I am "Enough." As 2016 ends and 2017 begins, that is the word I want to remind myself not just for the next 365 days but until the end of this life and beyond. I spent too much wasted time this past year doubting myself and placing my identity in how well I could perform in all areas of my life. It seemed that when things were going well, I was doing okay. But when there were challenges, I doubted myself and belittled my self-worth more and more. As it rooted and grew, the more I put myself completely last in all areas, job, family, church, ...

Dear Teachers, Remember yourself. In this very busy, stressful, exhausting, frustrating time of the school year, remember you. When you're trying new things to adjust your instruction, when there are changes in expectations, when parents are being ridiculous, when students who you have done nothing but care for and treat with love mouth off to you, remember yourself and your purpose. I won't lie, the last two weeks have been some of the most challenging, stressful and hardest in my career. I had forgotten about myself. Now my body is payi...

We are know the feeling... This sums it quite nicely.  Why yes, I am a fan of Leslie Knope and yes, this is what I feel during those final weeks when you tend to look at the calendar a little more than usual.  Standardized state tests, end of year grades, end of year testing, ARDs, 504 meetings, RTI meetings, and let's not forget, TEACHING!  It's so easy to get bogged down by the rigamoro of all the meetings and testing but lets not forget why we are still here.  Its to scrape the kids off the ceiling celebrate all the hard work that you a...

Okay...I'm going to be touching into an area that some teachers reaction looks a little like this... Conferencing!  Conferencing in writing can be a little overwhelming, sometimes just down right messy.  But learning is messy and it is a good messy that drives us to improve our instruction.  So lets get messy together! :) So lets ask the question... "Why Conferencing?"   What drives conferencing and why is it so important in the Writer's Workshop/Writing time frame of your day?  It provides the opportunity for direct and immediate teac...

We spent a lot of time last week working on author's purpose.  It's amazing on how much understanding the author's purpose and craft of writing can significantly impact the knowledge you have of reading.  I needed a good anchor chart to use for our introductory lesson and like any great, masterful teacher would do...I went to Pinterest! :)  I searched and searched and searched and I couldn't find the exact right one to use for our lessons.  In 3rd grade we are now transferring from just identifying the author's purpose but to locating the stat...