Summer Shopping

Happy summer, friends! First of all, thank you for five years of fun! Today marks five years since I started this blog. I had no idea what I was doing (still don't) but I'm so grateful for the journey. I hope the stories have helped or have at least entertained you.

I've been doing a few videos for the Scootadoot blog which is where we blog about health and fitness, so I thought I'd do a vid here too. It's a long one and I'm mostly talking about some things I've bought this summer. I'm looking forward to some changes next year and hope to keep y'all updated as the year begins. See you soon!

Thanks again for five fun years! 

Here We Go Again

It's that time of year again! The beginning of August, the cooler weather (anywhere other than Florida), and school supplies have taken over every possible store you walk into.

Every.

Single.

One.

Okay, not all of them but I'd still like to walk into Publix without being drawn to stacks upon stacks of Crayola.

Me talking to summer, that which I love.

I spent four days last week in a pretty intense classroom management/strategies training with about nine other colleagues and I found myself already invigorated for the new year. Of course, now training is over but I've received my back to school letter and I feel like I've done a complete one-eighty in the past three days. 

Saying goodbye to summer is so hard! (I say this from a single, childless person's point of view, okay?) 

Since the time is upon us and there's no turning back I took to Facebook to ask my teacher friends: 

What is your favorite thing about the beginning of a new year? 

Here are a few responses with possible explanations in no particular order except when they were posted. 

1.) New School Supplies: This is totally nerdy, but I love school supplies. Sure I cringe in July when they're taunting me at the grocery store, but I love them and so do my friends. There's just something about the smell of fresh Crayola that brings hope and promise into your life. Don't believe me? SMELL THE CRAYONS. New notebooks, new pens, new lunchbox, new backpack! It's all so magical. 

I also acquired some new notebooks...

2.) Seeing Their Faces for the First Time: There really is something so magical about being a teacher. I've said in other posts that we are privileged to be able to make an impact in the lives of students, but I've also talked about how they change us. (You can read by post about my sweet friend Sebastian here.) So many emotions go through you and the students on the first day of school. They look so cute in their new uniforms with all their new supplies! They're excited to meet new friends, to play with old ones, and hopefully to learn new things, too. It's also nice to see some of them on their best behavior for the first few days of school. (Also: FEAR.)

3.) Decorating Your Classroom: Right now this is what I'm dreading, but I know that I'm going to be on fire come Wednesday morning when I get into my classroom. I love learning new things about classroom layout and being able to apply those in real time. I'm definitely excited to take what I learned in my training and get it done. 

4.) Sense of Purpose: Do we lose that over the summer? Some of us might. I try to keep busy so I don't, but that isn't always the case. When we're working we know what's expected and we know what we want. Summer is lazy time. (I started a book blog to help me stay busy: Ash Reads Stuff.) I think keeping a routine goes with this one, also. I love being lazy and slothlike but routines are nice, too. 

5.) Open House: Open house is a great place to get to know your students and their families, and for them to get to know you. And, sadly, it might be the only time you see their family. 

6.) Putting New Methods Into Place: Summer is a great time for Professional Development, if you're into that sort of thing. I love (haha, kind of) reflecting on the year before and knowing what works well and what I need to change. Back to school is always eye opening in a lot of ways. 

Those were the main thoughts that my colleagues and friends had to share. The new school year is a blank slate just waiting for us to dirty it up with all our different successes and failures. Yes, it's sad to say goodbye to summer, but we also get to say hello to new supplies, new students, new friends, and- most importantly- old ones. 

I hope you have a great year! 

Thank You!

So, thanks to TimeHop I was able to find out that my blog is two years old! That's two years of me whining and complaining, and two years of you reading it!

But really, so much has happened in the past two years that I just wanted to stop and say thank you. Whether you are a friend, colleague, family member, or perfect stranger. Thanks for stopping by to read about my journeys into teaching, running, and weird random things. I appreciate all of you.

You're awesome.

This Job Sucks (But Not Really)

Friday was the last day of school and, as I walked down the halls during dismissal, I noticed something. The last day tears of teachers is what I saw. Now, I'll be the first to admit that in front of people I'm not overly emotional. When I'm alone? Psh. I cry like a baby. It could be about a book or a Publix commercial or I can think about "that one time something sad happened" and I'm a waterfall. But, in front of people? I don't cry.

Also, crying makes me uncomfortable so if I made fun of you on Friday please know that I'm sorry and it's just because crying makes me feel weird.

Here's the thing, though: I didn't cry because I am genuinely happy that this year is over. I've hardly posted anything this year because I really try to find the positive in all situations and share that knowledge and finding it this year was very, very difficult.

Now, don't get me wrong, okay? I had plenty of good moments with my class. I loved each and every one of them differently and I am so glad I got to spend 180 day with them, but it was hard. I said in this post last year that it was my best year, and I'm going to have to stick with that. If last year was my best, then this year was the most challenging.

