombshell on us kids by telling us that he was going to be the Bishop of a new ward they created in our home ward. Wow...you think I would be suspecting it with all of the crazy calls at our house and people stopping by...but my parents hid this secret from us for 3 whole weeks! He was sustained this past Sunday and will be starting the ward from scratch this next Sunday. I know he will do awesome, because he is such a great example to me! I think my parents will miss the singles ward though. My dad was in the Bishopric of the ward I go to and a lot of the YSA's were crying about them leaving! I never really knew how much influence they had there until that happened! Such good parents I have!

Anyway, the last thing I wanted to mention was that Scott and Kim gave me these way fun chimes to use with my class! They didn't come with a bag to put them in, so I made one yesterday and this is how it turned out. Very fun!

I hope your Christmas was a fun one too! Good luck in the new year to come!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!!

I think it just finally hitting me that Christmas is 5 days away! It seems like it really has just snuck up on me! These past couple of week have FLOWN by and now I only have 2 and a half more days of work before I am off for a week and a half. YAHOO! Live for those nice, relaxing breaks!

I am really not the most creative teacher, but I have had my students doing a couple of Christmas art projects this month. The one I took a picture of is the ornaments hanging from the ceiling. They are of Christmas symbols and they colored them in complementary colors. They had a good time with those! I also had them make the picture frames out of popsicle sticks last Friday to give to their parents for Christmas. It is something that I remember doing when I was that age and we still have those ornaments! They are so fun!

This weekend I also made sugar cookies and dipped them in chocolate and sprinkles to give to friends and colleagues. I think they turned out great! I put them on a cute tray my mom received from her sister Joan, and they look perfect on it! Thanks Aunt Joan! :)

Anyway, I am so excited to spend time with friends and family this holiday season and hope you all can find joy in celebrating Christ's birth. He is the real reason for the season that we all love! Thank you all for supporting me in all that I do! It means a lot to me. Have a Merry Christmas!!