Summer Vacation? #SOL15


As I contemplated setting my alarm for 4 am to be able to write my Slice (I didn't- writing this at 5:20 am instead), I am thinking about what I've been doing so far on my "summer vacation":

  • I co-facilitated the Long Island Writing Project Summer Institute for 8 days (9am-4pm)
  • Reading Jen Serravallo's Reading Strategies as part of a Voxer book club.
  • Read A Handful of Stars as part of a writing about reading book club and participated in the Twitter chat.
  • Rereading Fish in a Tree as a small group thinking about writing about reading for an upcoming Twitter chat.
  • Read Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8 as part of #cyberPD and Twitter chat tonight.
  • Trying to read a #bookaday to keep up with the blog I created for reading, http://sokolowskibookbonanza.blogspot.com/
  • Writing my first post for our Two Writing Teachers blog series and thinking of ideas for the rest of the August posts I will need to write.
  • Participating in a 4 day workshop this week at #LiLit15 for reading and writing workshops.
  • Made a Donors Choose project to try to get magazines for my classroom library.
  • Creating a new class webpage through Weebly
Still left to do:
  • Read the stack of professional books I bought and want to finish, including The Unstoppable Writing Teacher, Word Nerds, Notebook Know-How, Notebook Connections, and Guided Math in Action.
  • Set up Kidblog and Bibilionasium accounts for my new students.
  • All the prep for the school year- locker name tags, student desk tags, reorganizing my classroom library into the new bins I bought, planning the first week of school.
  • Read the stack of children's literature books I brought home so I could be more familiar with my library and be able to recommend more books.
All of these activities were self-chosen.  No one made me do a single thing on the list and I've been learning so much this summer.  I'm just....a little tired today.  Thinking of relaxing on the beach, fruity cocktail in hand, book unrelated to teaching in my lap, nothing to hear but the crash of the waves, smelling the salty, coconuty air. Maybe I need to add "relaxing" to my summer to-do list. Off to class today but maybe next week I will finally get to the beach this summer. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#SOL16 Lesson From Piper

Image
Have you seen the Disney Pixar Short film Piper ?  If not, go watch...I'll wait. :) I watched this movie today with a few of my students who stay after school for "Club Success" (formerly called "tutoring" but this feels way more positive for the kids who are asked to stay). After we watched Piper , we wrote about the movie and then shared our writing. Each of the three students who wrote touched upon the idea that Piper had to learn how to get the food for herself. Some students mentioned the pride she felt after she learned how to survive the big waves and find food.  We talked about the mistakes she made and how they helped her to learn.  I think this video is a MUST WATCH for a few reasons.  1- It really makes you think about the process of learning and how uncomfortable it can feel when you move to trying something new for the first time.  2-Piper learned by her failed attempts and eventually by finding a mentor and trying his strategy. 3-When ...
Read more

A Working Mom's "I am" Poem #sol15 Day 16

Image
Disclaimer: I have nothing but respect for moms who "stay at home." It is the hardest job.  In my brief stints being a stay at home mom while on maternity leave and on summer vacations, I know that the days are exhausting and challenging.  This poem attempts to capture how I feel about life at the moment, being a third grade teacher and a mom to 2 kids under the age of 5. I am a Working Mom I am exhausted and never done.  I wonder how to find the elusive "work-life" balance  I hear my alarm go off at 3am and trudge downstairs to do the work I couldn't do when the kids were awake I see my work bag,bulging, begging me to finally pay it attention. I want 5 minutes to myself. I am exhausted and never done. I pretend I can do it all I feel the need to eat lots of chocolate I touch my children's soft little cheeks and hug them. I worry I am missing important moments with them. I cry when I feel like I am drowning from it all. I am exhausted and n...
Read more

#SOL19 You Can Go Your Own Way

Image
If you were looking at an Identity Web for me right now (Sara K. Ahmed's Being the Change has been on my mind with our recent #twtblog series and a book study/ workshop I facilitated with the Long Island Writing Project), you would see the added role of "Daisy Co-Leader" as another hat (or Girl Scout tunic?) I am wearing. My daughter, Megan, is a kindergarten student and I have signed on to be her Girl Scout troop co-leader. My fabulous friend and colleague (and down the street neighbor!) is the leader of the troop and she is everything you've ever dreamed of in a Daisy troop leader- enthusiastic, creative, organized, kind, thoughtful, and ambitious. Our troop has done A LOT in our short six months together.  Last night was another Daisy event. We met up with other Girl Scouts from our town and the town right next to us for a "Paint Night." Each girl got a canvas and paints and was instructed, step by step, on how to make a snowman in a winter sc...
Read more