Hello 2022!!

Well hello my sweet, sweet friends, and happy New Year! 

I'm a very goal oriented person. In fact, I find it difficult to find my purpose if there isn't a goal driving me. In the classroom, that is fantastic, and something I try to inspire upon my students. In life outside of the classroom...it has its ups and downs, but more about that later. 

I'm a firm believer in the power of choice, especially in the classroom. It gives students a voice and power over their own learning. I can sit there and analyze data and have goals for my students, which drives my instruction, but what drives their learning? Giving them the opportunity to set goals. 

I like to have my students set goals at the beginning of the year, but I figured welcoming the new year is the perfect time to mention it here. I model this with them and set goals for myself too. We set 2 academic goals, 1 behavior goal, and 1 goal outside of school. I know setting a goal for outside of the classroom in the classroom isn't totally necessary, but it really helps build classroom community. Hearing the kids share their personal goals outside of school always warms my heart. It's fun to get to know what extracurriculars they're part of and what is important to them outside of the classroom. 

If you're looking for a goal setting page for your students, I've got you covered! I have a fun New Year Goal Setting Craftivity for you to use in your classroom for FREE! If you're interested in trying it out, click the link below. I'd love to see pictures if you use it! If you are already goal setting in the classroom, I'd love to know more of your thoughts on goal setting in the comments!

Goal Setting Page

As far as life outside of the classroom, I don't typically set new goals during the New Year (a little hypocritical? maybe), but I think it's because I am constantly working towards something. It's always made more sense to me to view it like a continuous cycle instead of a linear map. I'm definitely NOT a "I'll-just-start-next-Monday" type of gal. Again, that has its ups and downs. However, I've been in a bit of a funk lately--not the best headspace. So, I'm ready for a fresh start, a "new" cycle. (Total confession, it's still 2021 when I'm writing this post and I am NOT waiting for the clock to strike midnight on January 1st to start. I am who I am). 

I've written down my goals for the first time in a long time. You're going to have to take my word for this though because I'm not going to share them on the internet--haha! I won't leave you with nothing though; I've picked a word for the year! This year my word is value. Do you have a word for the year? I'd love to hear them so feel free to drop your words in the comments!