So Little Time and So Much To Do and Read!

Here are the PD events I'm attending over the summer to help me prepare for the classroom in September:

• Math Camp Math Camppp
• Pearson Literacy Conference 8th Annual Celebrating Literacy
• Blended Learning Summer Institute

My goal is to use Blended Learning in my teaching practice.  Blended Learning is combination of eLearning and Face to Face Learning.  I'm hoping that if I incorporate technology into the classroom it will help the students to become motivated self-directed learners.  This past year, I've tried to attend as many workshops as I can on digital citizenship.  Two books I found extremely helpful were:

Digital Tools for Teaching: 30 e-Tools for Collaborating, Creating, and Publishing Across the Curriculum by Steve Johnson



and

Keepin' it Real: Integrating New Literacies Into Classroom Practice by Lisa Donohue
https://twitter.com/#!/Lisa_Donohue

12 Weeks and Counting!

While most teachers are winding down for the summer, I am just gearing up.  In 12 short weeks I will be back in the classroom, my very own classroom, with 20 or so beautiful 11 year-old faces.  Only 12 weeks to prepare!  I think I will use almost every minute of those twelve weeks to get ready.

Currently, I'm not a classroom teacher.  I've been a Literacy/Numeracy "Coach" for the last two years and while I really enjoyed being a "coach", (I learned so much, the PD was awsesome, and I met many truly fabulous teachers in my travels), I really miss having my very own classroom, hence the excitement.

I think I've been a teacher most of my life.  I started teaching when I was in Kindergarten; I can remember "teaching" my peers their "ABCs" at the House Centre.  I taught when I babysat in my teens, and then I became the most important kind of teacher of all, I became a mother.  My children were like little sponges, we learned together all day long. 

To me, that is the key to being a teacher "extraordinaire".  An extra-ordinary teacher realizes that teaching isn't about disseminating information; it is about creating an environment conducive to learning together.  My children taught me far more than I ever taught them, (actually, they are still teaching me).

So I've decided to blog my journey back into the classroom.  I've taught Grade Six before, but this time around, I want to be "extra-ordinary".  The ordinary just doesn't cut it in the modern classroom anymore.  Learning has to be beyond ordinary, it has to be exciting and engaging.  It has to meet the children where they're at.  I hope I can entice some "followers" along this learning journey so that we can share ideas, celebrate successes, and commiserate over failures.