5 Pennies - Day 190

1. Got coffee for my step father
               This is his last weekend in putting together the new building for his work. It is bitterly cold outside & I just wanted to do something nice - to celebrate the finale of this long project.

2. Text other teachers about educational store deals
              It saddens me in the fact that many local businesses are having to shut down due to the struggling economy these days. This particular educational store has been in our community since I was a little girl. I still remember being little and going there with my mom as she shopped for her classroom. Anyway, this store is closing after several successful years and they need to sell their stock. So even though it saddens me, the silver lining is that I am able to buy some really good materials at amazingly discounted prices. As I shopped, I noticed some other things that other teachers in my building could use in their classrooms. So I started to text them to let them know about these deals.

3. Bought items for son's classroom
             Yes, I was even able to buy some really nice puzzles & books for my son's preschool classroom at very low costs. I know that his teacher will really appreciate it.

4. Gave extra money to support a local children's charity
              So I was grocery shopping and as I was getting ready to leave, I noticed this stand where the money collected supported local children that were diagnosed with cancer & now being treated at St. Jude's. Ok, so the stand was selling cookies & other sweets. My son loves cotton candy & they were selling his favorite kind - blue raspberry. So since the money was going to a good cause & the treat was going to a good little boy - sure! It only cost $1, but I gave $5 because I knew that everything was going to go help others.

FYI- no I didn't take 5 bags of cotton candy - just 1 bag is good & plenty.

5. Took a picture for another family
            So I took my son to one of his friend's birthday party this afternoon. There was a family there that the mom was trying to take a picture of the father and their son. I asked if they would like to have a picture of all of them together. The mother at first didn't know what to say. Then she started to comment on the fact that she is basically the photographer in the family and there isn't really any pictures of all of them together. I was happy to help them out & hope that she enjoys the picture along with the memory of the wonderful time that they had at the party.

5 Pennies - Day 189

1. Gave my lunch to another staff member
             So he was extremely hungry, forgot his lunch, & had limited amount of money to purchase a lunch from the school cafeteria. I had more than enough between a large sandwich and enough of snacks to feed all of my students. So I gave him 1/2 of my sandwich, an extra bottle of water, & some fruit from my lunch pail. Was happy to share.

2. Wrote a "Thank You" note to another teacher
            This particular teacher is amazing! She not only helps with the student newspaper, but she has recently put together a staff newspaper too! And both documents are so well placed, laid out, and informative. The recent staff paper focused on the music, arts, & physical education teachers & programs. It was so wonderful - I just had to write a thank you note.

3. Helped another student picked up her dropped items
             So she was talking to her friend while exiting the lunch line in the cafeteria and accidentally tripped and dropped her tray. As her food went everywhere, all of the students became completely silent. She sat there for awhile in humiliation. So I simply went over and just started to clean up the split food as her friends helped put her back together - it was a team effort. Later on in the day, I found this same girl and I told her about the most humiliating fall that has ever happened to me. It seemed to help a little.

4. Retrieved lunch for another teacher
             This particular person was in a meeting and already prepaid for a cafe lunch. So it was easy just to go and get the lunch for them, so that they would have it waiting for them after the meeting. I had some extra minutes and it was easy to do to help out another person.

5. Sent a 'thank you' email to another person for an interview
           So the one class that I am taking through our Board of Education, is based on leadership skills. I was recently able to interview another person based on their leadership role through our BOE. Throughout the interview, I really became interested in her job and leadership role. Not only did she give me pertinent information that I need for my class, but also some really great ideas to think about in the future. I just had to say a special thank you through the school's email.

5 Pennies - Day 188

1. Gave extra blue paper to another teacher for him to use

              So another teacher was telling me about how they were copying things on this blue paper for their students for this wonderful athletic unit that they were about to begin. Unfortunately, they ran out of this blue paper before they were finished copying. Luckily, I had some left over from previous concerts - I use spring colors for the programs of the spring music concerts. So I grabbed what I had and placed it in his teacher mailbox.

