New Year, New Mindset: A Garden of Ideas

Summer always feels like an invitation to breathe differently. It's a good respite after 10 long months of teaching. It's a time and space to create life differently, reset, and refresh.

This time of year, teachers everywhere are doing what I am: reflecting on their summer, readying for the racetrack ahead. We all are taking in how the summer went, making mental notes of how we want to shape the school year ahead.

So, looking back: did I dabble in some back to school techno-babble, digging into the world of AI, lesson planning, sharpening skills through some professional development over summer? Of course I did... because that's what we teachers do. We grow our skills. 

But I'm happy to say it certainly wasn't a summer of "all work and no play." I made plenty of time for reading, pool-lounging, sleeping in, running around with my family, working out, road-tripping, appreciating my husband's gardening and the fruits his labor (or rather: vegetables), and more. 3 cheers for sun & fun, and R & R!

Stepping away from structure and slipping into the slower side of summer definitely includes travel, as I mentioned last week. Travel is the ultimate teacher:

• In Quebec City, I could see the connectedness of both history and people as I stood in this fortified city, gazing upon centuries-old walls that were originally designed to protect, but now serving as an embrace of the many who gather in this multicultural city. 

• In Montreal, I stood amongst the 1976 Olympic Park, now reimagined & "repurposed" through innovation to bring joy to visitors by way of the Biodome and surrounding sights that are now a concert stadium, a pool, a planetarium, and more. The same could be said of my experience at Bota Bota Day Spa, a former ferry boat turned health and wellness oasis.

• In the Midwest, I drove stretches of highway from Chicago to the center of the state to reunite with family... much in the same way I walked stretches of beach in Ocean City, Maryland. This opened time and space to think about pace: in life, in the moment, and even ultimately thinking forward to this fall's school year and how I want to run my classes.

The destinations changed, but the throughline stayed the same: 

Connection. Curiosity. Perspective.

These 3 guiding principles are the same things I want to bring back with me to the upcoming school year and to my classroom. 

Teaching, like traveling, is not about the destination, but rather the journey. It's about what grows and happens in between. It's what we take in when we slow down and let the unexpected shape us. Teaching too is like gardening. It is the roots that anchor everything down. They support the growth and harvest ahead.

Connection, curiosity, and perspective do all of this.

Before the first school bell rings, here are some nature-centric points to ponder while putting up bulletin boards, unpacking boxes, and setting up shop. Plant these questions like seeds in your mind. Growth comes from steady care and the courage to nurture what matters. 

🌱 How can I "grow forward" this school year ahead?

🌱 What connections can I make (to both people, students, and ideas)?

🌱 Where can I grow in my curiosity and shift my perspective?

🌱 How can I innovate and create when needed, shooting and rooting for potential not perfection?

🌱 How can I remind myself that "letting go" is part of growth: letting go of expectations, self limitations, fear of failure, control (always a hard one), the past and "how things have always been done." One thing I’m letting go of this year… 

🌱 How can I make it a year to stretch, branch, and bloom....as a person, as a teacher, as a global citizen in a partisan world, as an educator navigating this ever-expanding edtech world?

🌱 How can I teach smarter not harder, always aligning with these values?

🌱 This year, I want to feel more ______ in my teaching.

🌱 A student strength I want to notice (or encourage) more this year… 

🌱 A space in my classroom I want to reimagine or make more alive… 

🌱 One edtech tool I’m excited to try (or try differently)… 

🌱 One way I’ll bring more nature, climate awareness, or global acceptance into my classroom…

Images created at Canva.com

Wonderful Ways to Embrace the Summer

The heat and humidity are here, and we are knee deep in the middle of summer. I've already mentioned how this is my time to rebalance my equilibrium. I landed on the amazing Facebook page of Ordinary & Happy, where they have created a lot of lists on a myriad of subjects. I found my favorite 10 of their nature-minded, summer-centric, outdoors-oriented lists. These will help anyone who is starting to get into a summer rut by helping you figure out creative ways to beat the heat and embrace the outdoors, living in the moment with the chunk of summer we have left. I interspersed the lists with some classic summer imagry to give digital viewers a little eco-meditation between lists. How many creative ways can you still get outdoors these last 2 months of summer.

Wonderful Ways to Get Outside this Summer by Vicki Dabrowka

Images created at Canva.com, using Canva images and Ordinary & Happy's Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/ordinaryandhappy Presentation link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGrdlXbb1A/ubmcu_vGl5V24clXE88-mg/view?utm_content=DAGrdlXbb1A&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hb8637527c4

Ahhhh, Summer! The Glory Days for Teachers!

