Setting your vision and planning for 2015

Ready to make a resolution? I'm not. As 2014 comes to an end, I'm thinking about all the wonderful things that happened this year. I have to say 2014 is the best year yet as my daughter entered the world and changed my life.

This year, I am going to avoid the disappointment and dejection of January 12th rolling around and I have yet again, failed to stick to resolutions.

As the new year comes in, the only promise I can make is to be the best me I can be.

1. Meditate and think about what I truly want for myself.

2. Meditate and think about what I want for others in my life.

3. Backwards plan those things in action oriented goals. 

Setting Your Plan for the New Year

https://www.coursera.org/learn/togetherteacher

I took this course in October and it has really changed the way I prioritize and set goals for myself, my family and my business. 

This course emphasized being purposeful in your planning and planning action oriented tasks. Best of all, it is FREE and goes at your own pace. I have been recommending this course to all of my teacher friends and it has really made a difference in their lives. 

I modified one of the sheets to accomodate my lifestyle. Since then, I have been setting goals in manageable bite size pieces to complete my tasks. Below is an example of my week planning. 

Click below for the FREE template to kick your year off right by first changing your mindsets and then your to-do list. 

Weekly Planning Worksheet

I think planning ahead and being purposeful is the true key to making a change in your life. The first step is making up your mind to do something different. Take the course, make a plan, change your life.

Staff Appreciation: Get S'More Staff Like You

I love showing appreciation to people for all of the hard work they do! Nothing feels as good as being recognized, and I work with some pretty amazing people.

Every month, my team is tasked with coming up with something creative and cute for all of the staff within our organization. We began the year with pretty low moral and wanted to show our staff, specially our new hires, how much we appreciate them.

This month, we made mini bags of smores. One of my colleagues found the idea via pinterest. The idea came from an older post by www.gluesticksandtape.com.

The original file only had two labels per page, so I screen clipped it to make four fit onto a page.

Click the link for the original file

Smore Link

These came out so cute! I just know our staff will appreciate them!

Have a Wonderful Break!

Miss Kanaya all ready for Christmas Break

Hope you enjoy yours!

Happy Holidays

Knowledge Mobile

Link Within: Who Knew?

Did you know about link within?

I have been reading lots of blogs with the feature but had no idea what it is. As I was ready a fantastic blog post by Polka Dot Lesson Plans, about organizing homework completion when I noticed the small LinkWithin notation.

Small LinkWithin Notation

             Following the link, I found the website so easy to set up. I simply entered my email, blog page, my platform (blogger), and I was ready to go.

This was totally free and immediately added (What I feel) is a more professional quality to my blog.

If you want the widget, simply click the link! 

LinkWithin Widget

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

Christmas is around the corner, and the crafts are not far behind. Here are a few cute crafts that I think kids would love and seem perfect for those last few days before Winter Break. Follow the links to get the instructions for these wonderful winter wonders! (Too far with the W's, I know).

1. The Grinch


So so so cute! This would be great to make after reading "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". That last day before the holidays was always stressful to plan for, but this would have been a welcome activity!

2. Crafty Olaf

Even though it wasn't my favorite (Aghast! The horror!), Olaf was definitely I highlight of the film. A sock, eyes, and cotton balls, are all you need to make him come to life!
3. Popsicle Sticks!

Now I know what to do with my random box of 153 Popsicle sticks!

4. Cute Pine Cone Owls

Where oh, where are my pine cones. Having moved to Nashville from Georgia, I am noticing a distinct lack of ready made pine cones. Growing up, we had mounds and mounds of pine cones that we would have rake up. I now want all of those pine cones back to create these cute crafts. I think kids would love to make these little owls and all you need is felt and pipe cleaners! Super cute!


5. Crafty Ornaments


I love how cute these ornaments are!!! They are so festive and cute. I think I might substitute Christmas wrapping paper when making this craft with the kids at site.

Hope you love these as much as I did!

Blog Design: Creating My Header

I was ready to do it. I was about to go ahead and pay for my blog redesign.

Going rates were anywhere from 100 to 150 for the custom headers and blog buttons. My co-worker mentioned to me that I am always making things, that she was surprised I wasn't doing it myself. I thought, "Hmm, why AREN'T I doing this myself?"

With that, I promptly began looking up how to deign your own blog header. In my search, I stumbled across a wonderful article by Something Swanky.

Something Swanky

After reading the article and following her instructions, I joined picmonkey and was on my way to design my new header. 

I knew I wanted something bright, colorful, and that had arrows.  After playing around with the sodtware for a few hours (and I mean until 3 in the morning), I created an image that I was happy with.

After creating the image, the next challenge was creating the image maps to create the correct links to my work. Before this, I had never heard of image maps and the process of linking bits of an image to an actual link address. 

Once you get the hang of it, this was too easy. The key thing to remember is to know the pixels of your image. I ran into trouble when I adjusted the widths at the top of my blog and the links wouldn't go to the correct page.

