In order to ensure that I stick to my goals and avoid some turbulance for the upcoming year I am linking up with Amanda at Teaching Maddeness for her New {School}Year Resolutions. Let's hope I stick to these a little better than the resolutions I made back in January (what were those again?????)!
Resolution #1: Don't fret the small stuff. For those of you that know me really well, you know I tend to freak out and panic over the silliest things. This year I really want to offer a sense of calm to my students. I want our classroom to be a place we can make mistakes and be okay with that. I also want to be the best mom I when I get home, and not the crazy-chicken-running-around-with-her-head-cut-off that I normally am. To help with this resolution I've started doing Yoga a few times a week. It's amazing what a morning walk or morning yoga can do for you attitude the rest of the day!!!
Resolution #2: Deliver more positive feedback to my students. I really want to focus on the positive this school year! I want to notice the wonderful things my students do every day and not just address poor choices/behavior. I even made a Happy Bucket to help us all with the spirit of kindness and generosity!!
You can check out the post about the bucket here!
Resolution #3: Take more classroom pictures!!! Amanda has this as the first resolution on her blog, and when I saw it I was so relieved to know I'm not the only one who constantly forgets to get snapshots of the fun things going down in my classroom. I am hoping to use more pics in my blog posts this year as well!!
Resolution #4: Talk less!! This applies to so many areas of my life.....I can't even begin to list them all. High on the list though are talk less on teacher work days and after school. I am horrible at distracting myself with conversations and then regretting it at the end of the day when I've accomplished nothing. It also applies to my teaching. I feel like I tell more than I show, and that I talk more than I allow my students to share what they know. Finally it applies to my own little peeps at home. I want to talk less and listen more!!!
That's it! I want to keep it at four because it seems more manageable and with everything that goes on in a school day it will be a miracle if I can remember these in a few weeks!
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Thanks for linking up, Lisa! NO...2 more Mondays, so it's not so! :( I also need to work on not fretting the small stuff. Love #4, too - talk less and listen more - great advice!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Teaching Maddeness
I have been wanting to try yoga, just can't seem to fit it in my schedule. I need to fix that. Great resolutions, all could apply to me!
ReplyDeleteDawn, good luck with the yoga this year! It's wonderful and so helpful when it comes to stress and a good nights sleep. I don't do it nearly as often as I should. I love the videos put on by Gaiam. You can find several of them on youtube.com or you can purchase them.
ReplyDeleteLisa
I love #4 - I tend to over-talk things. I need to be open to more discussion time in my room and let my students do the talking!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only on that talks too much. I always just think, "If I say it one more way maybe I will reach one more kiddo, or the one that wasn't listening will be listening now." Good luck with your resolutions this year!!
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