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.

Last week, I started a new position as Vice Principal of a middle school in my district. I’m so excited to begin this journey and feel blessed to be working with some amazing individuals. As I move into this role, I’ve been reflecting on all of the experiences that have led up to this opportunity. I’ve been thinking about the educators, administrators and co-workers that have played an instrumental role in my professional life. I’ve been thinking about the ways in which they have guided me, the conversations they have had with me, and how they challenged me to do more as an educator. Most importantly, I’ve been constantly reflecting on how I can be that leader that impacts other educators.

Yet, as I was contemplating these things, I came to this (somewhat obvious) realization:

It was never one, single moment that has led me here – but a million little things.

As I reflect on this sentence, I realize that it’s not one conversation I have had with other educators, administrators, or mentors. It wasn’t a big, grand moment where I was encouraged to do something that was completely life-changing. It was the small moments. The conversations, the encouragement, and the mentorship over an extended period of time. Yet, in the end, the million little things have certainly led to some life-changing experiences.

It’s the little moment where, as a high school student, I was encouraged to write because my teacher saw talent in my writing. It’s that little moment that led, ultimately, to the creation of this blog.

It’s the little moment where I was encouraged to apply to my current district, during a time in which I was unsure if I truly wanted to be in education after some difficult situations as a young teacher. It’s that little moment that opened so many doors and solidified my passion for education.

It’s the little moment where I was encouraged, as a new teacher, to present at a professional development day in our district. It’s that little moment that pushed me out of my comfort zone and started my journey in presenting and training teachers.

It’s the little moment where a former administrator always led every conversation with “do what’s best for kids”. It’s that little moment that has framed every student learning experience and conversation that I have had within education.

It’s the little moment where an administrator bought a book that introduced to me to the world of Twitter. It’s that little moment which has connected me to the educational world on a global level, which ultimately led to amazing opportunities (Google Trainer, Google Innovator, BoostEDU, etc.)

It’s the little moment of joining summer school and having deep conversations about education with excited, passionate professionals. It’s that little moment that completely redefined how I taught in my classroom.

It’s the million, little conversations between a mentor about next steps, future paths and leadership. It’s that little moment that led me to applying for my current position.

I could write a dozen more “little moments” and how they shaped who I am and the trajectory of my career. There are so many people that I am thankful for and how they have supported me over the years. I’m certainly not perfect and I have had a lot of learning experiences along the way but I appreciate every little moment.

Finally, I want to take those little moments and ask myself this question:

How can I provide little, impactful moments for the educators that I will be working with this year?

As we go into this year, I want to constantly reflect on who I am and how I can be a servant to others. I want to reflect on how I can help grow other educators and leaders around me. I hope I can do that. I hope I can be that person.

Share your “little moments” or the way you inspire others in the comments below!

While attending ISTE this week, my new EdTech-y friend, Eduardo Rivera, asked me why I write this blog for educators. As I shared my answers with him, I realized that this might be an important blog post to share. Often times, I think people wonder about the “why” of what you do. What are the intentions for what you do? What is the motive behind it?

I Heart EDU is my passion project. It’s one of my favorite things I have done in education. And this…this is why I do it:

Reason #1: Share free resources.

My first reason for starting I Heart EDU was simple – I just wanted to share free resources with other teachers. I felt like I had created some quality lessons, activities, projects and games that other teachers might find valuable. I felt like I had something to share.

So I did.

Over the years, I have published 177 blog posts. The majority of these posts contain resources that teachers can easily and quickly make a copy – then use it in their own classroom! Everything that I share is free. I do not make any money on this blog – the resources aren’t for sale and I don’t have ads on my site.

Truthfully, my number one reason for this blog is to help other educators by sharing my resources. I want to help other educators grow and show them the power of what they can create too.

Reason #2: Reflect on my educational practices.

As educators, it is critical that we reflect on our educational practices – regardless of our role in education. Whether you are a teacher, administrator, or instructional coach, we can all grow through self-reflection.

I’ve written several blog posts over the years where I discuss a lesson, activity or project that I have done in my classroom AND share what worked, what didn’t work and how it could be improved for the next time. In addition to this, I have also taken the time to reflect on my pedagogy and classroom management. It’s important to take a hard look at who we are as educators and how we can improve for our students.

