15 June, 2019

What are your plans for professional learning this summer - NOTHING

I have been tagged on IG to join a summer blogging challenge...
and I was like what the heck... why not
plus I loved the first prompt
and I have been wanting to blog again!!!

So here I go...
This post is week 1 of 8 in the 8 Weeks of Summer Blog Challenge for educators.

This week's topic is funny and ironic for me...
WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING GOALS FOR THIS SUMMER?

Oh gosh...
The only "professional" goal I have for this summer was to get my TAG 6 hour update that I ALWAYS  have to get.
OH and let's talk about this...
they always schedule this training like the week after school gets out
WHO THE HECK wants to do that?
Why can't they include this 6 hour training in our back to school training?
I mean come on we come back like 5 months before the kids...
ok dramatic but we do come back like 2 weeks before (if you round to the nearest week)
That would be smart... to include it into our B2S schtuff
I am sure there are school districts out there that do that... right?
not mine!!!  insert a sad face here

SOOOO I already did that training and it was fabulous (sarcasm)
I got up early on my first Thursday of the summer
and painted my face... put on a smile and went to a training that was more geared for
HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!
the majority of us in there were elementary teachers
when we had to raise our hands there were 3 high school teachers
there were 51 of us in all...

here was the training in a nutshell....
make a video for your kids to review prior to class about new content
load your video onto your you tube channel
and make a blog for your videos...
NEEDLESS to say I was done early...
and could NOT leave...
so I sat for almost 3 hours with my friends and helped them finish
and then we talked
- that training was fun-
sarcasm

ok NOW on to my real plans for summer
NOTHING

this is the first summer I have NO REAL plans
I don't have camps to teach
I don't have summer school to teach or run
I have NOTHING
no training to teach
no other trainings to attend
and it is sooooooo nice!!!!

and I am excited about that
soooooo
my plans are to
RELAX, REORGANIZE, and REJOICE

RELAX -if you know me you know I love me some YOGA
with the end of the year schedule - I missed lots of classes
so my goal this summer is to go to at least 2 classes a week
yoga is a great place to work on me...
I concentrate so much on not falling on my face or tooting
(yoga makes you gassy)
that I can't dwell in my head about everything that is stressing me out
it is a complete hour of being out of my head...
and it is nice
if you haven't tried yoga
you should
it's amazing
tall, small, curvy, thin, rolly, skinny... all body types can go
that's the joy of yoga

I am also taking time to myself in the morning...
Hubs is at work and Bubs is a late sleeper so my morning time is
JUST ME
and my dawgs...
I get up clean up
real life ---- > we have a dog that is older than Jesus and well she has accidents during the night
so I clean up - light some candles
let the girls out to play and potty
and then turn on the Today show and chill.
I might get up and water the garden (no veggies - just a bunch of elephant ears and succulents)
it's just a time for me to do whatever I want...
I haven't had a summer to myself like this in a VERY LONG TIME
and it is soooo nice!!!


REORGANIZE
well the stresses of school and our family's busy schedule
definitely show in my house keeping
or lack there of...
and I have a house keeper come every other week - yikes
anywho -
I set goals for myself to work on one area of the house a day
and I have done that... YAY me
so far I have scrubbed the garage door... it was super dirty and now it is WHITE again
I also have spray washed our front porch and redecorated it for the summer
I have gathered every single article of clothing
from every corner
and organized it by colors for washing
I have a lot of washing to do ....
A LOT
A LOT
A LOT
I have cleaned out our spare bedroom - which was a catch all for all things that needed a place
 and I had no clue where that place was...
I have made a run to Goodwill with a few boxes of donations
and see lots more coming their way

I also have reorganized my eating
I joined Weight Watcher... now called WW
whatever it is Weight Watchers
I needed something to help me...
something structured and that would help me portion control
and have more accountability
I was on it several years ago and did amazing...
this time it is do or die...
literally - my liver hates me and
has decided to act out
so he needs to lose some fat which means I need to lose fat
and so WW is here  to stay.
So far it is easy and breezy...
I mean it takes some time to figure out the app
and portions BUT it really is easy
and I am down about 10 pounds my first week
so no complaints here...

REJOICE
I am really taking this summer to find myself again
and rejoice in my blessings
school can be a toxic place
mean girls
crappy teachers
stubborn kiddos
test stress
rumors
lies
parents
schedules
paperwork
I could name tons more BUT that would take my whole morning
and I'm not here for that!!!

anyways...
this summer I need to take time for ME
and I am going to rejoice in my accomplishments
cleaning out the pantry - YES
losing wt - YES
meditating in the morning - YES
how often do teachers REALLY take the time for themselves during the summer?
I am pretty sure in my 18 years of teaching...
this is a first for me
and it is so refreshing for my spirit

so no...
I am not planning my classroom decor - I am planning on redecorating my spare bedroom
I am not taking an online class for reading - I am taking an online class for abstract painting.
I am not reading a book about guided reading - I am reading a book about a steamy romance
I am not making plans for the first week of school - I am planning out a Mamma and Bubs trip
I am not going to another writing training - I am going to a how to meditate class
I am not creating new things for my class - I am creating new meals for my family
I am not stressing over next year's class - I am living in the now and loving it