Little Miss Geek

Have you ever walked out of the house without looking in the mirror? I have such a routine in the morning looking in the it mirror probably doesn't make a huge difference wether I check the mirror or not. Even so I look in the mirror every morning before I walk out the door. Sometimes I'll catch some toothpaste I missed or see that the clothes that I thought matched in my half-awake haze don't actually look good together. Either way I don't walk out the door without checking to make sure that I'm proud of how I am presenting myself. If we check ourselves in the mirror before we leave to make sure we look good, why then do so many of us go about our work without reflecting on our practice? I know that as a professional if I do not reflect on the things that I do I will not see my areas for growth. And wether we like to admit it or not, we all have areas for growth. We all make mistakes, and those mistakes can be very valuable... if we learn from them.  There a...

With all of the hard work we have put in to this school year, the weeks leading up to summer are always exhausting. There is so much to get done before the year comes to a close. The students start acting a little squirrely as the weather gets warmer. Schedules begin to fill up both for work and with family of all kinds of celebrations and culminating activities. All of these things added together can really wear people down and result in some negativity, and I'll admit it can be easy to fall into that. The thing that has helped me to survive this end of school craziness has been surrounding myself with positivity. Spending time and talking with people that help build me up, that support me no matter what, and that have an uplifting positive attitude. I'm not sure I'd survive without them, and I am so grateful that I have these people in my life!  View image | gettyimages.com

Busy has become the new normal. It seems like I blinked and my days and calendar fill up before I even know it. I love the things that my calendar is filled with. Watching my son practice karate and guitar or play inline hockey fills me with so much joy. The work I do for my district in support of my teachers and the time and energy I invest in volunteering for Illinois Computing Educators gives me purpose. With all of these awesome things filling me up other things, like this blog, sometimes get put to the side. I'm not sure if it's the time of year with all of the reflection that is in the air, or the fact that I have been reading more blogs for my new role in ICE, but I really miss this. So, time to heat up the old presses and get back in the routine of blogging.