College Weekly Planning

As most of you know, I teach high school biology. I happen to teach a lot of really awesome, really wonderful, really not organized kiddos. (And I mean that in the most loving way.)

I happen to be a very organized person. Kids joke about the number of planners and lists that I have in my classroom. I guess I always thought that students would learn to be organized on their own and that I didn't need to take them through being organized step-by-step. However, according to numerous news outlets, teachers are expected to be responsible for more and more components of our students lives.

I am here to serve! So to speak.

So, in the photo below is the college planning checklist I used for each week. I will continue, over the next fow weeks, to share all of the checklists I used in college and in the last week I will share, for free, for a month, the entire set as one BIG file. All of these will be printables that will be free only for the time period that I have shared them for and then the links will switch to the fee based printable links.

This is a great planning guide for a college student looking to really manage their schedule. It has space for 7 classes, 2 activities, cleaning, shopping and miscellaneous. The cleaning, shopping and miscellaneous have 2 columns that are both blank, so they can be used whatever way works best! 

For most college students, this will provide the framework for total success in managing all of the things that are going on and need to be kept track of!

The link to the FREE printable is here.

I would recommend sitting down on Sunday to go over the needs for the week. I would also recommend printing 2-3 at a time so that you can write on them in advance of when things are going on.

Don't worry, there are more printable planners to come!!

Let me know, in the comments below, what printables you would like to see!

Ways to help our students be successful

Very seldom do my professional blog (it's for my students to keep up with my classroom assignments, etc) and my personal blog intersect and have basically the same need for the same thing. But I find myself wanting to share this blog post with as many people as possible. Below I have listed out 5 ways to help your student be successful in school. I know some of them are easier than others MANY days of the week. But, I also know the more we, as parents, work to help our students find ways to be successful the more we will see them able to succeed.

Ways to help your student:
1. Get them a planner!!! I use Erin Condren planners for my personal and professional calendars and tracking. I obviously, would recommend them, but there are truly hundreds of places to find great options! (The link gives you $10 off your first purchase at EC.) There are multiple options for how to lay out the week, this gives the user the chance to really see which method will best meet their goals and needs. (This is my personal planner shown below.)

2. A regular study/planning spot. Having a regular spot that is all theirs to plan their week, do homework and study is a game changer for most students! Making this a regular habit for your students is HUGE!

3. Quiet time! Try and set aside an hour or more that is just for them and you won't interrupt them! I know that in families with multiple children, especially older ones helping out, have a hard time setting aside time for students to focus. However, if you can make this happen, it will be a huge game changer!

4. A regular evening routine and bed time! Plenty of sleep is really important for our students.

5. Regular morning routine. This is hard in my house, so I know it can be hard in others. But, having a regular morning routine of everyone getting up, getting dressed, eating something, brushing teeth, etc. will really help you and your student to feel more capable and prepared to do well at school.

Feel free to share your ideas below! I'd love to hear what tips and tricks you have for helping your students find their own successes!

Shabbat and a Budget

So, I was going to spend this post talking about what Shabbat is, what it means and how special it is to me and my family. Which I will do. But today was also a pretty informative day for me. Up until now, I have not really had a strong ability to mange my money well and surprisingly, I also realized I haven't managed my faith well, either.

Did I pay the bills? For the most part, yes.

But could I really say my money was "working for me"? Oh heck no, I was WORKING hard for it!

So, after my post yesterday, I decided it was time to stop acting like a victim to my money and start acting like the owner of my financial freedom. I looked up budgeting and found these articles through Google. None really connected for me...maybe one will help you.

Since those weren't really sinking in and I am constantly getting emails from my bank about utilizing some of the other services at the bank; I went to the bank today and reviewed my ENTIRE financial status with a bank associate. He was really kind about explaining things to me, showing me how to use different features of the bank's website and (most importantly) demonstrating how to set up a budget.

How does this connect to the celebration of Shabbat?

First let's start with what Shabbat is...

Shabbat, is the Jewish holiday celebrated every friday night at sundown and ending on saturday's at sundown with the Havdalah service. Shabbat is celebrated, generally with others, by sharing bread, wine and lighting shabbat candles. Prayers are said over the wine, the bread and the candles and the evening is spent sharing time and dinner with friends and/or family. Saturday is spent relaxing and rejuvenating the self for the week ahead.

Havdalah, which begins at sundown on Saturday, is the celebration of the end of shabbat and ushers in a new week. The service is spent lighting of a havdalah candle, drinking wine and smelling sweet spices.

Both services are meant to rejuvenate and remind us of our connection to each other, to ourselves and to G-d. Some rabbis suggest setting religious or faith goals for the week. The intention is for you to think about the services, the time spent with others and your actions and interactions. Lately though, much like my financial income and outcome, religiously, I was mostly going through the motions, and not connecting with the core values of my faith, or for that matter, my family.

I could share all sorts of things about what the holidays were, what you needed to participate and what foods were traditionally eaten at the time, but the real meaning for our weekly shabbat, was not sinking in. Writing about the holidays over the last few weeks had started to make me feel more connected.

