iPad Apps

Each month my technology trainings run a little differently and I have loved having the flexibility to teach and model best practices for teachers. At the beginning of January I downloaded a ton of new apps and I wanted to share them all but wasn't sure quite how! I knew some would be really beneficial to particular grade levels or specialists while others would benefit everyone. My sessions are elementary 1-5 one week and middle school 6-8 the following week. Specialists pick to attend either training. Since the staff had to take a division-wide survey first and everyone would be finishing at different times this model worked perfectly!

First I created an App chart with the icon, description and notes section. Click the picture or highlighted words App Chart to gain full access to my app list! 

Then I created a 5 minute screencast using Jing and Reflections on the MacBook and my iPad to show how to download the new apps. I talked about a few that I thought would benefit everyone in the video. They could be looking at their iPad and using their notes and look at the App Shoot-Out chart as I was talking and showing them on my iPad.

After the video they explored whatever apps they wanted on their own using their App Shoot-Out sheet and my recommendations from the video, asked questions and posted on Todays Meet! Here are a few screen shots of the conversation.

This Flipped Classroom model is working brilliant on the teachers and most of them have probably never even heard the of the phrase Flipped Classroom. They wouldn't know what it meant but they are so engaged, many commented how much they are learning, how well they like learning like this, etc. Eventually I will break it to them that I have been modeling the flipped classroom but for now I am loving how trainings are going. People are no longer complaining about coming to tech sessions or watching the clock as someone stands in the front of the room and talks at them. Now the bell rings for bus duty and people are glued to what they are doing.

So where is the QR Code tip? Don't worry I didn't forget it! Just link your TodaysMeet to a QR Code. Students/teachers can have direct access to your TodaysMeet without following a link or typing a URL. Follow this QR Code to my TodaysMeet. If you don't have your device handy just click the QR Code to follow the link :)!

Try it out and see how easy TodaysMeet is... answer these questions...

SpeakPipe with QR Code

I blogged about SpeakPipe awhile back but wanted to bring it up again! At the beginning of the year I was using it as a "Help Hotline" for teachers to request help or suggest ideas. I have it linked to a QR Code outside of my door as well as a Google Form. I also have both linked to our IT page for teacher access only. I also have had it on my school pages. The kids LOVE leaving voice messages for me and I really enjoy listening to them! Most of them are sweet and aren't really technology questions or comments just that I am the best teacher in the whole world haha! Now I decided I should add it to my blog!

Speakpipe is still in beta so it is free for now :)! Essentially it allows users to send a voice mail straight to your inbox! You might notice the new Send Voicemail tab on the right hand side of my blog. Go ahead, press it I know you are dying to try it out so go ahead and send me a message! I love getting voice messages just as much as I love reading your comments! Tell me about how you are using QR Codes, what technologies you are using in your classroom, what is your favorite Web 2.0 tool or app, what the weather is like where you live, tell me anything :)! Then go check out Speak Pipe and add it to YOUR blog! You can also create a link to your own SpeakPipe page if you don't want to have the button on the side. I love this cool Web 2.0 tool.

Sticking with this weeks theme of QR Codes! I have created a QR Code also linked directly to my SpeakPipe page if you want to send me a message that way! How awesome would this be for parents? You can add a setting that requires users to leave their name and/or email address! 

QR Code Tutorials

As promised this week I am sticking to all QR Codes blog posts in anticipation of our FETC presentation SCANAPALOOZA! I realized that MOST of my blog followers would not be attending FETC so it is OK to offer sneak peeks ;)! Enjoy these two quick tutorials of how to create QR Codes!

Making QR Codes with QR Stuff  

 Making QR Codes with QR Code Maker

QR Codes at Porter

Happy Thursday! I cannot believe how quickly FETC has snuck up on us and I cannot wait to leave for the sunshine state on Sunday morning! I know most of my blog followers will not be attending FETC so here is a sneak peek of the video that we will be sharing as part of our presentation! This is also the video linked to our amazing QR Code shirts! How cute are they?! Since most of the pictures/videos were taken with the iPad (both vertical and horizontal shots) it isn't the best quality video and it was my first shot at iMovie but it is a good representation of all that is happening at our school with QR Codes!

