New Year’s Resolutions 2018

Yay first blog post!  I plan to share so many ideas here, but since it’s the beginning of 2018, let’s start by sharing my resolutions for the new year.

SCHOOL RESOLUTIONS

• Get to know my students better.  The first year in a school, you learn the students’ names, and learn the particulars about your school.  But the second year is when you truly get to delve into the school community.  You get to know the families and students’ backgrounds much better in the second year.  Don’t get me wrong; I learned a lot about my kiddos last year.  But this year, the goal is to learn so much more about my nearly 800 students.  It really helps me connect with them and plan engaging lessons for them.
• Modify my curriculum. The scope and sequence for General Music in my district was designed for a schedule that my school stopped using this year.  I see my kids less often this year, *insert frowny face here* so I’m trying to squeeze our curriculum to fit.  I’d like to find more “double dippers,” or songs that teach more than one concept, so that the loss of contact time doesn’t put as big a dent in our learning.
• Organize my storage closet.  When I came to my current school, I inherited a mountain of a mess.  The large storage closet was packed with materials older than I am, broken instruments, and THREE textbook series.  Slowly but surely, I am tackling this mess. Hopefully, I’ll finish it up in 2018!

  

• Attend workshops.  I love attending workshops, but because of schedule conflicts, I’ve only been able to attend two workshops since moving to Arizona.  I’d love to attend more this year.  I always leave them feeling refreshed and excited to incorporate what I learned.

PERSONAL RESOLUTIONS

• Move.  My husband and I hope to move to the East side of Phoenix before the new school year starts.  We moved from Illinois to Arizona a year and a half ago, so from one side of a city to the other hopefully won’t be too bad!
• Work out consistently.  I had been working out three to five times a week for six months… until I started teaching after school.  Not getting home until 6:30 (after school), 8:30 (voice lessons), or 10:30 (choir practice) each weeknight brought this schedule to a screeching halt. So I need to get back to the gym. Even if it’s just on the weekends, a consistent workout routine helps me feel energized and ready to teach.
• Sleep.  Like many of you, I’m sure, I haven’t been getting enough sleep. I’m going to make a conscious effort to get more sleep this year.  When my doctor found out a few weeks ago that I average five hours a night during the week, she (with good reason) was not happy with me.  I’m going to go to bed earlier.  Coffee helps, but it doesn’t replace a good night’s sleep.

TPT RESOLUTIONS

• Post on this blog at least once a month.  I love writing, so hopefully this will be an easy resolution to keep!  I hope to write more frequently than once a month, but monthly is a good minimum. Posts will include Kodaly-inspired activities, classroom organization ideas, ESL supports, stories from my classroom, and more.  I’m so excited share my teaching with you!
• Update old resources.  I have so many products in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, but I would love to do some updates to some of my older ones.
• Add a new product once a month.  Last school year, I put up very few products, because I was very busy with my first year in a new school.  This school year, I’ve been better about creating resources on a regular basis, and I’d like to continue to do so.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

I’m so excited for 2018!  What are your resolutions?  If you haven’t done so yet, sit down with some coffee, and really reflect on where you are, and where you want to be.  Anything special planned for this year?  Leave a comment below.  Thank you for stopping by!