I don't think I can fully put into words what it means to be a teacher who reaches summer vacation. No matter how much we love our job, summer is a sublime respite. 

By the time we get there, there's total truth to the statement: "There's no tired like end-of-the-year-teacher tired." 

This year, my school did a total box-up, prepping for the next school year in portables (aka: "educational cottages") as our school undergoes a major rebuilding project. So it takes the above statement to a new level: "There's no tired like end-of the year-teacher tired topped with packing an entire elementary school." The movers started in earnest, carrying away boxes and furniture the day after school got out this week. It's going to be a multi-day event! My room was already packed, so I was helping others with fully-packed rooms of instruments, art supplies, and science equipment. There's a lot of stuff in schools, that's for sure!

So as I'm sitting at the cusp of summer, with the glory of summer days, down time, pool fun, day trips, personal projects, and more ahead... I know a large part of summer for me (in addition to relaxation and recalibration) is also free exploration and time to soak in what I want to learn. I have my books I want to read (because "reading season is here"), but I also have websites and podcasts to explore. Maybe this is because my profession is me: I'm a teacher and a lifelong learner. The two go hand in hand.

One of my first stops is going to be a recent Facebook page/website discovery I've made: Educators Technology. (He's on all the other socials too--check out his About page.) In addition to the topic being the core of my being, Educators Technology has a wealth of resources, graphics, articles, and more to ponder, investigate, and dive into. It's a blog that was started in 2010 by Canadian educator Med Kharbach, PhD, and now 15 years later is highly acclaimed, referenced, and followed by K-12 educators. His simple yet detailed infographics drew me in from his Facebook page. 

Here are some great resources for my educator friends out there from Educators Technology. (If necessary, click images for clearer versions). Best part--learning happens on our schedule. Maybe at the pool, possibly the beach with sand between our toes, or between naptime and cocktail hour!  Cheers!

Intro image from https://www.secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.com/2017/06/schools-out-for-summer-teacher-challenge.html

Infographic images from https://www.facebook.com/Edtechandmobilelearning?_rdc=1&_rdr

Heading Back to School: 2024-2025

There are certain traditions that teachers have during Back to School season. In the past, mine (along with probably millions of other teachers) have always included: 

• shopping for new markers, 
• setting up a fresh planbook, 
• perking up the place with new bulletin boards, 
• readying the classroom for the upcoming year, 
• soaking up all that summer energy I've gained to get back on track for the next 9-10 months ahead with the new crop of students.

One of my GTG traditions also is to be a little reflective while simultaneously trying to sink into that inspirational space for anyone who might be in my same place. Adjusting to that transitional overlap between letting go of the sweet taste of summer in order to settle into the career I chose and love. 

Case and point, Exhibits A-H:  2023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2016 - 2015

Given all of that, back to school season can be a little bittersweet for us teachers! Our days of sleeping in are over, along with the relaxed schedules with our own friends and family, reading books, enjoying pool time-naptime-vacation time, sharpening our skills with our own personal development (school or otherwise), recovering from the previous year and resting up for the next. It was a pretty good gig. 

But the days bring us closer to that back to school business. Students and teachers alike have that summer underway, but not every summer is idyllic as the prior paragraph. 

• Sometimes summers can be bumpy with personal situations (whether circumstantial, health, aging, and otherwise for both ourselves, our kids, our parents, and our friends). 
• Some teachers (due to teacher salaries, affordability, and cost of living) have worked all summer to supplement their income. 
• Sometimes there's continuing education classes necessary to keep up teaching credentials and more. 
• Some people also just respond better to life with the consistency of routines in place--sometimes a blessing and a curse of summer when they are absent. 
• Sometimes you get hit hard by the whiplash of not much going on in the summer that harshly contrasts the start of the school year's "exploded calendar syndrome." This really hit hard when my own kids entered high school and I had sports practices, school meetings, social events, and a myriad of everything else in between hitting the calendar in a majorly overwhelming way!
• Not every kid went to amazing camps or on stellar vacations (if any at all). 
• Not all homes are the safest of places. 
• Sometimes it's daunting to come back. I remember my 2nd year of teaching once I'd had kids. Although I was a seasoned teacher, I also now was becoming a seasoned working mom, and it particularly stung that year because I knew full well how hard BOTH jobs were!

All proving the complications of the back to school season. One person's perfect icebreaker may be another person's nightmare question. 

Whether your motivation is in mint condition or still a little on the shaky side going into this next school year, here are some articles that may speak to you one way or another as you are readying yourself for this new year and fresh start ahead.

