Wk 19-Half Way Through! (854) :)

We definitely saw many Acts of Kindness this week.  :)  On Wed.  one of our PTSA moms had CFA come & deliver biscuits to us for breakfast.  Mrs. K. came & read the kids a story so I could have a 30 minute break-it was so thoughtful of her!  :)  We also had our class party the same day-our volunteers were awesome & fun was had by all. :)  We had enough volunteers that I got to go cover Mrs. Barbo's class so she could come hang out with Lilli for a few minutes.  :)  This wk I received so many nice, thoughtful gifts from my students & coworkers.  They all know how to make a girl feel loved!  :)  On Thursday we had Polar Express/PJ Day.  We had parents send in lots of juice boxes & popcorn in for our movie day.  We also had a very special delivery straight from the North Pole-bells just like the movie!  They were even cold!  :)  Mrs. Smith & I watched Mrs. Yellin's class in the afternoon so she could go to her son's Christmas party.  :)  Thursday night my Mom cooked Mr. Holloway's favorite meal for his Christmas present.  :)  Friday my kiddos did their regular recycling for K & 1st grade.  :)  They even took out the office's too!  :)  Today my Mom picked up some very large limbs that had fallen in my neighbor's yard for them.  :)
We hope everyone has a WONDERFUL, restful holiday & that we all remember in the hustle & bustle of things that, "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store.  Perhaps Christmas means just a bit more!"
Current Total = 854!

Wk 18-826! Over 800!

We were very busy this wk!  I sent one of my friends a sympathy card-her grandmother had passed away.  Mady drew a pic to cheer her up as well-SUCH a sweet girl! :)  We also sent Miss Moody a Get Well card-she had Gall Bladder surgery.  We sent a card to Bella-she had the flu.  We also sent a BD card & a get well card.  We sent our pen pals in FLA some pencils & Chilly penguin tattoos.  We sent their teacher a little cross-stitched ornament & a StarBucks gift card.  :)  We also did our regular recycling for K & 1st grade.  We also gave our parents their holiday presents this wk.  :)  They turned out very cute. :)
We had SO many Acts of Kindness done for us this week as well!  :)  We had someone donate 3 boxes of crayons to our classroom.  Braydon's Mom sent in TONS of pencils for our class!  We really needed them!  :)  I've been getting "12 days of Christmas" presents from Nolan & his family all wk-it's so fun & such a cute idea!  :)  I look forward to seeing what I'm going to get every morning!  :)  We got an AWESOME package from our pen pals in FLA.  They made all of our students a bracelet w/ a pattern & they sent them a bookmark.  They also sent us a very cool sign that says, "Kindness Matters."  I hung it up on our Kindness Counts wall.  :)  It was such a cool/fun package to get!  :)
Current Total = 826!

Wk 17-OVER 700-719! :)

This was a good wk for AOKs!  :)  I sent in 3 breast cancer lids.  I did cross walk duty for my friend Laurie on her BD.  :)  I gave one of my friends a thinking of her card-her grandmother is ill.  Our class also made 3 BD cards this wk for Mr. Klicka, Mrs. Smith & Mr. Chris, our custodian.  We also sent a  Christmas card to a class of a girl that Mrs. Cunningham knows that is trying to see how many states they can get Christmas cards from.  We gave Brilei a thinking of you card when her kitty was ran over this week. :(  We donated a box of baggies to the school to use for icepacks.  We also did our regular recycling this wk for K & 1st grades.  We had some AOKs done for us too, of course!  Some workers came in & fixed a spot on our floor that had been needed to be fixed for over a year, it made me SO HAPPY!  :) Mrs. Barbo also came in for 20 minutes on her lunch break to help us with one of our Christmas crafts-it was SO INCREDIBLY nice of her to do that during her lunch break!  :)
Current Total = 719!

Wk 16-688!

We had a lot of AOKs done for us this wk!  :)  One of our custodian's Miss Sharon gave the kids Nerds.  :)  This week we created a new calm down corner in our room for any friends that need it.  I asked if anyone at school had a rug and pillows they weren't using to put in our corner.  Mrs. Dolak bought some very cute ones for us @ Target & gave them to us!  :)  I had the kids write thank-you cards to both of them for the AOKs they did for us.
My kids wrote Mady 2 get well cards-it was SO INCREDIBLY SWEET!  :)  I gave Mrs. Smith a special chocolate treat on her observation day.   She gave me a popsicle the next day.  :)  I also gave her & her husband a Congratulations card on his new job.  :)  My kids took the office's recycle trash today PLUS our normal K & 1 recycling.  I am really noticing how many AOKs are being done for our class this year-I don't know if I'm just more aware of it or if it really is a great example of positive karma!  :)
Current Total = 688!  :)

Wk 15-THANKSGIVING! 654!