QR Codes are MORE than Self Checking Answer Keys

I am really looking forward to FETC and presenting SCANAPALOOZA: QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom and helping educators realize that QR Codes are more than just self checking answer keys! They have amazing potential and power and I hope to really drive this concept home at FETC with our higher level thinking centers. Now don't get me wrong I think QR Codes as a self checking tool is an awesome use or linking to a website is wonderful but there is just SO MUCH MORE they can do!  How have you used QR Codes in YOUR classroom?

QR Codes

Leading up to FETC this week's blog theme is going to be QR Codes since I will be presenting SCNAPALOOZA: QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom! 

Have you sent home something with a QR Code on it before really explaining them to parents? I know I am definitely guilty of this. Sure they have seen them around but most parents probably don't know anything about them or how to use them! While I would hope that the student could explain they are kind of an abstract concept for a 6 year old so I created this visual to help parents out. I will be posting this on my Computer Lab page and linking it to our February newsletter since they are ALL over and being used in many classrooms at my school! 

Feel free to download this freebie by clicking the screenshot! 

Web 2.0 Tool for Font Finding

I am a font hoarder! I LOVE downloading new fonts and dafont.com is one of my top hits. I don't even know how many I have. There are a few favorites I always go to (cinnamon cake, {skinny} jeans, Architect's Daughter, A Year Without Rain, smile monster) but when I am looking for something new it takes me forever to scroll through the entire list and then if I decide that the one I selected wasn't quite what I was looking for and I have to start the search again this can take a lot of time. 

Does this sound familiar? 

Well I have a solution for you... wordmarkit! Wordmarkit is a Web 2.0 tool that allows you to test out a word or phrase and loads ALL of the fonts on your computer for preview! This makes finding a new font so much easier and much faster!!! 

FETC

January has really flown by and I cannot believe that FETC (Florida Education Technology Conference) is just around the corner! I have finally crossed Finish FETC Presentation off of my To-Do List. Now that the prep work is done I am getting excited for the trip and really looking forward to presenting SCANAPALOOZA: QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom with two colleagues, the school librarian and a 5th grade teacher! If you are attending FETC we would love to have you at our session on Thursday @ 12:00! Join us on edmodo with group code CS8267! If you are attending FETC we will be the crew from VA with hot pink shirts that have large QR Codes on them so look for us! I just need to finish packing and next Sunday I am on my way to sunny Florida for what promises to be an amazing conference! There are so many amazing sessions that I am having a hard time deciding which ones to attending. My FETC Schedule on the app looks a little crazy because I haven't made my final picks yet. I feel like it is Fantasy Football! I will be posting our presentation on my blog after the conference if you cannot make it to FETC this year! 

5th Grade Technology Centers

Technology centers have really taken off with the 5th graders! Now that we are in our fourth rotation of centers the students know the routine and the room runs itself which is something that I love to see happen. Students are so engaged during these centers that you can hear a pin drop in the room and transitions are seamless. The social studies curriculum of US regions is an awesome springboard for our centers. Each center was introduced as a whole class lesson before we completed it in the center rotation. 

Center #1 QR Codes/Google Earth

We began the year introducing the QR Code Landmark/Google Earth scavenger hunt! Each region has important landmarks that they are responsible for learning and they have so much fun doing this activity. Rather than memorizing landmarks and cities this allows them to use different smarts and actually see a picture of the landmark (picture smart), visit the landmark on Google Earth (body smart) and refer to the curriculum (word smart). This is a great review of absolute (latitude and longitude) and relative location. Below you can see one side of the Southeast Region. 