• Teaching in Blue Jean's "5 Words of Encouragement for Teachers"
• Really good reminders on any hard day of teaching. They are destined to bring you back a little closer to center.

• Engaging Their Minds post by Terri Eichholz "Back to School Inspirational Videos for Teachers"
• Be sure to check out her links to her Pinterest board and also her Wakelet links to catch these videos after reading her article.

• ThoughCo's "7 Back to School Tips for Teachers"
• Good ideas for creating the tone you want for the beginning of the year.

• DISC Insight's "Back to School Motivation for Teachers" 
• This is a post advertising some of DISC Insight's products, but the main points are clear without the products.

One of the biggest things I've read lately was in reference to something else completely, but I feel it holds here to the beginning of the school year--for teachers, parents, and students alike. The biggest (and maybe hardest in this social media oriented world in which we live) is "You Be You." What does that mean?

• 
  Take things at your pace. 
• Do what works for you. 
• Resist the urge to compare to your next door neighbor--whether that's the house next door or the teacher buddy's classroom next door. 
• There are a lot of ways to navigate transitions.
• Ff you are gung ho & gangbusters and all in with energy--super. But it's okay if you are a more filled with trepidation and traveling on tiptoes. 

That level of authenticity will help you find your groove. And once you do, you will soar. As will your adventures ahead for this school year!

Images created on canva.com--images created using Canva's magic tools with back to school classroom prompts.

Watching Wildlife: Vacation Style

As a follow up to my Watching Wildlife post earlier this summer, it seems only natural to share a little Canva creation I made from our family's Cape Cod adventure last month where we did just that: watched some wildlife. Whales, in fact. We booked a whale watching excursion through Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Leaving from the very tip of Cape Cod, we traveled further north where we witnessed a show of nature.

We managed to find ourselves navigating the boat in and around two pods of 3 whales, and a couple solo swimmers. The one doing a major lounge about in the sun. For a solid five minutes or so, that whale was just doing a playful back stroke, flapping its flippers in the water as if it hadn't a care in the world. It was completely mesmerizing and we got some photos and vides from that day. 

Additionally, the on-board naturalists were phenomenal. We learned so much. On top of that, Dolphin Fleet has cataloged thousands of whales using a photo-identification system. They were able to identify by name the whales we saw. 

It definitely was a memorable experience where photos and videos truly do not do it justice. 

If you ever get a chance to take a whale watching trip--do it!

To learn more about Dolphin Fleet and the educational research of whale watching, click here.

Cape Cod map from https://www.tripsavvy.com/cape-cod-marthas-vineyard-nantucket-maps-3265660, Video created in Canva using my photos/videos from our whale watching trip.

Graduation Season

School years are wrapping out and both teachers and students are getting out of school. One of my favorite times of the year as it is like sitting on the cusp, with the hopes, dreams, and promises of summer just ahead. It's whatever you want it to be.

Each school year end is like its own min-graduation. Along those lines and thinking of that, I think I'm at my own personal 32nd school year graduation. 

My personal reflection and celebratory photo is above.

But then there are the bigger milestones. Kindergarten celebrations where the littles are decidedly "not-so-little" anymore. The 5th grade promotions to middle school. The 8th grade official moves to high school. The high school graduations into the world of adulthood. The college commencements celebrating additional studying and degrees to further your career.

This year I attended 4 graduation ceremonies. For some people, that would be a level of major overkill. I personally am rather fond of these milestone events. I enjoy these official transitions with their pomp and circumstance. During these events, I heard some really powerful graduations speeches this year, filled with a lot of powerful metaphors. Believe it or not, I was tickled when one speech tied growth the the interconnectedness and communication and biodiversity within forests (aptly named the "Wood Wide Web").

One of my favorites this year was a resurgence in my world by the viral speech from several years ago by Navy Seal Admiral McRaven. His "Make Your Bed" speech was the one he delivered at the 2014 University of Texas Commencement Address. We've probably all seen it a number of times over the past 10 years. It was referenced in some digital decision making curriculum I have for my 4th graders, so I shared this video overlay version with both them. I also shared it with our 5th graders, who were knee deep in writing their own promotion speeches for their moving up ceremony. All classes were riveted and gave it a spontaneous round of applause--for of course in their 10 years, they hadn't seen this 10 year old speech. 

Good words of reminder, and a graduation season is the best time for it! May it inspire your next season ahead, whatever that is for you!

Photos created with my own pictures in the Pic Edu app. Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBAqF00gBGk.