This wk I was only @ school for one day b/c Boo was sick but man did we get a lot of AOKs done!  We made 39 THANKFUL cards-2 sets.  We took one home to our families & then we delivered 20 around the school to staff members we are thankful for.  :)
We also had a lot of AOKs done for us this wk-Garrett's Mom sent in a whole bag of crayons-we needed them SO badly!  :)  I had a friend bring me a hot chocolate to let me know she was thankful for me.  :)  We also got a special treat from a girl scout troop.  :)  Mady also did a couple of AOKs this wk-she picked up the house for her NaNa w/o being asked & she made pineapple upside down cake & shared it with her Auntie Caryn & Uncle Dave.  It may have been a short wk but I'm very impressed with our efforts!  :)
Current Total = 654!

Wk 14-AOKs abound & we're over 600! (617!) :)

This wk I was very proud of my kiddos!  Tuesday the office buzzed my room & told us that our volunteer wasn't coming.  One of my kids immediately said, "Mrs. H., we should make him a Get Well card."  Within 30 minutes we had made 12 Get Well/Happy BD cards.  The next day they did 7 Get Well/BD cards and the NEXT day they did 2!  It definitely made me realize that they "get it."  They really get it!  They get our AOK project!  I was a PROUD, THANKFUL teacher this wk!  :)
Also this wk Mrs. DePew & Sebastian loaned me a Geometry center to copy so I could use it as a center.  Also one of my friends, Mary Lynn, made me some Math copies for centers as well.  My Mom started putting them together for me.  :)
We also did our regular recycling for K & 1st grades.  :)
Next wk we have a short wk but I have a really good THANKFUL project to work on!  :)
Current Total = 617!

Wk 13-Veteran's Day & More! 576! :)

The wk started off with AOKs & continued throughout the wk!  That's my kind of wk!  :)
My friend Jen went & picked up our race shirts for us.  Tuesday I went & picked up breakfast for my friend Paige.  I also went & picked up lunch & a frosty for my friend Laurie.  My friend Lynn gave us a new Christmas tree-I'm SO EXCITED to put it up!  First grade sent a card to our custodian Barbara, who's husband recently passed away.  My Mom cut out some C-mas trees for me for the tags for my kids to put on their C-mas presents.  Our admins provided us with lunch from Back Yard Burgers Friday b/c we had all A's on our recent "report card".  I also got an encouragement card & chocolate treat from two of my friends Katie and Paige on Friday- after an extremely difficult day @ school.
My kiddos sent a card to Applebee's to honor Veterans; Applebees is letting them eat free on Sunday & they are hanging cards up all over the restaurant.  We also did our regular recycling for K & 1st.  :)
Current Total = 576

Wk 12-546! We're OVER 500

AOKs abound in the classroom!  :)  We sent a congratulations card to Mrs. Jones, a 5th grade teacher at our school that finished chemotherapy this wk! :)  We also did our regular recycle for K & 1st grade.  Conner's Mom made our class cupcakes for Halloween.  Bella's Mom made all the kids goodie bags for Halloween + 1 for Mady (SO SWEET!)  Mom put our class book order together for us, I appreciate it SO much, it saves me SO much time.  :)  Levi made me a sweet card.  He also made one for Mr. Holloway & Mady-SO THOUGHTFUL!  :)
Mady gave a Christmas dress she had outgrown to her friend Ke.  We also made 4 dz. chocolate chip cookies for the cupcake walk at Mady's school.  One of my school friends gave me some tckts to a concert, I couldn't use them so I passed them on to my friend Janna.  I gave a sympathy card to one of my friends whose aunt passed away.  I sent 3 Yoplait lids in to help fight breast cancer.  I also bought a Christmas gift for a soldier's kid at the Dollar Tree checkout.  :)  Finally, Mady picked up trash voluntarily @ CFA, that's my girl!  :)  If my calculations are correct that puts us over 500!  :)
Current Total =546!

Wk 11-449! :)

This week we made a BD card for our sweet, wonderful custodian, Miss Sharon.  We also made a Get Well card for one of our sweet, school volunteers, Miss Marjorie.  We also took our regular recycle trash out for K & 1st.  I also fed the birdies that are migrating.  :)

We had a LOT of Acts of Kindness done for US this wk!  Bella's Mom bought 6 Italian Ices for our friends so we had 100% participation. :)  She also brought us some Halloween marshmellows to eat.  She sent in a pack of "fun" paper to use for parent letters.  :)  Mrs. DePew gave me some more clothes.  :)   I had a friend that gave me a thank-you card & a gift card for Dunkin Donuts.  :)  We got 3 thank-you cards for recent cards we've sent.  :)  It's SO nice to have people acknowledge the nice things we've been doing! 

