Ideas, ideas, ideas

Last year at this time I was anticipating my first class ever. Everything was new and I was just trying to keep my head above water and get the year started. This year, I know so much more - I know basically how things will run and I also know what I want to change from last year.

This is both good and bad. Good because reflection and improvements are a good thing - teachers should constantly engage in these practices in order to improve our instruction, our management, our organization, everything. This is probably good practice for MOST people, I would dare to say.

This is bad however because it means my mind is freed up from just surviving to all these ideas I want to implement. I am going to try out using Class Dojo, a web-based application, as my classroom behavior management system. I'll post a review of it after a week or two of use when I see how it is going. We are going to the Common Core Standards for reading and math (like many states this year), which means we essentially have an entirely new curriculum to learn because we also have new NC Essential Standards in both science and social studies. I want to implement a writer's notebook. I want to figure out how to use KidBlog more effectively. I went to training on both Edmodo and Voice Thread at the end of last year and want to use both.  The other teachers in my grade are investigating using a classroom economy system, something I've always been interested in but I'm really unsure if I can handle do it THIS year. That is definitely something that might get pushed to next year. But I'd love to do it - I'm torn.

This list goes on and on and I keep mentally adding to it. I'm trying to balance out between doing what I consider the most important things that will enhance learning and instruction and doing too much where nothing is done well. This is difficult. Last night my head would not stop spinning. Luckily I had put meat in the crock pot to cook for fajitas for dinner so it was easy and as soon as I finished eating I was on my computer working on stuff. I had to be reminded what time it was to go to bed. The cat woke me up (as she is wont to do) at 3:30 AM and I didn't fall back asleep until 4:45 or so because my brain was still churning. If it had gotten to 5 am I was just going to get up and start working but luckily I did fall back asleep for about another hour and a half.

Too many ideas and not enough time. I'll figure out soon which ones are viable for this school year or at least the beginning of this school year and go from there.