New Year Plans/Goals

2017 will be the year I figure out how to balance my life a bit better :)
The 2016-2017 school year provided me with LOTS of changes. My wonderful principal Ann Cook was named the Louisiana Elementary Principal of the Year and was promoted to a position with the district office in the following week. Our assistant principal was promoted to principal, leaving her former position open. Mrs. DeWitt chose my 2nd grade team leader, my mentor, as her assistant principal. I was suddenly the 2nd grade team leader with two new team members! I also took over as the 2nd grade IEP inclusion teacher and gained a full-time paraprofessional. I've learned so much this year, and am so thankful to have wonderful coworkers for support, encouragement, and inspiration.
With all my work changes, I also took the two hardest classes to date for my Educational Specialist degree. I absolutely loved my leadership class and gained so much insight, but the class required multiple weekly papers. All of my typing efforts went to those papers!
I am completely in love with my class this year. I have the sweetest students who keep me smiling each day. 
I was quite nervous about how ALL the changes would fall into place. Those close to me know that change (never mind that many changes!) sends me into a bit of a tailspin. This is my 5th year teaching--my "statistic year" as I call it. Many teachers leave the profession before they finish this year. If you had asked me in August, I was questioning if this was a sign.  I can now tell you, without a doubt, that this year is a definite sign. This is my sign that I am doing exactly what I'm meant to do. This year has brought me so much joy. I love teaching and thinking of new ways to reach my little learners' minds. 
I choose to make 2017 my year. This will be the year I find balance among teaching, working on my (final) degree, and blogging/TPTing. I will also make more time to take care of myself. Yesterday and today I got my hair done and had a pedicure for the first time since Back to School. That is just as unacceptable as not blogging for six months!
Best wishes to all of you for a fantastic 2017!

It's Been a While!

It has been SO long since I last blogged.  When I launched, I was about to start working on my Ed.S. degree and underestimated how much it would take out of me.  By Christmas, I felt ready to step up my blogging game.  After I got the semester started with both my students and my grad school classes, I started thinking of ideas.  Right about that time, North Louisiana got record breaking rainfall and my town began flooding.  My house would have been fine, but the flood gates were opened to relieve pressure on the overflowing rivers--flooding us instead!  It's been months of moving everything out, going through it all, and moving everything back in.  I always said I wished I were more of a minimalist.  I'm still not quite there, but I definitely have a new outlook on material things :)
Here's my plan:

1. Post my end of the year recap--what worked, didn't work, and what I'm planning in the future
2. A couple of posts on some summer sessions I'm presenting at a state conference
3. Eureka Math:  fluency, RTI, and assessment

I've missed out on a LOT of blog posts this semester.  I wasn't even reading them!  I'm looking forward to jumping back in to things and reconnecting with some bloggers.

January Currently

Happy New Year!  It's pretty hard to believe that it's 2016.  It's even harder to believe that we are somehow halfway through the school year!!   What better way to start the new year off than with a Currently post hosted by the fabulous Farley?!   Listening to my iPod on shuffle:  I've got commitment issues with picking one genre in the new year.  My musical taste is all over the place right now.  I've just listened to a pop song, followed by some R&B, then a bit of Sinatra, and some Fleetwood Mac.  This is exactly why I have to make playlists for road trips with friends.  They laugh at my main listing :)   Loving feeling refreshed:  This might be the most refreshed and chilled out I've ever felt coming off of winter holidays.  I'll likely regret it tonight and tomorrow (Planning Sunday anyone??) but it has been SO lovely to just lounge, sleep in, get in a few good workouts, and not think about benchmark scores and educational politics.   Thinking about how crazy January will be:  We go back to school Monday for a full week, and the nine week grading period ends Friday.  The following Thursday we have parent conferences so Friday is a professional development 1/2 day for staff.  Then another 4 day week for students for MLK the next Monday.  I don't enjoy trying to squeeze 4 days of instruction in to 3, and I really don't like giving all those tests in one big, long, painful day!   Wanting a "work day" on Monday:  With all that fuss about a couple of 4 day weeks, I must say that I'm quite jealous of all of you who get a work day on Monday.  That makes SO much sense.  I want one!  Just imagine all the things I could get accomplished!   Needing to finish my semester outline:  I like to make a rough outline of each semester.  I do one for fall and one for spring.  It's time for the spring one, but every time I sit down to work on it a certain 18-year-old cat comes to sit in my lap.  I'm actually typing this with her in my lap now.  We will enjoy this last night of lap cuddles before there is no more time for lazy fun :)   One little word--optimistic:  I don't know that I've ever felt this excited for a new year.  I just feel like this will be a good year.  Hopefully I'll confirm this feeling after the full 366 days.  Yay leap years!