Current Total = 449

Wk 10-Fall Break-425! (Over the 400 mark!)

Even though this was a short week we still managed to accomplish lots of AOKs!  :)  We made some stain glass leaves for the residents at Morning Pointe.  We also made one of our friends (Spencer) that was sick all week a Get Well card.  We sent some Halloween pencils to pen pals in Fla. (Kennedy's aunt is their teacher!).  I sent a sympathy card to one of my friends that had her Grandfather recently pass.  I also gave a BD card to a friend.  :)  and of course...we did our regular recycling for K & 1st.  :)  

We had some nice AOKs done for us this wk too.  We had Mr. Linginfelter come visit us Monday-he brought the kids a treat & came to say thank-you for his BD card.  We got a thank-you card from an elderly lady we had sent a BD card to.  Finally, Bella's Mom Sumer made us chocolate chip cookies as a way to say thank-you for her Get Well card.  

A short but good week!  :)

Current Total = 425!  (For those of you keeping track, that's averaging out to 42.5 AOKs a week!)  :)

Wk 9-SO MANY Acts of Kindness-362! :)

This wk was HUGE for Acts of Kindness! We sent a sympathy card to a dear friend that unexpectedly lost her mother.  We also had a study/play date with one of our friends.  They brought Mr. Holloway a special meal when they came & we gave them some clothes/shoes.  We also passed along some clothes & "baby" toys to one of our friends.
I had a flat tire on Monday. :P  Mrs. K. watched my class for me until I was able to get to school.  The man that changed my tire was very trustworthy-I thought I would need two tires & he came in & told me I only had to replace the one that was flat.  Thank-goodness that there are still honest people in the world!  :)
One of my favorite AOKs that happened this wk revolved around the loss of my class mascot-a stuffed penguin named Chilly!  It was a very sad, complicated story but it truly brought out the best in others.  First, my sweet girl Mady told me that I could use  her "girl" penguin Mrs. Chilly until we found another.  Then...one of my sweet students brought in her own penguin-which we deemed Chilly #2.  She told me that, "You wanted to keep Chilly for a lifetime & since he got lost I brought you this penguin to keep for a lifetime."  How incredibly sweet is that?  :)
We sent a BD card to a friend that had a BD this wk.  :)
Friday night, I took Mady to the circus & we were getting waters on the way home.  I had left my water on top of the car & a young man came running up to my car-I was very nervous b/c it was late & I was by myself with Mady.  I wouldn't roll my window down & he pointed to my roof & then handed me my water that I had left up there.  It's SO NICE to be pleasantly surprised by people!  :)
I also got the NICEST phone call Friday!  One of the elderly gentlemen that we had sent a BD card to called to thank me & the class for his card.  His wife had passed away two wks ago & he said he was having a really hard day.  He went to his mailbox & our BD card was in there!  He wants to bring my kids a treat & thank them in person tomorrow!  :)  It just goes to show that you never know how one small act of kindness can mean to someone!  :)  That phone call made my Friday!  :)
This wk we also did our regular recycle trash for K & 1st.  We turned in 485 box tops which earned $48.50 for our school!  We did 3 Get Well cards for several people this wk.  We sent one to one of our parents that had a torn miniscus surgery Thursday.  We're giving one to Mrs. Earle-our librarian-she's having gall bladder surgery on Fall Break.  Finally, we're sending one to a lady that I met when I was picking up our T-Shirts for the Color Me Rad race.  She is a fellow teacher & suffering from ovarian cancer.
Like I said, it was a GREAT wk for Acts of Kindness!  :)

Current Total = 362!  :)

Wk 8-Do Something Nice for Someone Wk-327!