Center #2 Clicker Quiz 

First I created the Clicker Quiz based on the curriculum but then it hit me that the students should do it so now they use Google Drive to access a class document on one screen and the 5th grade social studies curriculum on another screen to create questions with a buddy! This not only cut my work in half but also gave the students ownership of their test. They were really excited to see each others questions and the document that they created was used as a study guide although not all of the questions were on the quiz what a great way to review!

Center # 3 iPad - Discovery Education US Geography App

This app is not free but it has been worth every penny! Students plug in their ear buds and can watch several short video clips about a particular region while answering questions!

Center #4 QR Code Creation

Students created QR Codes for a huge map ( from the Dollar Tree that they colored) which is now hanging in the hallway and makes an awesome year-long bulletin board! Since this was their first QR Code we kept it simple with text. Each student selected a state and created a QR Code with the state, capital, abbreviation and region. A parent volunteer put the map together and attached all 50 QR Codes! We will continue to make QR Codes for the map and add pictures, videos and eventually podcasts or commercials for each state, etc. ! Since the states are a little smaller than I thought when I had the brilliant idea of adding different QR Codes throughout the year we decided to center the map on a bulletin board and then add strings (like with the postcard project) for additional QR Codes!

The 5th graders were so excited to see this hanging in the hall it actually caused a bit of a traffic jam in the hallway as they stopped to check out each state and see if their QR Code made it to the map (78 students and only 50 states).  As other grade levels are working on geography I am hoping that they will be able to use our map and scan the QR Codes to learn more about each state!

Technology Centers

Technology centers seem to be one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever had although I'm sure I'm not the first person to have this ingenious idea! 2nd and 5th grade seem to be my rockstar grade levels with consistency and awesome collaboration taking place!

2nd graders worked on weather centers last week and teachers walked away with FOUR science grades which as a former classroom teacher is awesome!

Center #1- Students worked in pairs to scan QR Codes with new academic vocabulary words and seasonal pictures. For 3 questions had to determine the word, 3 questions what a plant or animal was doing in the picture (hibernation, migration, dormancy) and 3 questions were identifying the season based on a picture of a tree.

Center #2 - Students went to PebbleGo and researched Extreme Weather (Blizzard, Hurricanes, Drought, Thunder and Lightning, Tornados) and record 8-10 key words. Then they created word clouds using ABCYa. Here is one example!

Center #3- Students accessed 4 graphs on the iPad in Adobe Reader (created in Word and saved as PDF) and answered 10 questions on Google Forms! If you have not used Google Forms yet they are amazing and you don't have to grade a stack of papers which is a huge bonus! The ONLY complaint I have after using them with 2nd graders is that if they bump the back button or refresh the page they loose all of their answers and have to start over. This was our first time using Google Forms in 2nd grade and it worked so great besides that little glitch and a few friends had to redo their forms! Although this was a science grade center it could also be taken as a math grade getting us up to 5 grades!

Center #4- Students watched a Brainpop video about Climate and then completed this Clicker Quiz. They love watching Brainpop videos but most of the quiz was interpreting weather maps which also integrated social studies and math. Since this could be considered a social studies map interpretation this could get us up to 6 grades! WOW- two one hour sessions and six grades which students were highly engaged! Gotta love it!

Have you tried technology centers? Share your experience! New to technology centers? I suggest starting small at first just like you would when introducing literacy centers! Introduce one center and complete it as a whole class, move on to introduce a second the same way and then do two centers, etc. We have gotten up to four centers and it is really working perfectly!

Sound Cloud and QR Codes

SoundCloud has become one of my newest favorite Web 2.0 Tools and iPad apps! It is easy to use, free (up to 120 minutes) and can be linked to QR Codes which makes me beyond happy! I am sure you have heard of QRVoice  which is awesome but wouldn't it be great to have your voice linked to the QR Code!?

All you have to do is upload your file or record your voice right on the web! There is no time limit on recordings either! 

Then copy the link and create a QR Code linked to a URL :)!