Reason #3: Creating an open and transparent dialogue.

Honestly, I think that this reason is one of my favorite reasons for why I blog. Sometimes I worry that education is not very transparent. I worry that everyone is trying to show how they are the perfect educator and that they rarely encounter struggles.

Simply put, this not true.

Every educator struggles with the day-to-day job of being in this field. It’s a wonderful profession but it is not easy. It’s vital that we take the time to share these struggles with each other in order to open dialogue. Without open dialogue among educators, it’s difficult to grow as an educator and improve our practices.

I’ve had so many conversations where teachers assume that I never encounter struggles in my classroom or my educational practice. The moment I share my struggles…other teachers are immediately put at ease. They realize there are others like them and they feel comforted.

Be open. Be transparent. Share your story – the good and the bad.

Finally, I want to address one other question I was asked multiple times while I attended ISTE.

Will you keep blogging while you are an administrator?

Of course. My role change does not change my desire to share resources, reflect on my educational practices or to create an open dialogue. I understand things will change. Life may get busier. However, if you know me, then you know that I have an insane amount of passion and discipline when it comes to any task or goal that I assign myself.

I will still continue to share and create resources for teachers. I will continue to reflect on my educational practices – just with a slight tweak with an administrative point of view. And, more importantly, I promise that I will continue to write with openness and transparency that will show educators that there are others that struggle with the same things that they do.

I Heart EDU is my passion project – and it’s here to stay.

Do you blog? If so, share the motive and intention behind your blog in the comments below!

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!

Work-life balance….well, it’s always been a work in progress for me. Recently, I’ve found that my work-life balance is a bit worse than it was during the previous year. Right now, I am busy – just, super busy. Now this isn’t a complaint – I am loving every single second of my “busy-ness” but it does cause me to reflect on how effectively I am managing my work and personal life.

Last week, my friend, Mari Venturino, started a challenge called #MyRelaxing5 where she challenged us to find five things to help us relax during the week. It was perfect timing and the perfect challenge! This challenge has caused me to reflect on the things that I find relaxing and how to incorporate them into everyday life. My goal is to try to do at least one thing off my #MyRelaxing5 list.

Let’s get started!

1.) Family

The first thing on my list is to spend quality time with my family. I want to truly spend time enjoying their company and not letting life pass us by. As I look at my daughter, I constantly reflect on how quickly she is growing up and how I don’t want to miss a moment. Yes, I do want her to see me work hard and be successful – but I want her to know that I love her and that the time I spend with her is more important than anything else.

If there is one #MyRelaxing5 item I can do per day – this is it! And, quite frankly, it is the most important one.

Over the last few years, I’ve really gotten the travel bug. Whether it’s local or across the country, I have really enjoyed traveling and have found it to be a great way to get away. Personally, my favorite way to travel is in our trailer. It’s our home away from home!

We’ve been really blessed to be able to travel quite a bit in our trailer. We’ve taken it everywhere from the mountains, to the beach, and to the desert. We have spent time in San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Big Bear, Buellton, Palm Springs, and so many more! This next year, we are hoping to take a trip to Zion (as our big trip) and then back to some of our favorite locations.

One of the greatest things about traveling in our RV is that the internet tends to be super sketchy. This is a great way to force us to disconnect and spent time as a family.

3.) Getting Out

If you know me, you know that I am not a person that sits still. I love to be out and about. I love adventures and doing things!

For one of my #MyRelaxing5, I want to continue to go places and have fun with family and friends. This could be anything from going to the park, hiking, shopping, movies, local events, etc. Just get out and disconnect!

4.) Go for a Walk

One of my favorite things to do after work is going on a walk with my husband, daughter, and our doberman, Skelly. During this time of year, we don’t get to go on as many walks because it tends to be dark by the time my husband gets home. However, it is a great way to get some fresh air, exercise, and time to disconnect.

5.) Miscellaneous Fun

Other things that I love to do to disconnect are watch TV, read, and play video games. With a six-month-old, I don’t get quite as much time to do that as I used to – but that’s okay! One thing my husband and I try to do is spend some time watching TV at the end of the day. It might be an episode of a TV show or maybe even a movie, but it’s a great way to spend time together and get our brains off all the things that we have going on in our lives.

