Blog Reboot

Ok, after being away from it for a year, I think I'm going to give this blog another try.

I think the trick is to write shorter entries more often. I got too bogged down before crafting longer entries like they were full-on articles instead of just cranking out short thought-shots or brief updates or links to articles. The long articles will come when they come.

For now, I want to write a little bit about why my third year of teaching has been so much better than the last two:

1. My kids this year are awesome. Nothing against my students from the last two years; there were some pretty extraordinary kids in those groups. But for some reason, I just seem to get along better with the kids I have this year. I would be surprised if I have to write more than one or two referrals this year, if any.

2. Writing and Reading Workshop are going so incredibly well. I love it, the kids buy into it, everyone is reading and writing every day--I don't want to sound too naive or idealistic about it all, but it's going even better than I anticipated. Future posts will break down some of the new things I'm doing.

3. I have time. I have time to meet with my grade-level team EVERY DAY, and we meet consistently; I have time after school to plan and create things and prepare; and I (somehow) have more free time to read, write, exercise, and spend time with Rachel. Hopefully this stays the same for the rest of the school year.