The year started out difficult considering I started a new behavior plan in my class. I did away with the color chart and relied solely on a training I'd taken over the summer and my school's leadership plan. I knew it was going to be hard, but I managed it and in the long run we made it work. I don't feel like a color chart would have been helpful for some of my students (who would have been on red every single day, for real) and I think that students taken responsibility for their actions is much more effective.

It's that thinking that kept me going this year.

What's fair for one student isn't fair for all.

What works for one won't work with another.

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

This year was a year of learning for me. I always joke that the thing that teaching has taught me is patience, but it's easy to point out all of the times I lost my patience with my students. Instead of losing it I focused on trying to be calm and using a soft voice instead of yelling. Honestly, the soft voice kind of freaked them out so it was a win. I also really tried to have fun with them because I think we all always forget that they're just kids, and sometimes they can't help what they do.

I definitely felt like I grew as a teacher this year. Like I said, it was the most challenging year I've had. I've never had students as difficult as I did this year, but I've also never felt closer to my team and my colleagues, either. I am thankful for the people I work with who let me vent, gave advice, or just agreed when they knew it was what I needed.

So, I guess am a little bit sad about the end of the year. I know there's always going to be students who leave a mark on your heart, good or bad. There's going to be your mini-mes and the ones that get your jokes better than most adults do. The ones that you could hug all day whose parents don't believe how good they are at school. And the ones that make you work for it: the ones that keep you on your toes, keep you up at night, and break your heart every single day.

Being a teacher is a privilege...but so is summer vacation. Enjoy.

Vacation: All I Ever Wanted

Teachers get a lot of crap about summer vacation. That usually sparks someone (who is probably not a teacher) to create a list of "What You Think/What Actually Happens" and try to debunk all the rumors of what teachers really do on vacation. 

The list has things like Pinterest-ing, creating projects, shopping for classroom supplies, and making lists for the new year. 

Guess how many things on that list I've done so far this summer? 

Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

Now, plenty of my friends are posting things and that's fine. Receipts from school supply stores, pictures of fun new items, Pinteresting the crap out of classroom posters and projects. (Okay, I admit to Pinteresting some stuff but mostly I'm there for the food and funny pictures.) I just choose to do my summer vacation a little differently.

For example: 

Early on this summer I took on the challenge of watching all three seasons of Veronica Mars in a week. Fine, it didn't really take me a whole week to watch it. It also didn't take me a whole week to gain my first four pounds of the summer. To me, that's what summer is all about! Lounging around and doing whatever the heck you want. If watching all the television you missed while cramming that twelve months of work into 180 days is what you want to do, do it. It's okay! (PS - Sorry if you have kids and can't do that.) 

Me.

I like challenges, so each year I challenge myself to read a certain number of books. This year it was one hundred. So, from January to December I'm supposed to read one hundre books. I reached that goal yesterday. Okay, I'm at one-oh-one now. That's thirty-nine books since school let out. Some of you probably think this is because I have no life (you're probably right), but it's also because I DO WHATEVER I WANT BECAUSE I'M ON VACATION. If you aren't a reader I hope you found something else relaxing to do with your time. This is just what I like to do. 

Never happens...

I posted early this summer about my trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Islands of Adventure. A couple weeks after that I got up at 3:30AM and made the trip back to Orlando for the opening of Diagon Alley in Universal Studios. Basically is was the dumbest and most awesome thing I've ever done. I didn't do a lot of "traveling" this summer, but the little I did was so worth it. Of course, I've been following all my friends' travels on Facebook and, while it looks awesome, I'm glad I only traveled a few hours away from home. Besides, being in Orlando is basically like being in a different world. 

BRB, going to the Ministry of Magic.

I also challenged myself to go to the gym and workout this summer. If we're friends on Facebook you've probably seen my posts about weight gain. Yeah, it's not muscle I've gained. Kudos to those of you who have had the strength and motivation to workout. I've had a hard enough time getting out of bed, so I've passed on the gym stuff. I'll just pretend to workout my brain by reading a lot of intelligent books (lolz). I did run three 5Ks this summer, which is working out...to me. 

But really, that's the beauty of summer vacation: lounging, reading, traveling, and doing what you love. I don't have to spend time shopping and creating and pinning. If I actually want to lie on the couch all day and read all day I will. If I want to go to the pool and read, I might. If I go to the beach to read I'm kind of pushing things, because I'm not too crazy about leaving the house unless I absolutely have to. 

The point of this is probably to tell you to enjoy your summer vacation. You worked hard this year and you earned it. Don't sweat the new year just yet. Trust me, August 11th will be here before you know it and then you won't have pool time or book time or lying on the couch time, you know? It'll be seating charts, grading papers, classroom management, lesson plans, meetings, paperwork (are you depressed yet?), and all that other stuff that comes with having the best job in the whole world.  

So, just chill out. 

Twenty more days. 

XO, 

Ash