What are your #MyRelaxing5? How do you disconnect from work and get refreshed? Share in the comments below!

Every person, whether an educator or not, experiences a form of pressure throughout their life. Pressure, as defined, can be:

• The burden of physical or mental distress.
• The constraint of circumstance: the weight of social or economic imposition.
• The stress or urgency of matters demanding attention.

While all of these definitions play a part in our lives, I have found the last definition to be the one that is most applicable to my life. Yet, as I reflected on this form of pressure, I realized that this pressure is something that I place on myself. It’s something that is occurring internally, rather than externally.

It’s at this point that I realized there are two forms of pressure: internal and external. Internal pressure is the stress that we place on ourselves based on our own goals and ambitions. External pressure is the stress that is placed on us by other people to meet a set of expectations.

As educators, I think we often feel the stress or urgency (pressure) of performing the best for our students, their parents, our fellow teachers and administrators, the district office, or even, at times, on a worldwide level. It’s a pressure that, at times, can be all-consuming. It’s a pressure that cannot escape our minds on nights and weekends. It’s something we think about on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

But…is that an internal or external pressure? Is it something we are placing on ourselves? Or something that is being placed on us? The answer to this question will vary by person since everyone has their own personalities, ambitions, and working environments. For myself, I know that a large portion of the pressure I feel in my life is due to myself. I place the pressure on myself to try to be the perfect teacher – which is an impossible task since perfection is unattainable.

I’ve always tried to be transparent in my blog posts, so I thought I would share that I have recently found the weight of internal pressure to be a bit heavy. I have felt the pressure to have the perfect lesson plans that truly engage every student. I have felt the pressure to have the perfect classroom that has flexible seating and an engaging learning space. I have felt the pressure to maintain a creative and educational blog. I have felt the pressure to develop BoostEDU and support educators with technology integration. These are just a few pressures that I feel on a daily basis, this list could most certainly go on and on.

Yet with all these internal pressures, I keep hearing these two words in my mind: Be still. These two words come from a Bible verse and have always been present in my mind when I feel my brain spinning.

Slow down, be present and be still. All good things will come to pass with time.

As an A-type personality educator, I know that the internal pressures will always heavily upon me because…well, I simply love what I do. However, it’s important for me to reflect that the pressure that exists is something I am placing on myself. I have to learn how to maintain that passion and excitement – but also how to control it and not let it overwhelm me. I also have to understand that my expectations of myself far exceed the expectations that others have for me and that, every once in awhile, I have to give myself a break.

What kind of pressure do you feel in your life? Internal or external? How do you cope with these pressures?

I’ve had this blog post in the back of my mind for nearly year. Yep, that’s right. I have been mulling over a blog post for a year. This may sound crazy to you but it tells you how important this topic is to me by the amount of time I have spent thinking about it.

Bandwidth – specifically, personal bandwidth – is the mental and emotional capacity to deal with a variety of situations, whether personal or work-related.

I started thinking about this idea a year ago, right around the time I became pregnant with our daughter. The reason this idea came to my mind is due to the many opinions that started coming my way concerning my pregnancy and future parenthood.

When you are pregnant and/or baby comes, you won’t be able to go to do all the “extras” you do at school.

When you are pregnant and/or baby comes, you won’t be able to blog anymore.

When you are pregnant and/or baby comes, you won’t be able to go to conferences or speaking arrangements.

If you think being pregnant has been tough, wait until the baby comes.

When you have a child, you won’t be able to go on as many day trips or camping trips.

The list could go on and on…and it was so discouraging. Mainly, it was due to the fact that I really did have a difficult first half of my pregnancy because I was so sick. (I spent the first twenty weeks with pretty severe “morning” sickness, which is ironic since it lasted all day.) It was so discouraging to hear these statements. I actually started to believe that it was true because I was so tired and…well, sick.

Yet, there is one thing that you should know about my personality. I’m pretty stubborn. So, I pretty much made it my mission to prove everyone wrong. While I was pregnant, I still did the “extras”, blogged, went to conferences, traveled (for work and for fun!) and did all of the things that I had done while not pregnant. In addition to this, there was also a period of two months where I worked two jobs while transitioning into my new job. I was busy and I loved it.

Now, I want to make sure everyone understands that this is not an “Oh, look how awesome I am” post. If you know me, then you know that is not my style. Instead, I am sharing this to prove a very important point:

Everyone has a different level of personal bandwidth.

