Monday, June 27, 2011

Dear Summer, Please Slow Down

I can't believe that four of my precious summer weeks are gone! Here's what I've been doing:

1.  Moving:  My husband has taken a new job. He is leaving his position as principal of a small K-12 school to be an administrator in a larger district. So, we moved to a more centralized location between our schools. My last day of school was May 26th and we moved the very next day.  

2.  Unpacking, Sorting, Organizing, Tossing, Putting Away . . . On the bright side, our new home is located in a town 20 times larger than the old one. It has multiple grocery stores and multiple stop lights. Now we can walk to the park, dentist, hardware store, library, pool, and more. The mail is delivered right to our front door. Not to mention, there is a place down the street with half price ice cream on Tuesdays. We are living large, for sure.

3.  Recovering from a hail storm:  Five days after moving in, we had baseball-sized hail. I have never seen anything like it! We needed a new roof, new gutters, paint on the house . . . Oh, and new cars (both were totaled in the storm). Garages are only helpful in these situations if you park inside of them.



4.  My other full-time job:  Mama to this curly-headed cutie. She is almost 2. Full time job, indeed! She is growing up so fast. If some things on my summer list don't get finished because I spent too much time playing with her, I am not going to feel bad. 



5.  Common Core, Common Core, Common Core:  One of my biggest professional concerns has been our state's adoption of the CCSS. It means there will be a new assessment, when we are pretty comfortable with the current one. It means there will be changes to what I teach and how I teach it, but I am  not sure what kind of changes. I just finished an online course, and I will be attending a two-day conference this week. I plan to post some of the things I am learning. Soon, I hope.