I’m going to be honest. This post is literally popped into my brain about 5 minutes ago. It wasn’t pre-planned. It wasn’t carefully lined out. It wasn’t something I have been thinking about for weeks.

Instead, this post is completely spontaneous and unfiltered. So, let’s see how this goes.

Times are a little crazy right now. I think we all know this. COVID-19 is ruling our lives and our minds at the moment. It’s the only thing that everyone is talking about. It’s dictating how we think, shop and interact with other humans. It’s making people paranoid and afraid. People are panicked and living in a state of fear. I’m not saying that it isn’t unwarranted, it’s just simply a fact.

And about five minutes ago, I started thinking…The kids are watching us. 

I’m not just talking about my students or my own children, I am talking about all of our students and all of our children. I’m not just talking about myself or other educators, I am talking about all adults. I’m talking about the entire country – the entire world.

All of the kids are watching us right now. They are watching how we react in these times, whether we are calm or panicked. They are watching how we treat each other, whether it is with kindness or selfishness. They are watching how we behavior on social media, whether it is with obsession or reflection.

The kids are watching everything that is happening right now because it is such a monumental moment in history. It’s a situation that most adults have never experienced. Yet, our students, our kids, are experiencing it during a very formative age. This means that the behaviors and attitudes that we model right now can have a lifetime impact on the kids that are around us.

We have to be the examples to them. We have to show them how to be calm in the storm. We have to show them how to treat others with kindness. We have to show them how to carefully reflect and make wise choices. We have to show them that we are all in this together. We have to teach them to be good humans.

I challenge you, as I have challenged myself, to reflect on what our kids are seeing through their eyes as they live through this situation. Because, quite frankly, they are watching everything we do.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And, please, stay kind to one another.

Over the last month, I haven’t written as many blog posts because, well, life has been busy! The first semester of my first year as a Vice Principal ended, the holiday season was upon us and we sold and bought a new house. Life is regularly a bit busy, however, throw in the move of a house (with an 18-month-old) can make things a little crazy. Yet, as so often happens, I find parallels between things that are going on in my personal life with things that are going on in my professional life. As we enter a new semester, I want to share this connection with you.

As I mentioned, my husband and I (plus our daughter, of course) moved houses in December. Yeah, that’s right. We moved houses right before Christmas…at the end of the semester…with an 18-month-old. And guess what? We didn’t hire movers. I’ll try to keep a long story short. Basically, we had a gap day between the time we had to be out of our house and into the new house. This meant that we had to pack up our whole house and put it somewhere for 24 hours until we could move into the new house. We checked with moving companies and they all were charging around $2,000 to move (since it would be two moves in their opinion) and store our belongings for the night. Even if we rented our own truck and stored it in front of our house, the moving cost was still significant because they considered it two moves. So, we enlisted the help of some very good friends and family members. Our family members helped watch our daughter – because, let’s be honest, who can really focus on moving a house with a toddler roaming around? Our friends helped us over a two day period (their weekend!) to move our entire house. And guess what – it even rained during most of the second day, which may not seem strange to you but we live in a desert. As we moved our house and as I watched our friends help us, one phrase kept coming to my mind:

We could not have done this alone.

Honestly, I don’t know how we would have done it without our family and friends. I feel like it would have either been 1.) Impossible, 2.) Expensive and 3.) The greatest test of our marriage ever. It was just a lot of work and there is no way my husband and I could have done it on our own. And that’s where the parallel between my professional and personal life hit me:

Education cannot be done alone. It can’t be an island. It has to be a community, a partnership, and maybe even a family.

If I haven’t convinced you of this yet, then let me give you three reasons why we cannot do this alone and why we have to rely on one other.

Reason #1: We can’t do it alone because…it’s hard.

Education is hard. It’s physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting. For people that have not ever worked in education, it’s hard to understand this. They see all the breaks and the 6.5 hour work day. They don’t see the late nights, the lesson planning and the grading. They don’t feel the tired feet and sore body from standing, walking and bending all day. And, most importantly, they don’t see the emotional struggle when your students struggle or make poor choices. They don’t see the emotional baggage that every educator takes home on a daily basis.

