Monthly Goals Linky Party

My teaching bestie, SpurDog, linked up with I {heart} Recess for her Back to School Monthly Goals linky party. I'm linking up, too!

 

Personal: It's so easy to get preoccupied with work and blogging when I'm home with the kiddos, especially during the school year (after all, we don't exactly leave our work at school, do we?). I want to make a greater effort this year to give my family my undivided attention in the morning before school, in the afternoon when we all get home, and especially during that special time right before the kids go to sleep (when they divulge all the best info and say the cutest stinking things!).

Organization: People at work tease me that I have OCD. I really don't; I just like being organized. Unfortunately, I'm not as organized at home as I am at school. The two kids, dog, and husband may have something to do with it. (Also, my husband prohibited me from bringing home my label maker and using it around the house. I can't imagine why.) 

 This is what I did during Thanksgiving Break last year.

I tend to "let things go" at home during the week when I'm working; I'd like to be better about it this year.

Planning: At the beginning of each school year, I have high hopes for planning each week in advance.

I include this weekly planner in my Teacher Binder. Simple, right?

By around November, however, I get a little lazy, and I stop jotting down my plans. In other words, I wing it. I'd love to be more intentional about planning.

Professional: I attended a week-long workshop on implementing Common Core in the area of English/Language Arts. It is my responsibility to take what I learned back to the staff at my school and help them understand that it is not the big, scary monster that everyone seems to think that it is. 

Students: When I first started teaching, I was accused by a colleague of being "un-nurturing"(is that even a word?). At the time, I was horribly offended. But now that I'm older (and I'd like to think wiser, too!), I see the truth in that statement. While I may have effectively delivered instruction, I was too young to understand the importance of nurturing and loving the little people that sat in my classroom. Becoming a mother has completely changed the way I teach, and I try to treat each child the way I would want my own children to be treated. I hope I'm successful!

Motto: The trainer at our EEA (who also happens to be one of my colleagues and good friends) shared the following quote at our training, and it really resonated with me: "'Tis the good reader that makes the good book." Sometimes we forget that one of our most important responsibilities is to instill in our students a genuine love of reading. 

Now...if I can actually stick to these goals, I'll be impressed! Go link up! Have a great weekend!