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Mindfulness is a practice that has mental, emotional, and physical benefits. Once I learned about yoga in the classroom, I knew it was something I wanted to incorporate. Study Hall yoga gives the students and I a longer period of time to get into the yoga practice. My hope is that some of them will take these skills out of school and make it part of their lives.

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29. Attend a class through Creativity Consciousness to Support a Cause 

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29. Attend a class through Creativity Consciousness to Support a Cause 

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A friend of mine and I took a Henna Tattoo class through this organization. We learned how to create henna tattoos and the money that was raised from the class was donated to the nurses' offices in area local schools. It was a fun experience and it felt good knowing that my donations were directly affecting the students I work with.

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28.  Donate stuffed animals to the Sheriff's Office

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28.  Donate stuffed animals to the Sheriff's Office

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Evelyn and I went through all of our stuffed animals and bagged up more than a dozen of them for my husband to keep in his squad car. Our hope is that he will be able to give these stuffed animals to children in tragic situations like car accidents, domestic violence, etc. We talked with Evie about sharing her toys with other kids to make them as happy as she is and she was pretty satisfied with that explanation

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27. Save Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House

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27. Save Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House

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My niece spent time in the hospital in Rodchester after she was born and my sister in-law was lucky enough to stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Since that time, we try to remember to keep our pop tabs. I've started a baggie in our junk drawer to put pop tabs and occasionally give them to my mom who takes care of getting them delivered. It doesn't cost anything to do this so it just seems silly not to.

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26. Save milk lids from Kwik Star & bring to school

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26. Save milk lids from Kwik Star & bring to school

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After we had children, we started going through a lot of milk so we switched over to Kwik Star milk. Every lid is worth 5 cents so it adds up quite a bit. It feels great to be able to give something to the school that really helps out with purchasing extra things!

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25.Volunteer to cover another teacher's class

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25.Volunteer to cover another teacher's class

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Mr. Boylen needed coverage for his 6th hour class one day and since 6th hour is my planning period, I offered to cover. I appreciate it when other coworkers volunteer to help in my classroom so the least I can do is return the favor. We have a lot of people here who help one another out and work as a team, and that is what makes the climate of this school unique!

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24. Make a card for "Cards for Hospitalized Kids"

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24. Make a card for "Cards for Hospitalized Kids"

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During the last week of school, my 8th grade students sat outside at the picnic tables and designed cards for the “Cards for Hospitalized Kids” program. We ended up sending over 50 cards!

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Over the weekend our family had a "driveway picnic" and the kids loved it! It was so nice to get outside, and my daughter thought I was the best Mom in the world! It only took a few minutes to prepare but the picnic tradition is strong at the Jones House!

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Last weekend, we took the kids to the duck pond in Prairie du Chien and fed corn to the ducks. The kids had fun and it was a simple, inexpensive activity to share with them.

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After Easter and the St. Patrick's Day parade we had way too much candy in the house so I brought it to share with my WEIRD time group. They are an AMAZING group of students and have made my year of WEIRD time the most enjoyable and relaxing part of my day, everyday! I cannot thank them enough for their dedication to reading and the respect they shown one another and me. I'll miss them next year!

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My husband usually washes his own work clothes, but last night I surprised him and had them all washed and hung up before he got home! He was extremely grateful and happy that he didn’t have to do it this week!

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19. Smile and say "Hi" to everyone I meet in the hallway

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19. Smile and say "Hi" to everyone I meet in the hallway

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This is something I try to do most of the time, but sometimes I get busy and am on a mission and forget to do this. You never know who’s day you are going to brighten by just acknowledging him/her.

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18. Plant flowers to share with someone else

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18. Plant flowers to share with someone else

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My daughter is getting old enough to help plant our flowers now, and she loved being my little helper this past weekend. Planting flowers to set around our front porch is one of my favorite spring activities, and it was great to share this with her this year. We planted mostly pink and purple flowers....Evie’s favorite colors! The flowers add so much ambiance to our front porch space, and we spend a lot of time out there when the weather is nice.

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The Stu Crew has painted Kindness Rocks to hide in the McGregor area. Next week we are going to take them to Turner Park, the Triangle Park, the park behind the library, and the riverfront park. The group had fun designing the rocks and coming up with kind words to paint. I'm sure these rocks will bring smiles to the faces of whoever finds them.