This past Friday was do something nice for someone day which was of course right up our alley!  :)  So...on Friday my kids did 17 more BD cards and we also emptied 24 recycle bins for K & 1.  One of my friends got me some WONDERFUL pumpkin scented soap and one of my students brought me a great fall candle w/ the SWEETEST note-our house smells GREAT!  :)  Thursday I got to pick up some race shirts for 4 friends that did the Color Me Rad race with us.  :)  Again, this wk a shout out to my coworkers-always willing to help me & support me even on their lunch breaks.  ;)  One of my sweet 1st grade friends, Christie brought me a special treat one morning this wk-a COLD D. Coke (the best!) & my fav. crackers, so very thoughtful & supportive! :)
Also, I've been meaning to add this every wk since school started-my Mom is the epitomy of an Act of Kindness!  She takes care of our precious Boo everyday, cleans my house & does my laundry-it takes SO much pressure off of me and most important it allows me the time to be w/ Shawn & Boo Bear guilt free!  I appreciate it more than my words can ever express!
Today Boo & I got to support Children's Hospital & have an incredible amount of fun @ the same time!  We did our 1st Color Me RAd race!  I was VERY proud of Mady-this was her 1st race w/o her stroller & she did great!  She's a BEAST! ;)
Total =327

Week 7-276 :)

This wk was Teacher Appreciation wk & boy did the AOK's prevail!  I had 2 sweet kids in my class that brought me a cute surprise everyday & the PTSA gave us snacks, treats & meals every single day.  :)
My friend Janna fixed my phone so it would ring when it was supposed to.  ;)
I had a VERY hard day Thurs. & I had some very kind friends that helped me through it.  The next morning my extremely sweet friend Paige brought me breakfast w/ the sweetest note to have a better day & it was a GREAT day!  :)
Mady & my plans got changed @ the last minute on Friday so I switched  it up so Mady wasn't disappointed-we went to get Tangled from Target b/c it was on sale.  I was flustered & tired &  I left my purse sitting on the checkout counter-the sweet lady behind me brought it to me-THANK GOODNESS!  :)
My kids did their regular recycle this wk for K & 1st.  :)
Finally, yest. while I was loading groceries in the car Mady started picking up trash in the parking lot so her "Daddy & the other workers" didn't have to!  I LOVE my sweet, thoughtful girl!  :)
Current Total-276

Another Short Wk-Wk. 6 (234!)

This was another short wk but man the AOKs abound this wk!  At school we did our usual recycle for K & 1st!  My kids did do their Oct. & Nov. cards for the 80 & 90 yr. olds.  :)  I had a friend at school that gave me some clothes, I got to pass the ones that didn't fit onto another friend.  Mady also got to pass on some pull ups & swimmy diapers to her daughter & some clothes/shoes to her friend Ke (she sent Mady the SWEETEST thank-you card-Mady was having a rough day & it was EXACTLY what she needed!)  :)  We also have a friend that gave Mady some dress up clothes/shoes & more clothes.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how these make the circle complete!  :)  One of my kids & her Mom (who is also a wonderful classroom volunteer) made me some delicious cake pops this wk.
Mady & I fed the birdies last Sunday-hopefully giving them as a snack as they migrate for the winter.  :)  Mady & NaNa finally got to give the mailman his muffins!  :)
Next wk is Teacher Appreciation wk so Mady wanted to do something special for her teachers.  We made a cake & Mady is going to take some to her Little Gym teachers tomorrow AND her pre-school teachers on Tues.  Thursday she is going to take her teachers lotion w/ a little note that says "Hope your wk is going smoothly!"  ;)
Sadly, one of our neighbors passed away this wk so we made a casserole & took some of the cake to his wife & son this afternoon.
Something that I am SO EXCITED about @ our school is Kids Hope USA, a mentor program that will hopefully follow the same child from K or 1st grade to 5th grade for an hour a wk every wk-what an incredible difference these mentors will make!  :)
Finally, I am having a really rough time @ school & my friends/coworkers have been incredibly supportive & it means SO MUCH to me!  :)
Current total = 234!

Week 5-A Short Week (182)

 I wasn't at school this past R & Fri. & it was a testing week so it was a pretty short wk for AOKs.  We did manage to squeeze in recycling for K & 1st.  :)  I also managed to leave our tester Mrs. Smith some chocolate on our testing days & our TA Mrs. Dew some chocolate for doing all the hard work for our coupon books.  Hopefully, the kids worked on our Oct. & Nov. BD cards with the sub on Friday.  :)
As a family we got to do an AOK & we didn't even realize it!  We ate @ Mellow Mushroom on Friday & they are donating $1 from every meal to hungry kids!  What a nice surprise!  :)
I am also planning on giving a pr of earrings to a friend that they have been admiring for a while.  :)
Finally, we had an AOK done for us this wkend-we went to Chattanooga for the day Friday & when we got home our house fairy (aka my Mom) had come by & straightened the house, vaccumed & loaded our dishwasher for us.  It was so nice to come home after a long day to such a clean house!  :)
AOK Total= 182

Week 4-Grandparent's Weekend :)

