O.k., so two of the dentist appointments and the Pinewood Derby are out of the way, and by tonight two of the birthdays will have been celebrated, so I'll have fewer items in my arsenal of "potential scapegoats for procrastination"!  I've come up with a strategy (I think) that will given some structure to my plan for quality, timely posts during the A-Z challenge...

The topic of "careers" has been the social studies focus for my students over the past couple of weeks.  Each student has chosen a career to research, and for which they'll build a shoebox diorama.  To encourage the students to think more deeply about their chosen careers, I had them complete an "AlphaBoxes" worksheet.  This strategy, developed by Linda Hoyt , is a grid with a box for each letter of the alphabet.  Students are asked to come up with a word beginning with each letter of the alphabet, that relates to the assigned topic.  For example, a student who has chosen to research the career of a zoologist might come up with "A" for "animals", "B" for "biology", "C" for "cage", "E"for "exploration", etc.  Click on the "AlphaBoxes" link above for access to a blank document.

The AlphaBox strategy is what I've started using to plan for my 26 posts (hey, if I expect a second grader to do it, I'd better be able to demonstrate my own proficiency, right?;-).  So far, I have "A" set in stone, and possibilities for about 6 other letters.  Tonight's goal is to have the chart completed.  I think, since it's about parenting, I'll float it by my students on Monday to hear their take on it.  Seven year-olds are uniquely gifted in "keeping it real"; they'll call it like they see it and surely provide some great feedback for me!

In the meantime, I want to leave you with a recommendation for an amazing read-aloud for your own families/classrooms.   This is one that's fresh on my mind because I just finished it with my class on Friday.
Masterpiece, by Elise Broach is outstanding!!!  I read many fantastic books aloud to my class every year, and this is in my top three.  It holds its title by virtue of its potential for meaningful discussions about friendship, ethics, and consequences.  The illustrations are amazing, and the opportunity to build background knowledge about museums and art history is a priceless bonus. I discovered this book for the first time shortly after its release when it was a bookseller recommendation at my favorite bookstore, R.J.Julia.  I devoured it, and for the first time in my life, marked up the margins with potential questions for my students, circled vocabulary words, and dogeared many pages!  I highly recommend it for families to share together.  It's a great way to model the importance of reading, and a natural segue into some meaningful conversations about issues relating to relationships and good character.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

I am so excited (and quite frankly, pretty surprised...) to finally be fulfilling a New Year's Resolution!  I have a long and tortured history with resolve...the short version is that I'm a really great resolution-maker (I have lists that date back for decades!), but I'm not so terrific at actually accomplishing what I dream up at the end of each December.  The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge (www.a-to-zchallenge.com)  has given me the structure I need to make some headway with one resolution: to create a blog about helping children navigate their elementary school years successfully. What's funny about this, is that I actually find the massive undertaking of working with a blog to be far less intimidating than my usual resolutions- losing weight, getting more sleep, quitting reality t.v., and (a guaranteed "fail" for me!) buying the P90X system and NOT returning it unopened to QVC !

During the month of April, I'll be completing 26 posts that detail an alphabetical array of strategies parents can use to guide their kids with intention and purpose towards developing excellence in academics and more importantly, personal character.  These strategies will be woven together around a central theme of "walking your talk" with your children, or "do as I DO, not only as I say".

Even though I'm a lousy resolution-keeper, I've learned over the years that  I'm a pretty darned good educator (if you can trust an educator who uses that sort of descriptor!), and my work with hundreds of families of elementary-aged students has taught me a great deal about what works and what doesn't when it comes to raising successful kids.  I've also learned that there are loads of resources available to parents of preschool children; however, once kids reach elementary school age, the choices are fewer, and often much more specialized according to need.  It is my hope that my A-Z posts will provide some insightful and useful information to help families make their goals for their children a reality.

My goal over the next 17 days is to find my own "blogger voice"; it sounds totally corny, but for someone who has been used to writing purely for academic purposes for many years, finding a narrative voice that accurately conveys my personality and the information I'd like to share- well, that's a challenge!  My hope is to do this by blogging about my baby steps as a blogger: what it's like to try and squeeze writing in among teaching full time, and my family's crazy schedule.  In between now and April 1st (Day 1 of the challenge), I have some pretty significant obstacles:

1) The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby- 48 hours away, and the car still needs paint, decals and wheels
2) 5 family birthdays, including 2 nieces, both in-laws, and my mom
3) Report cards and parent conferences for my class of 20 second graders
4) A report card conference with my son's teacher...uh oh!
5) Attend 4 performances of "Seussical the Musical" at my daughter's middle school- she's a "Who"!
6) Help my son write a biography of my husband's life so far, throw together a costume to make him look like my husband (turning a kid who looks like the boy from "Jerry Maguire" into a farmer with a three-day old beard is gonna be tricky!), and write a speech to go along with the project
7) 3 dentist appointments
8) 3 doctor appointments
9)More stuff I'm sure I forgot because my brain has maxed out its working memory....

So, among the monumental minutia outlined above, I'm resolving (yikes...just using the word is intimidating) to carve out time to blog about beginning to blog, so that by April 1st, when the challenge begins and it's time for me to settle into my alphabet-structure and parenting theme, I'll have grown as a writer, and hopefully will be able to share some valuable information in a way that is enjoyable to read and fun to apply!


Before I go, I need to give a shout out to Tina, Co Host of the Blogging A to Z challenge- thank you so much for your encouragement- you brought me past the tipping point and into the blogosphere!

Finally fulfilling a resolution!

My inspiration and motivation!