Watching Wildlife

As the weather is growing nicer in a lot of parts, here's some great advice from the National Park Service for anyone who may be out and about, exploring nature and doing some wildlife watching. 

Never forget--you are out in their natural habitat--THEIR zone... so leave them alone!

Video from https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=896DD4B2-2884-4A25-9EDF-DF574214BC22, title art created at Canva.com

Marveling at Monarchs & Their Migration

As the days warm up, I'm definitely outside more. Sitting at my patio table or lounge chair: sipping a cool beverage, reading a book, listening to the sounds of nature, or maybe even typing my latest GTG post for here.

The birds always catch both my eyes and ears, as do the flutter-by butterflies that come this way. For years, we've had a little patch of milkweed that my husband tends--some years more fruitful in their crop of hatching monarchs than others. 

I ran across this video, from Atlas Obscurer, which is amazing... and probably does not do the beauty of the monarch's justice in a way a camera can never compare to real life. The video, from 2019, highlights Phil Torres at the El Rosario Butterfly Sancutuary in Mexico, one of the places where monarch's overwinter.

As a companion piece, there is a video by Joe Hanson for his series, "It's Okay to Be Smart" which goes a bit more into the science of why monarchs do what they do. It's seriously fascinating!

If these 2 videos had you hankering for more and you are feeling the need to read up on morehere's a list of top 10 "must read monarch" books from SaveOurMonarchs.org.

Here's hoping our milkweed patch this summer has a good monarch harvest and can be part of this whole migratory cycle!

Video from https://youtu.be/mXc1ZeRlOe0?si=SuBrhyYi_EsxLeaj and https://youtu.be/fBakLuH6kDY?si=1J9VlLN-4CPJXmoL, Image created at canva.com

The Power of Parklets

Funny....sometimes when you run across something for the first time, the next thing you know is that you are seeing it everywhere. 

This is what happened to me regarding parklets.

A parklet is a little do-it-yorself mini park, which urban areas and city dwellers are creating more and more of to counter green up the space, cutting down on the concrete jungles of urban areas. They help soothe both our physical and mental health by providing these pockets of green.

I ran across parklets in the the OneTreePlanted article by Gabrielle Clawson entitled Good News! 30 Positive Environmental Stories From 2023, which I used for the creation of my March 6th blog post "Postivtive Environmental Stories for 2023." Parklets was listed as Clawson's #12 item. 

Parklets reminded me of downtown Annapolis during the pandemic. Restaurants took away parking places on the street to bring out planter boxes and more tables so that people could have the restaurant experience while dining outside. String some lights, make it cozy, bring in the greenery, and voila--goregous outdoor seating, with friends and family, for safer, accessible, open air dining during Covid times.

Next thing I know, parklets and their nature and health benefits are everywhere!

Parklets started their modest beginning in 2005 in San Francisco, and since then have begun popping up in many different ways. They bring about greater connections and a sense of community. They widen and invite greater outdoor living. It all is part of what makes a community "livable."

Looking for all the benefits parklets provide: Check out any of these articles: 

• Happy Eco New's Parklets: A Small Way to Make Big Cities More Livable
• Guardian's More Flowers, Fewer Cars: The Rewilders Turning Parking Spaces Into Parks
• Georgetown University's Creating Community and a Sense of Place, One ‘Parklet’ at a Time
• Washington DC's Department of Transportation Parklet's Program Guide
• National Association of City Transportation Officials' Urban Street Design Guide

In the market to make your own? Check out Happy Eco New's How to Build a Parklet DIY.

With spring having sprung, makes me want to go out and find a li'l parakeet of my own to go and just soak in the sun, maybe a snack, and enjoy a little people watching along the way!

Images from https://scs.georgetown.edu/news-and-events/article/7858/creating-community-sense-of-place-parklet and https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/1/19/baltimore-wants-permanent-parklets and  https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/citywiseblog/covington-parklets/ and https://www.capitalgazette.com/2019/09/01/parklets-in-west-annapolis/

Happy Labor Day Weekend

For many of us we are just newly back to school, or maybe starting right after Labor Day. Given that, for many it's our first 3 Day weekend in a while. 3 whole days, 72 hours--what, oh what, to do! 

Here are some ideas, inspired by the WeWork article Eight ways to make the most of your three-day weekend.

Art created at Canva.com using ideas from https://www.wework.com/ideas/professional-development/8-ways-to-maximize-your-three-day-weekend

Contemplating the Complicated Emotions That Come With Back to School Season

Back to School season always hits me with such a myriad of emotions. 

