This month, the Student Services Advisors at BlueSky Online asked students and staff to share their favorite holiday memories. A few of the responses and photos are below! 

"My sisters and I and my little brother had a super fun time in the snow that year. We drove the four wheelers around my Grandma's, racing each other. When we went inside it was time to warm up with some card games. My Mom then decide to snap a silly picture of us girls. Christmas at my Grandmas is always the best! Merry Christmas to all!" 

- 12th grader at BlueSky Online

"Every Christmas Eve, all us kids get to open one present from another one of the siblings." -11th grader at BlueSky Online

"My dad's side of the family has a saying "It's not Christmas until you get socks!" So every Christmas we all get an insurmountable number of socks." - 10th grader at BlueSky Online

Megan Hollenkamp, BlueSky's Administrative Assistant and Social Media Coordinator, shared her favorite memory of receiving a BARBIE SPORTS CAR as a gift! 

Thank you to everyone who shared their Favorite Holiday Memories with the BlueSky Online Blog!! 

Get ready to spend hours scouring Pinterest....

One of the most important needs for an online learner, is a PLACE to work. Sure, students have the computing device that they use for their school work...but where they use that device is also important. 

Online teachers, advisors, and counselors also have to create their own work space in their homes. Here is a picture of my "office". It's a desk in the corner of our family room. It's kind of messy...sorry about that!!

A few elements of a productive workspace (which mine hits the mark on!) are: 

• Find the perfect space: It's important that your work station is relatively free from distraction. Choose to work in a quiet room, instead of in the middle of the kitchen at dinnertime. 
• Organize!: Although my desk is a little messy....there's a method to that mess! Make sure that you have an organization to your work. Order increases productivity. 
• Make it pretty: Well...maybe not "pretty"...but make your work space somewhere that you want to work. Decorate with things that are inspirational or motivational for you. 
• Create a schedule: Did you see my blog post A 'Bag of Tricks' for Scheduling your School Work? The post offers a number of ideas to help you organize your school day. Create a schedule for yourself and POST IT in your workspace. It will help you stay focused! 

A happy workspace creates a happy (and successful!) learner! 

Go forth and decorate!