Synthesis Sunday: Nothing At All...

I haven't read anything this week. I haven't really accomplished very much this week other than getting up each morning and moving into the world to do my job (and didn't even do that on Wednesday due to medication side effects). That is an okay thing, though. In addition to getting up and moving, I have also been working on different projects and am getting things planned out. I am 85% finished with a new Teachers Pay Teachers file for boomwhacker composition for students at a variety of music comprehension levels. I have made some smaller version that are just waiting for lamination before being used.

Most of my research for this week has been related to my current project of starting to make more task boxes for the students in my school. I put together a bookshelf yesterday, and started to throw out the Styrofoam pieces before stopping myself and thinking about how we might use those pieces in task boxes. I am not entirely sold on the idea of using that stuff quite yet, but I also have two more bookshelves to put together, so I can throw away the Styrofoam that I have already collected with the promise of two more sets of pieces. I have been looking at the task box ideas presented by others on various platforms including blogs and Pinterest. I have started my own Pinterest board all about these ideas. I have also been writing lots of things in my task box book.

Will all of that happening, I am finding that I am slipping dangerously close to the edge of ignoring everything else that I love. So, I am seeking more balance in my life at the moment. I am easily drawn into over-focus on one thing or another, so it is important to vary my activities and interests to keep myself balanced. 

I took tools to leave at work to help me finish up some tools. I have a half-finished project upstairs in my backpack that I want to finish up here at home before taking my binding machine and binder pieces to work. I am also looking at a horrible mess in my office and crafting space that needs to be addressed in a way that makes things less stressful for me. Recently, I hung up a shoe organizer in my craft storage area for things that I want close at hand for crafting. It currently holds extra blades, fancy scissors, all my rulers, and glue sticks. There is more space there, so it is time to fill that up and label all the pockets. I have found several bottles of tacky glue that need a storage home, so that will fill up some of that real estate.

It will be time to start another paper project. One of the things that I want to make is a mini file-folder template so I can make an unlimited number of mini file folders for my students. I made a whole bunch of these little folder activities for my mom, and she said that her clients would do those so much more readily than the regular sized folders - even when it was the same amount of work! I think the novelty of this might help get my clients to pay some more attention to the tasks - small things!

For now, though, it is time to head out to my Sunday morning job. I found out yesterday that I am taking over the K-2nd grade Sunday School class. Yesterday. So, I have to figure out something to do with these kids today. I have no idea what we are going to talk about or do this morning, so I have to get going and get to planning. I have been helping with the older students, so working with 5-8 year olds will be very different for me for the first couple of weeks. I also do not know if we have any sort of curriculum to follow or anything like that...

Oh! One accomplishment that I had yesterday was figuring out how to turn all of my visuals into mini file folder prints! So, that's something, isn't it?? That solved a problem that I had with some of my visuals!! Now I can figure out how to print out my mini file folders all in one piece... 

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