I love teaching and I love my job (especially as it has evolved over the years). I adore my fellow colleagues and always learn so much from them and appreciate how teachers have a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. I thrive on those "ah-ha" moments that my students have when they learn something new or that connection finally clicks for them. I do a silent "yes" (arm & fist "yes" gesture included) when I see student struggle coalesce into confidence and complete understandings. In my role as Tech Specialist, I get the opportunity to experience that with my teachers learners too when they also acquire new tech skills I have taught them. I have a true love of learning, soaking up new trends and seeking to continually becoming wiser within my field.  

BUT...I love my summers!!! They are so hard to say goodbye to. Teachers are blessed with having this 6-12 week block off in the summer to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate between school years. Time to "BE"--off schedule, outside, at the pool, napping, reading, less stressed! In my 30+ years of teaching, I've seen the people who see "teacher summer" as decadent and perhaps like to laugh at the concept of "easy living." But then there are the people I know, love, and live with who see how vital that summer block is for decompressing, reflecting, and reinvigorating to prepare for all the demands that teachers face during the 9-10 month school year. Even moreso, here in the post-Covid world of 2020 and 2021, Many of us still are in recovery mode, warding of the PTSD of pandemic teaching, given the demands of that era of education seems to be the gifts that keep giving.

So now, here we are, at the front end of another school year. 

I have been experimenting a lot lately with ChatGPT. while playing around with it, I fed it the prompt "back to school season" and it spit out 5 paragraphs about what all that 4 word phrase entails. I then typed in the following prompt: 

"Using the information listed above, write a lighthearted, positive welcome back poem to teachers, elevating them for the school year ahead, and paying tribute to all of the things they do for their students and students' families all year long. Honor them as unsung heroes and wish them good tiding for a super year ahead. "

ChatGPT responded with a 7 stanza poem (in less than 60 seconds, of course), showcasing its power and prowess. As one should do when using generative artificial intelligence, I read through it, generated a few versions through the AI, merged a few, then made it my own by sprinkling in a bit of me. Full disclosure, it was a combined work, with ChatGPT getting a bulk of credit for it. (Demonstrating good practice, I've credited it below.). Here's the outcome:

Ode to Back-to-School Season & Our Teachers

Goodbye dear summer and our teacher delight,

The time has come for school to resume its flight.

Adventures lie ahead within classrooms we'll share,

With backpacks and supplies, all readily prepare.

Unsung champions, mentors so true,

Through challenges faced, teachers help us breakthrough.

From numbers and words, to wisdom's embrace, 

Teachers light every paths with knowledge and grace.

Teaching so much more than mere words on a page, 

Cultivating wisdom and hearts that engage,

Teachers do it with patience and care each day,

Providing students a chance to learn, laugh, and play.

So here's to you, Teachers, with hearts of gold, 

As the new school year's story starts to unfold. 

May your classrooms resound with joy and with cheer,

As we wish you super success for a very good year.

Just as each new year is unique and different, teachers need to embrace the changes and challenges that lie ahead. With the growing questions and curiosities and concerns and celebrations of AI, this quote spoke to me. I found in the public AI Classroom Facebook Group. The quote is by author Amanda Fox, coauthor of The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education (and co-written by Dan Fitzpatrick and Brad Weinstein). I like the focus on collaboration and the importance of mixing human intelligence (HI) and artificial intelligence (AI) together to make something better than before. [Vicki Davis, known as "Cool Cat Teacher" and the creator of "The 10 Minute Teacher" podcast has written a lot about the combination of HI + AI.]

Teachers, may your upcoming school year greet you with good energy and adventure for what is ahead. May we all serve as inspiration to each other, lift each other up on the hard days, and make amazing memories during the year ahead.

Poem above modified and shortened from 3 generated poems by Chat GPT on August 19th, 2023 using the prompt listed above, quote image from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=670851428412638&set=a.591901022974346&type=3; back to school image created at Canva.com and https://www.excitededucator.com/home/back-to-school-resources

Record Heat Waves

Dorothy, we aren't in Kansas anymore. 

Well, actually you may be, but these days--this year--it's proving to be hotter than ever before as record heats are hitting everywhere.

About a week and a half ago, we were going through the height of the heat wave where I live. There were days that I swear it felt like the humidity was actually killing me. Well, that might be slight hyperbole. 

Last summer about this time I was indoors a lot due to recovering from knee surgery, I didn't feel the intensity of heat, nor the personal intensity of not having my backyard pool. (It had since gone to the above-ground-pool graveyard due to rust and death). This summer, it's hurting not having "my happy place."