This was a short week but it didn't keep us from doing LOTS of Acts of Kindness!  :)  We did our usual recycling for K & 1st.  We also did a fun, special activity this week to celebrate Grandparent's Day on Sunday.  I found a special poem on Pinterest & then I had the kids paint their hands & do a handprint on each poem.  (I'm always a sucker for a handprint!)  LOL! ;)  Mady did these for her grandparents too.  :)
We also donated a bag of pop tops to the student council who will in turn donate them to Ronald McDonald house & Coca-Cola will donate 10 cents to them for every pop top!
I was incredibly proud of Mady when she came up with her own AOK idea this week!  They were studying Community helpers last week at pre-school & we were talking about community helpers that we know-she named the mailman, then she said she had a good idea for an AOK...since it was so hot we should make Koolaid to give to the mailman.  (This makes my heart INCREDIBLY HAPPY & PROUD!)  *We haven't done this yet but I'm hoping to get Daddy in on the action & let him do it this week when he's on Fall Break.*
At Little Gym they are also doing acts of kindness-their goal is to get enough kindness links to stretch across the whole gym!  I LOVE this idea!  The teachers said that Mady knew all about AOKs-what they were & what it meant.  ;)  Friday her Daddy & she did her 1st AOK for LG-she picked up trash around the park-that kid makes me proud!  :)  We also went throught Mady's fall/winter clothes to prep for an upcoming consignment sale & have 2 bags of clothes to give to friends plus a bag full of pull ups.  :)
Next week at school I'm going to have the kids start working on our October/November BD cards.  :)  I love being busy, busy, busy with AOKs!  :)
AOK Total =159!

Week 3

This week we recycled for our K & 1 friends.  My Mom got all of our August & September BD cards sent off for those friends.  She also got our October & November BD envelopes addressed so they're ready to go when we make them.  :)  I sent a sympathy card to my brother & sis-in-law this wk; they had to put their pet rat to sleep. :(  I also got to give a Congrats card to my principal-she's going to be the proud grandma of a sweet baby girl!  I know she's so excited!  :)
I got to explain our project to our parents on parent night this wk-I hope they are as enthused about it as we are!  :)
I had a friend help me a LOT when my laptop died this wk!  I'm SO glad she knows what she's doing even when I can't remember or don't!  LOL! :)
We're looking forward to the Labor Day weekend & hopefully we'll get to do lots of Acts of Kindness along the way!
Current Total =94!

Have you ever seen cuter recyclers?  :)

Week 2-We've Been Busy!

We've been busy this week!  We started off the wk by stuffing our 6 pencil boxes.  They were all gone with in the wk-that made my kids proud, excited & happy!  We also did 17 BD cards for 80 & 90 year olds with August & September BDs.  Finally, yesterday we took 15 recycle bins out.  It went much smoother this wk than last so I was glad that we spent so much time learning the procedure last wk.  :)
I gave a chocolate surprise to one of my friends at work.  I also gave one of my friends a T-Shirt that she had been wanting.  I sent a "back to school" card to one of my friends that is returning to school to finish up her degree.  Finally, we gave Mady's teachers their two favorite candy bars with a note that said, "Thanks for being so SWEET to me during this first month of school."  :)
We also had a LOT of acts of kindness done for us this week.  Mady was in the paper this week for when she volunteered this summer at the assisted living center Morning Pointe.  We had 5 people give us copies of the article including one of my sweet students.  :)  One of the articles was from my principal with the sweetest note attached.  :)  We also had a friend that gave us 3 free tickets to the circus in October! What a great week!  :)
Ps.  We also got all of our blog permission slips back this wk so now we can start posting pictures!  :)
AOK Total = 73

Week 1-2012! Off to a GREAT start! :)

We started school this wk & we kicked it off with a bang!  My parents & students seem very excited about our project.  I told the kids this wk that I thought it would be cool if we could reach 1,500 or even 2,000 acts this yr!  I sent home the picture permission slips home this wk so hopefully I can start posting pics soon!  :)  We started off with our usual Friday AOK-recycling for 1st & K.  It took a LONG time to explain,train etc. but hopefully all that time will make things run like clock work from now on.  :)
We didn't have time to stuff our school boxes but I am hoping we get to that tomorrow.  :)  I also sent some cards this wk:  I sent a card to a friend that had lost a pet & is going back to work after being on maternity leave this wk.  I also sent another card to another friend that lost her pet as well.  I sent a new home card to my brother & sis-in-law & wished him a good start to his school yr. & let them know we're praying for a sick pet they have.  I also sent a sympathy card to a friend from work that lost her f-i-l this weekend.  I also made a nice little surprise card w/ dark chocolate for my IA.  :)  Mady & I donated a pr of her shoes to Soles4Souls @ LG.  I made 2 Post-It pads for a couple of my friends at school & I sent a thinking of you card.  We also had some AOKs done for us this wk.  I broke a vase @ school & my friend Amy helped me pick it all up.  A local church donated a backpack & school supplies to one of my new students.  We are off to a great start!  :)
AOK Total = 30

Summer Tally = 56! (That's ALMOST one a day!)

