New Year Resolutions Update

As the third month of 2012 comes to a close, I would like to reassure myself of meeting my new years resolutions:

1.) I will maintain a healthy lifestyle. 
With this beautiful weather we have been having, I have been walking/running 3-4 days a week.  I am also loving the Nike Training free iPhone app.  It allows you to target certain areas and gives a wide variety of work outs.  Yes, I have had maybe 2 weeks throughout this year of not exercising, but we all can have a break.  I have been eating good, with the usually once a month gorge on chocolate (Thank you Flow....LoL.).   

2.) Once a month, I will donate to an organization of my choice.
January- Money Donation to Relay for Life for our 2nd grade fundraiser.
February- Money Donation to the Empty Bowls Project of Monongalia County (a school fundraiser as well)
March- 2 1/2 bags of clothing and shoes donated to the Goodwill

I have not donated to the Cameroon Football Organization yet, but I do plan on it soon.  Actually, the founder and I have talked about fundraising activities for my school next year.

3.) I will pay off my credit cards.
Capital One and Discover balances are down by 70% then they were in December.  I would like to extend this goal to our Care Credit card too.  Thanks to my lovely cat Ziggy for needing a teeth cleaning and tooth extraction, that bill has gone up.

And this last goal is just for this blog:

~I will post on my blog at least twice a month.- So far, so good!!! (Except for February!  Hey, its a short month!)

On another note, no house news for us.  :*(

Heading to Florida next week for Spring Break, so more posts to come!!

The Joys of Teaching

As March approaches, I realize how much I have been neglecting my blog. But as my students and I celebrated Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday today, I had a delightful day.

In school, my 2nd graders have been learning about the continents. When I was in college, I went to a training that taught different things using movement and song. We learned a continent song that teaches the locations of the continents on a map. I taught this to my students and they instantly (and hopefully forever) remembered where they were located on the map.

For a final assessment on the location of the continents, students were to trace a template of each continent, label it, and glue it onto a paper in the correct location. The students were given no resources to use, just their previous exposure to the song. I was so pleased as I walked around the room to see the students singing the song and doing the movements to find out where to glue a certain continent.

Teaching is a rough and time consuming job (I know, we get the summer off. But all summer long, I am doing things to prepare for next school year. And no, we don't work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. We usually work 10-12 hours 6-7 days a week!) but the reward of seeing something you taught them, is more rewarding than any money can buy!