Back to Blogging

They say, (not sure who "they" are) that a little confession is good for the soul. So, here goes my best effort at confessing why I haven't posted on my blog for several months. First of all, I love blogging!  In fact, I love it so much that I could literally blog day and night. Therein lies the problem. I simply did not master the art of blogging, running my TpT store, taking a mission trip, getting my son married, graduating another son from medical school and teaching at a brand new school simultaneously while managing to squeeze in some sleep, laundry and stay true to my family and faith. I think "they" call this- biting off more than you can chew! (said in my mother's voice) It's more like- life happens! Of course it doesn't help that my little OCD voice whispers in my ear constantly reminding me of the high expectations (unrealistic goals) that I often set for myself. 

More about my mission trip with Parental Care Ministries in a future blog!

Needless to say, things haven't settled down much and probably never will. So, here I am- back to blogging and I must confess it feels great! I realize now that while feeling a bit over-whelmed with the time management aspect of blogging, I simply have an intrinsic need to share my passion for teaching with others. A lot has happened in the past six months and I promise I won't digress too often- but I will try to catch you up on the major events in the next few weeks. I admit, I am still in awe of the incredible educators who keep me motivated with their up to date blogs and continue to offer such incredible products on TpT. They inspire me to be a better educator and remind me why I love what I do. Wow- confession is good for the soul and so is blogging!

Coming soon- my classroom face lift for 2014-2015.

Holiday Happiness

Seasons Greetings~

It is hard to believe that one semester is behind us and we are finally enjoying a much needed winter break. Reflecting back over the past few months, I have been blessed to teach in a brand new school with an amazing faculty, staff and students, started a blog and watched one of my former students announce her candidacy for governor of Texas!  I realize now, more than ever how important it is to meet my students where they are, challenge them to strive for excellence, empower them to make a difference in the world and support them when they reach for the stars!  I had so much fun celebrating the holidays with my students in December.  We had incredible performances by our choirs, orchestra, drama and dance departments, my Secret Santa spoiled me rotten, and we had a Fun Friday with Christmas Bingo (with great prizes) and Christmas Karaoke!  My Social Studies classes studied Christmas Around the World! A huge thank you goes out to "Teaching With A Mountain View" for the super fun task cards. I loved that my students not only learned fun facts about Christmas in other countries, but they also reviewed important skills such as compare and contrasting, creating symbols and graphic organizers and categorizing. What a perfect lesson for the end of the semester and the best part is- they were FREE! 

Click to get the your free Christmas Around the World Task Cards!

I love being Nana!

My holiday happiness just keeps getting better by the minute! I have had so many blessings I can't even count them all . . . but, here goes. First of all, my children were able to come home for the holidays (along with my grandsons, age 2 and 8) which means my living room looks like Toys R Us at the moment (but I love it). My oldest son, Cameron received his residency in anesthesiology and will graduate from Medical School on May 24. My youngest son, Chase got engaged on New Year's Eve to his soul-mate, Katie which makes me the mother of the groom!

My snow-buddies!

I just returned from five fabulous days of snow-skiing in Santa Fe, New Mexico with my family and I just found out I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa in February where I will get the opportunity to meet my adopted daughter, Medrine for the first time (more about that later). This is going to be an eventful year! Looks like I had better stay super organized. Any tips for juggling this craziness? 


Looks like I had better start thinking about lesson planning. The second semester is right around the corner. 

Happy New Years,
From my house to yours,