But, news reports are telling me it wasn't just me. Though, truthfully, I'm not sure that's a good thing! 

Headlines as of late:

• CNN on July 8: "Global Heat in ‘Uncharted territory’ as Scientists Warn 2023 Could Be the Hottest Year on Record"
• Euronews on July 7th: "El Niño is Back: Surging Temperatures Bring Extreme Weather and Threaten Lives"
• Washington Post on July 10th: "A Sprawling Dome of Heat Will Engulf Most of the Southern U.S. This Week. What to Know: Live Weather Updates"
• The Guardian on July 4th: "Monday Was Hottest Day for Global Average Temperature on Record, As Climate Crisis Bites" ~ With sideline commentary being that July the 3rd was the highest global temperature EVER recorded, including record highs in Africa, China, and Antarctica.

I've seen different numbers for that last data point of the Earth's highest EVER recorded temperatures--anywhwhere from "at least 100,000 years" to hotter than anytime in 125,000 years," and certainly more than our recorded data.

Makes sense why I was feeling it! And we have a history of hot here in our recent past, according to the Climate Change Guide website:

So now what? I always go back to the idea of "hope" being a verb. With all these records listed out there, maybe NOW is the time for political leaders to listen. It's time for all of us to take action. Innovation to the rescue. What can we all do to shift the needle--both literally and figuratively?

In the meantime, if it's hot where you are: stay hydrated and keep cool in the peak heat hours in the middle of the day. If you can't where you live, find a cool place like a library or other public space. You can always check out Heat.gov for heat and health related tools and information. Additionally check out the CDC's Beat the Heat infographic.

Title image created with canvas.com, top 10 global chart image from https://www.climate-change-guide.com/hottest-years-on-record.html.

Southern Wildlife

We recently vacationed "down south." Nature is a bit different down there. It's wilder and bigger than this midwest-raised girl experienced, that's for sure. The swampland brings about its own wildlife with palms and Spanish moss and creatures all of its own. Having lived about 6 years in Tampa-area (many years ago), I first learned that there. Exotic and large birds like herons and egrets were common... as were larger turtles and alligators and snakes I wasn't used to. They all felt so prehistoric in comparison to the wildlife I was used to from my childhood.

A lot of bike riding this trip brought about a lot of opportunities to check out nature. My sightings this trip reiterated that wild and wonderful (and slightly still-startling) sense of nature included:

• Blue heron
• Hawk
• Baby gator
• Turtles
• Armadillo
• Sand dollars ("feet-plucked" from the sand while in the ocean)
• Pelicans & other seabirds fishing in the ocean (another thing you don't find in Middle America)

It was a good reminder of how important it is to travel and see new things. Even just a handful of states away, the wildlife is different. The culture is different. The tastes of local food, the customs, and vernacular and more.... Wandering around and getting lost was a great way to soak it all in, and unplug along the way. Opening your eyes and mind to new experiences should always be welcome!

Image created using PicEdu with my own photos.

Summer Solstice 2023

According to Space.com summer officially began today at 10:57 am, EST. (And you thought it was just all day June 21st!) The reason there is an actual, specific time is because it the exact time that the sun is directly overhead 23.5° North Latitude (the Tropic of Cancer). It is for this reason that the first day of summer is the longest day of the year, summer solstice, and the official "first day of summer" and the next season here in the Northern Hemisphere. (This, of course, makes it the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first day of winter.)

What were you doing at 10:57 am EST?

Here, I was in the middle of a professional development class. (Yes, the first week of out of school and beginning of summer vacation). It's a dreary, kind of cool, rainy day and it feels pretty far from being your idyllic sunny, first day of summer. Based on both parts, I have yet to feel like it's actually summer yet... but we needed the rain.

Where I'm at, we scored a 5:38 am sunrise and a 8:37 pm sunset, making our longest day of the year 14 hours, 58 minutes. Not too shabby. Although, it does counter my initial instinct of "Oh no! Now the days are getting shorter! The end is near!😱" I need to kick in the inner conversation: No, no it's not. Just breathe, dear. We have 6 entire months of days getting shorter to get us to winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and December 21st. We have more than just a little time!

To find out just how many daylight hours you have (both here today and every day between now and winter solstice), check out the Farmer's Almanac Sunrise-Sunset Calculator. About as easy as it gets, all you need to do is put in your location and choose your date. Case in point, I'll only have about 10.5 hours of sunlight on my next birthday. Better soak up the sun now while I can!

