Currently February!

Linking up with Farley over at:
                                                  

For her Currently February!

On an exciting note:  I just completed the 30 Day Shred day 7!  And I moved up to Level 2 tonight!  I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow, but I feel so much more in shape!!  Also exciting- I tried on my dress again today and it's loser and fitting better!  Super excited!  By the end of March I'm going to be looking great!

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater!

Yup, my kiddos are cheaters.  I've had 4 different kids get caught cheating on their spelling tests.  They try to hide the words inside their desk and peek at it.  (I had similar problems back in Florida with my firsties there too, so it's not a Chicago only problem.)

My classroom policy is that if I catch them cheating I take away their test, make them change their color, give them a zero and write that they were cheating on the test, and then make them have it signed by their parents.  I feel like this works pretty well, I've never had a kiddo caught cheating twice.  I've never had parents upset with me or outraged at their child getting a zero.  I HAVE had parents come to me utterly embarrassed and apologetic for their child.

Apparently some people think this consequence is too harsh.  Many say you should let them re-take it at a later time, which I agree would be fine, if I had a later time to give it to them.  But in this case I would have to take time out of the OTHER students instruction to give the re-take to the cheater.  I don't think that's fair to the others.  We don't do recess regularly, and if we do it's just 15 minutes of free time at the end of the day.  We do that maybe once a week, sometimes less often depending how much work we have to get through.  So making them re-take the test at another time isn't an option.

I feel like it works to teach the students a moral lesson, that if you cheat, you lose out.  Cheating in real life has strict consequences, so why shouldn't we ingrain that into them at a young age?

So I guess my question to you is:

How do you handle cheating in your classroom?  What are your consequences?  And do you think I'm to mean?

PS- 30 Day Shred:  Day 3 complete (today will be Day 4).  I'm in SO much pain!  But it's the good kind of pain where you know it's making a difference in your body.  I'm so proud that I've kept it up and done it every day, even though some days I didn't feel like it.

20 Pounds in 40 Days!

This post is totally non-education related!  I am a bridesmaid for a wedding on March 23rd.  Love you Leah!  I'm super excited about it!  HOWEVER, it's come to my attention that I've gotten FAT.  Not super fat.  But still over the "suggested" weight for my height.   So now I've decided I must lose weight before the wedding.  I want to be in shape, and that stinkin (pretty) bridesmaid dress is just the motivation I need.

We already eat pretty healthy.  I get most of my weeknight recipes from Gina over at Skinny Taste.  Her recipes all list calories and are all very healthy!  Plus they taste good!  Love it!  I need to get my portions under control.  I'll sit down and eat 2 heaping bowls of pasta.  Now it's a lower calorie pasta, but still, practically 3 servings racks those calories up!

My main focus is exercise.  I STINK at exercise.  I HATE it.  I'm lazy.  I'd rather lay on the couch and watch reality TV.  I've started about 20 exercise video programs and never stuck with one.  I make it about a week on each.  No very effective.  I also HATE running.  I played soccer as a kid and I was the Goalie just so I didn't have to run as much.  Yup, I let other kids kick soccer balls at me so I didn't have to run.  So that's definitely the biggest obstacle to overcome on my journey to skinny.

When I got home from school today I took a scary before photo (I won't share that until I have an awesome after photo to negate the scariness of the before photo). Then I popped in my BFF Richard Simmons and I did a Sweatin' to the Oldies video.  That was actually entertaining and not like the scary Dancing with the Stars Salsa video I have that I can't keep up with or even dream of mastering.

Today I also started the 30 Day Shred video program.  Oh boy, I thought I was dying within the first 4 minutes.  I didn't think I was going to make it.  But I pushed through and I made it through the whole thing!  I was so proud of myself for making it through the whole workout.

So anyone have suggestions or ideas for making this exercise routine stick?  And for portion control?

Current Weight: (You know I love you my bloggy friends for sharing this number in public!) 180
Goal Weight: 150 (this is an ideal dream number, if I get down to 160, I'll be pretty darn happy- thus the 20lbs in my title.)
30 Day Shred:  Day 1 Level 1