Showing posts with label summits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summits. Show all posts

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Whew.

It feels like I've reached a summit of sorts!

Flickr creative commons photo by Dru!

But if I'm at the summit, that means the next bit is all downhill, right?  Wrong!

Maybe I'm just on a narrow ledge where I can hold on for a minute and breathe and gather my strength for the next part of the climb.

Flickr creative commons photo by John and Belinda

Franki's really good about going public with her personal learning, reading, exercise and balance challenges, so I'm going to put my to-do list out there in the world in the hopes that going public will help me get it all accomplished!

These first few are a result of the Dublin Literacy Conference:

Inspired by Patrick Allen
•re-read CHOICE WORDS by Peter Johnston
•take his double-dog dare to record all of my reading conferences for a week, then listen to them and really work on getting better at conferring 

Inspired by Kelly Gallagher
•celebrate that the "pool" my readers "swim" in is full to the brim with books 
•keep a tight hold on my students' independent reading time -- don't compromise it; don't let it go
•don't underteach books

Inspired by Brian Pinkney
•give my students more small music, rhythm and movement breaks

Inspired by Saturday night dinner conversations
•keep playing Words With Friends -- I'm better than some and not as good as others, but it's all good
•don't wait so long to get help when I'm stuck on a level of Angry Birds

Other goals include...

Get back in the exercise routine.
√ Went to water aerobics today.

Get back to blog reading and writing.
√ I give myself permission to ease into this a little at a time.
√ I started by reading 10 blogs on this week's Poetry Friday Roundup. 

Maintain Twitter stamina.
√ There's great stuff there. Did you see this blog post "Angry Birds: A Lesson in Assessment FOR Learning" and this one about Angry Birds and Instruction?

Grade that blasted stack of papers TODAY since the end of the trimester is tomorrow.
√ I'll get started on those as soon as I hit the publish button. 

Pay attention to the change of seasons. 
√ "And since to look at things in bloom/Fifty springs are little room/About the woodlands I will go/To see the cherry hung with snow." (A.E. Houseman)
√ Drove home from the health club with the top open. 54 degrees. Sun. Hard to believe we had a snow day on Friday.
√ Across-the-street neighbors' snowdrops are blooming.