It’s true – some people can handle doing a million things at once. They even enjoy it! That’s okay – that’s their level of personal bandwidth. Some people may only be able to handle a few things at a given time. Or, maybe these individuals are better at recognizing their limits! Again, that’s okay – that’s their level of personal bandwidth.

However, I want to take my “main point” one step further:

Everyone has a different level of personal bandwidth – and we should support them.

I’ve always been a person that could manage many things at once. I enjoy being busy. I enjoy working, writing blog posts, traveling and so much more! It’s just how I am built. However, I have always felt like people have tried to tear me down for my level of “busyness”. I’m not sure why it is that way, but it is something I have dealt with my entire career. On the other hand, if I am being completely transparent, I have also judged those for their lack of “busyness” which is equally wrong.

As we go into the next school year, I encourage all of you to reflect on your personal bandwidth and the personal bandwidth of those around you. Support everyone for the things that they can and cannot handle. Lift each other up by offering words of encouragement, rather than words of discouragement or judgment. Remember, everyone has a different level of personal bandwidth – and we should support them.

As 2017 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the amazing and life-changing year that has occurred.  2017 marked my first full year of being on Twitter, blogging, and interacting with educators all over the world.  It is the year where I presented at my first conferences and summits and became a Google Trainer and Innovator.  It is the year where I developed my blog and wrote on a weekly basis.

It was a year of…so many unexpected adventures and opportunities.  I truly feel blessed to have had the experiences I have had in 2017 and I am excited to share some of these experiences with you.onal

2017: My Goals

At the beginning of the year, I set five goals for 2017:

Goal #1: Blog Once a Week

Personally, I find my biggest accomplishment to be blogging once a week for the entire year.  It was a great challenge but it really encouraged me to create more lessons/projects, find and share resources, and be self-reflective.  I will admit that it could often be a challenge but I felt like I grew so as an educator from this experience.  It’s also a goal that I plan to keep for many years to come!

Goal #2: Increase Math Literacy

While I feel like I made great strides towards this goal, I think that it will always be something I need to improve upon in my Math classroom.  Although my Math students are Honors students, they still struggle when it comes to decoding problems and understanding the language in Math.  However, I do feel like I was more aware of this need and implemented more activities to support them in this area, such as using Frayer models, implementing performance tasks, and using AVID tutorials.

Goal #3: Create an Inquiry-Based and Organized Genius Hour Project

Currently, my Spartan Tech Squad students spend every Friday working on their 20Time projects.  I am really excited to see how these projects are developing.  I feel like the projects are more attainable and organized this year after I developed a series of activities and lessons to help students organize and plan for their 20Time Projects.  Learn more from my post “Getting Going with 20Time Projects“.

Goal #4: Collaborate with Classes Across the Country/World

Unfortunately, this is one goal that I did not meet this year.  I have an idea/dream to have one of my classes collaborate with another classroom beyond our own district.  While I did not reach this goal this year, I do feel like I established a lot of strong relationships with teachers all over the world to support this goal in the upcoming year.

Goal #5: Develop a PLN Beyond the Borders of My School

Last, but certainly not least, I developed a Professional Learning Network (PLN) of educators beyond my school and district.  As much as blogging was my biggest accomplishment, I feel like this goal was the most important.  Teaching is an amazing profession but it can also be very lonely.  Over the last couple of years, I have found myself feeling a bit more like an outsider in some areas of my professional life…until I found my PLN.  I have a handful of educators all over the world that I talk to on a daily/weekly basis and they are amazing, inspirational, and supportive.  Every day I am so thankful to have these people in my life.

2017: My Highlights

Here are just a few of my highlights from this year:

• Blogging on a weekly basis.
• Presenting at my first conferences and summits.
• Becoming a Google Trainer and Innovator.
• Developing BoostEDU – my Google Innovator Project.
• Developing a PLN and connecting with educators all over the world.

While there is so much more to share, I want to keep it short and sweet.  These were the things that I will remember for years to come and had a great impact on where I am as a person and as an educator.

