Example

I made this to go with The Family School, Literature 1.16

The border is one that I drew.  You can find it here.

The Fonts I use are KB Talking Loudly

and Things We Said

Dazings #1

Dogs.

We walk two dogs now.  

Neither are our own.

We even walk them when it is only 4 degrees F.

Yep.  

We are good dog walkers.

Baby Sitter.

I met a swim mom the other day.

We were both waiting for our boys to get out of the Locker room.

(Why are boys so slow? )

She thought I was the baby sitter.

Hmmm.

Socks. 

I do not like matching socks.
As in finding, sorting and matching socks.

When I was a mere child, I remember that my friend had to safety pin her socks.

I thought that was strange.

Now I'm a mom.

No longer a child.

I think I may invest in some safety pins.

Run.
I ran.
5 minutes.
That is what I'm allowed right now.
2 and a half years.
That is how long it has been.
I ran.

Bitter.
It is bitterly cold.
This is so not working for me.
Can it at least crawl into the double digits?
Negative digits are painful.
I think I'm getting bitter.

Literature

We changed how we were doing The Family School.

We decided that we like to study things in units rather than start a topic, pause, do a different subject, pause, go back to the first topic, pause, start a new topic, pause...

Once we started Little House in the Big Woods, we didn't want to stop.

We are trying a unit approach for the rest of the year.

I think we are going to enjoy it.

Lucky for us, we home school, so we can change our minds if we want to.

I minored in English at B.Y.U.

One of the things I was required to do was annotate.

I loved to annotate.

Here is a small sampling of my annotating style...way back then.

As you can see, my doodling urge has always been rather strong.

My professor liked the doodles.

I was thrilled when I discovered that The Family School has an annotating method!

We get to draw in our books!

I made the kids bookmarks with the system so they can mark with ease.

I got permission to share The Family School's Literature Pen System.  If you would like to give it a try in your own reading, here are some bookmarks for you!

And  a quote.

I used my one sided borders to decorate the boomarks and the quote.  You can get them here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/One-Side-Borders-Set-1and-2-LinedBlack-and-White-1059300

I have a few different colored options as well.  They are great for when you just need a little something to add to a project.

Each of the kids have a book that I read just with them.  

When I showed them my college books, they got so excited when I told them that they get to write in their books too.  Some of you are probably cringing right now.  Who tells their kids to write and draw in their books??  

I guess I do.

Although, I will make sure they know that I get to choose which books they get to annotate...

Carrots, Apples and Oranges

 My favorite kitchen appliance is our juicer.

I really like carrot juice mustaches, too.

Have you missed The Family School handouts?

If you have, don't you worry, I will have some up soon!

aimster kids

I'm really excited about my new clip art.
I have been sketching and doodling.
I'm really happy about how these turned out.

Introducing...
Drum roll please.

The Aimster kids!

These kids are always aiming for something.

These girls love to dream big.

(I apologize for another play on my blog name...)

My first bundle is the "Dream Big" bundle.

Get the Aimster Girls: Dream Big

HERE!!

I have also made a new logo.

If you use any of my images in your work, please add a logo and link to my TPT store.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jena-Flanagan

Thank you!

Felt Toys

I found this fantastic book a few years ago.
I had great plans for this book.
I was going to make a lot of fun toys.
Somehow it just never happened.
That book just sat around taunting me.

This is the book.

My girls have been begging me to make that deer for years.
This Christmas I finally did it!

It was a lot of fun!
I used this tutorial.
It made a huge difference to use packing tape when cutting out the pieces.
Now I have the pieces stored in an envelope, ready to make more!

I already have some tiny dogs cut out and ready to sew.

How I use it: Part 2

Let's talk a little more about the goal book.

If you have no idea what I am talking about,
start here,
then go here.

Is this a perfect system?
No.
Is there a perfect system?
I don't think so.
Do I have this one figured out?
Nope.
I'm still learning.
I find new ways to use it every day.
That is why I left everything unlabeled.
Life is unpredictable.
You are going to change your direction and goals and desires.  Hopefully as you change, you are coming closer to whom you are meant to be.

