Mustering Motivation

I apologize for being away from the blog so long!  It can be so easy to keep putting something off, even something as much fun as writing a blog!  I have been very busy at home and at work and the blog had to take the back burner for a few weeks.  After that, I just couldn't muster the motivation to get back into the habit of writing.  After all, I have so much to catch you up on!

I have not written since Valentine's Day!  We had a great party with many treats.  Since then we've had a pajama party to celebrate Read Across America Day, a very cold Spring Break (really a second Winter Break), and made so many other memories, I can't recount them all in one post.  The biggest thing that kept me from blogging was directing our school's very first play!  50 actors grades K-6 performed Peter Pan.  It was quite the experience (my first time directing)!  I never knew how much there was to think about and coordinate.  We made it smoothly to the production day and the students performed wonderfully!  The absolute best part was the comments the actors made about increased confidence and a desire to continue the drama club next year.  The praise from parents and community members was great too!  I'm so thankful to be in a school community that supports me in providing students with a well rounded education.

That said, I have a few more projects floating around my mind and a lot of teaching to do before state testing at the end of April!  I hope to be back on the blog regularly soon with some photos from my time away.  I look forward to catching up again soon!

The Importance of Blogging and The Start of a New Year

What kind of teacher would I be if I wasn't a blogger?  For me, blogging is essential to my teaching.  Blogging gives me a place to reflect on my teaching.  I'm not real good about keeping myself accountable, but having an audience seems to help me force myself to get my thoughts written down.  Sometimes I publish them and sometimes I don't, but reflecting in the frame of sharing with you all sure helps me to take the first step.  Blogging has also been a great way to connect with other teachers.  Learning from more experienced teachers and supporting other teacher-bloggers is important to me because it continuously fuels my fire for teaching.  Blogging is an important outlet and connection for me.  This is why I encourage other teachers to blog and why I value, dear readers, so much.  Thank you for reading! 

We are in for some exciting adventures as I begin my first year teaching K-2...all in the same classroom!  I must confess, I will likely only have 16 little ones (5 Kinder, 5 First, and 6 Second).  I still haven't received a class list or schedule.  I do know that the kids will get science instruction as a special and they switch into more rigid grade designations for math.  I'll have the second graders for math!  This is also going to be my first year doing Daily 5.  I have been reading and re-reading the books.  I really like the framework and hope that if I really stick to it, Daily 5 will be successful in my classroom.  I have always wanted a more individualized/workshop method for language arts, so Daily 5 seem right up my alley.  I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with you!  It's going to be a fun year!