Tell me something good

This time of of the year can be a very tiring time, or at least it is for me. I don't like cold weather (fortunately there hasn't been much of that here), and I hate that the sun is already down so early. I thrive during the warmer months and just survive the winter usually. After Christmas, give me one good snow and make sure the groundhog doesn't see his shadow. Anyway, as usual, Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade has perfect timing with her monthly linky. This has become one of my favorite, and I think it's so important to focus on the positives. If you haven't ever participated, I'd encourage you to do so!

Something good from home: We got a new sectional for Christmas and bought Keagan a toy box. Now that Christmas decorations have been taken down, the living room looks SO much more organized! One of my unofficial New Year's resolutions was to actually keep the house clean. It's been clean a lot more than usual, at least. The toy box helps a lot because we're actually able to consolidate the space that his toys take up. Plus it's a lot quicker to pick everything up. Oh, and he's LOVING all of his new toys from Christmas, especially his kitchen. I'm starting to see him mimic us. He likes to "feed" us, although I've also seen him "feed" the dogs (he LOVES his dogs), so I may stop actually putting the spoon in my mouth!

Something good from school: I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I'm actually starting a version of Daily 5 in my classroom! As a Title I teacher pushing in and pulling out, I didn't think I'd be able to make it work. However, I wanted to do more individual conferencing and decided I would have them put together book bags (right now they're just Ziploc baggies) to do Read to Self. I think I'm going to also add Word Work and Work on Writing. For 30 minute blocks about 3 times a week, I think that will be perfect. Then I can do other lessons/activities for the other days. I'm excited!

What's your "something good" right now?

***Quick Update***

The lovely ladies from Sister Teachers are hosting their 300 follower giveaway, which I am a part of! If you would like another chance to win my Winter Literacy Centers, one of those pencil sharpeners, or one of the other great prizes being offered, go check it out!!

Christmas Tell Me Something Good

Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade is hosting her Tell Me Something Good linky for December, and I love these! It's always nice to talk about the good things that are happening in our lives.

This month, along with talking about one good thing at school and one good thing at home, Jennifer wants us to share something good we've bought as a gift either in the past or present. So here's my list:

Something good at school: I have been able to go into a 3rd grade class to teach Daily 5 and CAFE lessons to model for their long term sub. This is really exciting for me because it almost feels like I'm back to being a classroom teacher. I miss getting to set up things like this, so it's been a nice change of pace. I'll be in there every day for 45 minutes for a little while until we get everything settled. It's been a lot of fun, and I even found some really cute Hippie Daily 5 signs that I want to put up if I can ever get them to print on our crazy school computer. Or remember to print them at home.

Something good at home: There are SO many fun things right now as Keagan continues to grow. He turns 1 on Sunday, and we're getting ready for his birthday party on Saturday. Plus he's starting to stand on his own, give more kisses, and plays patty cake. He's just so adorable, and I can't get enough of him. Oh, and he's a CHATTERBOX! I know he's speaking, I just can't understand him yet.

Gifts purchased: This year has been a lot of fun to shop for with a little one. We bought Keagan a kitchen set, and I can't wait to see his excitement on Christmas morning!

Okay, and maybe I'm a little excited to play with him, too. I think this one's especially cool because all of the kitchen stuff can go inside the table, and then it's just a table to color on. How fun is that?

October Tell Me Something Good

Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade is hosting another Tell Me Something Good linky party, and I decided to yet again join in.

Something Good from School: I have been pulling my groups for about a month now, and things are going really well. I have a lot of children at this point (36, which does not make for ideal small groups), but I've made some adjustments and have started getting into a routine. I push in to classes in the morning, then I pull students back to my room for small group in the afternoons. I still have 16 fourth graders alone, but I think I'll be able to release 4 of them at the end of the nine weeks next month! That will mean I can just have a morning group and afternoon group for 4th grade to get them where they need to be!

Something Good from Home: My mom came to visit this past week (she left this morning), and we had a good time. She helped keep the house clean, which I was EXTREMELY grateful for. Then yesterday was actually my first Saturday without a band competition (next Saturday is the last one - praise God!), so we headed up to Carter's Mountain in Charlottesville to go apple picking. She'd never been before, and we didn't make it last year, so we were really excited to go.We loaded up on tons of apples - enough to make an apple pie, apple butter, AND have plenty left over to last us forever! I posted all about it with more pictures at my personal blog, The Dalton Gang, but here's one to enjoy.

Now go link up!