Going Strong & Over 100 ALREADY! (118!)

This wk we continued going strong as we did AOKs in our classroom & homes.  :)
Mady loaned me an extra cowgirl hat she had for me to be able to use for charades/pictionary at school.  She also loaned me her Tumble Bumble book so I could use it for teaching nouns & verbs at school.  I LOVE that girl's sweet heart!  :)  She also helped me decorate a bag that held homemade chocolate chips for my secret pal-a new thing we're doing at school this year-which of course I LOVE! I gave Mrs. Crawford a magazine that I knew she would be interested in reading.  :)
Taygen's mom made me the cutest scarf & she told me that Mady could use it for playing dress up too-SO INCREDIBLY SWEET!  :)  Cesar also brought in the most beautiful rose for me this week-it made my heart happy!  :)
Mrs. Hall found the Family Times for our new reading series & printed them all out for us-what a BLESSING!  It's SO NICE when people take things OFF your plate! :)
My IA Jill helped me fix a book that I needed for this week-I could NOT figure it out-she's SUCH an INCREDIBLE BLESSING to me!  :)
We FINALLY had Library & got to donate:  tissues, Germ-X, pencils & crayons for their class.
My Mom made me two adorable potholders-SO CUTE!   :)
Mady is LOVE, LOVE, LOVING school so I decided to write her teachers a note & let them know how MUCH we APPRECIATED that!  Mile's & Jackson's Moms sent in notes like that to me this week & I wanted to pay it forward b/c I know from experience teachers don't get those sweet notes as often as they need to!  I love Mady being in school so I can do things that I appreciate in my own classroom for them too.  :)
We had a BIG event in our home this weekend-we decided that Mady had been showing us responsibility & that she was ready to have her own kitties!!!  We got them for free from Mrs. Hardin one of the Art teachers @ our school & Mady is in seventh heaven!  :)
Again, I would NOT be making it through this year w/o my BFF Mrs. Smith!  We help each other out a LOT & I LOVE it!  :)  She had a great idea for tying together Reading & Math.  We needed mailboxes-I needed to go to Hobby Lobby anyway so I picked up a couple of them.  I also got mine designed by a super-duper fancy artist known as Madylyn Holloway!  ;)  We also got to give Mrs. Smith a coupon for Shoneys for one of the boys-thankfully Mady is still free!  ;)
Finally, we did our weekly recycle.  It was MUCH quicker this week & the kids are LOVING this particular AOK that they get to do!  :)
Current Total = 118!

Off to a GREAT start!!! (73!)

Well,  we're embarking on 3rd year of this project & I am EXCITED!  We are off to a GREAT start already!  My kiddos are a sweet bunch & they are SUPER EXCITED about this project too!  :)
I sent a sympathy card to my Uncle Ronnie, his son & grand child passed away within two weeks of each other.  :(  I also sent a sympathy card to my sil's bil, his mother passed away.  :(
I gave a Congrats card to a friend that found out she was expecting.  :)
I got to give sweet Hayden a BD card.  :)
I got to loan my "Mommy Grace" book to my friend Laurie.  :)
My sweet girl gave me one of her extra microphones to use in class for sharing.  :)  She also let me use her Reading Goal from school to use in my classroom-I LOVE it, it's one like I've wanted to use for the last 13 yrs.!  I was thrilled to see it & even more thrilled that Mady said I could make a copy of it!  :)
I LOVED getting to donate extra school supplies to her classroom this year too.  As a teacher, I know what a HUGE BLESSING those donations can make!  :)
The beginning of school is an insane, stressful time!  It is always made SO much better by the way our staff, friends & family unite together & help each other.  I try to write them all down but I am SURE I've forgotten some-I am SO VERY GRATEFUL for every one's help in getting ready for the new school year, no matter how big or small!  If summer MUST end-it is nice to be reminded of what a close knit family we are at school!  On that note-Mrs. Smith is my team mate & best friend-she continues to be SUCH an encouragement & helps me SO MUCH!  She gave me the SWEETEST card-it almost made me cry!  I am BLESSED to have her for a friend!  :)  Her boys also helped me TONS during the week before school started.  (I lost track of all the things they did for me!)  They ALSO found stamps for me to use for my kiddos this year-SO SWEET!  AND the sweetest of all-they knew Mady had been having trouble with some bad dreams & they got her some dream catchers to help-SO INCREDIBLY THOUGHTFUL!  I LOVE those boys!  :)
I also had a few alumni come by & rehang my ABCs for me.  These kiddos were AMAZING & brought my stress level down SO much that I had to give them TY cards w/ a little candy treat.  :)
Along this same line Miss Peeler sent home TONS of stuff for Mady.  Mady said, "it's like Christmas!" the day I brought it all home to her.  :)  Mrs. Dolak sent Mady some stickers.  She said,  "It's like at your allergy shot office but I got ALL the stickers."  LOL!  Mrs. Dolak also donated some prize bin toys & some holiday gift bags to our classroom.  :)  Mrs. Gardner also donated some prize bin toys to our classroom.  :)
Renee gave me a pack of pretty paper to use in my classroom.  :)  Ms. Cross helped me to cut a tag that was driving me CRAZY!  I let Lindsey use some clothespins for her classroom.  :)
Our school police officer & my I.A. helped me find out how one of my students went home on that CRAZY, BUSY 1st day of school!  :)
My friend Paige gave me some Math copies & Laurie made my copies for next week since I didn't have  Library yesterday.  :)
We got to donate Kleenex & Germ-X to P.E., Art & Music.  :)
Now for the BEST part-my kiddos started AOKs the very 1st full day of school!  I LOVE THAT!  They made a thinking of you card for our custodian's kiddos-they've got a lot on their plate right now.
Yesterday they stuffed 6 pencil boxes with supplies & wrote a sweet note for any kiddos at school that might not be able to afford supplies.  :)  Also, we began our recycle journal for K & 1st grade.  :)  Whew-we've been busy and I LOVE what a GREAT start we're off to!  :)
I'm really hoping we can hit 2,000 AOKs this year!  :)
Current Total = 73!

Winding Up! (120)!

   My goodness summer has flown by!  We have done so many AOKs this summer-I am SO PROUD of Mady & her giving heart!  I hope we can continue to do at least one AOK every other wk or so as we get busy with school & soccer etc.  One of Mady's teachers (Miss Adelia) has a daughter that is a missionary in Africa-I am hoping we can do some AOKs for her & her fellow missionaries.  :)
   We have sent 3 BD cards (to NaNa, Daddy & Auntie Nicole).  We sent a wedding card/present to friends of ours that are getting married this month-Brittany & Richard.  We also sent a sympathy card to one of our friends.  Mady gave a BD card to her dance teacher Miss Rachel.  She said it was the first BD card she had gotten.  :)  I got to send some more coupons to Miss DePew & give some to my friend Laurie as well.  Finally, we got to put together "Back to School Survival Kits" for Mady's teachers (Miss Adelia & Miss Missy).  :)  We will give them to them at Mady's Open House next Monday night.
   I can't wait to get started with AOKs in the classroom as well & have already gotten the stuff to do our annual pencil boxes stuffed with supplies for children that will need them.  This will be our 3rd year doing AOKs & I think it just keeps getting better & better!  :)
Final Summer Total =120!