Personal: Last year for Christmas, my husband and I rescued a beautiful 6 month old lab. She is my baby! During the winter we didn't get out much but as the weather warmed up, we started going for walks on the weekends. I wasn't as good about fitting them in during the week so my goal for this school year is to get out early enough to take her for a good long walk. We live right next to a public trail that is perfect for dog walking. Pup has so much fun exploring and meeting other doggies. 

Organization: My desk tends to be a dumping ground for anything and everything. I hate filing and always say "I'll do it tomorrow" and then never get to it. Leaving my desk a mess at the end of the day means having just one more thing to do tomorrow. When I open my door and see my desk covered, I groan out loud and feel grumpy - not a good way to start the day. Best way to take care of this? Clean my desk before I leave!

Planning: This is my second year teaching fourth grade and I am feeling a little more confident about teaching CCSS. Last year I felt like I spent all my time planning but there were few lessons that I was really excited about and think that is because I was always planning for the next day. My units were not as cohesive as I wanted and my written lesson plans were helpful at the time but looking back now, they could be clearer. My goal for this year is to stay ahead of my planning and write more detailed plans.

Professional: This past spring I started taking classes for a masters degree in literacy with a concentration in ESL. I took one class this summer and have signed up for two more this fall. My goal is to take two more during the winter semester. It is going to be a busy year but I am excited!

Students: As of right now, I am team teaching with another fourth grade teacher. She is going to teach our kiddos math and I am going to teach reading. My goal is to instill a love of reading in my students. The past two years I have used Daily 5 to design my literacy block and I love it! My students love the choice and I love the independence my student develop. They ask for more time to read and they love sharing about their books.

Motto: I love giving my students choices in their activities and projects. I don't like when students ask if they have to do something so my motto is You can always do more, but you can never do less. In other words, they can do what I have asked of them, go above and beyond what I have asked, or do it again if they try to do less.

What are your goals for the 2014 - 2015 school year?