2. Gave flowers to a staff member who was worried about their ill mother

                Just to brighten up their day.

3. Brought in special treats for my students

              So I have a group of students that today is their last day that I will be working with them before they transition to another teacher. I really liked this class because they are so smart & fun to be with. This is a group of students that make teaching & learning enjoyable as an educator. FYI- it was homemade brownies.

4. Folded music programs for another teacher

               So the chorus teacher has a concert coming up next week and I noticed that as I was copying information for my own classes, her programs were finished copied. So I took them off of the copier & just started to fold them. By the time I was finished with my own copies - I had all of her programs ready too.

5. Gave some flowers to a staff member that gets me coffee

              So there is a custodian that has really looked out for me - always made sure that my area was clean & even gotten me coffee from time to time - which I really appreciate. So the least bit that I could do was to give her some flowers as a sign of appreciation.

5 Pennies - Day 187

1. Swept the snow off of the side walks for an elderly neighbor
                So we had a bit of a storm last night - several inches were accumulated. As much as I like the snow sometimes because of its clean beauty, it does create a problem with everyday living. My one elderly neighbor's son had to be called into work early, so he didn't have time to also stop by her house to shovel - not until later tonight. However, it is city law that snow must be removed from your walk by a certain time. Knowing that due to her health & age, she would not be able to clear her path. I didn't want her to get a fine, so after I was finished mine I did her area too.

2. Wrote "In Sympathy" card for an administrator who lost a family member
                 I really respect this administrator because he is very personable and sincere when he talks to you. Grant it, he is still can be hard as nails - but he is very approachable when you have a problem. Anyway, he has been distracted a little bit lately - I finally asked him if he was ok. He told me what was going on with his extended family. Wanting him to know that I was concerned about him, I gave him an "In Sympathy" card and wrote that I was thinking only good thoughts for him.

3. Wrote "Thank You" notes to other staff members who assisted with the special student ceremony
                Yesterday we had this wonderful ceremony honoring students who showed qualities of good character and academic achievement. There were many staff members that did a lot of behind the scenes work in order to help me pull this wonderful event together. So I bought each of them a nice candy bar with a thank you note. Something simple, just to show how much I appreciate everything that they do.

4. Helped another teacher with some computer problems
               He was having issues in opening up a particular program on his school computer. So I sat with him for about 15 minutes to help him work through these problems in order to get to the information that he needed. Wow, our school computers run really slow sometimes - but we got there.

5. Brought extra food to church's soup kitchen
             It's colder & now more snow is on the ground - they need more food because more people are showing up. Whatever extra I can do to help.

6. Brought extra flavored tea packets for the various church staff
           Again, it's so cold outside and not everyone likes coffee. Just something nice to help others.

5 Pennies - Day 186

1. Emailed a science articles other teachers
                So I was reading this really cool article on CNN.com about the discovery of a possible new planet. It was so interesting about what they classify about planets and what is something else. Anyway, I new that the one 8th grade science teacher does a whole unit about astrology (she even has mini planetarium in her room). Then there is a 6th grade science teacher that was talking to me about the different constellations because my band students are learning a piece about the stars. I just had to email this article to them & other science teachers in my building. Not for sure if they could use it in their curriculum, but at least it was interesting reading.

2. Wrote a 'Thank You' note to another teacher for listening
               I just needed some time to rant & whine. This particular teacher was there to let me use her room & more importantly to let me use her ear. She is a fantastic teacher and a really good person. It was the least that I could do in writing her a 'thank you' note & included a piece of candy.

3. Wrote a note to cheer up another teacher
               This particular teacher was telling me about how upset that she has been lately because her father is really sick again. I felt so sad for her. She seemed so depressed & tired. The least that I could do was to write her a note, to try to cheer her up, or at least to try to let her know that I was thinking good thoughts for her.

