A Year of Gratitude: Our Family's New Year Resolution

A lot has happened of good things have happened to our family the past 6 months- my husband graduated from college, got a new job, we moved into a new house,... things were looking great! I knew I wanted to work on expressing gratitude as a New Year's resolution. We had SO much to be thankful for! And I knew that I didn't want this to just be a personal goal- but something we could all work on as a family. I envisioned a whole year of meaningful journal writing and all our FHE lessons centered on gratitude.

And then we were hit with an unexpected trial (I won't go into detail about it now, let's just say it's a road bump on our blissful journey). I wanted to wallow in self pity, but knew in my heart that now more than ever my family needed to focus on gratitude.

Lift up your hearts in praise to God;

Let your rejoicings never cease.

Though tribulations rage abroad,

Christ says, “In me ye shall have peace.”

Hymn #122: Though Deepening Trials

I am hoping that the focus of our year of gratitude will help us to more easily recognize all of our blessings, express gratitude to others & in our prayers for specific blessings, and strengthen our family. We have already built a foundation of teaching polite behaviors with our daughter, but I want to immerse her in the deep happiness that comes when we are truly grateful. Including recognizing and expressing gratitude when things aren't going our way.

Here is our plan:

We have 12 monthly gratitude themes that are centered around gospel teachings: Heavenly Father, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, Prophets, Scriptures, Bodies, Country/Home, Covenants, Plan of Salvation, Family, Extended Family/ancestors, and Service. Each monthly theme also has sub topics in gray shaded boxes. (I went through old family home evening books and highlighted topics of gospel study I knew our family needed, then just inserted them throughout the year.)

You can't have a family home evening planner without a binder! 

Inside the binder are our individual gratitude journals where we will be writing down things that we are grateful for  each week and lesson plan ideas for each theme.

Our 12 monthly themes divider pages for the gratitude binder.

Here is a free printable for you- print the pic below and create your own gratitude journal!

Well it is almost 1:30 AM and I am grateful for my nice warm bed that I am about to jump into! If there are any files that you would like a copy of, please feel free to email me and I will send them your way.

Happy Teaching!

New Years Countdown Clocks for Kids

Ring in the New Year with your little ones by creating some fun countdown bags! I originally read about this idea here and fell in love! I love that this idea helps to teach kids about telling time!!!! Yay for fun math/party integration!

Each bag contains a simple surprise- it can be a treat (yes I will raid the old Halloween candy for this!), a game/puzzle to do together, even a familiar toy who snuck inside the bag to celebrate New Years with my Boo. I will have the bags all mixed up- every hour during the countdown I will tell her the time and she will have to locate the correct bag in order to get the surprise. But of course she will get it anyway!

There are some adorable clock bag printables (click here) but I wanted to make some kid-friendly ones. Feel free to just click on the pic, download, and use to celebrate New Years!

  I created some half hour clocks too- I was going to try them with my daughter, but thought that they might be a little too much this year.

FYI I was told by my husband that the hour hand on the clock is behind the minute hand. Oops :)

Happy Teaching!

North Pole Breakfast & Reindeer Report

I found this DARLING idea on Pinterest to have a special North Pole breakfast each year to introduce Elf on the Shelf and just get in the spirit of Christmas (thank you Little Pumpkin Grace!). 

North Pole Breakfast complete with a special letter from Rudolph

Well we did it and it was fun! However, I am too cheap to buy an elf, so we customized it with something I had bought back in November for $5.... a reindeer.

Introducing the Reindeer Report. Each night Rudolph magically flies to the North Pole and gives Santa a report on if Boo is being nice or naughty. And she (I was informed it's a girl) hides when she come back from the great white north, so we have fun searching for her in the morning. It works for us- it gives us the magic I love plus it incorporates an animal my daughter LOVES!

Letter to Boo from Rudolph

I also made a little reindeer book with a two sided nose- it stays red if Boo is being nice, but it quickly flips over to a black nose if she is making bad choices. 

I hope you are all enjoying the MAGIC of the season! Merry Christmas!

Peppermint Bark

Merry Christmas! We are just settling into our new home and starting some fun new traditions. One new tradition will be this extremely simple yet so DIVINE recipe for peppermint bark by Taste of Home. I am in Christmas heaven every time I take a bite! And my little Boo can help me with the recipe- YAY!

Ingredients:
6 squares (1 ounce each) white baking chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed peppermint candies

1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate at 70% power; stir until smooth. Repeat with chocolate chips.

2. Stir 6 tablespoons of crushed candies into each bowl.

Boo unwrapping and crushing peppermint candies.

3. Drop white chocolate and semisweet chocolate in alternating spoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet.

4. With a metal spatula, cut through the chocolate to a swirl.

5. Sprinkle with remaining crushed candies.

6. Chill until firm. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if there is any left! ha!)

They are as tasty as they look! And SO super simple! Enjoy!
Happy Teaching and Merry Christmas!

A New House and Life Without Internet (Is there such a thing?)

Our little family has just moved, and for the past three weeks we have been internet-less. How have we survived? It is a little painful, but in all honestly a good thing for our family. We are the techno-geeks that spend more time than we would like to admit on the computer. I have spent less time (well, actually NO time) on Netflix and more time unpacking boxes. No time has been spent searching on line for lesson plans, but much time has been spent playing with my daughter. Our house has been eerily quiet without the hum of technology....

I am grateful for our time away from the internet, but I am more grateful to be getting it back! :)

Stay tuned for more pics of our new home and my new craft/school room! It is going to be so much fun to have more room to spread out all my teacher stuff! :)

Here's hoping for a more balanced life!

Happy Teaching!