It’s why we can’t do it alone. We need support. We need people to challenge us for lesson plans, to give us ideas and help us when we hit a roadblock. We need people to share the bad days with and offer support when you’re heart is broken for a student. We need people to just be there because, well, it can be really hard sometimes.

Reason #2: We can’t do it alone because…it’s fun.

While my last reason was a bit more serious, this is one of the most important ones – education is fun! I absolutely love what I do and I have loved every role I have had in education. Each role has been fun in its own way, even when it can be challenging.

If you isolate yourself, you can’t share the fun, awesome and amazing things you are doing for your students. It’s not bragging – it’s celebrating! Like I said earlier, education can be very hard…so, it’s incredibly important that we celebrate all the fun that it has to offer.

Reason #3: We can’t do it alone because…we won’t grow.

If we want our students to grow, then we must also be willing to grow ourselves. I truly believe that if educators do not work together, then they will not grow and improve as much as they could. In turn, neither will their students. Some of the greatest growth I have had as an educator is working with educators in my districts but, also with educators across the country through social media. These educators have inspired and challenged me to be a better teacher and leader. They constantly make me think about what I am doing and they are my go-to for questions and advice.

We will not grow on our own. It has to be done together.

As we start a new semester, I challenge each of you to find a way that you will work together with other educators. Whether it’s department meetings, social media, or digital conversations on Marco Polo – find a way to work with one another, support each other and grow.

After all, we can’t do it alone…at least if we want to do it right.

The Problem of Time

I’ve always prided myself on being an excellent manager of my time. I understand which obligations are most important, whether personally or professionally, and how I can ensure that I accomplish those tasks first. I’ve utilized Google Calendar to manage my personal and professional deadlines. I’ve utilized Google Keep to store my ideas and create to-do lists. I’ve utlized Google Calendar to create lesson plans and daily tasks to ensure that I complete all of my lesson plans and materials before the next week. Yet, even with all of those time management skills and tools, I’ve found it difficult to keep up with some of the things that I want to do professionally, particularly when it comes to blogging or my Innovator project, BoostEDU.

Recently, I was starting to feel like there were not enough hours in the day to accomplish all of the things that I want to accomplish. In relation to my personal life, I feel like I have done a (mostly) good job of disconnecting from work when I get home so that I can put on my “mom” and “wife” hat on and be present with my family. Professionally, I feel like I have done a great job of creating engaging lesson plans for my students and learning about the new grade level of math in which I am working. However, there was another part of my life that had been suffering- my side projects.

I Heart EDU and BoostEDU have become a great part of me. These side projects are close to my heart and have inspired me to continue doing what I am doing as an educator. Unfortunately, this is the area that suffers because my personal life (wife, mom, daughter, Christian, etc.) and professional life (math teacher, tech support, etc.) are higher on my to-do list. This will never change. Those two aspects of my life have to be first because they are more important. It doesn’t discount the importance of the other, but it does order it from least to greatest.

Encountering Road Blocks

Then I read a book by Rachel Hollis, Girl, Wash Your Face that really resonated with me. In fact, the following quote, in particular, hit home:

“My success has a lot to do with waking up early, being the hardest-working person in the room, asking for help, being able to fail over and over again, and working constantly to improve both myself and my brand. But plenty of people do those things and don’t experience the kind of success I have. You want to know what it is? Why I believe I’m the one writing this book right now when people who’ve tried to do exactly the same things I have haven’t succeeded? It’s simple, actually. It’s not about talent, skill, money, or connections. It’s because when they went after their dreams and came up against a roadblock, when they experienced rejection, or when someone or something told them no . . . they listened. I am successful because I refused to take no for an answer. I am successful because I have never once believed my dreams were someone else’s to manage. That’s the incredible part about your dreams: nobody gets to tell you how big they can be.”

Personally, I really don’t care about being the most successful in the room but I do want to be a person that works hard for their passions. So, I felt like this very much applied to me because I had let blogging take a step back and hadn’t even started my 4 C’s Self-Assessment for BoostEDU. Not for any particular reason, except for feeling like I didn’t have the time. I came up against a roadblock and…I just let it happen.