Let me give you a quick example of how one of my life goals changed.

I am a "ranner".  Meaning, I used to run.
I ran a lot.
It was definitely a passion.
I ran until the day I delivered on every one of my pregnancies.
I started running a week after each delivery (I only waited a week because the doctor told me I had to).
I loved it.
I needed it.
One of my life goals was to run for the rest of my life.
And to be good at it.
I was training for my first marathon.
My mileage was starting to get pretty significant.
My pace was getting quicker.
I was feeling great.
Then it happened.
I felt a little pain in my knee.
At first, I thought no big deal.
I kept running.
Then I decided I better take a break...
I had no idea how long that break would be.
To make a long story short,
My "no big deal" injury ended up being rather significant.
I was told I would never run again (I choose not believe that).
I have since had 2 knee surgeries.  (One involving sawing a bone and screwing it back in.)
It has been over 2 years since I have ran even a step.
This was a huge trial for me.
I know it seems so insignificant.
It's just running.
But it was important to me.
It even had a spot in my goal book.
That aspect of my life had to change.
New goals have evolved.
New passions have developed.
Does that mean that all my hard work was wasted?
Absolutely not.
Writing those goals down,
working towards them,
and seeing success,
made me stronger.

Even if you change your mind,
the process of working towards something has helped you to become more.

Don't be afraid to write it down.
Just start somewhere.

The way this is set up, you can rip out pages and print out some new ones.  Or keep the old ones to remind you of what you tried, and put new ones next to it.  You are in charge.

How I use it: Part 2

My mom sent me a bunch of fun pens.
I love pens.
I use them.

If that is not your thing, don't worry!  Colorful doodles are included...

This week I need to focus on exercise.  I have a Dr. appointment in a few weeks.  I need to make sure that I am really strengthening my knee and leg muscles.  I still have a lot of atrophy...that happens way to fast!  I'm using those small boxes to keep track of what I do.  Each box is  a day of the week.  Each day better have something in it!  I'm planning on changing from a "ranner" to a "runner" this year...

I have some projects that I want to work on this week.  I put a circle by each project.  When I get them done, I'm going to give myself a star.  I don't know why I like those stars!  There is something so satisfying about putting a star by an accomplishment.  Way better than a check mark!  Try it...you will see!

What about all those little tasks that need to get done?

Do the Laundry.

Dust the book shelves.

Mop the floors.

Make that phone call.

Write that email.

Blah, blah, blah.

I made some check lists. 

These little pages are meant for things that need to get done.

Tasks are a necessary part of life.

That is never going to change.

I paper clip them to the top of my week.

If they don't all get done this week,

I move them to next week.

I made half page sheets, 

and quarter page sheets.

There are lines with circles to star (or check, if you are a checker, or x if you are an x-er...),

just lines,

and blank sheets.

You can use them as check lists,

idea catchers,

journal sheets, 

shopping lists, etc.

Once again, you are the boss.

These are all hand drawn and they are in color and black and white.

You can buy the packs at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Half page here.

Quarter page here.

They are saved as PNG files and PDF.  You can print one at a time or you can print a whole sheet.  You can either cut them out or hole punch them.  Whatever works best for you.

If you are hesitant to join TPT,

don't be!

It is completely free.

There are so many teachers and parents who are members of the site.

There are sellers and buyers.

You would not believe the wonderful resources you can get from TPT. 

So many of them are free.

It is a fantastic resource.

It is totally worth the few minutes it takes to sign up.

Having a goal book has been so important for my life.  It makes such a difference to find purpose and work towards that purpose. I read this great article from Meridian Magazine called "7 enemies to Reaching Your Potential."  You can read it here.

It explains exactly why a goal book is so important.  I really feel so strongly about this.  That is why I put this together and made it available to anyone.  In the article it gives staggering statistics!  He says that according to youtube stats, 1037 years of youtube are watched per day!  Per day!  That is mind boggling.  Let's not contribute to those statistics.  Let do something with our life!  Don't let anything stop you from reaching your potential.

Get to work!

It is so much fun.

I promise.