Summer Plans

9 days! 9 days! 9 days! School is almost out. At the end of the 9 days I will actually be able to think about what to do for next year. This is the part I look forward to the most. Not the kids leaving {well let's be honest, that's nice right about now} but the fact that I get to plan for what's to come next year. The excitement of it starts all over again and that's the fun part.

After the extensive weekend long Springboard training, I don't HAVE to do summer PD. That weekend long training will count {thankfully!} for the summer PD we're usually required. Now I'm free to do other things like hangout with my 18 month old.

I will be doing some training because I can't just sit around all summer. I'm also leading some PD this summer. One of the things I'm working on is a restructure of our Reading SSI curriculum. We use this class for our students who are "bubble" kids on the state test. I'm working with 2 other teachers to restructure the curriculum and then we'll be leading the half day PD in July.

The next training is the district's annual Technopalooza! I blogged about this last year. This was my favorite part of last summer and I'm looking forward to the 2 days this summer. I'll be presenting a session called "Welcome to the Blogosphere." If you're around the DFW area and are looking for an awesome summer technology conference check it out! It's July 30-31.

Besides that, I'm pretty much free! We have a family vacation scheduled to San Diego in July. The best thing about summer is that my brain has time to recuperate and then the ideas start to form.

What are your plans for Summer?

Training, Training, Training

I don't know how this post will go over. I'm sure some will agree and others will disagree but I'm going to put it out there anyway. Hey! Maybe it'll spark some conversation at least!

I've been at the dreaded professional development all week. Today's the only day I haven't had it. I've been learning about GT students. It has been extremely intense starting at 8:30 and going until 3:30 with a one hour lunch session thrown in. Yesterday, I don't think I talked to anyone but my mom because she was dropping off my daughter and my husband.

While there, I kept hearing other teachers say things like, "I can't believe this is how I'm spending my summer vacation," "I'm only here because I have to do it," and "I can't believe they expect us to take four days of this training and give up my lunch!" I listened to the griping around me. I started thinking about what they were saying. Why is it that we as professionals don't like doing what other professionals do, which is to learn and continuously improve what we do? I know we all have children and families. Our time is very valuable. Professionals in other areas have the same issues.

I have a seven month old. I want to spend as much time with her as possible because she's constantly growing and changing. I already miss so much while working. I'm torn. I also love what I do. I want to not just be a mediocre teacher but a great teacher. One that changes the way the students think. One that makes them think!

How else are we supposed to be better without learning? I consider it part of my job. I know every summer I'll be attending professional developments. As teachers, I don't think we should complain about the time that we put in to learn more about the profession but instead embrace the knowledge we're given, digest it, and see how we can apply it to our own classrooms.

Ahhh...Summer!

This weekend is the first weekend of "summer vacation." What am I doing at the beginning of my summer vacation? Creating a new blog (this one right here!), getting new ideas for next school year, and doing the dreaded chores that have been waiting for me for the past few months. I know it's extremely exciting!

So, what exactly is the intent of this new blog? Well, as a middle school teacher and blog lover I've noticed that there seems to be fewer blogs devoted to middle school than to elementary school. Elementary school teachers have all these great ideas for their classrooms for organization and work happening in their classes. Middle school teacher blogs are harder to come by. I'm hoping this will be a valuable resource for people looking for classroom organization ideas and to show off the awesome things my kids do!

The plan is set. The hard part starts now. My dedication to writing and posting has to gear up and continue! The laundry is done and the baby is waking up. Time to get back to summer vacation.