
We might still have a little bit of juice left over from summer vacation, so there is still hope for some of our new school year resolutions to still happen, before we get totally caught up in the hamster wheel of day-to-day teaching. In an attempt to commit to my own resolutions, I'd like to publicly share some of them...my to-do list that I hope to make come true this year...so that I can stick to them and encourage you to do the same.

This habit of making time for something in your teaching life might be a thing that takes a minute or two each day--adding word to your word wall every day or two, having a vocabulary moment, reading one more short read aloud, sharing a piece of your own writing. You can force yourself to add this in to morning meeting or in the 5 minutes right after lunch.
It might be about something in your teaching that you've sort of neglected because of all the other things you've had to pay attention to recently. Maybe it's making sure you pay a compliment in every conference. Maybe the active involvement of your minilesson has gotten away from you. Maybe the notes you keep during conferring need a bit of an overhaul. Do whatever you can to get that back!

So, what is that for you? What will you do to nurture the learner in yourself? Maybe you want to rekindle the collegial relationship you used to have with a grade partner or someone. Maybe you're ready to dive into a study group or a new network with colleagues. Or maybe, there's an article or workshop brewing inside of you. (Remember, conference proposals for next November's NCTE Convention are due in January, so you're right on time!) Set a goal now...it's only October.

Let's all do this together in the name of balance, in the name of learning, and in the name of kids!