I have not been checking in with this blog and finding and linking to new content as I would like. I am afraid that life is happening and I have so much to attend to as a working wife and mother. I am dealing more with the "right now" and less with the "what could be". With 2 boys in middle school, our life is very busy. When I have logged on to the internet, I have found that it is more for an escape than for work right now. I am completely hooked on my iPod and have downloaded several workouts and other self-help podcasts. Now I have to hit the road and exercise. I know it will make me feel better but so does sleeping until 6:15.
I am taking a long look at the direction I wanted to take my class this year and I am not happy with it. I started wanting to dive into authentic research and we have done some meaningful work with graphs and timelines and their functions and uses. In an effort to familiarize my group with the wonderful novel, James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, I have found myself wanting to go into another direction. We started last week and I am finding so many other curricular connections that I believe are more appealing to kids so I think I am going to ride this wave for a little while. If you are a parent of one of my students, please bear with me on this journey.
Today, I am meeting with my colleagues in gifted ed. We have already found Tapped In, an online community building resource that will make collaboration so much easier. We are also moving into wikis and getting the framework for these laid out so our kids can jump in.
Before too long we will be starting the 2nd grade child find procedures that the state requires. I am always curious to find out who will show us some sparkle. The process is tedious but worth it.