The Last Three Days

My head is spinning.  I just spent three days at this year's METC Conference.  Half of that time I was in the beginnings of my ISTE certification training.  The other half I attended break out sessions, luncheons and explored the exhibit and play areas.

I learned so much in these past three days. I am excited and nervous about going back to work.  There is so much I want to do now. Last year I decided to focus on one thing I learned about and I am still working on developing my skills in that area.

This year I am.going to jump right in to something that is WAY WAY out of my comfort zone and will also be WAY out of my students' comfort zone, too. But, I am really hoping that it will end up creating some very meaningful learning for all of us.  It means completely throwing out what I had planned for us over the next several weeks and changing everything about the way we spend our class time. I am excited and terrified at the same time. I'm either buckling in for a great adventure or diving head first off a cliff. Either way we are going to learn something.

There is something else I am going to put time and effort into that I walked away from the conference with, but it has to do with adult learning. I  am hoping to be a catalyst for change in the way our district does professional development.  This is another thing that I am both excited and terrified about.

Finally, I am fully committed to completing my ISTE training.  I met some incredible teachers in my cohort for this and am looking forward to working more with them. It's going to be a lot of work and some pretty intense learning.  Part of me is really nervous about all of it but I am trying really hard to maintain my self confidence.

These past three days were the best conference I have ever been to and I am very grateful for the time I got to spend there. I really hope I do what I learned justice.

Work

Today I was at work for 12.5 hours. Yesterday I was at work for 12 hours.  I will probably be there just as long tomorrow.

Last night I was working on yearbook layouts and getting copies made for today. Tonight I was writing lesson plans for next week and getting copies made for the rest of the week and for the beginning of next week.  Tomorrow I will be getting substitute plans written for three days next week and trying to get as much grading done and in the grade book as possible.

Why do I need three days of lessons for a sub ready? I am going to METC conference Monday through Wednesday next week.  I am so very excited about it.  I will be starting my ISTE cohort during the conference, too, so I will be on my way to ISTE certification. 

So, while it's been a really good week of learning for my students, I am really exhausted and hope I can continue being there for my students the rest of the week the way I want.  It's really important to me that I have two really productive days with them and set them up to be able to be as self sufficient as possible while I am gone. 

At some point I also need to prepare for a new group to sixth and seventh graders.  Wednesday is the last day my current group will be in my classroom. I have to have new attendance cards a seating charts made for four classes before I get back to work on Thursday next week.

Took a Step Forward

I have a problem with believing in myself.  It is something that I allow to hold me back a lot.

I started creating jewelry from paint skins almost a year ago. I sold a bunch at work last year and had all these intentions of doing craft fairs, flea markets, etc. I didn't do any. My only reason is fear. This makes me very frustrated with myself.

This weekend I posted online some of my new necklaces I made. I had a few people say they were interested and actually sold one necklace.  I had people ask about an online shop and business cards of which I have neither.

Tonight I listed a bunch of my necklaces in the shop feature of my Facebook page I created a long time ago when it was just my photography and has morphed into a way to showcase all my artistic endeavors. It's called Creations by Chrystal. I invited a bunch of people to my page and will invite more later.

So, we will see if I can keep the insecurity and fear monsters from sucking my motivation and self confidence out of me. Maybe I will actually find the nerve to actually set up camp at a flea market or farmer's market this summer.