My Summer Read

Several years ago I heard about Ron Clark on The Oprah Winfrey Show. I saw the movie with Matthew Perry and was touched. I read The Essential 55 which was about the rules and expectations in his classroom. This summer I saw a list of the 25 top summer reads for teachers. I pulled several up on Amazon (love that they let you read pieces of the books) and finally pulled up The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark. As I read through the Amazon sneak peek I found myself laughing and tearing up all at the same time and decided I really wanted to read the whole book. I considered ordering the electronic version and reading it on my iPad but somehow I knew this was going to be a book I wanted to share with my co-workers and friends. Monday I got my book in the mail and I'm loving it. I'm just wondering if anyone had read the book or visited the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta? (click on the title above to get a sneak peek)

Vacation Mode

Such a weird feeling this summer. Normally I'm all over the blogs, making things, shopping, etc and basically getting ready for next school year. This summer, I'm totally in vacation mode. Don't get me wrong, I have done a little shopping for school but overall, I can't get motivated. I think this past school year took so much out of me that I'm still recovering. I feel a little guilty but at the same time it feels good. I took a mini vacation this weekend to the Keys with my family mostly because we wanted cuban food from El Siboney, cafe con leche from 5 Brothers' Grocery and sandals from Kino. Next week we will be heading to our favorite resort just about an hour down the road at the Hyatt Coconut Plantation. I guess after that I will have to kick it into high gear because I head back to work July 31st.

Summer

So I guess I'm going to have to come the the realization that I'm a summer blogger. It seems like once school starts, my life spins out of control and blogging goes on the back burner. As is, I've been out of school for a month and I'm just now coming back. Not gonna lie, it was a rough year. I had great kids but they just didn't mesh so I was constantly on my toes and putting out fires. I love each and every one of them individually but as a group they were a hand full.

This past year also involved many changes. This was our first year with Common Core, the new observation process that the state of FL has mandated and new administration. Our new administration was definitely the biggest blessing. Our school finally became a positive place to be and work. Don't get me wrong, kids have always come first but for the first time in the 15 years that I've been there, the teachers and faculty were given value and a voice. We were appreciated for what we do and the results that we get.

So now that I'm back to blogging, I'm getting ready to take a vacation which is much needed. Hopefully, it will keep me motivated to keep blogging. It will definitely give me a chance to check out some new Target Dollar Spots. I haven't found much around here yet other than eraser dice which I thought would be great because they won't be as loud. lol Hopefully, the new stuff will be coming out soon.