Hopefully, everyone's year has started off successfully and you are transitioning from, "Oh my goodness, vacation is really over and I'm exhausted," to "I'm in the new rhythm now!" After just 2 weeks, I find my brain still trying to sort out all the amazing ideas I heard and read about this summer into usable content. There were some last-minute changes to one of my curricula so that changed my start-up strategies a bit. And I added a new curriculum this year so there is that learning curve... As always, it's necessary to adapt, adapt, adapt. Stay flexible!

Like the rest of you, I have several goals on my plate for this year.

First, my reading and studying list:

180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle - I have it but haven't started.
Teacher Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon - I'm about halfway through now.
Positive Discipline Tools for Teachers: Effective Classroom Management for Social, Emotional, and Academic Success - I read this in August.
Who Owns the Learning?: Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age (Incorporate Technology and Opportunities Into Instruction) by Alan November - I don't own this one yet.
Everyday Instructional Coaching: Seven Daily Drivers to Support Teacher Effectiveness (Instructional Leadership and Coaching Strategies for Teacher Support) by Nathan D. Lang - I don't even own this book yet.
Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn - I re-read this in August.

Growth Areas I chose for me and my classroom:

Blog professionally once a week.
Continue to expand my classroom YA library. I'm up to 84 books from 5-6 last year!
Keep working toward official certifications in Instructional Coaching and Google Apps for Education
Keep working toward intermediate proficiency in Spanish language instead of staying stuck at just past Tourist Spanish.
Keep coaching colleagues one-to-one or in small cohorts by their requests (thus far):
- NWEA MAP
- Google Classroom
- Google Drive
- Newsela,
- Nearpod, and
- Haiku PowerLearning.
Continuing to expand experiences in Flexible Spaces and STEM / Maker Integration within content areas. I hope to try paper circuits in ELA and Coding in Socials. I will continue looking for more projects as the year goes by.
Take my students on more virtual field trips.
Take more time for reflection and discussion in our classroom.

I'd love to hear about your goals for yourself and your classroom this year. Drop me a comment below if you wish.