While in a panic over where to host a student created podcast linked to a QR Code for part of our FETC Presentation and trying to convert files and resolve compatibility issues I remembered SoundCloud and it worked better than I could have imagined and if I would have remembered it 30 minutes earlier I would have saved myself 3 new gray hairs! I loved it so much that I used it to record action verbs for our Bloom's pyramid for FETC which you will be seeing later this month! 

I love that it plays on the iPad with NO issues and I didn't have to convert anything! I haven't tried the app yet but I am thinking it works a lot like Show Me (linked to the web with account info) and no need to do anything other than save!!! This may be my new solution for podcasting! 

Friday-Freebie

Happy Friday Friends! My freebie is coming this evening or early Saturday! This week has gotten away from me but go ahead and link up. Remember there are no rules. If you want to go back and link up with any days you missed go right ahead. 

Thursday-Techie Tip

Happy Thursday Friends! Thanks to everyone who linked up on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for this week long linky party!!! Don't be shy everyone of you have SOMETHING to share! Also remember there are no rules about linking up late so if you want to go back to any day go right ahead!

 For techie tip Thursday I wanted to share a few {quick tips} for the iPad! To those of you who have been using the iPad these will make you roll your eyes but to those of you who are new to the iPad will find these little tricks very helpful!

Have you ever had an app that keeps crashing and you cannot figure out why and restarting your iPad seems like the only solution? 

Before you restart you iPad try double tapping the iHome button so your apps all appear at the bottom. Hold down one app to make the red minimize sign appear. Press this to close all of the apps that are open. Sometimes your iPad is overloaded and there are just too many apps running at the same time kind of like when you have a million windows open on your computer. Sometimes the app just needs to be closed and reopened rather than restarting your entire iPad!

Do you have more than one iDevice but don't want ALL of the same apps or automatic download?

Open the App Store and find the purchased tab along the bottom (Featured, Top Chars, Genius, Purchased and Updates). Here you will see all of the apps you have ever downloaded (paid or free). If you do not have them on that device a little cloud and down arrow will appear and you can easily download the app. This is great if you are sharing an iTunes account and may not want the apps to automatically appear on your iPad.

Do you have pages and pages and pages of apps and now you cannot download anymore?

I am super OCD and organized and love folders in real life but since this is my fourth iPad I have grown to be lazy with folders. I am also addicted to downloading apps. I have 11 full pages of apps. Yesterday I went to download a new app and couldn't because every icon spot was taken up on my iPad so I had to cave and begin creating folders. To create a folder you hold the app until it is shaking and gets the x. Then move one app on top of another and this will create a group or folder of apps. You can do it my subject or by unit topic or type of app. I grouped these five screen capture apps together. If you haven't checked out Screen Chomp, Skitch, Educreations, Show Me or Explain Everything yet you definitely should put that on your to-do list ;)!

I know these {tips} are going to make some of you roll your eyes and some of you open your eyes! I may come back and do an *advanced* update to this post but the puppies would not calm down enough for me to record my original Tech Tip (creating, uploading and embedding videos) which will be a later post haha!

Don't be afraid to share something that others may already know! There is always someone who can benefit and we can all learn something new from one another because let's be honest it is IMPOSSIBLE to know everything there is to know about technology that is one of the beauties as well as the beasts of it. 

Wednesday- Wonderful Web 2.0 Tool

Happy Wednesday Friends! Thanks to everyone who has linked up for Monday- Must Have Apps and Tuesday-Technology I Couldn't Live Without! Today is Wonderful Web 2.0 Tool(s).  There are so many awesome sites out there it is hard to keep up with them all!

Today's Meet which I mentioned a long time ago over here is an awesome backchannel Web 2.0 Tool. It is a similar to Twitter in that it only allows a limited number of characters for each post (140 characters), however the message is only saved to that "room." Today's Meet is kind of like a chat room but when used in the classroom it can be a very powerful tool. It allows for everyone to be heard, even your shy friends who never raise their hand to share will speak up on Today's Meet. Today's Meet also allows for questions without interruption. Students can answer each other's questions, discuss the lesson as it is happening and share insights.  It is also a great way for students to practice their typing skills, writing mechanics and grammar. When Today's Meet is being used you can usually hear a pin drop in the room and there is amazing discussion going on.