2017: My Top Posts

Throughout the year, I wrote over 52 blog posts.  The top posts were:

• Frayer Model + Google Slides = Vocabulary Slide Deck!
• The Teacher Transparency Challenge
• 5 Techy Ideas to Start the Year Strong
• Road Trippin’: A Ratios & Proportions HyperDoc
• Systems of Equations HyperDoc: Comparing Cell Phone Plans

My Big Takeaway….

As I look back on all of the things that have occurred in this year, there is one phrase that comes to my mind:

Expect the unexpected.

I would never have thought that I would be where I am at today or have had the experiences that I have had in the last year.  It’s completely transformed who I am as a person and as an educator.

More importantly, it has brought something to my mind that I never thought I would say:

I have no idea what I want to do or where I will be in the next five years.

As someone who is quite the planner, this can be a terrifying statement.  It’s not that I don’t plan on being in education – I love education.  I truly believe I could never leave the field of education because I am so deeply invested in it.  It’s not even that I don’t have goals because I do.  There are many things that I want to accomplish, as small blogging weekly to releasing my Innovator Project.  Instead, it’s that I don’t know where life will take me or where my path might go in my educational career.  All I know is that I love what I do and I know that I am in the right career.

In fact, there is something absolutely exciting and exhilarating in not knowing where your path will take you and being completely open to any opportunities or adventures that might be presented.  As strange as it sounds, I feel truly content in doing what I love and seeing where life will take me.

Keep a look out for my upcoming post on my 2018 Educational Goals – and, as always, thank you for reading.

One year ago, I attended the High Desert EdTechTeam Summit which was hosted by my district, Hesperia Unified School District.  It was during this summit that I was inspired to create a professional learning network through social media.  As I’ve mentioned before, this summit changed my life – both professionally and personally.  Today, I am attending and presenting at the same EdTechTeam Summit and it’s hard to believe that a year has already passed.  More importantly, it’s amazing to look back and see the phenomenal impact that one summit had on my life.

A year ago today, I was in a very different place.  I had never used Twitter for professional development.  In fact, my Twitter account consisted of a few followers (my family) and a few tweets on ComicCon.  I had created a blog but, much like my Twitter account, it was pretty much dead.  I had never connected with teachers outside of my district.  I had never presented at a conference or summit.  I had never heard of the Google certifications for educators.

It’s amazing what a year can do.  I could tell you about the number of tweets or followers that I have.  I could tell you about my blog and how many posts I’ve written.  I could tell you about the summits and conferences I’ve attended or the Google certifications I have obtained.  But…none of that matters.  The thing that truly matters is the relationships that I have made while becoming actively involved with a professional learning network.  The people I have met that have changed my life, as a teacher and a person, are what truly matters.

As I think about all of the phenomenal educators I’ve met in the last year, I’ve realized that they all have one common attribute: They truly love what they do.  They love being educators.  Being surrounded by a group of passionate educators like this is inspiring and life-changing.

So, I wanted to write some “thank you’s” to these educators.  I’m not going to name them by name because they know who they are – but thank you…

Thank you for inspiring me to think about teaching in new ways and introducing me to educational practices, strategies, and technology to support student learning.
Thank you for always focusing on the pedagogy – not just the shiny, new technology that often bombards us in education.
Thank you for being passionate educators and always focusing on what is best for students.
Thank you for inspiring, challenging, and supporting me as an educator beyond my classroom.
Thank you for your words of encouragement on my blog posts that motivate me to continue sharing.
Thank you for encouraging me to me to go outside of my comfort zone and present at conferences and summits.
Thank you for teaching me about the importance of work/life balance and offering me useful strategies for creating a balanced life.
Thank you for being people that I can talk to about the victories and struggles of education.
Thank you for showing me that the world is filled with other “lone nuts” – just like me.

Finally…Thank you for an amazing year.  Here’s to many more years to come!

This post is cross-posted on Mari, Meagan, & Aubrey’s blogs.
Mari is a middle school Science & AVID teacher and Blended Learning Specialist in San Diego, CA.
Meagan is a middle school Math, AVID, & Technology teacher and the Team Technology Leader in Hesperia, CA.
Aubrey has been a music teacher & Summer Learning principal, and is currently an Educational Technology Specialist in Boulder, CO.