The Five Hour Challenge

Even after I read this book, I felt at a loss for how I could combat this feeling of “not enough time”. I’ve always had enough time in the day but I needed to find my “new normal” as a working mom. Fortunately, after I read Rachel Hollis’ first book, her second book, Girl, Stop Apologizing, was released and she had this idea to share:

What time do you need to be up in the morning? Now subtract an hour… that’s what time you should actually be up in the morning. Some people think my early morning wake ups are kind of crazy. But if I don’t wake up before everyone else, then I wake up in chaos and I carry that with me throughout the day. Time management for working moms is all about finding extra time and that might mean you sacrifice a little sleep.

Could an extra hour in my day be the answer? Could I really wake up early in the morning and immediately jump into working on my side projects? It was an interesting but intimidating idea. However, I felt like I didn’t have much to lose since my side projects had considerably slowed down in the previous months.

So, here is the challenge I gave myself:

For an entire month, I would wake up at 4:30 AM and take the first hour of my day to immediately start work on my side projects – my passion projects.

Instead of laying in bed for 15-30 minutes and checking social media, I would get up and get going. I would start working, drink an entire glass of water and have breakfast. (Side note: This challenge only applies to weekdays. I mean, come on, I’m only human.) By doing this, I would gain five hours a week in time to work on these passion projects that I had sidelined over the last few months.

And…guess what? I’ve been going strong for two weeks!

Positive Outcomes

Waking up early has had several expected and unexpected outcomes. Here are just a few things I have noticed:

• I’ve been able to make significant progress on BoostEDU’s 4 C’s Self-Assessment.
• I’ve been able to blog once a week.
• I have drank more water and eaten a better breakfast.
• I’ve found myself to have more energy throughout the day.
• I have been less stressed and more patient.
• I’ve been able to better disconnect from work when I get home.

It’s amazing how much I have been able to accomplish in five hours per week. All of these outcomes have been game changers for me. I have still been able to put my personal and professional life first but, I have also been able to work on my passion projects. I haven’t felt more balanced…but I have felt more centered which I believe may be more important.

I’m truly excited to see how these early mornings will continue to affect me throughout the next three weeks. And, to be quite honest, I have a feeling that this “early morning” routine will go on quite a bit longer than I originally anticipated.

Are you ready to take the five hour challenge? If so, share how you would utilize these five hours in your life!

One year ago, I set a goal for myself.  It is a goal that has challenged and pushed me more than any other goal I have ever set.  It is a goal that has taken time, planning, and dedication.  What was this goal?  It was simple:

I will blog once a week for an entire year.

Although that statement sounds simple, there is a lot of work and effort that went into it.  However, it has been one of the most beneficial experiences of my career.  It has challenged me to share ]resources and ideas with other educators.  It has challenged me to create new lessons, activities, and projects for my students.  It has challenged me to be self-reflective on my teaching practices and openly transparent with other educators.  It has challenged me in more than I can count – and I don’t regret it for a minute.

Although this year is nearly over, I plan to continue with this goal throughout the next year.  Every week that I blog, it becomes easier and more beneficial.  So…here is my challenge to you – if you haven’t already created a blog, it’s time!

Three Simple Steps to Begin Blogging

#1: Select a format for your blog.

Before you begin blogging, it is important for you to determine the format for your blog.  Did you know that blogging can extend beyond a traditional website blog post?  These days, blogging could include any of the following:

• Traditional Blog Post – A blog post that is written on a website and/or blogging platform.
• Microblogs – Mini-blog post with short passages and more pictures.
• Podcast – An audio file that is made available online.
• Vlogs – A video blog.

Although there are many more ways you could share your ideas online, these are a few to get you started.  A blog does not have to be traditional – it can be anything you want!

#2: Discover the vision for your blog.

Even before your first blog post, itis important to determine the vision and goal of your blog.  It might be helpful to ask these questions:

• What is your intention and purpose of blogging?
• Who is your targeted audience?
• What topics will you be writing about?

For myself, I wanted my blog to be about education and I did not want to limit myself to any particular subject.  Originally, my blog was called “My Math Heart” but that limited me to only sharing about Math.  Pretty quickly, I changed it to I Heart EDU which allowed me to write about anything that related to education without confusing my audience and/or pigeonholing myself into a specific domain.  As you start to discover your vision for your blog, review those three questions to help you narrow your focus.