One thing I love about it is that it is so easy and doesn't require usernames or passwords. Students just have to click and follow a link or type a simple URL. Then they type their name and join the room. As the creator of rooms you don't even need a username or password and you can easily create a  "room" and set the duration from 1 hour to 1 year. There are some drawbacks that I won't get into too much (you cannot delete a post if someone writes something inappropriate, only 127 characters per post, if students struggle with typing it is frustrating when the conversation moves quickly, students might try to sign in as someone else or not as themselves) but it is free and if you teach kids how to use it properly it can increase engagement and participation. I honestly haven't had ANY problems with this but as an adult these were some of my own initial concerns. I have used it a lot with technology trainings and it works really well. One of the 5th grade teachers uses it weekly as her class meeting and it has been working beautifully. She recently used it to help teach voice and assigned everyone a secret name and as they talked with each other they had to determine who was who. 

If you haven't conducted a Today's Meet before go check it out and post a comment on my sample one! 

Tuesday-Technology I Couldn't Live Without

Happy Tuesday Friends! Thanks to everyone who linked up yesterday for Monday's Must Have Apps. Don't be afraid to share! Even if technology is not "your thing" or your not as proficient as you would like to be YOU have something to share! I apologize if you tried to link up earlier in the day and didn't see this post! Now the anticipation is even worse because this is my most boring one of the week! Anyways, I just realized that I missed Tuesday when I changed the scheduled time for my link blog posts this week.

Today's theme is technology I couldn't live without and my LIST is long! Let's be honest I rely heavily on technology not only for work but also for my daily personal life! I don't even have much explanation for each other than I couldn't live without them. I use them for everything including communication, research, creation, entertainment, etc. I now realize that todays post is kind of boring and I use technology for EVERYTHING! 

1. iPad
2. MacBook Air
3. Droid Cell Phone
4. Cannon Rebel ESO T3i Camera
5. SMART Board  
6. DVR or OnDemand 
7. GPS in my phone 

Monday- Must Have App(s)

Happy Monday friends! You may remember my Top Ten Favorite Apps awhile back but I am constantly downloading and trying new apps! Did you know there are over 700,000 apps in the Apple App Store?

Toontastic is a free app I have had on my iPad forever but just started exploring! It is a storytelling, animation, cartoon creation app that creates videos which can be shared on the  ToonTube Website. You an upgrade to the All Access Pass which gives you a ton additional characters and settings for $9.99. You can also buy Toy Sets for $0.99. I have a few iTunes gift cards that I have been holding onto and I think the full upgrade will be my next purchase! It was really easy to use and I had a lot of fun creating my first Toon Tube Cartoon. Please excuse my horrible voice and the fact that I actually sound like a five year old with a great vocabulary. 

Puppet Pals Director's Pass ($2.99) is another awesome animation creation app! There is a Pocket version which is free but it has limited characters and settings. The upgrade gives you access to a lot more characters and also gives you the ability to import your own pictures for characters or setting which is super fun. One of the second grade teachers at my school just used Puppet Pals to create a Social Studies Fairy to teach her class about local and state government and then they used that information to create an Animoto. The kids LOVED the social studies fairy although the boys were convinced it was their teacher's voice. 

Show Me remains one of my all time favorite apps! I have blogged about it here and here. Show Me turns your iPad into a mini SMART Board essentially and allows you to record voice over whiteboard.  It is super easy to use and FREE! Show Me allows you to easily explain a range of topics to teach a lesson or assess students on their knowledge. Here are a few middle school student examples. As soon as you save your Show Me it is posted to the web! You can post a link or embed the actual Show Me on your class page. 

