It seems my drop down menus don't work :( I really wanted my blog to be very organized and easy to find "stuff". Until blogger figures this out I'll just be posting on my wall.  Right now I'm redoing my office and lots of stuff at home...which I might share. Home is my launchpad. It's a great refuge and when organized and cute makes me feel very creative.

Hope all of you are having an amazing summer. I'm off to stencil my carpet...YIKES!

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Classrooms should be a safe place to try great, and imaginative ideas. It's a stage for tapping into possibilities. We need educators that have the courage to create and encourage wild ideas! Some educators are threatened by what's new. They stick to worksheets, and what they've done for the past 20 years. Let us be teachers that evolve within our world. Let us be teachers that stand on values while ushering in a new era of great minds. We can give these kids the stability...now let's give them the license to imagine beyond the classroom...beyond our galaxy.

Up at my usual Monday AM time. Enjoying the rain (thanks Colorado) and knowing I can have as many cups of coffee as I want without having to leave for school. I know this sounds strange, but I miss my kids (21 of them) :(  Teachers are in a peculiar situation. You spend more time with someone else's kids then they spend with their family...during the school year. Your classroom becomes their family. And rest assured the one, or two, or three students that drove you up the walls are the ones who don't want to leave when the bell rings on the last day. I will enjoy this summer as I'm also guilty of spending more time with lots of other people and putting the ones I love on hold...every year. Aren't we all guilty of this? A necessary evil when one works in a classroom. I laugh when so many of us are at school after 3:30 and parents are surprised by this. How do they not understand that you just spent all day teaching their child, listening to their woes, not correcting papers or preparing you were BUSY! And you take home your papers at the end of the day, your dinning room table a sea of projects in the making for your class. I will most definitely enjoy my summer, and my family. BUT a piece of my heart will be with all the children that have sat in my classroom...they too are part of my family.

SUMMER IS HERE!

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I'm relieved and a little sad. It was so rewarding to see challenges mature, and academic confidences grow. My class required much of my attention which is why I haven't been on my blog in a very long time. I guess its true...sometimes you have to give up what you want to get what you need.

In this case my class needed the majority of my time, and it was well worth the effort. I am so proud of how hard they worked. Kids will continue to amaze me regardless of how long I'm in the classroom.

Next year I'll be in a new classroom. It makes me feel like I have a fresh start all over again. I hope you'll find something on my site that will contribute to  your journey.  At the end of a long day all I want to do is sit on my computer and have somebody feed me inspiration. Now it's time to give some inspiration back!

Wishing all of you a memorable and magical summer! We deserve it!

Today was staff development day. I usually sit through workshops thinking about all the things I need to do in my class, but visiting with our sister school was really fun. It's nice to know that other teachers in other Lands :) are going through the same challenges we have. Taking new ideas and implementing them into an already packed day is NO small task. We wonder which strategy will give us the biggest bang for our buck because...honestly time is precious in a classroom.

While we are comparing notes and kicking around ideas it occurred to me...we care...really care. I believe that's what makes a classroom work. You need a vested interest in your students. Kids are smart and they don't want to be in a classroom with an adult who doesn't want to be with THEM!

I love being in a room full of educators who truly love what they do. 

Feeling inspired!

  Waiting for cool weather in the Lone Star State!

I've always wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. As teachers there are days when we all wonder if we're making everyone else's dream come true except our own. Then you're in the middle of WalMart and you hear a big voice...that you don't quite recognize. This young man is talking to you like he knows who you are, and you stand there racking your brain to figure out who this is. 

You know the eyes...because eyes never change. Finally he says something that rings a bell. "Do you remember when Sam lost his tooth and we were all looking for it...on the playground?" It hits you and a flood of faces fills your mind. You remember worrying about this kid when he was in your class. Math was difficult for him but you spent extra time making sure he understood. He was a great kid, and a hard worker...probably still is.

You ask what he's doing. He tells you he's in college studying Biochemical Engineering. And then it hits you. You were/are part of something so big that you can't see its future. AND you realize that the small part your playing isn't so small. It is the building block of someone's LIFE. Actually you laugh to yourself because you wouldn't have a clue in a Biochemical Engineering class! He'd be tutoring you!

I know the whole motto "Teach Today Touch Tomorrow" but sometimes we really need to be reminded. All the little sayings we hang in our class mean nothing without the experience behind them. Well, except for the following, "Often the student who is ALWAYS sharpening his pencil never turns in work." OR "A TEACHER IS NEVER TRULY APPRECIATED UNTIL AFTER A RAINY WEEKEND!" Ha! 

The hardest part of our profession is that we often play a part in act one, but we never see the end of the play. You know that the student with challenges will be replaced next year by another student with challenges. The face changes from year to year, but we stand still in the obstacles that are perpetuated. 

I really needed to hear my name yelled out in the middle of Walmart...we all do. Obviously I have my doubts about the profession I chose, and how much I've sacrificed my own family to do it. Think about it...do you know of one profession where you don't make sacrifices? Choice is sacrifice! 

So, yes Educators do play an important part...we are a vital role in "Something Bigger." Lots of people fall under this umbrella. For example the lady that figures out your insurance at 5 AM in the hospital (this is her second job). The parent that sends in school supplies because he knows how late you stay at school...he sees your car in the parking lot when he picks his children up after work. There are "NO SMALL PARTS." We can't survive without each other!

Well the weather man says we have a 50% chance of rain today , and I'm on my way to Walmart. (wink)

Know that whatever your vocation in life you will have doubts. If you chose your profession based on what your heart told you...you're in the right place.