From Zero to Sixty: Teaching and Life Update, And I linked up to My First Monday Made It Linky Party!

It has been a crazy month.  Everything that has occurred in the last month has reminded me of a lesson that I seem to have to learn over and over again.  No matter how PERFECT my plans seem,  God's plans are always better and cover my many weaknesses in many blessings.  When we moved back to Louisville,  I applied to several public school systems, however, I knew which one I wanted to get a job at, and assumed that was exactly where I would be teaching.  I also knew that by mid-August I would have a teaching position and start the year with a calm, organized manner.


NEWSFLASH:  I am NOT God!  And I have no idea what I need or what the future holds.  But God does.  I knew I had to have a job before school started. He knew that because of family health issues, I would need to be available at least once a week for doctor's appointments or hospital visits until at least October.  I knew, I did not want to drive 35 minutes to another county to work.  He knew that my new school was actually closer than half of the schools in  my county. 

 I knew, I needed to be on the same school calendar as my daughter.  He knew that my new county's fall break would fall on a very important doctor's appointment. I knew that it didn't really matter who I worked with,I just needed a job that fulfilled my requirements. He knew that I needed to be surrounded by women who loved these kids as much as I do, and absolutely loved the Lord.

 I knew that I needed a job and needed it ASAP.  He knew that the I needed to be reminded of who was on the Throne and Why? 

http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2012/10/time-for-monday-made-it-monthly-edition.html

So now, that I have filled you in on that minor Fact, I will now join the Monday Made It Linky Party.  MY FIRST LINKY PARTY,   and my first opportunity to blog about all of those awesome Pinterest ideas I have obsessed over ALL SUMMER LONG.

Monday Made It

Busy Bags Addiction...
OK, how many times do I get on Pinterest and find over ONE HUNDRED IDEAS for my life and classroom that I will probably never have the time or opportunity to do. Of Course, if you also have a Pinterest addiction, You Know.  Well, a brilliant friend of mine recently invited me and several other mommies to A BUSY BAG PARTY.

Busy Town Busy Bag
This is the bag that I ended up making.  I
bought two packs of colored felt and did a lot
of cutting. The child uses the shapes to create
their own town or neighborhood
 I loved putting the windows on
the buildings.

Have you heard of them?  Busy Bags! Just like they sound, activities that fit into a bag and will keep your toddler or preschooler busy.  They are very similar to TEAACH tasks for children with Autism, but designed for Portability, Preschool, and Playfully Developmental.  Independent activities are so important for young children, as well as those with special needs. 

This party was organized for Moms of preschoolers/toddlers.  The idea is that every mom picks one design for a busy bag.  They buy all the stuff needed for that bag.  In our party, 18 women committed to creating a different busy bag design.  So, each woman would be responsible for making 18 busy bags in that one design.  At the party, you explain the concept, design, and variations of your bag.  Then every one receives 18 different Busy Bags to take home to their children or classroom. I was so excited, I split mine up, kept 9 bags at home and took the rest to school.

After seeing how well my kids liked the Busy Town, I decided to create a bag for Halloween.  My student's requested pumpkins, ghosts, and monsters.  I liked the witch, so I threw that in as well.

Let me know what you think.