Focus in 2018

New year, new you, amirite?

I wanted to pop in and write a quick post about my goals for the year.

I have been seeing all over the internet the idea of choosing a word for your year instead of resolutions, and I absolutely love it!

Of course, that is not enough- I have also been working on goal setting using the S.M.A.R.T. technique.

So for 2018, my word is FOCUS.

Being a mom, teacher, wife, scientist, runner, PERSON can get overwhelming. After my second daughter was born, people would ask how it was going. My word then was relentless. The demands were never ending; a constant wave after wave of everyone else's needs.

But I did not choose that word, life, at that time, had chosen it for me.

Now that my girls are older, I am able to move back into making myself and my goals more of a priority.

In choosing the word FOCUS, I am making the decision to intentionally work on my goals.

Next, I tackled my goals for the year. 

S.M.A.R.T goals are ones that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed. This makes you have to be more accurate than just saying "I want to be healthier".

Bear in mind that the more time and thought you put into making your goals S.M.A.R.T., the more likely you will be able to reach them.

I separated my goals into 3 categories- personal, school and business, and limited them to no more than three in each category.

Personal -
1) Run Broad Street 10 miler in May and the Half Marathon in November
2) Lose 15 lbs
3) Run a 5k each month

Business-
1) Reach and keep a minimum income until the beginning of next school year
2) Get my business parts streamlined

School-
1) Create a cohesive yearly curriculum for all classes that incorporates my values
2) Create a classroom that feels like an "internship" style room that encourages students to become problem solvers and inventors
3) Create a more interactive system of work using the digital tools I am required to use

My personal goals laid out in my bullet journal

For all of these goals, I went through and identified how I will measure success in each one, what steps I will take to achieve them, why achieving that goal is worth it and a date when they should be completed.

This took me a few days- I kept writing and revisiting them over and over until I was satisfied.

The toughest ones will be the school goals- this is my first year in this school and with this subject (STEM  taught in PBL manner) so it was hard to put into words what I wanted. For a couple of my goals, I am still unsure how they will be measured, so that is still a work in progress.

I also created pages in my bullet journal for tracking the steps to my goals, and check in points where I can re-evaluate as I go. Because, life...

So far, I feel empowered and on track! I have an incredibly positive feeling about my goals and the steps I have already taken, that at times I almost have to hold myself back from rushing forward to complete the next step!

But, then, I focus. 

I take a close look at the step I am at. Am I on track?

Am I completing this step to the best of my ability, or to it's full end, before rushing along?

I remind myself, I took a lot of time and careful thought to ensure that I have time to complete everything.

I think this year will be good.

What word, goal or resolution did you make? Do you have a plan to achieve it?

Comment below and share it with us!

3 Places to Practice Teacher Self-Care

This year I am making it a focus to take good care of myself. I started practicing intentional self-care last year, and it was by far my best teaching/mom year yet! I avoided feeling overwhelmed, I managed to take less work home and my class routines and management seemed to flow more smoothly! I wanted to share with you some of the things I did, along with some other ideas for self-care. 

I broke down the ideas into three places- your desk, at school and at home. No excuses this year!

Want a handy printable? Grab it here!

At Your Desk

I love keeping something special in my desk or filing cabinet for when the going gets rough! And since I am known to hoard treats, other teachers often come to visit! Here are some of the things I like to keep:

• Tea or hot chocolate (I have the whole set up- teas, electric kettle, sugar, creamer, extra mugs!)

• Chocolate (usually Hershey kisses, but sometimes mini-candy bars)

• Healthy snacks (granola bars, goldfish, dried fruit packs)

I also keep things that make me happy on my desk in a special space. Pictures of my kids, a candle, potted plants, little science-y knick-knacks. It makes a little calming space for me to rest my eyes.

At Home
Make sure to schedule some time for your own hobbies! I dedicate time 3 days a week to run (about an hour total), then the other 2 days are for cleaning (this only takes about 30-45 minutes and it makes me feel better!) I also want to set aside time this year for sewing and baking (my two favorite hobbies).

Spend time with loved ones/ animals- or both! Take your kids and dogs for a walk! Go to the park, play a game. I like to do mini projects with my girls or walk around the block to get my 10,000 steps in. I actually have an app on my phone (Offtime) that blocks other apps, so I can focus on what I am doing. I set it for when I go to pick up the girls, to right after they are supposed to be in bed. I also set it for bedtime to after the girls have been dropped off, so that I am not distracted in the morning.

If you have time- volunteer! I rarely have time, but I do like to give money and goods to different charities. I donate in person or I write a paper check- it makes me feel more connected. I do a sweep of our house, toys and clothes every 6 months and donate them to a children's charity and Goodwill. Good karma and a clean-ish house!

Relax and do nothing! Watch mindless tv, read (non-pd!), listen to music, take a long soak! 


At School
Connect with other teachers! Don’t get stuck in your room- make the effort and go visit! I have social anxiety so this is hard for me, but I try to pop in and be non-intrusive. Usually I bring something by the first few times (hey, I made cookies, would you like one?), and occasionally afterward. Also, invite them on walks as well!

Again, social anxiety, but making positive phone calls can be relaxing and bring on a rush of endorphin! Parents are always surprised and delighted by positive phone calls. Bonus points if it is a usually “bad” kid!

Get something crossed off your to-do list! I don't know about you, but I have Post-its stuck all over my desk of things to do! I find one that can be done pretty quickly and cross it off! The good feeling of getting something done (usually a boring, mundane task is awesome!

