Gearing Up for Slowing down

I'm getting ready to head back into the crazy, wonderful amazing world of my classroom. Sitting here in my pajamas makes me long for the life of a writer. I can probably work at school this afternoon in my sweats. So at least I can hold on to these quiet moments a while longer. Here my daughter and I are enjoying a moment at school. I was lucky enough to have some planning time while her kindergarten class was decorating gingerbread houses. This is one of the benefits of working at your kid's school.

I'm excited about doing more planning using my OneNote. I seem to do this every year, change my lesson planning format half-way through the year. It's a wonder why I get frustrated when I try to locate plans from previous years. There are many little details I do like about using OneNote though. I was experimenting during the last week before break. I loved the ability to make notes in the margins about students whom I wanted to meet with. There never seems to be enough space in those lesson plan books for all the thinking that I need to record. I still like the week at a glance option of the regular planner. But, all the details I am able to write in the OneNote are very valuable while I teach. I find I can easily make daily changes that help me refocus my instruction when the children are presenting the need. This afternoon I am going to make it a goal to map out my teaching to the end of January and then fill the details in on OneNote.

I will greatly miss the ability to make banana bread just because I can. My New Year's resolution will continue to be finding balance in my life. Juggling family, work, health and hobbies will be a daily, weekly, monthly struggle.