And Back To Work We Go!

It's a dreary, humid, foggy, overcast morning...sounds like the opening to spooky movie, but no, it's just the end of summer break!

So I'm up a tad earlier, have had my first cup of coffee, and will soon be heading downstairs to do a little light yoga.  There will be no dog walk this morning due to the rain in this morning's forecast, so Sophie, Lily, and I might have to accomplish that later today.

And to be honest, I'm ready for the school year to begin.  I had a few weeks "off" recently, so the recharge button worked.  It will be fun getting to know a whole new group of kids and getting to teach a public speaking course.  Google and Khan Academy have some new updates I get to experience, and the school district is implementing MAPS this school year, which will be a test of my patience level.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, it's pay day today!  I think it should be a school rule that the new school year starts on pay day.  I was able to work enough and save enough to make it through the summer, even though it was really close.  I had to use my credit card and Amber had to help me out earlier in the week.  (I have to remember to pay her back.)

Okay...let's get after 2018-19.  We can't get to summer break 2019 without starting Day 1!

Final Week of Summer Vacation!

The final week brings about reflections - reflections of accomplishments and reflections of things left undone. 

#1 - That dang deck...I'll be working on it today.  I got the floor painted yesterday, and since Cole is with me today, maybe we can pick up another gallon of paint at the local hardware store and knock out the rest of it today.  This was something that I was suppose to get done early in the summer, so it looked nice for the summer guests and pool parties, but it just kept getting pushed back.  So maybe before I return to the classroom in two days, I can get it done.  So I guess this one still has possibility of getting done before the end of the summer.

#2 - I was suppose to lose 30 lbs.  I was suppose to lose this weight last summer too.  Dang it.  I'm very heavy right now...too heavy.  So I legitimately and sincerely need drop some weight, which is not easy for me nor our family members.  I have genetics working against me, but I can do it.  I just have to alter my diet and reduce carbs and portion sizes.  That's also hard for me because I enjoy the feeling of being filled up when I eat.

#3 - Other "around-the-house" projects.  I need to get the siding underneath the deck put back and the paving stones around the pool need to be balanced up.  Those are not easy projects, but they aren't horrible awful projects either.   They may end up being fall projects.

You know...looking back on that list, I think it could have been much worse.  I may actually be able to call this summer successful - yay me!

My First Khan Academy Training Experience Is A Success!

Today I met with a teacher from a neighboring school district to talk Khan Academy, so I consider this my first official event as an ambassador.  And honestly, I probably gained as much from our "get-together" as she did.  I picked her brain for ideas on teaching public speaking, and grabbed a couple of other little things she does in her class that I think could be very beneficial to my students.

I then sent out emails to principal of two other neighboring school districts to let them know I would be willing and available to meet with other teachers in similar fashion - just sit down in front of a computer and dig into thoughts and questions and conversations about ways Khan Academy may be useful to students in their classrooms.

This wasn't a long event today.  I think with drive time back and forth and our little meeting, I was only gone for a couple of hours.  And to be honest, that's the kind of professional development I tend to like...learn something new, make it quick and applicable to something I may be doing in my classroom, and then let me try it out.

I'm really not sure how many "marketing opportunities" Khan Academy is expecting from me, and I'm honestly not interested in setting up some type of elaborate presentation for a large group of people.  Maybe a better fitting title would be Khan Academy Personal Trainer!  (or maybe small group trainer)