#3: Create a blogging goal.

Although I started blogging several years ago, I was not a consistent blogger until the last year.  I could give you a million reasons why I was not blogging regularly but none of them are very good.  For me, I needed a “blogging goal”.  I am an extremely goal oriented person.  If I set a goal for myself, then I will do everything within my physical power to meet that goal.  While you might not be quite this goal-oriented, I still believe that creating a goal creates a sense of accountability – even if it is just with yourself.

The blogging goal could be anything – once a week, biweekly, monthly, etc.  There is no limit, just create a goal and do your best to stick with it!

#4: Share via social media

Once your blog is created, I encourage you to share it on social media.  One reason I fell in love with blogging was due to the feedback I was receiving from educators.  I loved hearing from these educators and starting conversations on how to improve our teaching practices.  It connected me with other educators all over the world who have inspired me in numerous ways.

Pro-Tips for Blogging

While the above steps will help you get your blog started, I have created a few pro-tips to assist you:

• Create a Google Keep list to store any ideas for future blog posts.  This will help you have ideas for future blog posts without losing good ideas or feeling rushed to meet your blogging goal.
• Instead of typing, use the “Voice Record” feature on Google Docs to “record” your ideas via voice text.  This is a great way to get your ideas out, rather than succumbing to writer’s block.  Talk about your blog post, then go back and clean it up into a real blog post.
• Find co-authors to help you run your blog.  If you feel like running a blog on your own is intimidating, it might be a good idea to find some educators that could help run the blog with you.  By doing this, the workload is shared between multiple people and will allow multiple viewpoints.
• Schedule time in your calendar to blog.  If you find yourself struggling with blogging, it might be beneficial to schedule time in Google Calendar (or whatever calendar method you use) to blog.  You could block out an hour every Wednesday or two hours on a Saturday morning – just find time in your schedule where you can consistently create your posts.

Blogging is essential for educators.  It creates opportunities to learn, share, and reflect with educators all over the world.  Yes, it can be a lot of work and can seem very intimidating but is completely worth it.  Just go for it!

As always, I love hearing from other educators on their thoughts on this blog post.  Do you write a blog?  What are some of the steps you took to write your blog and/or any pro-tips to help other educators?

Share in the comments below!

Nearly four years ago, I created my first blog about education.  I had the great intention of writing regularly and sharing about my classroom.  Then, life happened – new marriage, new house, new job, graduate school, etc.  It was simply one of those crazy times of life and my brain was not in the right space for writing on a regular basis.  So, my blog sat out in the internet universe for several years with about ten posts, zero comments, and no direction.

It wasn’t until about a year ago that I decided to refresh my blog and make a commitment to writing.  I realized that there was so much that I wanted to share and reflect upon from my classroom experiences.  However, I wanted to hear from other teachers when I wrote my posts.  After all, who wants to talk to an empty room?  An empty room will not give you encouragement, ideas for improvement, or critique.  Thankfully, I quickly realized that Twitter was an excellent way to share my blog posts and open dialogue among teachers across the world.  (Don’t worry, I won’t go into depth about my love affair with Twitter again!)

As the goal-setting nerd that I am, I set a “blogging goal”:

I will blog once a week for one year.

At this point, I can happily say that I have kept to this goal an it is a goal I plan to continue into the next year.  Although, sometimes I am cutting it close…As you can tell since I am writing this post at 11’clock on a Saturday night.  As always, I want to be completely transparent.  Blogging is not always easy.  Sometimes it is hard and I don’t have the motivation to write.  Writer’s block is a real thing and, as they say, the struggle is real.  Even though it is difficult, I have found that there is so much benefit into blogging as an educator.  In fact, it might even be essential to educators to continue to grow professionally.

Here are my four reasons why blogging is essential for educators to grow:

Four Reasons Blogging is Essential for Educator Growth

#1: Learn

I would classify my blog posts into three categories: Classroom Resources, Educational Technology Tutorials, and Personal Reflections.  In the first two categories, I tend to create resources or tutorials for teachers to use and/or learn.  For these blog posts, I try to read blogs, conduct research on the topic, and then begin the writing process.  As an educator, I have found that this has helped me to learn and grow.  As an example, when I created our Statistical Research Project, I spent time researching statistics and how surveys are conducted.  I researched lesson design by incorporating HyperDocs, SmashboardEDU, and design thinking.  As I began building these resources, I found myself referring to other lessons and examples, in order to create a student-driven project.

