Sailing Into Summer

Wow! I'm amazed at how long it's been since I've written a post. That is truly a sign of how hectic the last few weeks have been. The pace at school becomes frenetic as I try to wrap up curriculum, conduct field trips, organize end of year celebrations, not to mention end of year testing .My own two children have had several concerts, recitals, sporting commitments and all in all I feel like I've been tossed and tumbled around on a ship in a storm, clinging on for dear life, praying for calmer waters.

Now that summer is finally here I feel like the storm has subsided and I can begin to process and think thoughts that are my own again and blogging has always helped me with that. Picking up where I left off though has been more difficult than I expected. I feel rusty, struggling to find my voice, my words and stringing them together into something that makes sense is taking longer than it should. It's a good reminder for me that over the next few months our children are going to become academically rusty if we don't keep practicing the skills they have worked so hard to acquire during the last school year.

I can see squalls on the horizon when I tell my kids what I have in store for them. My son considers himself somewhat of a math ninja so keeping math skills sharp will be easy. I am going to have to get creative with reading and writing however and somehow figure out how to incorporate Lego and Skylanders. My daughter will write song lyrics all summer and she will pout about math but we will go head to head about reading, which breaks my heart since I am an avid reader. I'm hoping that I have piqued her interest enough by withholding the Hunger Games trilogy and that she will happily sit and devour them on her tablet. We can live in hope right?

I'm looking forward to launching into my own learning journey this summer too. I want to consciously go beyond my comfort zone for my own personal growth, but I'm not sure how yet. I’ll let the notion percolate and see what opportunities arise. I love that about summer, having the flexibility to change tack and go where the wind takes us. I attended and presented at The Learning Conference 2013 this week and it’s always fun to meet and engage in conversations with new people. I am very excited about attending ISTE for the first time next week and sharing some super aspects of Windows 8. I’m hoping that I will be able to absorb much too and get inspiration for next year. An added bonus will be catching up with some of my Partners in Learning network friends. These people serve as my compass and always steer me in the right direction.

Congratulations all my educator friends for completing another school year and making a difference in the lives of your students. Relax, recuperate and regenerate this summer and may the wind fill your sails!