Images from https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/ and https://www.rochesterfirst.com/weather/weather-blog/the-summer-solstice-means-youre-going-to-have-a-long-day-tomorrow/ (though not in Rochester, the concept is the same)

End of the School Year Reflection

This week marks the end of my school year. I think if I'm counting correctly, it's the end of my 31st year of teaching. I suppose that makes me a well-established veteran teacher. But the funny thing about teaching is that the more you know, the more you realize you don't know. Not to mention, there's always something new in terms of trends (including those from the last few years with remote, hybrid, and pandemic teaching), and kids evolve and change. Kids I'm teaching now in this post-Smartphone & AI-era are much different than those in my first year of teaching in the early 1990s. 

This year I'm tired here at the end of the year. Yes, the end of the school year necessities are always exhausting with report card writing, packing up or tidying up classrooms, post-planning meetings, end of the year extras, and more. But this year feels more exhausting. Again, the past few years have definitely taken their toll as we've crawled to the end of the Covid years. Makes me wonder if we all are still living a little bit in that aftermath still, slightly traumatized. 

But this year too for me has been full of extra challenges. Over the last 11 months I've had two significant knee surgeries, one on each of my knees. Rehabilitating them and experiencing my first FMLA leave a new experience, one that was physically and mentally taxing (prepping sub plans for 6 weeks is never easy). On top of that, we have had 4 deaths in the family over the last 5 months, one of them within the last month, overlapping the end of the school year demands. I had a partner-colleague leave midyear which impacted the nature of my job (and my location within the school building, which means packing up my space), and we've been training his replacement--all of which will be good, but of course it takes time. And then there's the part of me which is the mom, wife, daughter, in-law, sister, friend ... all of which has its own separate demands too.

Maybe it should be of no surprise that I'm tired!!! It's been a year!

I think that this what happens to all of us. Every year has its typical rhythms and cadences, but every year is always so different by its own specific details, impacts, events, surprises, and anniversaries. Every year, your students/your classes are different, each with their own needs and challenges, making no class ever the same. Thinking about that, it strikes me that I've probably been 31 different teachers in my 31 years of teaching--perhaps even more considering summer positions and camps along the way. 

Teachers get some grief about being off for 3 months of the summer. In my personal experience, the days of "3 month-summers" have dwindled to just barely two. The demands on teachers and their plates over the years have also grown significantly. In some ways, it seems teachers are expected to be superhuman with a slew of added responsibilities. This poster kind of sums it up: 

So if you know a teacher, go gentle on them at this time of year. They may be hanging on by a thread.

And if you are a teacher, go gentle on yourself. Your summer has come (or is coming soon). Take time for you. Rest and catch up with yourself, so you can be right and ready and rejuvenated this fall. You've earned it! 

Images from https://www.svgheart.com/product/schools-out-for-summer-end-of-school-sayings-svg-file/, https://educationtothecore.com/2022/05/22-relatable-end-of-the-year-teacher-memes/,  https://i.pinimg.com/736x/82/43/2c/82432c3a8e3b501dc5a87b0fd8e2c346.jpg and https://www.weareteachers.com/wp-content/uploads/Feature-Image.jpg

Growing Together With Community Gardens

We've all come to know the saying, "It takes a village."

That seems to go with just about everything. 

Community gardens is another way to grow together and strengthen both relationships with your neighbors and work to build something together that benefits you all. The concept of urban gardens is not a new ideas, but like ideas--there's always a number of ways they can be created. They can be in a shared neighborhood lot, alleyway, or local area accessible to all. Many big cities have neighborhood lots dedicated to just this where it's tended together and the fruits of the labor are shared together. Not to mention, it can be very rewarding volunteering your time and energy on a shared project like this.

There's also the idea of yard sharing. The Food is Free Project details what this might look like:

The ideas of yard sharing could have a unique appeal, but of course there are always ideas to consider, including your local laws and municipalities or any HOA restrictions.  Not everyone is keen on the native yard look!

To learn more about how you can share the wealth of health and grow together as a community, check out these resources:

• Food Is Free Project--About Us & Resources sections
• Savvy Gardening's Front Yard Vegetable Garden Ideas: Grow a Mix of Food and Flowers
• Soil Science Society of America's What Is a Community Garden?
  
• Insteading.com's "Grow Your Own: Top 5 Yard-Sharing Websites"
  
• Shared Earth: Help Us Make Better Use of the Planet, One Garden at a Time
• Matador Network's "5 Community Gardens That Are Setting an Example in the United States"

Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlC-4MgfICU and image from https://savvygardening.com/front-yard-vegetable-garden/

Wintering This Summer

Every summer, our school has an all faculty read that unites us together during one of our first pre-planning, back to school meeting days. This practice is not uncommon throughout schools nationwide.

