OK. My daughter read a recent post I wrote on this blog and she says I’m too hard on myself. Instead of beating myself up about what didn’t go well in my classroom she wants me to celebrate all the things that do go well. So, here it goes, my end-of-year present to myself – a list of all the positive things that have transpired this year, not in order of importance, with little or no additional commentary from me.

1. A parent who could not attend the recent literacy session I did for families asked when I was doing the next one because she’d heard the first one was very informative.
2. Our last Professional Learning Community (PLC) meeting went really well; I shifted the focus to teacher practice and pedagogy.
3. My students freely give each other appreciations during closing circle.
4. My most challenging student is gradually and successfully becoming a valued and valuable member of our class.
5. Five students have made considerable progress in their spelling development.
6. Many children are using Junior Writer http://www.juniorwriter.com at home.
7. Although perpetually overwhelmed with everything that I do, I am less stressed out than many of my colleagues.
8. I’m spending more quality time with my husband and I love it! (This might have something to do with item #7 above.)
9. I have augmented our regular classroom academic program with various “expert visits” by my students’ family members.
10. I am finally starting to feel like a graduate student – loving it more every day.
11. I am proud of myself for juggling various hats and sticking to my principles.

New Year’s Resolutions
1. To get back to an exercise routine.
2. To keep writing, a little bit every day, as it keeps me focused and energized.
3. To continue to find the balance between my home and school lives.