One Word Resolution
Resolutions. Love them or hate them, it’s time to consider goals for the new year. I tend to make general goals for the coming year, so when I read Primary Powers’ post on one-word resolutions, it really resonated with me. It also reminded me of One Little Word, something that I had read about last year, and am looking forward to implementing in my life this year (check out Ali Edwards’ Blog for a great explanation).
The idea that one word can shape the way you view the entire year is refreshing – it reminds me that everything is a matter of perspective. So this year my word is:
I’m looking forward to applying a little celebration to all aspects of my life. Personally it means recognizing and celebrating how much I’ve accomplished over the last year, and encouraging myself to take pride in everything that I do.
Professionally it means a couple of different things. First, I want to celebrate education as a profession – something that doesn’t happen often enough! I want to continue my mission of doing everything in my power to make teaching preschool easier for all of you, which means sharing even more ideas, creating great new products that are needed in classrooms, and being there to offer support in any way that I can.
Second, I want to celebrate children. It is so easy to focus on the negative issues in the classroom, but I have long believed that going out of my way to recognize positive behaviors and achievements makes many of the negative behaviors less noticeable, and therefore less distracting for everyone. One of the things that I want to implement when the winter break is over are these “Happy Notes“. I am looking forward to sending Happy Notes home with my students so that they can share their outstanding achievements with their parents. The great thing about these notes is that they are completely customizable, one student might take home a note that celebrates his accomplishment in successfully reading three letter words, while another might take home a note that celebrates that she was finally able to zip up her coat all by herself. They will help me make sure that I am celebrating all of my students because even though they are all very different, they all have something to celebrate. Who knows, I might even write myself a happy note at the end of the day, sometimes I deserve it!
I’ve made my Happy Notes a free download in my TPT store so you can print them and use them in your own classroom! Make sure to check out the link up at Primary Powers to see what other bloggers one word resolutions are, and have a great New Year’s celebration!