Well...summer has quickly come to an end but our AOK's won't!  :)  I have LOVED doing this project with Mady over the summer!  I hope it has started setting up a foundation for life long habits & I hope it inspires her to step outside of herself & be kind to others.  After all-kindness starts with each one of us.  :)  My "goal/hope" is to try to have her & my Mom or myself cont. to do @ least 1 AOK a wk.  (Hopefully it will be easy to cont. this project!)
This summer we have been able to donate 2 phones (when we upgraded) to soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan.  :)
We also got to attend a prayer walk @ Boo's school & the sweet director sent us a thank-you card in the mail!  This was an AOK very close to my heart since it's the 1st time that Boo will be "away" from home on a regular basis.  (I threw a couple of prayers in there for myself b/c I think I might need it the most-lol!)  
We sent some coupons in the mail to our friend Angela that just had a baby & a Get Well card to one of my friends that just had surgery.  We also sent my Aunt Judy a copy of the license plate game & a pack of pencils.  (A funny little joke from our recent reunion).
We have donated a school supply to soldier's families the last 2 times we went to The Dollar Tree-I LOVE that they are doing that!  :)
Probably our FAVORITE thing that we have worked on in the last couple of wks has been a "Survival Kit" for Mady's pre-school teachers.  (I am LOVING getting to do things for her teachers that I would LOVE someone to do for me-SO FUN!)  We also filled a bag full of classroom supplies that I know will come in handy. ;)  We plan on giving all of that stuff to them tonight @ Mady's Open House.  :)
We have been the recepient of some AOKs last week as well!  (Of course!)  :)  Mady & I were enjoying our last Groupon of the summer @ Splash Zone & needed some water.  The boys just gave it to us instead of charging us for it-so sweet!  :)  Also, my friend Renee offered to drive us to one of our workshops so we both didn't have to drive-very nice!  :)
As summer is ending I am preparing for another yr. of AOKs in my classroom.  Since I know we did WELL over 100 acts in 100 days last yr.  I am changing it up a bit-our new theme is Kindness Counts!  I want my students to know that every little AOK does matter!  Boo & I have already gotten school supplies for the crayon boxes-this yr. we did a box for each grade level.  This will be my students 1st AOK.  I will have them write a note about having a great yr & we will put it in the box.  I will never forget one sweet 5th grader showing me his note last year when he got on the bus & when I told him that was from my class he thanked me & told me to thank my kids-I was SO impressed that he wasn't "too cool for school" to do that, especially in front of all his bus friends.  Kindness goes a long way!  :)
Mom has also acquired a list of all the people at her church that will be turning 80 or 90 this year!  We will be sending them cards we make throughout the year.  :)
Finally, I am implementing an AOK jar in my room as part of my discipline plan-after their warning-they will have to pull an AOK out of the jar & do it some time throughout the day!  Hopefully it will help them step outside of themselves & it will benefit someone else as well.  (A win-win!)  :)
I have had a BLAST doing this with my Boo this summer & will definitely cont. to do it with her throughout the yr.  This is my FAVORITE thing we do in our classroom so I am excited about continuing the "tradition" & I am HOPING we can break our "record" from last yr!  :)
Final Summer Tally = 56!

Water, Water Everywhere & LOTS of drops to drink! ;)

Yesterday my Mom, Mady & I delivered 20 bottles of water to people who were working outside.  We gave water to construction workers, mowers, sign holders & vegetable stand   owners.  :)  The vegetable stand owners gave Mady 2 tomatoes & 4 peaches.  :)
It was a fun day with my girlies! :)
Summer Total = 45

Acts of Kindness = 25! :)

