Teaching Teens in the 21st

Well...I've hit a crossroads. I LOVE my ISN, and it's been absolutely amazing for keeping students organized in the classroom, but lately I feel like we are just putting in worksheets...something that could be easily done in a binder, or in a workbook. I would love  to be able to have all my materials copied and bound for each student in my class at the beginning of the year in one workbook for them, but that's just unreasonable. That is one of the things I love about the ISN...if I add something in at the last minute, we throw it in the notebook and glue it in. I guess my guilt is coming from seeing all of the absolutely adorable foldables and things that people sell on TpT. They just look so cute, and my notebooks look so boring and serious. I tried the foldable thing two years ago with my 7th graders, and it turned into a nightmare. "Where do I cut this?" "I glued it all down on accident!", "I messed up, I need another copy!" The whole

After much thinking last night, I decided on my next Thirty-Day challenge: conquer my to-do list! Now, this might not sound like much, but I've had things on my to-do list that have been there for up to five or six years... I figured a short month like February was a perfect time to get my butt in gear and just do it! Here's the To-Do List: Today I will tackle the laundry, and Goodwill donation bags. I think I have more than enough stuff to keep me busy this month!

It's February!! I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade  for her currently. Fill yours out and link up! Well, as you may have heard, Chicago is having it's annual "Snowpocalypse", or as we used to call it, "Winter".  I guess I'm weird, but it really didn't seem that bad out when I went grocery shopping, my car didn't even slide! Now, I'm the most "over" cautious driver I know. If you are ever stuck behind me trying to turn left, I'm sorry. I will literally wait until there are ZERO cars around to make my turn, and you will probably hate me. I would, too.  :) Anyway, I put in my currently above, and I figured while I'm here, I'd give an update on my 30 day challenge! My students will be done on the 5th, so I'll have more to update then, but I started mine on the 31st!  30 Days of Bringing Lunch to school: I DID IT!! YAY! I was so proud of myself, but on the last day, as you may have s