Thankful for Special Educators Blog Hop: 25 Special Ed. Bloggers Tips and Freebies

The turkey is eaten and the leftovers are put away, but it is your lucky day!  25 of your (and my) favorite Special Education bloggers have put together a fun blog hop just in time for this wonderful holiday weekend.  We just wanted to give you a little more to be thankful for.  I know I am thankful for so many of these bloggers myself and am honored to be part of this group of people to share some tips, tricks and freebies with all of you!

TIP:  Take time for yourself.  I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday.  I started the week at the KY Council for Exceptional Children's Conference and am ending the week on break, to say the least it has been amazing and just what I needed.  The conference gave me some new and wonderful ideas that I can't wait to share with my school and with you.  Even more than that, this week has given me some time for myself.  The long hours, piles of paperwork, and the stress of dealing with different behaviors sure leaves a girl drained.  Although special education is a challenging career, it is also so rewarding.  When I see a breakthrough with a difficult behavior or finally find that one strategy that helps a student learn math or reading, I am reminded why I chose special education in the first place.  It is so important to keep your priorities straight as an educator, yes, school is incredibly important, but so is your family, your health and your life.  Take time to prioritize your to do list, find something to do outside of school that you love (like zumba, running or crafting...just my faves).  Remember to be your best in the classroom, you need to remember all of the things that you make you your best!   

FREEBIE:  A fun Christmas Planner to help you stress less and get ready for the holiday season!

Bonus FREEBIE:

No stressing about a Christmas work station, because I've got you covered!created a fun little Christmas freebie, just in time for December!  This can be used in centers or work box stations.  

Christmas Vocabulary: Say and Spell

Students use letter tiles to say and then spell Christmas words.  

And lastly,  Cyber Monday sales start on December 1!!

Head on over to the next blog!!

Thanks for checking in!  For more freebies and tips, continue the trip through the blog hop by checking out A Special Ed Connection...just click the button below.

Thankful For Special Educators Blog Hop Coming Soon!

I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season, but one way I continue to be blessed is through this blog.  I have met wonderful special educators from across the country and have had many wonderful opportunities opened before me from blogging.  This is yet another one of those amazing opportunities, not just for me, but for you as well.  Beginning on Friday, November 28, join 24 special education bloggers plus myself for some tips and freebies that you will be thankful for!  That's 25 tips, tricks, strategies, freebies, and maybe even some giveaways from some of the best special education teachers from across the US!  You will not want to miss this!

Head back here on Friday and get ready to hop through and collect some outstanding resources!

November Currently!

Look at me!  It's the 2nd of November and I am actually already posting my Currently with Farley!

Listening:  I am listening to the Bengals and Jaguars football game.  I'm sitting on the couch and my guys are sitting in Paul Brown Stadium.  Jealous?  Maybe a little! ;)  I am excited for Barrett, though.  This is his first NFL game!  He is such a huge football fan and he was over the top about going to this game.  He swears he will be a NFL player one day!  Hopefully he will and then he can take care of his mommy!!  He also says he is going to get black tattoos up and down both arms, because that is what famous football players do...oh geez...mom isn't ready for that!  Go Bengals!!

Loving:  My sister was here for the weekend!  She came to visit and took Chloe to the high school state band finals in Richmond at EKU.  Chloe plays the trombone in her middle school band and she was so excited to go see the big high school bands play.  (My kids are soooo different, huh?  One is a football nut and the other is all about band and academics!  Both are great kids!!)  

Thinking:  I have apple dumplings baking in the oven for small group tonight!  They are the Pioneer Woman recipe...you know the kind with lots of butter and Mountain Dew!! Oh geez...clog my arteries, please!!  So delish!!

Wanting:  I have new November centers to laminate and cut.  Ugh!! I also have $20 bucks for someone to do it for me!  No takers?  Well...I guess it is a date with the laminator and The Walking Dead later!

Needing:  Washed?  Check!  Dry?  Check!  Folded and put away?  Can't they make a machine for that?

Reading:  The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst

A great book about saying yes to what is important from all of life's demands.  We all tend to say yes, because we feel that is the right thing to do, but actually we just stress ourselves out and we are not our best self.  This book is helping me think about my priorities and what my "best yes" really is.