A Little Motivation for a Monday

Okay, so I am motivated today!  This will be my third week of summer vacation. My daughter was in a theater performance that kept us pretty busy the first week, and last week my husband was also on vacation, so we enjoyed ourselves around town both as a couple and as a family.  That was very nice, but it is time to mix some business with pleasure.  The weather in San Diego has been all over the place so far, too! Weird! My summer is pretty short, and my current hole is pretty deep (so to speak)!  I did spend one day in my classroom last week, cleaning up some piles and putting stuff away, but I need to spend more time in there AND here at home.

So today my goal was to clean off my desk.  I wish I had taken a "before" picture so you could really see what a disaster I had to deal with; but doesn't it look nice now? I even detailed my computer--looks like brand new!  I went through several piles of papers and put things in their place--including a LARGE stack of school work that I reorganized because I want to put them into binders.  Now I just need to decide how to subdivide those binders!

I also am the "keeper" of a few iPads that will be shared with my team when we go back to school.  The devices are "hand-me-downs" from the 5th grade team, who has one-to-one devices all day long.  Having recently received a MS in Educational Technology, I am a believer in one-to-one and using them in a variety of ways through the school day, but I will take my small group set once a week and smile. That is likely all we will get for quite some time.  I am not jealous!  Anyway, the devices are loaded with apps that are not necessarily appropriate for my primary students, so I have previewed their content and am prepared to make recommendations on what needs to be added and removed when we return.  I have also been scouring my brain, Pinterest, and previous coursework to find and develop lessons to use right away with my kiddos.  In the process, I have decided to write a grant on Donor's Choose to request another set of six (then I will have one-to-three; ideally, I'd love to have 2 students per iPad).  I have not finished my request but I am developing my proposal and I'll share when I finish.  In the meantime, I am open to any suggestions you may have as to lessons, apps, or even management with second graders.

I also finished a smutty romance novel (what else is summer for!), lounged by the pool for a bit, and enjoyed a sunset power walk in Balboa Park.  All in all, I'd say it was a productive day!