The Smell of a New School Year!

The smell of a new school year is in the air! Teachers know what this is. It's more than the Back to School signs in the stores, football and volleyball camps before official practices begin, even a possible change in the weather.  It's teacher vehicles hanging out in the parking lot at school, fresh wax on the floors in the hallway, emails and letters from the principal reminding us of workshop days, and last minute attempts to get the most out of summer with short trips or vacations.  Teachers know once workshop begins their once free time is now dedicated to school time, adequate sleep is something we hope for on the weekends, and our bladders are back in training mode, only on call when the appropriate bell rings.

For me, I still have a month before workshop will be calling my name, but I have many friends and former colleagues that have received their calling to return in the next few weeks.  As I look back on summer 2013, I reflect on the house projects I got done (and some I still need to complete), quilts I finished, started, and also still need to complete, and the school work I tackled to get ahead of the game for the new school year.

So what did you accomplish this summer?  Is there something more you want to do?  Get it in now, do something you can share with your students when they walk into your classroom.  Use your summer experiences to make connections with your students all year long!  Teachers are real people, don't be afraid to let your students see the real you!

Reflections from Great Plains Google Summit

Well it's Sunday again, the house is clean, walk with the hubby in, school related work tackled (not the 4th down though, still have a few more plays to try before the balls in my hands), time to sit down with my cup of coffee and reflect on the past week.

I spent most of the week in Nebraska.  Got to see most of my family on this trip, my niece was home from PA with her girls, visited with my brother and sister-in-law, went to Dad's, stayed with my nephew and his wife for 3 nights, I think I hit them all.  And as a bonus got to have lunch with an old friend from high school, what a blast that was to catch up with her!

But for as much fun as all the family bonding was, the highlight of my trip was the Great Plains Google Apps Summit I attended at Southwest High School in Lincoln.  Two days of Everything Google!  Just when I think I have my feet on the ground, I get "exposed" to all this wonderful knowledge and these amazing people out there doing wonderful things in Education using Google this and Google that!  While I have tried to let my brain settle since leaving the school on Friday, I now have to start digging my way back to ground level, decipher all this information and come up with the best ways to share it with the staff at my school (and get their heads spinning before the new school year starts!)

There's the new Google Maps, great for social studies or scavenger hunts, Docotpus and Flubaroo for those using forms for assessments, WatchDoc to see who's editing the documents shared with you, Sexy Undo Close Tab (because it's just cool to say that), Announcify to read the screen to you, and on and on and on.......And then the ultimate session (at least for me) on Google Certified Teacher and Googler Apps Certified Trainer! I am IN! Where do I sign?

There is just something about being in an auditorium full of professionals with the same goal of wanting to my education better.  Next Summer......I'm bringing friends to Lincoln!!

Because I'm an Educator

It's Mid-July, Sunday am, I've been up for several hours, and what have I been doing? Listening to Friends on TV and doing school work.  It's summer, I'm suppose to be taking a "break" and getting rejuvenated for the next school year, right?  What does that say about me?  It says I'm an educator.

Nothing irks me more than when people make comments about teachers having their "summers off", my own brother is one of the worst. As much as I love him, when he gets his little "dig" in I want to climb through the phone and slap him!  I know very few teachers that leave school in the spring and literally do nothing school related until the first workshop day in August. Why is that? How many professions put in the hours outside of the workday that teachers do. We do it all school year, nights spent grading and planning, weekends learning new content or technologies, breaks catching up on tasks put aside for another day, to the point (at least at my house) that our families need our picture just to remember what we look like away from a desk, computer, pile of papers or textbooks.

So why on this particular Sunday am I spending the first several hours of my day doing work? Because I'm Educator.  I where this badge with pride. I take pride in my classroom, in my students, in my district.  I want to bring new ideas and activities to my room next year, I want to learn new technologies to share with staff in August, I want to inspire, even one person, to go out and try something new and share with someone else. Educators are lifelong learners, and because I'm an Educator, I'm taking this time today to learn something new.

Happy July!