Keep special notes in an accessible place- I usually pin them onto a bulletin board behind my desk. Seeing the wall fill up over the years has been very heartening!

During a prep or at your lunch, take a few moments to do some yoga or stretching. Or take a walk around your school (inside or outside!) There are many different apps for short yoga- I have been using a 7 minute Yoga app, and it is the perfect amount of time! 

So there you have it- all my tips and tricks that have helped me take better care of me! Now, just make sure to take care of yourself this year!

Let me know what sort of self-care gets you through the year in the comments section below!

Hey You,Teacher! Show Yourself Some Love in the New Year!

Happy New Year! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I started a new position at a new school and it has been super crazy! Of course, one of my resolutions for 2017 has been to get back into the swing of things with posts about what is going on in my classroom, new products that I am creating (and how to use them in your classroom!), plus delicious recipes (for all you teacher-chefs!) and fun little kid activities (for all you teacher-moms!).

This first post back, I want to talk about something going on in my classroom. Well, not my classroom specifically, more like school-wide. I want to talk about teacher self-care. In the past couple of years, there has been a definite push toward teachers practicing self-care. As teachers, we tend to think that we are carrying the weight of everything-lesson planning (and all the paperwork!), classroom management (and all the tricks and reward systems!), caring for students to the point of almost stepping into the role of parents, that we tend to forget ourselves. We tend to put our needs, and wants and loves and fears and hopes aside. And if you are a teacher-mom like me, add on parenting your little ones, and it is burn-out city!

I recall my first years teaching. My teaching partner/work wife and I would stay at school till 7 or 8 EACH night. Obviously, this was before kids! Also, we obviously became best-ies with the janitorial staff (seriously, they can do/get anything for you-we always had the cleanest classrooms!) We, along with most of the staff were new and young- we felt that we needed to put in the crazy amounts of time and effort to be successful. We came to school in the sun, in the rain, in the snow. I came in with colds, sore throats, who-knows-what, possibly the flu. She came in with colds, sore throats, and even worked through bronchitis. Did we forge an amazing bond? Yes! Was it healthy? Not so much.

It took me a couple more years of teaching and the arrival of my first baby to realize that I needed to prioritize myself. That working super-long hours didn’t make me a better teacher. That coming in when I was under the weather did not make me a better teacher.

What made me a better teacher was realizing that I needed to care for myself. That struggling to come to school when sick, instead of staying home and getting better was a recipe for disaster. Illnesses would linger. More than likely I gave it to others (sorry)!

Now, when I feel a true illness coming on, I take the time to rest. When I have reached my breaking point, and there are no days off near, I take a personal day.  I have made it a priority to take time to myself each weekend, even just a few hours while the girls nap, or go to the park with dad, to recharge.

This is my 7th year teaching. I am only sorry it took until my third year teaching to figure out the need to take care of myself, and implement it in my 4th year. So, I encourage you; check out your sick days and personal days. Then really pay attention to yourself! Prioritize yourself! No amount of long hours, or trudging through an illness will make you a better teacher. Reflect on what will make you whole and well.

Being your healthiest and able to focus on your teaching will make you a better teacher.

Please, add on one more resolution to your (long, long) list for 2017- take care of yourself!

Back to School-Vacation Post!

That's right people, Summer is not quite over yet! At least for me, anyway. (sorry teachers who are already back!)

This year, my in-laws were kind enough to rent a beach house for a week for the whole family! It is one of the two mini-vacations we took this Summer, which is a HUGE change for us. We have not taken a real vacation since before the first daughter was born (so about 4 years ago). We went on a babymoon vacay to New Orleans, and Rob ate so much at K-Paul's restaurant that he cried and was (almost) sick. And I was about 7 months preggo in NOLA in the summer. Ah, good times.

So, anyway, while I am lazing it up on the beach, I thought I would pull together some awesome posts about back-to-school stuff. There have been lots of posts popping up about "things I wish I had known my first year" and all I can say is OH MY GOD, YES, TRUTH PEOPLE. I really wish I had known some of this stuff......

Enjoy and here's hoping your yearly goes smoothly(ish?)

1)Amy Brown Science- Tips for New (and Experienced) Science Teachers
Yes, it is geared toward science classrooms, but most of her 20(!) tips are universal. This was really helpful to me as a returning science teacher to remind me of areas that might lag, or things I forget over the summer. I keep a running order list all year, so I know what to purchase the next. And I ALWAYS try out the experiment before the lesson (that was a hard one to learn!!!)

2) Kacie from Managing and Motivating Math Minds has some wonderful advice on starting the year right. There are a few in there that I am working on now, after 6 years in the classroom!

3) MaryPat from Just Add Students has some great tips. My favorite is to keep notes as each lesson or day is over. I either review them the next day or at the end of the unit to improve my lessons.

4) Sherry at World Language Cafe shares what she has found to work in her classroom. I greet kids at the door and I am always honest with them about when I am not feeling well, and it really does help!

5) Melissa at Little Owl Academy shares a sweet, touching story about why we should remember that our students also have lives outside of the classroom that affects what goes on inside the classroom.

Education Motivation

Just came across this cute graphic on Just a Thought or Two's blog and it seemed so perfect for me as a teacher and a mom and a woman! I sometimes get so caught up in the "success" of other people that I forget that they worked hard to get there. I forget sometimes that people look at me as well and see "success" and may not know of all the hard work I put in to get to this place!

If you find yourself feeling that way- Success is an Iceberg!