Although I was creating something for my students, I was also creating something that I hoped would benefit other teachers once I shared it on my blog.  Therefore, I spent quite a bit of time reading, researching, and learning about the product I was creating so that I could learn and share that knowledge with others.  One of the greatest benefits of blogging is creating learning opportunities for yourself and other teachers.

#2: Reflect

The initial reason I began blogging was to reflect upon my teaching practices.  I truly believe that this is one of the most important practices for educators.  If we do not reflect on our classroom, lessons, and students, how can we ever meet the individual needs of our students?  How can we grow?

When I share lessons that I have done in my classroom, I tend to follow a specific format:

• General Info: What is the lesson?  How was used in the classroom?
• Strengths: What worked?  How did it benefit students?
• Recommendations: What didn’t work?  How can it be improved for future students?

Through this process of reflection, I have found myself revising lessons, activities, and projects.  I have found myself discovering ways to improve instruction, increase collaboration, and promote student agency.  It will never be perfect but it will continue to be refined and improved to support student learning.

I encourage you – be reflective and transparent, find your strengths, and areas of improvement.  You’ll grow as an educator and your students will grow as learners.

#3: Share

Personally, I feel like the first two reasons to blog (Learn and Reflect) are those “duh” reasons.  We all know it will help us grow by continuing to learn and reflect on our practices.  However, I have found that this third reason is one that is often over looked but extremely important.

There are amazing educators in our world.  It is a world filled with phenomenal and passionate educators who want to support student learning.  Yet…How often do these educators share what they are doing in their classrooms?  How often do they give resources to other teachers on a site, district, or worldwide level?

If you are reading this blog, you are one of those educators that are passionate about what they do.  After all, why else would you be reading the crazy ramblings of middle school math teacher?  So, if you are one of these educators, I am going to lay down some harsh truth.  Some truth that I heard a year ago that cut deeply.

If you aren’t sharing what you are doing in your classroom, then you are doing a disservice to educators and students all over the world.

Ouch.  Kind of hurts, right?  I think it hurts because we know it’s true.  We know that we have ideas to share, whether it is to offer support or receive feedback, but we are cautious about putting ourselves out there.  It can be scary, maybe even terrifying.  But you have to do it.  You have amazing ideas rattling around in your brain, so don’t let them get stuck there.  Share your thoughts, lessons, projects, tutorials, and any resources that can support teachers and students.  It’s of the utmost importance to create a positive impact not only in your classroom but in the world.

#4: Connect

If you begin to blog regularly, you will find that you begin to form connections with teachers all over the world.  These teachers will offer words of encouragement, ideas for improvement, and sometimes critique.  You will begin to form a Profesional Learning Network (PLN) of educators that are passionate about education and supporting students.  These individuals will help you to grow – both personally and professionally.

Getting Started with Blogging

I hope that this post has inspired you to begin blogging and sharing.  Like I said, it is not always easy but I truly believe that you will find it to be beneficial once you get going.

Here are a few quick tips on getting started:

1. Create a Blog
   • WordPress, Blogger, etc.  It doesn’t need to be fancy – just write!
2. Set a Goal
   • What is your “blogging goal”?  How often will you write?
3. Write a Post
   • Start writing, include pictures, and let your passion and personality shine.
4. Share on Twitter/Social Media
   • Share on Twitter and Social Media – you don’t want to be talking to an empty room.

As you get going with blogging, feel free to reach out for questions and tag me in your blog posts that you share on Twitter.  I would love to read what you are writing and grow from you!

It’s summer, summer, summertime!

I hope that all of you have been enjoying your summer vacation.  Mine feels like it just started and that the ending is right around the corner.  Whenever summer vacation comes around, I know that I have to find ways to stay current and prepare for the upcoming school year.  Below, I am sharing with you five ways that I will be preparing for the upcoming school year.