   We recently redid Mady's room & her Auntie Nicole watched her for 12 hrs, what an awesome auntie!  :)  We are hoping she'll let us repay the favor next wk!  :) Mady's new room is a princess fairy room.  She wanted to get her very own set of fairy wings so we went to Target to pick up a pair we had seen at the Dollar Spot.  Alas, we couldn't find any & Mady was SOOO disappointed.  As we were walking away a lady found us & asked us if the wings she had found were the ones we were looking for-they WERE!  What a sweet Act of Kindness that made my beautiful girl SO HAPPY!  :)
   We have donated 2 pairs of glasses to the Lion's Club for other people to use in the last couple of weeks.  :)  We helped out a friend by keeping her daughter when she had to work.  The girls had a GREAT day together!  :)
   My Mom's church has been doing a Wednesday night Acts of Kindness project called "I Go" where they "go" out into the community & do Acts of Kindness.  (It's right up our alley!)  My Mom helped paint the classroom of one of her friends last week.  Her church also had the idea to do a prayer walk for schools for the upcoming school year.  Sooo...we decided to get one together for our school.  It was pouring down rain so only two people showed up but that's ok b/c God knows where our hearts were & lots of people were praying from the place where they were that day!  :)
   We also sent a BD & Congratulations card to a friend that got a new job this wk.
   Tomorrow we're hoping to deliver cold waters to those working out in the heat.  We have family coming in from Wyoming this wk & we hope there will be some opportunities to share our Acts of Kindness project with them!  :)
Summer Total = 25!  :)

Going Crazy With Acts of Kindness! :)

This wk was a GREAT one for Acts of Kindness!  Mady had an idea to do some paintings for an assisted living center that she & my mother have visited a few times & that my class has created art for (Morning Pointe).  Well, when I called to ask how many pics she needed to paint-the Activities Director said what would be even better would be for Mady to actually come to the center to paint WITH the residents.  So...we set it up & last Friday Mady went to paint.  She felt right @ home since she had been there a few times already.  She told everyone she met, "I'm Madylyn.  I'm 3.  I poop in the potty."  (Have I mentioned that I LOVE that kid?)  ;)  It was very fun, the residents were a little  reluctant to join in but finally a few ladies painted with Mady & made some great pictures.  I think Mady enjoyed herself & really enjoyed visiting with the residents & I think they enjoyed visiting with her as well.  They asked her to come back again so my Mom & I are already trying to think of things that Mady could do with them-like letting them read to Mady etc. (If you have any good ideas, please pass them along our way!)  Mady ESPECIALLY enjoyed the yummy lemonade they gave her at the end.  :)
Mady also did some art for a 50th Wedding Anniversary card we sent to some of NaNa's friends from church.  She did one more art piece to put in a Get Well card for a coworker of mine-we also got a restaurant giftcard for her so she hopefully doesn't overdo while she's supposed to be recovering.  :)
The day Mady visited the assisted living center was a day FULL of Acts of Kindness-it was one of those EXTREMELY hot days we've been having recently.  My Mom took a family that was walking to Wal-Mart in the heat for a ride so they didn't have to walk all that way in the heat.  Next, she drove me around to do errands while I had my oil changed.  Then...I drove my Mom around while SHE had her car worked on-definitely a day of Acts of Kindness!  :)

We've got some good ideas coming up-we want to take some bottled ice water to people that work outside & my Mom is working on getting us a list of 80 & 90 yrs. old @ her church that will have BD's throughout the yr so my students can send them cards.  :)  If it ever cools off we plan to collect trash on our road one day as well.  Plus we have some BD's coming up so I have some special stuff in mind!  ;)
Summer Total = 18

We've Been Busy! :)

Boo & I have been busy doing AOKs & we are finding it way easier to do more than 1 AOK a wk.  I'm trying to bring it up often so Mady really "gets" it & seeks out her own ways to be kind to others.  :)
Currently we have sent Mady's Aunt Marf a Get well card-she had gall bladder surgery.  Then we sent a graduation card/present to one of Mady's cousins.  We made two sets of brownies-one for VBS volunteers @ NaNa's church & the other to a friend whose father had passed away.  We also sent a get well card to a friend of mine from school that had surgery.  We sent 3 sympathy cards to friends that had a death in the family.  We also made a meal for my friend Angela & her husband, they just had a baby.  :)
Finally, (and what I'm MOST proud of) Mady shared 2 of her glow sticks w/ two little girls sitting beside us @ Movies in the park.  :)
We don't have any upcoming events that we know of for AOKs but if something doesn't come up I have two thoughts-we might make some Art for an assisted living center or we might pick up trash along on road.  :)
Summer Total = 12

Summer AOKs Challenge-1 per wk!

Mady & I are following my student's summer AOK challenge-1 per wk!  Last wk we sent a sympathy card to a friend whose mother in law passed away.  This wk we're sending a coupon & a pic a la Mady to a friend.  :)  LOVE getting my girl in on the AOK action!  :)

What a Great Year! = 1,163 AOKs!

