Reflection and Goals

 How can it be that it's April?  Does anyone else feel like the first 3 months of 2021 went whizzing by at a quicker pace than you were ready for?  That is not a bad thing....I just can't believe that it's April.  I am ready for the warmer weather that will hopefully be coming. 

This week was spring break and it did not feel like spring to me.  I wore my winter coat every day and ran in layers whenever I ran outside.  

I have been doing lots of my miles outside and I am happy to say that I have been hitting 25 (or more) running miles for the last month.

This week was a pretty low key spring break week.  We did some small things each day but never anything far away.  Today I headed to my mom's house for a visit and I am looking forward to all the Easter celebrations in Illinois this weekend.

Along with my visit at my mom's house, another highlight was a book club meeting on Monday night.  We read the book Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.  It was a good eye-opener for me and I loved discussing the book with such amazing women.  While Emira, the main character,  may not be a hero by definition, I felt like she took some bold steps for herself and I really loved the ending. 

My next book that I've started reading is part of a book club, too:  Bravey by Alexi Pappas.  If you are interested in joining our discussion, let me know.  It starts on Sunday, April 11.

Each day of the school week I read a #classroombookaday to my 5th graders.  My absolute favorite in March was Eyes That Kiss in the Corners.  If you have any reason to read a wonderful picture book,  I encourage you to pick up this one.

In March I had my annual physical and this year I had bloodwork done (haven't had that done since I was pregnant so at least 15 years ago....).   I was really pleased with all of my numbers there.  That doesn't mean that I am going to get lazy and content.  I have some work to do to get better. My workouts were decent during the first quarter of the year but I am going to work on adding in some weight training and abs on a more regular schedule.  

In March Kate and I ran a REAL RACE!!!   It was the Dyersville, IA, Gaelic Gallop 8K.  I am super happy with how well we did.  Finished in 45:55 (9:10 avg pace).  My next race is June 12 (10K) so I'd like to be able to run it in 55 minutes or less.   I think I can train for that.

I am so proud of the first quarter of 2021 and I can't wait to see more great things happen from now until the end of June.  I will check in along the way to share how it's going.

Goals:

Run 25 or more miles each week.

Drink water daily.

Weight train at least 2 x a week.

Do ab work 5 x a week.

Here's to a great April!   It's birthday month for both of my kiddos.  I don't need excuses to celebrate them so I'm sure there will lots of fun things this week.

Feeling Tired at the Same Time as Energized

Today I had the amazing opportunity of attending the Scholastic Reading Summit in Rosemont, IL (near Chicago).  It was everything I had hoped it would be!  I woke to a 3 am alarm and was out the door and headed to Illinois by 4 am.  The drive was uneventful for the most part....rain on and off but that was about it.

I parked easily in the parking garage and took a picture of where I was so that I would be able to find the little black beauty at the end of the day.  Would you believe that as I was snapping the pic of 1B, so was another person who I quickly learned was also a 5th grade teacher heading to the reading summit (Katie).  We immediately started talking and walking as we made our way to the convention center.  By the time we'd made it inside, registration was open.  Check in went smoothly and it was super exciting to get a heavy bag filled with all different books including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (released 20 years ago!!!  YEP.   J.K. Rowling's world of wizardry entered the world of print the same year that I started teaching.) 

The convention center was buzzing but I knew that I wanted to be front and center to see it all so Katie and I found a table near the stage.  Moments later I was able to greet Donalyn Miller and snap a quick selfie with her before the breakfast session kicked off the day. 

The Breakfast Session featured Donalyn Miller and Mr. Schu along with Colby Sharp (whose birthday was today!).  They were sharing snippets and details from The Creativity Project.  Katie was able to get her copy of the book autographed.  

The energy and excitement for reading was A M A Z I N G!  Part of the excitement was because they were giving away some amazing new books but also because they were sharing pieces of The Creativity Project in a way that we could return to our classrooms and add pieces of it to our practices. 

During that short amount of time I had added 5 books to my wishlist:

The Way to Bea

Orphan Island (which I already have)

Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

Drawn Together (which I got to read today---I'll be using it early in September)

The Itchy Book

There was a little time before the main morning session so I headed out to check out the book fair.  I was able to say hello to a teacher idol of mine:  Pernille Ripp.

  

The morning session keynote was Malcolm Mitchell.  While many know him for his career with the New England Patriots, his message was about the magical experience of reading.  

The realization that Malcolm Mitchell had that his success on the football field wasn't matching up with his success in the classroom pushed him to WORK on his reading.

My favorite thing he said today was, "In order for us to be the best person we can possibly be, to grow and succeed, we have to read."

Share the Magic.

Donalyn Miller returned to the stage and shared her family's first experiences with Harry Potter in 1998. 

--Good Can Conquer Evil

--Loyalty Matters

It's not just the magic in Harry Potter.  It's the messages --- how to be a better human.

Entertaining us next was the fashionable and motivational Byron Garrett.

His words were about being wired for success.  

Preparing Young People for a world that does not yet exist.

My takeaway quote from this compelling speaker was, "You nurture the creative spirit even when young people don't know they have it."

I would encourage you to check out his ABC book:

I had gleaned so much from the start of the day.  It was only 10:30 at this point!   I have so much more that I want to share and reflect on but for now I am headed to bed.  

Reading Goals

My reading pile is pretty large but I'm confident that I can finish these by January 5.  What do you think?  Do you have books ready to go?  

The Happy Reader Program begins in January, too.  Even though we won't be back at school until the 5th, start keeping track of your reading minutes as soon as 2015 begins!  I'll be keeping you updated over break on how my reading is going.  You can also find out more about my reading progress by finding me on Goodreads.