8th Grade Multi-Step Math Equation

This one is a great example of using this as an assessment tool. Obviously the girl is able to solve the problem and come up with the correct answer however, she has a big misconception and is reading the symbol incorrectly which causes her final graphing step to be incorrect. It is much easier to see where she went wrong over just her steps on a piece of paper.

Happy linking! I cannot wait to see what you think are Must Have Apps!!!

Hosting my 1st Linky

Joining linky parties is one of the best ways to attract new followers! Just from Farley's January Currently I gained 10 new followers! Linky parties are also a great way to build your PLN and connect with other educators and blogs. I found about 15 new awesome blogs to follow as I blog hopped on the Currently Linky!  Since I have enjoyed joining linky parties so much I thought it was about time I hosted one! Go big or go home right? I will be hosting a week long technology themed series linky party from January 7th -11th! 

Here is my graphic (obviously not my expertise) haha! Please post it with a link to my blog on each day you join the linky. Obviously I would love to have you link up every day but there are no rules about how many days! I do love Farley's RULE of 3, go back 2 links and ahead 1 and post a comment!

Monday- Share an iPod/iPad app(s) that you must have! If you don't have an iThing maybe you want to share an app in edmodo or Google Chrome. 

Tuesday- I know you all have something technology related you couldn't live without! What is so special about it? Why do you love it so?

Wednesday- Have you found a wonderful Web 2.0 tool that you could share?

Thursday- Share a trick or tech tip that others may not be aware of or something that really saves you time!

Friday- Post a FREEBIE! It may be a technology lesson/activity, graphic, etc. OR it's your freebie day to post about anything technology related! 

These are loose guidelines, don't get stuck on the descriptions! 

If you get totally stuck just skip that day :)!

 The idea is to share what has been working for you or ideas you have and learn from others.

I thought posting the linky description on Saturday would help generate interest for "weekend bloggers" OR if you write scheduled posts you would be able to get a jump start on next weeks! I cannot wait to see all of your technology themed posts! Let the linky begin on Monday!!! 

The Beginning of QR Codes

Here is my very first activity ever using QR Codes with 1st graders last year. This *simple* Famous American research center can be blamed for the beginning of my QR Code craze. The kids instantly fell in love with QR Codes and I was hooked. They were reading (about a famous American), writing to record facts they learned and following up with a blog post. Talk about engagement and excitement, my kids were sneaking the center papers into their book bags so they could scan the codes at home! We had a class meeting to discuss the Star Quality of HONESTY and stealing but in actuality I was thrilled when they came up missing and I had to reprint.

When you are getting started with QR Codes linking to a website is by far the easiest way for quick implementation. It is literally a copy and paste of a URL into a QR Code generator like QRStuff. If you haven't used QR Codes before what are you waiting for!? If you have used QR Codes please share how.

edmodo

Edmodo is a safe and easy social networking site for teachers, parents and students. Edmodo is designed very similarly to Facebook (I overheard an 8th grade conversation and the one kid said, "I feel like we are the cool kids using Facebook at school." The other kid said, "I feel like we should be getting in trouble for this" haha).  It looks the same as Facebook, has many of the same features and works almost identical to Facebook (Another 8th grader wanted to know if Facebook could sue edmodo. I told him I wasn't sure but maybe he could research it and get back to me). It is a secure place to make connections, collaborate and share content. Teachers can also post grades, assignments and quizzes. Teachers can also create polls and post topics for discussion among the students. There is an app store within edmodo that has lots of popular applications (some free others pretty pricey). By easily creating a edmodo group you are given an access code which allows edmodo users to join your group. The website is great and there is even an edmodo app for iPad that I really like.  

It is a great way to connect with other educators and education companies which seems to be the biggest benefit for me right now! I am "following" several communities and groups as part of my PLN. FETC, the conference I am presenting at in January has a several groups (FETC, FETC for presenters and each workshop and session will have a group). Each edmodo presenter page will have the resources used for their presentation, freebies, etc.! I am in the process of getting our group page ready for SCANAPALOOZA! 