After much trial and error, (at 3 am, mind you) I finally had the header and blog that I was proud of. While I have no problem paying people for their talents, I really appreciated learning how to do this for myself and adding a new skill to my toolkit. I might go ahead have the professional design later down the line, but right now, I'm happy :)

If you aren't so happy with your blog designs, head on over to Something Swanky to learn how put those images together. 

Season's Greetings: My first graphics!!!

I love that I am finally learning how to use adobe illustrator! Last year, my honey bunny bought a 12 month subscription for the service. Knowing myself and my busy schedule, I would have activated it and let the year go by without every really using it.

For over $200, I wanted to make sure that I would be able to use it. 

After watching hours of tutorials and using the free trial, I finally activated it. One of my first projects was to create Christmas ornaments in order to prepare for the holiday season. 

I just love how they turned out! I had to go beyond green and red and incorporate my favorite bright blue and pink. When I was designing them,  I wanted to make them big enough to place math problems on and the corresponding answer. I will probably putting that on my to do list to create for next Christmas.

Any hoo, I loved making them and I hope you like them too!

Below is the link to the item in my store!

Christmas Ornaments

First Friday Freebie!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

 Because caring is sharing, I am giving this cute red circle border away to celebrate the first Friday of the month! I love learning how to design my own graphics and I am glad you can share in my learning!

Click the link below to keep it for your very own!

Red Circle Graphic

Followers Envy Rears its Ugly Head

Being new to TPT, it's hard to know what matters. Is it the ratings? The number of followers you have? The visual appeal of your products?

I think that they all matter, but the hardest one for me to conceptualize is the followers. While I would want to ask for followers, just to increase the awareness of my products, being a follower actually seems like a major commitment. Once you follow someone, you are committing yourself to receiving constant updates and reminder emails about their products.

When I first joined, I went to the seller's forum and followed a couple of stores under the follow for follow boards. For the ones that I did join, I really did like the quality of the work they produce and the attractiveness of their covers. On the negative side, I found it to be intimidating from my seller's point of view. I found myself being critical of my work in comparison and (mildly) depressed over the quality of my covers. You know the voice you can't stop. It's not good enough. Look how great hers is. How is she posting so many? Work harder. Do better. Blah blah blah.

I had a long talk with my mentor about these thoughts and feelings, and she told me to look at as a blessing. I am part of a wonderful community of educators who are sharing our work to help others. I know my purpose is to help develop teachers' skills in teaching and aid them in their instructions.

As I did a couple of woo sahs, I calmed myself and remembered that the only person I really need to please is me. If I like it and think others will too, then I should just accept that as affirmation. I wouldn't have the need and desire to create these products if I wasn't meant for me and a part of my path.

At the end of the day, I am so happy for my 6 followers and the stores I follow. This whole thing is one step in process that I just have to keep working towards. (Deep breath out).

Now, (peeking around for others who have encountered the the same green eyed monster), how have you dealt with follower envy?

Please share because I am sure (or at least I hope...) that I am not alone! LOL.

Cyber Monday

Are you ready for Cyber Monday? I can not wait to purchase new fonts and graphics to up the cuteness factor of my games.

Stop by for sweet savings!

Friday Freebie: Christmas Border

So excited to do my first Linky Party with The Teacher Librarian!

I love figuring out ways to save money, namely figuring out how to put dots into my borders to make my products more festive. Click on the frame to get yours!

May it make your borders merry and bright!

Challenge Accepted: Fraction Action

One of our Americorps members noticed that his students were struggling to understand beginning fractions. When shown 1/3, they had difficulty explaining what each of those numbers represented. When given a set of objects, they became even more confused.

Mission: Create an interactive game for a group of 6 third graders struggling with identifying fractions.

Mission Accepted.

The next day, I quickly whipped together a fraction game that students could play.

Even thought they understood and mastered the concept from the game, I was not personally satisfied with the look of the game and the cards.

After a little more tinkering, I created this bright and colorful game for students to play.

It comes with three sets of cards for use with 2-player and 6-player game boards. Simply select the cards depending on the needs of your students.

Below are a few more pictures of the games.

I hope your kids love it as much as the kids in my program!

Gobble Gobble!!! An Interactive Three Digit Addition Game

Are your kids having a carrying crisis? My kiddies were having trouble with repeated addition, specifically knowing when to carry. I was having trouble determining where their learning was breaking down. To help cope with my current math madness, I created Gobble Gobble, a game that focuses on 3 digit addition.

Check out the cute game cards below. I love that I can choose which ones I give to students. The pages focus on adding and regrouping. 

My favorite part of the game is the constructed response pages and rubric. On our state test, there are constructed response sections where students have to show their work. I wanted the kids to focus on providing clear, logical answers as well as demonstrating their thinking. I also added a couple of worksheet pages just to help my students with their skills.

