Happy 2016!

I'm sad to see 2015 leave. It was the best year of my life to date. I spent the first 6 months of it planning my dream wedding and then the last 6 months of it living with my dream husband. The best part (besides getting married of course) was that 2015 was filled with lots of times with my best friends and our families. I wish I could have a bachelorette party every weekend and a wedding reception once a month just to be able to spend time with those that we love the most. But with all of that being said, bring on 2016! I feel like I'm ready to face anything this year!

Here are my personal resolutions goals for 2016. I'm fighting the cliche of New Years Resolutions and instead making goals for myself, my students, and my little family.

1. BUY A HOUSE. Eeeek so excited about this one. We've been pre-approved by the bank, picked out the BEST realtor around, and we are ready for a big move. Our goal is to be settled in May. And if you know me, you know this also creates a goal of MAKE IT THE CUTEST HOUSE EVER.

2. Stay calm. I am 100% my dad, my brother, and my pawpaw when it comes to patience. I'm working hard on keeping my calm, especially when I'm driving. Usually only my family sees this side of me, but I'm looking into some yoga to help me channel this energy.

3. Eat better. I'm looking at the sodium in everything that I eat. I'm going back to the lunches I had pre-wedding, which involved salads and fruits. I'm also watching the recipes that I make at home. Bojangles on New Years Day doesn't count because that's t.r.a.d.i.t.i.o.n.

4. Travel as much as possible. We already have two trips planned for the year. Disney World in February and the Bahamas in June. I would love to plan more quick weekend trips that we could also bring the dogs on.

Here are my teacher goals for 2016.

1. No more work on the weekend. I had perfected my no work at home the last two years and this year I haven't been able to leave stuff at school. I'm going to do my BEST to leave it there and spend time with my family and friends after school.

2. Smile and listen. I can be a bit quick to react when I hear about things. But this year I'm going to do better about listening to the government's new ideas about how I should teach. Oh, I'm still going to give my opinions, but I'll consider what is being said first. But for the love of all things good, government please stop telling us how to teach!!!

3. Listen to my students. I have one of the best classes I've ever taught this year. There's a lot of them, yes, but they are all so special and so talented. I want to make sure that I give each student the chance to shine this semester. I'm thinking about maybe doing a personal journal that I could share with each of them, but also want to keep things private. I'll be looking on the internet for ideas. I also want to do something along the lines of Terrific Kid, but just for our classroom. I have some things in mind- so stay tuned for an update on that!

4. Send notes home, It's so easy to e-mail about a not so good day and I need to do that more for the GREAT days. I've sent home some incredible e-mails so far this year. Like my one student who went up over 30 points on her MAP test. But I want to celebrate all of the successes too!

I hope everyone has a fantastic 2016. I can't wait to see what's in store for the Rider crew!