One Week Left! #SOL17

One week from today I report back to school for pre-planning. The tingle of excitement feels like little electric currents running through my chest. Even as a child, I relished the anticipation of the first day of school. It ranks right up there with Christmas. I still feel that way today.

To whet my appetite, this week is filled with meetings and back-to-school activities. Yesterday, I attended a leadership retreat. Okay... it was really a five-hour long meeting, but if you provide coffee, good food, and chocolate, you can call it whatever you want, and you can guarantee I'll be there. The principal and APs shared some great information about where we are headed this year as a faculty and school. As if I wasn't excited enough about kicking the new year into gear, the vision for what's ahead now has me on the verge of losing sleep. (I may have to make a paper chain to count down the days to occupy my time.)

Tomorrow is our annual summer boot camp. Boot camp is a day when our up-and-coming sixth-graders come to the school for sneak peek at what's waiting for them in less than two weeks. They'll check out some classrooms, tour the school, practice opening lockers, and have some of the daunting questions answered that have been plaguing them all summer like, "Will I really get detention for coming to class late?"

Friday will be another excitement-filled day as I, along with one of my APs and two other teachers, will be presenting our literacy plan to other administrators and teachers from the district. I'm pretty tickled about being given this opportunity.

I'm thankful for a busy week. It makes the anticipation of the first day of school easier to handle.

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The Woes of a Teacher on Summer Break #SOL17

I did something yesterday that I haven't done in, well, ... ever.

My house was void of all life forms save for me and my dog. The hubby is out of town. The son is out of town. The daughter was wherever she disappears to every day. So I grabbed my recently purchased copy of Margaret Peterson Haddix's Among the Hidden, curled up on the couch, and read the whole thing ... in one sitting. Okay, so there was a nap involved half way through the book, and the dog needed his walk, but the point is I have never ever sat down and read an an entire book in one day. Life always seems to interrupt my attempts at escaping its reality. But yesterday, I ignored life's beckoning and indulged in the not-so-guilty pleasure of getting completely and totally lost in a book. I felt like a spoiled, royal lady of luxury.

As I contemplated doing the same thing today with Nanci Turner Steveson's Swing Sideways, a stabbing pain of guilt pierced my chest as I walked by the vacuum cleaner that I pulled out of the closet several days ago. It stood upright just staring at me, judging me, arrogantly reminding me that I have responsibilities to my household. The unraveled mess of its life-giving cord lay on the floor mocking me, reminding me of the cobwebs and dust bunnies that desperately need to be eradicated.

"Do you really think you need to spend another entire day just reading?"

I'm not sure if that was my guilty conscience talking to me or if the patronizing vacuum cleaner had somehow found a voice. Regardless, I told both of them to "shut up" and stuffed the contemptuous cleaner back into the closet.

I haven't decided yet whether or not I will release the vacuum cleaner from its dark prison and force it into the dirty labor for which it was created. I'll think about it while I linger over another cup of coffee, read a few chapters of Swing Sideways, and ignore the foul things the clean dishes in the dishwasher are saying.

Thank you to TwoWritingTeachers for giving writers the chance to write, grow, share, and celebrate our slices of life.

Overwhelmed, But Celebrating

Thank you to Ruth Ayers for providing a place to share our celebrations.

This is the current state of my kitchen table.

As I prepare to begin my third year of teaching sixth-grade language arts, all of my thinking and reading and learning and planning has worked me into a state of feeling overwhelmed. Yet, for each thing that has me feeling overwhelmed, there is also a reason to celebrate.

I am overwhelmed by the number of paperback books I need cover with contact paper to protect them from destruction as they are thrashed about in student backpacks. But I celebrate the teachers, students, and parents who have generously donated to my classroom library, as well as my local used books store which generously gives teachers a 50% discount.

I am overwhelmed by the selection of stories that I want to read so that I can help my students find those "just right" books. But I celebrate that I am blessed to have so many books in my hands from which to choose.

I am overwhelmed by the number of professional development books that I have set aside to read knowing that school will start before I've had the chance to read them all. But, I celebrate being taught by so many gifted educators who have put their expertise in writing for others to learn and grow.

I am overwhelmed by what it will take to transform my classroom into a writer's workshop. But I celebrate the excitement of new possibilities.

Although I may feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that emotions are temporary; they are fleeting. Like the weather, they change depending on the conditions. Celebration, however, is a choice. I choose to celebrate...with a glass of wine.

On a side note, Ninja was feeling overwhelmed by the humidity during our walk today. But he celebrated the air conditioning when we returned home. (He will also be celebrating his summer haircut next week.)

Here's to celebrating!