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16. Write happy messages with chalk outside the school

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16. Write happy messages with chalk outside the school

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The Stu Crew wrote messages on the walkway out back so students arriving on the bus could read them as they walked into school last week. We heard a lot of students commenting about the messages and the Stu Crew felt good doing it.

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We added a flowering crab apple tree to our house this spring. My husband dug the whole and I helped get it packed in and straightened out. I enjoy spending time outside in the evenings watering it. It will be fun to watch it grow and bloom each spring.

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14. Leave a "Thank You" note and treat for the mailman

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14. Leave a "Thank You" note and treat for the mailman

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We saved 4 of the chocolate chip cookies from the Sheriff's office to leave in the mailbox for the mail carrier. Both of the carriers deserve a big "Thank You" from us because they not only deliver our mail every day but all of the packages we get from online shopping!

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My grandma has been my role model all of my life and I try to make a point to visit her with my kids whenever we can. She loves our visits and I love that my own children are getting to know her. I’ve learned so much from her, and she is just a positive woman to be around.

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Earlier this year, two of my students who I have developed really close relationships with had a bad day. I left each of them a simple sticky note during class just to let them know that they had my support. They were both extremely appreciative and expressed their gratitude to me. Sometimes the simplest of things can have greater impacts than we realize.

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My family and I watch the sunset all the time and we always talk about the colors and how beautiful the sky looks. My daughter, who is 4 years old, notices the sunset almost every night out our front windowns and will say to me, "Mom, look at the sunset and all the beautiful colors!" It makes my heart smile to know that we have instilled such a simple appreciation in her already.

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10. Send a "Thank You" email to all my coworkers

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10. Send a "Thank You" email to all my coworkers

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This spring I have really been working on strengthening the culture of reading here at the McGregor Center. I have asked all of my coworkers to post "Currently Reading" signs outside of their classrooms and most have participated! I really appreciate all of their support and wanted to make sure they all understood that.

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9. Buy a new book for my classroom library

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9. Buy a new book for my classroom library

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After taking students to the Book Fair I wanted to add books to my classroom library that they seemed interested in so I bought 6 new books! I tried to buy from different genres so a wider audience of students would enjoy the books. I also bought books written by authors who have been popular with students this year! I'm excited to see what they think of these books, and to read them myself!

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So far this Spring we have hiked at Pikes Peak and Effigy Mounds. Evelyn is old enough to walk the whole way, Walkeen usually wants to run for part of it, and Whitaker enjoys riding in his backpack carrier! I love this quiet time with my family and enjoy pointing out the beautiful sights, sounds, and smells of nature! It gives all of us a break from electronics, time to talk, fresh air, and sun! We LOVE it!

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7. Make care packages for the residents at Great River Care Center

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7. Make care packages for the residents at Great River Care Center

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This year's Stu Crew put together a couple of care packages for the residents at the Great River Care Center. The care packages included bath products like shampoo, shower gel, and lotion. We also included soft, gripper socks.

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Evelyn donated Malala’s Magic Pencil to the McGregor Public Library in honor of her birthday!

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Evelyn and I make crafts all the time and she loves that quality time that we get to spend together. Recently, we made the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree with construction paper, paper plates, and foam letter stickers. We do a lot of painting as well! It makes me happy to see how excited she is to create something!

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4. Leave a thoughtful note for my husband when I leave for school

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4. Leave a thoughtful note for my husband when I leave for school

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This morning I just left a little sticky note message for my husband. When he woke up and found it he sent me a thoughtful text! We made each other smile, and it was so easy to do!

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This was harder than you’d think. I really had to think about everything I said before I said it. I felt great at the end of the day after I focused on just positive thoughts. Sometimes we get so caught up in our habits or following along with others as they complain, and it takes mental strength to just do your own thing. Your thoughts are powerful!

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We read 2-3 stories every night before bed. We take turns picking out the stories from our shelves or from our public library bag that we renew every week. Snuggling up on the couch or on one of our beds and reading together is one of my favorite times of the day, and I think my children would agree that it is also one of theirs. Beyond instilling a love for reading and creating positive reading habits, the togetherness we share is even more powerful.

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1. Make treats for the Clayton County Sheriff's Office

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1. Make treats for the Clayton County Sheriff's Office

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My daughter and I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my husband to take and share with the rest of the employees at the Sheriff's office. We included a little post-it note that said "Thanks for all you do!" from the Jones Kiddos. My husband reported that we made their day!