4. Gave a special snack to substitutes who helped with a special student activity
               So today was a very special student ceremony at my school. I was one of the people that helps organize & manages this program. The ceremony itself is a wonderful thing to have, it is just the technical part of putting everything together so that it runs smooth can be a bit exhausting. I requested a substitute for my afternoon classes so that I could prepare the auditorium for event, while not having to worry about my regular classes & students. Another teacher did the same thing so that she had plenty of time to prepare too. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that these substitutes knew how grateful we were that they helped out with our regular classes, while we took care of special student activity. So after the honored students & their families received cake & punch from the event, I made sure that our substitutes were treated just as nice.

5. Wrote a 'Nice Job' note to the chorus teacher
             She had her honors chorus group perform at the beginning of the special student ceremony this afternoon. They did such a wonderful job, I just had to formally say thank you. I was so proud of them. The cool thing about this honor group is that many of them were also being honored within the special student activity. They are a great bunch of kids.

5 Pennies - Day 185

Happy 6 months of 5 Pennies!

To date I have spent $9.10 - or should I have said that I have earned this amount? Not for sure because many of the pennies are more like gifts to myself. Giving to someone else brings this sense of getting a sense of happiness and fulfillment like nothing else.

1. Cleaned and straighten up desks within another classroom
                So I was getting my morning coffee and as I passed by a classroom I noticed that the desks & chairs were a bit disheveled. The teacher was there yet, so I quickly tidy everything up for her. I know that she really likes having her classroom clean & straighten.

2. Made & brought in potato candy for another teacher
             It was her birthday & this is all that she asked me for as a present. I have a good family recipe for this special candy & I know that she loves this treat. Enjoy!

3. Took back trays to the cafeteria for other teachers
                There was a stack of used trays in the one teacher workroom & I was on my way back to the cafeteria for lunch duty - it was easy to take them along.

4. Gave up my plan time to cover for another teacher's lunch duty
              This particular teacher was working extra to help students get their assignments done before the end of the marking period - that they needed to skip lunch duty in order to put her students first. So, I had my students already caught up - so I volunteer to cover for her. Easy to do.

5. Contacted a baker to personally thank them
               So after school today, I had to pick up cakes that were specially made for a special student ceremony tomorrow at school. They were so well decorated and nice looking, that when I got home I made a phone call to the bakery to personally thank the baker & other workers for all of their hard work. They were just so wonderful. I hope that the students & their families enjoy them tomorrow.

5 Pennies - Day 184

1. Moved outside materials out of the way from a parking spot
             So I was parking my Jeep and getting ready to go into church when I noticed that there was a draining pipe that was laying in another parking spot. So I simply picked it up and moved it so that another person can use that area. The good thing about this was that the relieved parking spot was very close to the front doors of the church - so I hope that it was eventually used by an elderly member.

2. Gave my shopping cart to another
             Have you ever went into the grocery store thinking that you are only there to pick up a few items, then after about 5 minutes you realize that either:
            1. The one or too items that are you carrying are extremely heavy & you wish that you would have gotten a cart
            2. What you thought was only 3 or 4 items have now turned into 10 & you wish that you would have gotten a cart
            Either way, you wish that you would have gotten a cart. So as I was about to put some of my groceries into a cart, I noticed this person. She had her arms completely full and was ready to explode at any second. So I turned to her and said to take my cart so that she could finish shopping. You have never seen a more relieved facial expression ever!

3. Put away a cart for an elderly lady
              Old people can be so cute sometimes - and she was one of them. With her little knee highs, 3 sweater jackets, & cute little cane. When I offered to put away her cart, she looked up and simply smiled. That was my thank you.

4. Swept up excess hair at salons
             So I was getting my hair done & noticed that there was a lot of cut hair on the floor - but thankfully it wasn't all mine. Apparently, the sweeper person took the day off and each stylist was responsible for their own work station. My particular stylist was booked all day and didn't have the opportunity yet to go to the bathroom - let alone to sweep up. So after she was finished my hair, I told her to go to the bathroom & I would sweep up. Easy to do to help her.

5. Sent a text to another co-worker about a football team
              So another co-worker really likes this particular football team that recently earned a seat in the Playoffs. I must admit that I know very little about football - but I just wanted to wish him & his team good luck in the future games.