#1: Read for PD

I have always been a reader.  On a regular year, it has not been uncommon for me to read 30-50 books.  However, most of those books have been for fun.  There’s nothing wrong with that but, over the last year, I have challenged myself to widen my horizons.  Specifically, I have tried to read at least one professional development book per month over the last year.  And…guess what?  I did it!

Yet…can I admit something?  For the sake of transparency, I will admit that reading professional development books can be a challenge to me.  Mostly because my mind is always going and I have a hard time sitting and slowing down.  Even though it is hard to slow down or my schedule is busy, I have found that reading professional development books have challenged me to do more in my classroom, create better learning experiences for students, and grow as a leader.

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, here are a few of my favorite books that I read this school year:

• Kids Deserve It by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome
• Dive Into Inquiry: Amplifying Learning and Empowering Student Voice by Trevor MacKenzie
• The 20Time Project: How Educators Can Launch Google’s Formula for Future-Ready Innovation by Kevin Brookhouser
• The HyperDoc Handbook: Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis

So, get your read on!

#2: Develop a PLN on Twitter

Okay, I know what you are thinking…”Is she really talking about Twitter again?”  Yes – yes, I am.  As I’ve mentioned before, I fell down the Twitter rabbit hole last September and I am a better educator because of it.  Join Twitter – just do it.  Start making connections, join some Twitter chats, and grow professionally.  I have developed an amazing PLN this school year and I cannot even imagine where I would be, both personally and professionally, without them.  I always have someone to collaborate with and bounce ideas off.  They challenge me to grow and take chances.

If you’re interested in participating in some Twitter chats, I encourage you to check out 19 Education Twitter Chats Worth Your Time by ISTE.  It gives you a great starting point for getting going with Twitter chats.

#3: Go to Conferences and Get Involved

If you have the opportunity this summer, I highly encourage you to attend a summit, edcamp, or any type of conference where you can learn and grow.  Since I am very much into educational technology, I would recommend checking out the EdTechTeam summits and bootcamps and the CUE Rockstar events.   Even if these are sold out, I highly recommend that you try to make it to one of their events during the school year.  Also, check out Edcamps which are free, participant-driven conferences for professional development.

Or…Let’s say that you can’t find anything local.  Why not host your own mini-conference and/or EdTech Bootcamp?  We did this at my site during the school year and it was a great success.  It’s something that could easily be done during the summer!  Read more about it here.

Finally, I encourage you to get involved with presenting and sharing resources.  Did you know that you can attend many summits and events for free simply by applying to present?  If you are accepted, you will usually receive a free registration.  Not only will you get to practice your presenting skills but you will also develop relationships with other passionate educators.

#4: Blog and Reflect

Blogging is hard – but it is so good for you.  One of my goals this year has been to blog once a week.  Sometimes it is a challenge and I get major writer’s block.  However, I have found that blogging is an excellent way to share and reflect on my teaching practices.  In fact, it has become something that I love to do, even when it is difficult.

For myself, I have my own domain, hosting through InMotion, and I use WordPress as my blogging platform.  If this seems complicated, start out simple.  Use something like Blogger or WordPress where they will manage everything on the back end for you.  You will have a website URL such as “myblog.blogspot.com” but it is a free and easy way to get started.  Then, set yourself a goal.  How often do you want to blog to share and reflect?  Once a month, once a week?  It’s up to you!  Just give it a try because I know that there are some amazing educators that have a lot to share with the world.

#5: Rest, rest, and rest!

Rest?  What’s that?!  One of my greatest weaknesses in life is that I am terrible with work-life balance.  I have been very encouraged by some of my PLN to learn how to slow down and take a break.  Honestly – I’m terrible at it.  And, I think I’m not alone in this because I know many other educators that are just like me.  However, it is so important to rest and let your brain restart.

As an example, last Sunday I promised myself that I would not do any work.  No blogging, no lesson planning, no Google Innovator project – nothing.  Well, except for just a little bit of tweeting but it wasn’t work… My outcome?  I was so rested on Monday morning.  I was able to get a lot done on several projects because my brain had time to rest and restart.

So, take some time for yourself.   Read a book for fun.  Go on vacation.  Binge watch a TV show.  Spend time with family.  Just take some time to rest.

How are you preparing for the upcoming school year?  I would love to hear your ideas for staying current in education but also taking a break.  Share with us in the comments below!