So, today, after I left the bank, I realized that money management is just like your faith management. The two take energy, practice and faith. You must put forth energy to control what is happening around you; how are you spending your time, your energy, your spirituality and your money? What practices are you participating in to enrich your life? How are you practicing good stewardship of your wallet, your heart, your faith and your family? What faith are you investing in yourself, in your family and in G-d?

I know this may have felt a bit strange. But there is something to be said for taking the time to consider these questions as they apply to your faith and financial practices.

Maybe you won't be financially rich any time soon, but I can promise that you will easily be faithly rich in family, in self and possibly in a different type of relationship with your own spiritual G-d, in whatever form you practice.

 

The home stretch

It always feels to me that the week leading into a break; fall, spring or summer, feels hectic and chaotic and stressful.! As swim season gears up and extra-curriculum activities get moving for all our school children (that count is now 3/5).  This week is no exception for us, after school meetings, swim practice and HOMECOMING at my school are all happening this week! Our house is only getting busier!!!

Today was day 2 of my daughter's swim meet, my son had Hebrew class at religious school and due to the rainy weather here, my daughters had limited play space at the swim meet. But, as a testament to what an amazing community our swim family is; my girls got in plenty of indoor and outdoor supervised play time because they are loved by sooo many people. I'm so grateful for all of those men and women. 

Here's the plan for this week: 

Sunday: We're headed to my uncle's house for dinner. We get to hear all about how my brother is doing and China! 

Monday we have a swim meeting and dinner so we will be eating out! (Whew, no dishes!)

Tuesday: We have a busy night tonite so we're grilling chicken breasts and hot dogs, making potatoe wedges and Country Salad. 

Wednesday: cheesy chicken and rice casserole and steamed broccoli 

Thursday: This is the homecoming game for my high school, which means we are tailgating with the faculty and their families! Favorite tailgating recipe is homemade corn dip. What's your favorite homemade tailgate recipe? Make sure to share it in the comments below! 

Friday we are having dinner out with my parents since they're going to be in town! First time in a while! And another night with no dishes!!! 

Saturday: (Happy fall break!!!) I'm hoping to start getting some yard work done today, which means I'm planning a make-up on the grilled Brauts and veggies. If you had yours, maybe tonite is the night to try grilled cheeseLTs? It's a grilled cheese with bacon and an extra piece of bread to dress the BLT part! A bit much, but so tasty! We had ours with homemade potato wedges. 

Here's the grocery list for your shopping! 

And best wishes to you all for a great fall break! May it be restful and useful and everything you and your family needed! 

How to write a meal plan

Are you someone who says "I don't understand or I can't write a meal plan"? Do you wonder how others "stay organized"?

I find that this is something I am really good at. I can make lists, plan parties and organize spaces quickly, efficiently and (usually) get it done inexpensive. Here are a few of the tips I have for getting started on writing a meal plan of your own.

1. Make a list of things your family likes to eat.
If no one likes beef, don't include beef in your meal plan. You'll end up buying, cooking and storing leftovers of a food that will not be consumed and will go to waste. That's not beneficial.

2. Pull some recipes or look through some books or the internet for things you'd like to try.
Have you been pulling recipes from magazines and printing them off the internet because they sound good? Let's make a couple of them!

3. Get out your calendar!
Intuitively we know it is a bad idea to plan a 4 course meal on a night when all of your children have 15 things to do in 14 different places. But without our calendar, we might not know how our meals and our plans, line up.

4. Take it slow. 
Maybe just plan 2-3 meals and leave the other nights up to chance. See how it goes. I recommend that you write the meal on the calendar and put the title of the recipe next to it in your calendar. This helps you remember what comes each night and reminds you that you have an appointment with your kitchen. Going forward it may help that you have been recording this in case you are out running errands and need to get something for dinner that night or there is a change in the schedule.

5. Pick a day for grocery shopping.
The more consistent you get with meal planning, the easier it will get. The best way to be successful, is to have all of your needed ingredients when it's time to cook. It's frustrating if it is time to cook dinner and you need to run to the grocery for butter. In fact, it may make you not want to continue on the meal planning journey.

What other successes or suggestions do you have?

What other "How-To's" would be helpful to you?

Erin Condren Planners

Many of you are already familiar with my OBSESSION with Erin Condren Planners. Which you can order on her website; www.erincondren.com

I have a few different items...

A life planner, shown above.

A desk pad...

And the teacher planned shown with my life planner in this pic. 

Personally, my biggest frustration is that the teacher planner comes with unnumbered calendar pages and too many pre-written pages that I can't opt out of. 

Both planners are beautiful, colorful and super helpful for those who need lots of space for writing things down. 

If you would like to get $10 off your first purchase of anything on the site; here's my link! Www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/rachelkannady

Follow the link, create your account and wait for the email with your $10 off code. It takes about 10-15minutes for your code to arrive!!!

Happy Organzing :)

Rachel

Just had to share

So I'm sure some (or all) of you have seen and heard and read about my OBSESSION with Erin Condren products. I adore them!!!

Well, now they have an awesome referral program. If you refer a friend and they make a purchase, you each get $10 to spend!!! So awesome!!!

Here's my referral link...feel free to go shopping! 

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/rachelkannady

What are you waiting for...go get organized and personalized!!!