A Summer for Teachers: How to be Purposeful

As a fellow teacher, I understand the desire to kick up your feet and just RELAX. And what I'm about to share will still allow you to do that, as it is just as important to be well taken care of as it is to be purposeful. The summer before my first teaching job, I spent most of it looking for a job and then purchasing anything that I thought might make my classroom community-like. As a first year teacher, I think this is very necessary, but there are additional ways to start preparing for the new school year.

1. Relax- It's definitely your vacation as well, so take some time during your summer to do a few things that are both enjoying and revitalizing.

2. Read- Just like how we encourage our students to read, we should be demonstrating this. Whether it's new books for the following school year that you will be teaching, New York Times Bestsellers, or educational books, pick up something and get to it. It so rewarding to be able to read that book that's been on your nightstand for the past year waiting to be opened.

A few great reads to look at:

The Learning Habit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different Learners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADHD Does Not Exist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dylexia Empowerment Plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Light We Cannot See

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rosie Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Professional Development- As I'm writing this I am listening to a webcast for  "Cool Ideas to Teach Independent Reading," put on by edWeb. There are a lot of different resources that are available to teachers that are free. Most won't allow you to get credit, but I find it's better to be ahead of the game and help others understand, then feel frustrated and overwhelmed when new ideas are being discussed. I also took the Google Education Conference over that summer that was wonderful! A few other places to look are

4. Start Planning- Purchase your Erin Condren Teacher Planner and start to it. Of course some of you teachers work in groups and may wait until the first few weeks of August to start planning. I still recommend working on classroom management ideas, book groups, and anything else that you can do. This will make those first few weeks a dream.

5. Remember how amazing this profession is- I understand that year after year of teaching can be physically and emotionally draining, take a few minutes each day to find something that you love about education. You never know, it just might spark change next year.

Hopefully we all relaxing and enjoying our summer, don't let the next school year sneak up on you.

Lilly Turns 3: A Trip to Neverland

We celebrated Lil's birthday and it was a wonderful experience. I typically plan the theme around January so that it gives me enough time to prep and prepare. Here was how this year's theme turned out. I love planning theme parties, I can really go wild with my imagination of how to incorporate things into an event. We decided after this year's party that I really need a classroom :).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Poor Nana."

 Captain Hook's Ring Toss

 

 

 Waiting for our friends and bumming a ride off of the dog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting to sing.

 

Everyone ended up in the pool.













Her favorite part was having everyone sing "Happy Birthday."

Last year's Veggietales theme

 

My 4 AM Wake Up Call

I don’t know if you are an early bird, but I sure am. The past few weeks I’ve made the decision to wake up around 4:30am. Some mornings are better than others. I know 4AM, ARE  YOU CRAZY?! Yes, I probably as ridiculously crazy. But I’ll tell you my reasoning for this choice.

1. I am able to wake up slowly without feeling rushed. I only work early on Tuesdays, but I was beginning to hate the feeling of hear Little Miss over the monitor crying, but I panic and then feel sluggish all day long.
2. I am able to get in my me time. This is such a bonus for me. Most days I would wait until naptime to get my workouts in, or maybe get to my daily Bible reading. But now, I start my day with reading the Bible, my cup of coffee and workout. 
3. My days, I feel more energy and am able to get more done. I’ve been working on not workouts out TOO much lately, and so I’ve been trying to use naptime to get in my housework or some reading to just take some slow down time. I am always going. It may be the fact that I feel guilty if I’m not being proactive and doing something productive. So this 4 am wake up call is selfish. Its time for me to begin slowing down and set my day up.
4. I feel like a better person. I’m going to bed earlier, when I’m tired and not feeling restless at night and my body is beginning to wake up around 4 am naturally. I don’t know how that is natural, but I’m still getting 6.5 hours of sleep. Sometimes, like today I will probably need a cat nap because I’ll be running a bit more today. That seems to be a little taxing on my body.

So how do you fit it all in? 

Do you make time to have some ‘me’ time? 

Are you a morning bird or night owl?

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Purposeful Play With Your Toddler Part 3

What a fun week!! 

The theme this week was Fish.

I had got a video from the library about fish, but I think it was too much for little Miss. 

Anyway we were able to go to a Mermaid themed story time hosted by a city library. 

We did a couple crafts from Teachers Pay Teachers. 

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We sang the following songs all week:

Octopus

Baby Shark

1,2,3,4,5 Once I Caught a Fish alive

Of course we watched Finding Nemo:

We also planned a trip to the Fish Hatchery nearby.

Next week: Trees

 

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What's For Dinner Week 9

Well I'm back to meal planning. I like it too much. Even though we signed up for emeals, I'll be using it for new recipes, but we are not totally committing to it. 

I love being creative and it's a control issue probably, but if I want my family to eat healthy, I've got to do it! 

Here are this weeks meals (most from cookbooks I have around the house). I also used this book I picked up from the library:

No, we haven't taken the plunge to vegan, but I think that while trying to stay within a budget and eat healthy, you can't go wrong with veggies!!

This book has a wealth of yummy meals. Can't wait to share.

Monday: Braised Cabbage Rolls, hummus and pitas

Tuesday: Crockpot Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs over Quinoa

Wednesday: Creamy Green Enchiladas

Thursday: Grilled Chicken and Wilted Spinach Salad with Spocy Peanut Dressing

Friday: Nachos

Saturday: Hot and Sour Noodles

Sunday: Family Dinner 

Hope you have a wonderful week!!

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