 Now y'all know I am game crazy! My kids are being drilled to death with worksheets and multiple choice skill packets. While they're helpful, my job is to build their skills through fun, especially since I am asking them to do more school after school. Because my group can be different sizes, I added a 2 player and 6 player game version so that different group sizes can play.

I love love love this turkey themed unit. If it could work in your classroom, follow the link below to check it out :)

Gobble Gobble

My 2014-2015 Vision Board

I just went to the most amazing party! It was a vision board planning party. I am a member of Young Urban Professionals in Nashville and this event invited women to come together to create their own visions. I have created a vision board before when I was teaching in Arkansas. When it was time to move to Nashville, I found that I had accomplished all of the goals on my list. I was so excited about the party that I spent 2 HOURS culling images and quotes I wanted to include for 2014-2015.

This party was also great because I knew it was meant to be. I had spoken with my friend Danielle just last week about coming over to fill out our vision boards when this party popped into my inbox.

It was truly a fantastic event. Every woman there was motivated, inspirational and seeking to create a vision for their life. There were vendors there selling health aids, cosmetics, waist trainers, clothing, and handbags. One of the vendors, the Kakery provided delicious cake for us all to enjoy. We spent 2 hours, talking, sharing and learning about each other, our journeys, and our businesses. It was truly wonderful to be around such inspirational women.

At the end of the event, I had created this vision board of all my hopes, and goals for the coming year. I hope to accomplish all of these goals before November 1, 2015.

I really wanted to put my family in the middle and then spread the other areas of my life from there. I found quotes and images related to faith, success, travel, business, home, and that book that I have been meaning to write.

I got a lot of positive feedback at the event and several women took pictures of it. I thought, I can do better than that, so I sent them all a pdf with the titles, some pictures, and the quotes I used. I did remove the slide with my family pictures because as great as my family is, I'm sure they would prefer their own families. 

If you like it, I have a link to the pdf below. 

Knowledge Mobile 2014-2015 Vision Board

I encourage everyone to set the law of attraction loose on your life and attract the change you want. I hope it will help you as much as I believe it will help me.

Positive Points (Literally Saved My Guided Reading Group)

Having trouble with small group management? I sure was. Due to hiring issues at work, I had to tutor a small group of students four days a week. Just coming back from maternity leave, it was a jarring return. When I first got to my group, I have to admit it was absolute chaos. I wasn't prepared for the wide variance of reading levels and behavior issues. Even more basic, I hadn't established any sort of group culture/value system to guide our actions, work, and achievement. The first day, I literally had children under the table, being rude to each other, and disengaged from the reading materials.

This situation WOULD NOT work for me and it wouldn't work for the students. I went home and came up with a simple tool to improve my small group instruction. I had to find a way to encourage students and have them associate their positive achievement with growth.

 There was a large amount of negative in the group. Students would taunt and disrespect each other, snatch things from each other, and engage in other disrupting behaviors. To combat this, I came up with Positive Points as a way to track when the students engaged in positive group behavior.  

Positive Points

-For every positive action, students record 1 tally. When they have 10 tally marks, they receive one sticker. 

-When they have 5 stickers (50 tally marks), they receive one small item 9 (ex. pencils and stickers)

-So simple but it works

Observations

1. At first, I was in control of the points. That was a mistake. Keeping up with the points while providing instruction was too distracting. Students were only interested in what points I was putting in their boxes.

What I had to do was give up control. I made the sheets for the students to keep track of their own points. Their investment went up immediately. I had quieter tables, straight lines to the bathroom, and complete engagement during the guided reading portion.

2. I always highlight the positive comment and the connection to the positive points. I have students discuss the things that earn their positive points. 

3. I only award points for tangible items. Helping someone pick up their papers, kind words and compliments, and jobs completed above and beyond receive points. 

4. I emphasize the acts and not the prize. I'm not big on external motivation, but these students CRAVE positive recognition and praise. In time, I hope to end the positive praise sheets, but for now, it is helping my students recognize the behaviors that lead to achievement.

5. Designate one color or specific pen to use for points. This helps curb students' gratuitous distribution of points.

While every day is different, I take this small positive change as encouragement. When my group runs more smoothly, I know students can learn more.  I hope this small change can be a benefit to your groups as well!

What's a Flash Freebie?

I honestly don't know. Do you know what it is? Have you tried it yet?

I was on Teacher's Notebook and I saw the new promotion offer. Apparently, it allows to you give away a paid product for a certain number of days in order to drive traffic to your site.

I think it might be a neat promotional feature and I'm interested to see what the reception will be. For all those teachers who love free items, I submitted my Fry Words Game Bundle. It consists of 10 interactive games using Fry Words 751-1000. The images below give you an idea of the bundle. Over 80 pages of print and cut games that students love.

If you liked what you saw, 

head on over to the link to download it!

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/KnowledgeMobile/fry-word-interactive-games-bundle-words-751-1000/ff/null/blog

The free downloads begin Monday, October 13 and runs through Friday, October 17th.

As always, download, rate and follow.  Hope you find it incredibly useful!