Well, school's been out for a wk now so thought I should get around to doing our final post!  LOL!  We sent a Get Well card to my sis-in-law's mother & emptied recycle bins for K & 1st grades the last 2 1/2 days of school.  The kids did the announcements the last day of school & Mrs. Davis read the announcement of all the AOKs done this year.  She was so complimentary of them & I know it made them feel good!  :)  They got a surprise pizza party for their efforts from the parents & myself-they were proud of themselves & excited.  I think most of them were really surprised!  I was proud as well!  This project turned out EXACTLY the way I imagined:  We reached our goal 11 x's over & the kids realized you could do AOKs w/o spending any money AND the most important part...they started to think of AOKs themselves!  I truly hope that this is a life characteristic that will ALWAYS stay with them-think about what a better place the world would be if it did!  :)  My students challenged our whole school to try to do at least one AOK per wk this summer.  Mady & I have made that our goal as well & we're well on our way!  :)  I'm excited about continuing this project next year & seeing how we grow in even more ways!  :)

Wk 35-Winding Down...We're @ 1,144! :)

We fed our hummingbirds & recycled for K & 1st grades this wk.  We will probably recycle one more time & that will be it for this school yr.  We have 2 1/2 days of school left! :)  I still don't think the kids have realized that they are having a surprise pizza party to say congrats for all of their accomplishments this yr.  I will write out an announcement & have Mrs. Davis share it on the last day of school about their accomplishments.  :)  They say the pledge the last day of school so that will work out perfectly!  :)  We're going to issue a summer AOK challenge to our school.  Right now mine & Mady's goal is 1 AOK per wk.  :)  We also got the sweetest thank-you card this wk. from Mr. Lane-my hairdresser's father-we sent him 80th BD cards a few wks ago.  I'm going to save all the letters, cards etc. we've gotten this yr. & start an AOK scrapbook!  :)

1,120 (ELEVEN times our goal!) :)

We have surpassed our goal of 100 by 11 & now we're just having a  ridiculous amount of  fun seeing how many AOKs we can actually get done before the end of they year! (7 1/2 days left-not that we're counting!) ;)  The kids are thinking of them & I am LOVING it!  This is EXACTLY what I wanted to happen with this project!  I wanted the kids to step out of themselves & think of others-hopefully it will become a life long habit!  :)
This wk we sent 80th BD cards to my hairdresser's father (who was also a teacher for 35 yrs.), a Good luck with your move card to one of our volunteer's friends (kid idea) & sympathy cards to a Mimi & Papa that lost their sweet kitty this wk :(  (this was also a kid idea).  We of course did our normal recycle today-man those bins are getting heavy w/ the end of the yr. quickly approaching!  ;)
I have a surprise treat in the works for the kiddos-we are going to have a pizza day the last full day of school to celebrate all of their accomplishments!  I am bursting w/ pride for them and thought this would be a super fun way to show it!  :)

Week 33-We Have Surpassed 1,000! :)

We knew we were SO close to the 1,000 mark so we worked extra hard this wk to make sure we'd reach it & we did!  :)  We did an AOK for nature this week-we made bird feeders for the birds around our school...we took toilet paper rolls, spread them w/ peanut butter, & then rolled them in bird food.  Then we put them on branches on trees outside the cafeteria.  This was a super duper easy project that I tried with my Mady 1st.  The kids loved it & I think it will definitely be repeated several times throughout the summer and we will definitely do this again in the winter when the birdies are in greater need of food.  :)
We also wrote letters to one of our intern's husbands.  Miss Cook's (Mrs. Crawford's intern) husband is stationed in Afghanistan until December so we wrote him letters to let him know how much we appreciate his sacrifice.
We also wrote Get Well cards for Mr. Walker (Ms. Walker's father).
Finally, we did our regular recycling today for K & 1st grades.
I am INCREDIBLY proud of my kids for reaching our goal x 10!  As we end the yr. soon I am seeing all the usual growth-they are reading chapter books, they can tell time, they can write stories but a new thing I'm seeing this year is that my kids have learned to step outside of themselves & be kind!  I hope this is a life trait that will stay with them always!
I got the ultimate compliment from a parent today when she came to share lunch with her child-she said she & her son were talking about reaching 1,000 AOK's & she told him, "I think the world is a better place b/c of your class' project.  Don't you?"  and he said, "Yeah, Mom, I really do!"  This makes my heart SO happy & if nothing else happened this year-I reached one of my most important goals I set for myself this year with this project!  :)
We're not done yet...stay tuned to see what else we can do before the end of the year!  :)