Teach kids all day, then bring grading and lesson planning home at night. Does this sound familiar? If you asked a room full of teachers, I’m sure nearly every head would be nodding – this is the story of our lives! According to an NPR article, “Attrition is high, and enrollment in teacher preparation programs has fallen some 35 percent over the past five years — a decrease of nearly 240,000 teachers in all.” Budget cuts, paperwork, behavior challenges, and ever-increasing demands add extra stress to our already stressful jobs.

Work/life balance has always been struggle for all three of us. We have this tendency to work many hours past the required hours of our teaching days. It’s very common for us to get into work early, leave an hour after our days finish, and spend a large portion of our nights working on lesson planning, grading, blogging, or various side projects. If you’re thinking this sounds like some “Woe is me” story – it isn’t.

In the end, the underlying issue is that we love what we do. We love being teachers, working with students, developing lessons and, yes, even grading and reviewing their work. Education has never been just a “job” to us – it’s a major part of our identity. It’s our passion. And we spend a large portion of our days working on various projects because we enjoy it. However, we began to realize that it isn’t healthy for our work/life balance or the relationships with those around us to work the majority of the week.

Enter the idea of Work Rules. We each began to create boundaries for ourselves, unique to our specific situations, and write them down. We were amazed (and horrified) at how challenging it was for us to try to define some limits to our work! We also included reminders of what we could do instead of work [behavioral therapy concepts – you can’t just extinguish a behavior without developing a replacement behavior] and why we were doing this in the first place. Then we gave permission to hold each other accountable, which has been key to changing our habits.

Aubrey: I’ll be honest, there is no silver bullet to finding and maintaining balance. I still bring more work home than I would like and don’t always follow my “work rules”. That being said, I have noticed a definite difference in my mindset as we’ve gone through this journey. A night without work is becoming something to be celebrated, rather than a reason to feel guilty. I find myself asking, “Does this really need to be done at home, or could it wait until tomorrow?” more often. And I am slowly getting better at setting limits for myself, such as only bringing one project home (instead of everything that needs to be done) or setting a timer for how long I work (once it goes off, no more work for me)! The accountability and camaraderie has been huge – for picking me up when I am struggling, for spurring me on to do better, and sometimes just to have a place to share how hard this is! In this ongoing journey of living LIFE to the fullest, I am grateful for friends who are not afraid to ask the tough questions and provide gentle reminders when needed. It’s not always easy…but it is worth it!

Meagan: A couple of months ago, I really began to reflect on my work/life balance.  Around this time, Aubrey and Mari shared their idea for “work rules” and…it was amazing!  I quickly began to develop my own set of rules in hopes of developing some balance in my life.  As Aubrey mentions above, I still struggle with maintaining balance and following these rules but I can tell that there has been a definite shift in my mindset.  Although I have always been a good time manager, I’ve started to balance when I will do “work-work” (site/district) and when I will do my “side work” (blogging, presenting, etc).  I’ve been able to use much of my time at school to finish my lesson planning, grading, and projects which has opened opportunities to work on my “side work” projects at home.  Before, I was doing both and it was clear that this would not last forever.  I have also tried to set aside one day of the week where I do not do any “work-work” and at least one night where I do not do any work related to education.  I’ve definitely broken these rules several times but it has been helpful to have friends who check-in and encourage me to keep with these goals.  I still have a long ways to go on truly creating a work/life balance but…you have to start somewhere, right?

Mari: It’s been a constant battle for me to find the right work/life balance because teaching is both my passion and my job. However, I began realizing that in order to be the best teacher for my students, I also need to take care of myself. Prior to creating the Work Rules with Aubrey and Meagan, I felt guilty if I didn’t work all weekend and most weeknights. That pace was neither sustainable nor healthy for me. Now, I give myself all of Sunday off from anything education-related, and use this time to recharge, relax, and pursue fun things (like napping!). As both Aubrey and Meagan said, there are times the rules have been bent or broken; while I’m routinely committed to my Sundays off, I haven’t always given myself a few work-free weeknights due to school commitments or interruptions/distractions during my prep period. I’m so grateful for our group. Not only do they keep me accountable to my work/life balance commitments, but also they encourage and push me to be a better person!

We are on a journey together – far from perfect, yet always growing. Frequently just before or after work, we check in with each other to see what the day looks like and what our work/no-work plans are for the day. This keeps us centered throughout the day and into the evening.

What steps are you taking to balance work and life?