Gearing Up For a New School Year

I know some teachers dread their beloved summers ending and the onset of a new year, but I always find the build-up exciting: I get to try out new ideas; I get a whole new set of kids to get to know; it's like another new year, but this one for teaching resolutions!

Frankly, I also love routine.  For all my spontaneity, love of travel, and keeping the hours of an owl in the summer, I like coming back to a predictable schedule, a happy school, and a place where I feel like I have some control over my life, and where I can teach my students how to exercise some control over their own.

Yes, I am relishing the last few weeks of summer vacation.  I'm going to live it up to the full and stay up until the wee hours of the morning reading and crosswording as I love to do, but I am also planning my back-to-school outfit and thinking about how I can "mix it up" this year so I can inspire and facilitate learning in a way that thrills my students and keeps me loving my job.

Yellowstone with the fam!  Two teachers
equals excellent summer vacays!