15 From 15...Reflections & Looking Forward!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had some big goals over break...well here we are at the last day & many of those goals...let's just say, 'Maybe next time!'...I thought I would blog several times, but this is it!

I'm linking up with Kristin, Hadar, & Traci...late...Kristin has blogged SIX times since she posted her linky!  Oh well, better late than never!

15 from 15...

I began 2015 with choosing my One Little Word for the year it was...

This year's word is...

I took this picture about a month ago...it will remind me to FIND things to be in Awe of...this year I want to FIND hope...FIND what is really important...FIND ways to live my mission statement...FIND inspiring people, images, & words...I think I will FIND new connections to the word FIND in the next 12 months!...my verse with it is "So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will FIND. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9 HCSB

In 2015 my printers at both home & school died. My school printer was replaced with a black ink laser printer.  It is very nice, but I LOVE COLOR! When we looked at printers for home I learned about HP's Instant Ink program.  On some of their printers, you can sign up for Instant Ink, a program in which the printer communicates with HP & lets them know when you are running low on ink & it ships a new cartridge to your house!  The program charges by the copy, not by the amount of ink, & unused pages roll over to the next month!  I LOVE IT!!!

This year I discovered NexusFont & I love it!! If you have a PC & you love fonts...I am a Fontaholic...you really should look into this program!  I have a tutorial for it which you can view HERE.

In 2015 I learned a lot about Google Apps for Education~GAFE I was blessed enough to attend 2 Google Summits...I have learned so much, but have SO MUCH more to learn...I hope to become  a Google Certified Teacher in 2016.

In 2015 I also became active on Twitter {I learned about it as a Professional Development tool from the 1st conference mentioned in #4}

I love Twitter & I am currently following 1220; most who are in the field of education!...I have participated in quite a few Twitter Chats...a great way to connect & learn! My twitter name is @thankfulndw

 Since I am on Social Media, I started with Instagram or IG this summer...it is great because I am visual...I am connecting & learning there too...one aspect of the learning curve about using IG is what this song by Rhett & Link explains...{start at 2:00}...

My teenaged son introduced me to Rhett & Link & I must say they CRACK ME UP!!
My IG Name is @the.apple.basket.teacher

In March, this adorable bundle of joy, my grandson was born!  We enjoy every visit we get with him!

After our school chose to have AR at our school I updated my whole classroom  library & leveled all of the books...it was a huge task, but I a so glad that my students can easily find books in their reading range.

Our school became a Leader in Me, based on Stephen Covey's Seven Habits, in 2015...I am very glad we are taking this journey together!

 The 2nd TpT Conference was this summer, and I was blessed to be able to attend.  It was one of the highlights of my year!

 This summer I had a new logo made for a variety of reasons.  I really like it and feel happy that it is unique to me alone!

This fall I learned about Naeir.  If you have not checked into Naeir & have a love of school/office supplies, I suggest you check into them!  I stopped posting because guilt over this obsession interest was getting to me!

 GoNoodle has continued to be a favorite in my room...my students last year raised most of the money to upgrade to GoNoodle Plus!

Proud Mom is my #15...I have been so proud of my kids!  Good grades, dance, plays, trumpet, tuba, singing & more...so proud.

I will try to post on Wednesday & have a new product or 2 up this month! {This post has taken me hours...I am just too slow at blogging!}

Happy 2016 to all of you!!!

Sketchnotes; a Gift From Scholastic; Conferences & Student Goals with a Smile!

My 1st Wow! is about Sketchnotes; more specifically Sylvia Duckworth's Sketchnotes...if you don't follow her on Twitter, I would highly recommend following her!...maybe I should have called this one a WOW! because that is how I feel when I look at her collection of sketch notes!...here are just a FEW of her amazing sketchnotes:

 ~notice this collage does not have my usual TABT logo on it because all I did was put 6 of HER sketchnotes together...if you click on the image above it will take you to her Flickr photo stream...she has so many great ones that make me think, inspire me, and connect with me in a different way than other media...maybe one day I will try to sketchnote as well!...I liked what she had so much that I downloaded around 60 of them!!...I plan to use them to help me to think differently & to inspire my fellow staff members!

 I received a book order this week and I was so excited about the gift they included for me in the order!!!  I love the color, the quotes, & the finger & thumb tips that work on my gadgets!!  So nice to get a little something unexpected, thank you Scholastic!

Yesterday ALL day we had parent conferences & we had a short day today with conferences after the students left...I am pretty wiped out, they went well, but are quite draining...part of our conference is to include going over a parent/teacher/student compact...it has preprinted expectations in each column, and spots for goals for the student...in class we had brainstormed about different goals they could choose; turning in their homework, mastering the multiplication facts, take more AR quizzes, improve on test scores, etc...they were welcome to come up with one of their own if they chose to...then at the conference the parent chooses a goal & I choose a goal for the child to work on.  I was very proud of how self reflective my students were...they chose very appropriate goals for their current challenges...as I was going through them yesterday and saw the one below my mind was trying to figure out what the child could have possibly meant by 'white heater'...I was at a loss...this morning I looked at it, I guess I had my 'teacher glasses' on because I suddenly saw 'write neater'!!! Very appropriate goal!! 

Now, 1/2 day tomorrow, then school Friday, & after school I will be taking off with a few other teachers from my school for an EdTech Summit on GAFE {Google Apps For Education}...I am SUPER excited & I am sure I will be blogging about it!