Edmodo implementation with students has been disappointing for me since I do not have my own class that I see on a regular basis. It is really hard for me to hold kids accountable or create projects, etc.. When I started the epal project I created an edmodo group for all of the kids to join (3- 8th grade classes at our school as well as our epals in China, Ukraine, Polland, Spain and Germany). I had big ideas but the cooperating teacher isn't really following through so it has become more like Facebook and I am a little frustrated with how it has turned out. I think it has amazing potential but as a technology teacher there is only so much I can do with it. I know the 8th grade civics teacher is using it and it has increased engagement and discussion. Below you can see an example of a poll with discussion (obviously not many people logging in over winter break). 

I would love to hear how you are using edmodo and any ideas you have for implementing with students! Unfortunately since it is so secure it is harder to check out what others are doing!

January Currently

Happy New Year everyone! I am linking up with Farley over at, Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for my first Currently of 2013 (maybe I should make a resolution to complete all 12)!

Listening to {silence} explains itself! In the silence I hear dinner sizzling downstairs that my wonderful husband is making, the keys on my MacBook Air going clickety clack (a sound I love) and Gremmy snoring.

I am loving my new camera! It was on last months *wanting* and it appeared under our Christmas tree this year! It is a Cannon Rebel ESO t3i, not that I know what any of that means but it takes amazing photos and I am really excited to be completing Project365, one photo everyday for the year! I haven't decided completely on my platform but started with a Shutterfly Share Site and Project365.org. As I was reading another blog she mentioned that she just created a second blog. I want to find what will be easiest to ensure that I follow through with the uploading!

Don't breaks always go too quickly? I had so much fun with my husband and family and didn't get to everything on my to-do list. I truly enjoyed every minute of spending time with friends and family, relaxing, taking pictures, etc. which is a great feeling but I am also feeling like I am not prepared for this week and I should have worked on our FETC presentation which seems to come up in every Currently as well. 

I realize I am being greedy and wanting snow days is ridiculous right after winter break but I could just use a few more days  one more day to stay in PJS all day, write several scheduled blog posts, work on our FETC presentation, blog stalk and create! I also need to do laundry again, clean around the house (especially our spare rooms which have become the dump and hide zone) and take down Christmas decorations. 

Needing (see above)! I would love just one more week to get myself together and to get motivated for January! Right now I am not feeling fully prepared and a few more days might help with this predicament! 

OWL- one little word obviously has proven to be challenging for me! I am terrible at making decisions and a lot of the words made sense to me. I listened to the list hoping for one to jump out at me but truth is there wasn't just one. I have a small list that I will revisit tomorrow or another word may come to me! 

Update: 

I have trouble making decisions obviously and I wanted {my own} word, a word that no one else would be using! My husband is laying next to me giggling while looking at pictures on the SCHOOL OF NOT RIGHT Facebook page and my word came to me. One of the photos was a referral with for doing something inappropriate and screaming YOLO. My husband asked me if I knew what YOLO meant and we did a quick Google search!  My word is YOLO (you only live once). YOLO with all of my other words.

YOLO so don't forget to breathe, pause and relax! 

YOLO so make fam{ILY} a priority.  

YOLO so sparkle and shine!

YOLO and remember that {fate} will take care of the "plans"!

YOLO so balance your life with work and play! UNPLUG and don't stress about work all of the time.

YOLO so enjoy every moment of being BLESSED! I am one lucky girl with many blessings.

YOLO so cherish and treasure the little moments, the big moments, everything. Life is too short!

YOLO so choose to be happy, choose to relax, choose to work hard but also play hard, choose... 

YOLO so start living now!

I realize I am breaking the rules by double blog posting, however, since it was a scheduled post does it technically count? Maybe let go should be my words haha! Let it go... it's your blog, who cares if there are two posts in one day, let it go...!