Some years we have one book that we all read and have central focuses around. We did that in years past with the books Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World by Tony Wagner, Making it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, and others.

Some years, we have a collection of 3 or 4 books to choose from so that we can find something that is more specific to our own needs and interests. This is often the preferred summer read simply because of the power of choice. (A good reminder to us teachers the power of that in our own classrooms too.) When we are back to school, we divide ourselves by book and discuss certain tenants of the book. A back to school book club.

This year, was a year of choice, and our 4 our book titles were:

• 
  Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools by Ron Ritchhart (2015)
• How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith (2021)
• Teaching When the World Is On Fire: Authentic Classroom Advice, from Climate Justice to Black Lives Matter by Lisa Delpit (2021)
• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May (2020)

 

I chose Wintering to read this summer. One of the reasons I chose this book is because I had already read both Lisa Delpit's book and Clint Smith's book. (Both of which I highly recommend!)

Two, after the now-three years of Covid, pandemic, quarantine, and "re-entry," it certainly felt like we all had been through a collective "wintering" worldwide. And we are emerging at different rates. The end of the past two school years has felt for me like an exhausted crawl to the finish line. Rest is necessary.

Thirdly, summer for teachers is always a bit of a wintering season. Recovery, recouping, rejuvenating, and definitely resting. It's a far more exhausting profession than many people think. One certainly made more difficult with Covid.

But lastly and most personally, I knew that mid-July I was going to have a total knee replacement--with a second one still ahead on the horizon based on x-rays and deterioration alone, I knew this would mean I would certainly have a summer like no other. No pool (my most favorite place) from surgery day until the incision heal (4-6 full weeks). I'd be living with limited mobility while I regained my strength. I knew it was inevitable that I'd be wrestling with pain and that lack of feeling in control--both of which I don't do well with! I would need to slowing down and let my body lead the way. This summer was going to need to be a needed season of rest and healing. Perhaps the book Wintering would help me get into the proper mindset to work my way to healing: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 

The book is part biographical as Katherine May explains some different times in her life that she has had "seasons of wintering." Some truly due to her current geographical location where winter is winter. Some were due to life occurrences where rest and repair was necessary in one way or another. My favorite part of the book was the first chapter where she sets the stage and explains the purpose. Everyone "winters" at some point--or many points. Life takes us through difficult seasons, and it is a normal and natural part of life. Try as we might, we can't escape it; but, just like the world, we flourish after this remote season, yet it is also a season leading to rebirth. 

This quote in chapter one particularly spoke to me, particularly when it comes to healing. Healing from Covid and the loss that quarantining and the pandemic brought. Healing of my knee, now titanium and strengthening daily to move me beyond the restrictive arthritis that was hitting (in my personal opinion) wayyy too early and has limited me more and more over the past 5 years. 

"Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximising scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible. Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order. Doing those deeply unfashionable things—slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting—is a radical act now, but it is essential. This is a crossroads we all know, a moment when you need to shed a skin. If you do, you’ll expose all those painful nerve endings and feel so raw that you’ll need to take care of yourself for a while. If you don’t, then that skin will harden around you. It’s one of the most important choices you’ll ever make." (Wintering, page 14)

I will say, that even though I am indeed wintering this summer, if I'm authorized to return to school in time for these back to school book club meetings, I think my plan is to actually jump groups by rereading "Teaching When the World Is On Fire" and going to that book talk. That book has spoken to me in so many ways over the past years and sometimes with current events still seems very relevant to both myself and our students, But, I definitely am taking the lessons of wintering and trying to really connect with what I need--more water, a nap, ice, sitting outside,  a bit of walking about, a physical therapy session, or time to just sit and watch a good show or read an great book. And with hope, I'll be stronger, wiser, and more centered and sustainable on the flip side....ready to winter again when it comes time to tackle that other knee of mine. It is completely cliché but equally true: if you don't have your health, you have nothing.

Photos created at www.canva.com. Book title pictures from images from www.amazon.com per title.

July Holidays Ahead

July marks the official "halfway through the calendar" time of year. In some ways, the 4th of July marks that "halfway through summer" place (especially for students and teachers, where the summer goes too fast to begin with!)

Here at the cusp of the 4th of July weekend, while you are celebrating your patriotic pride and the lazy, hazy days of summertime, here are a few other holidays on the horizon this month. I found the fun facts and dates on NationalToday.com--a festive website with serious and silly holidays and it can definitely take you down the rabbit hole of marking your calendar with some good ones! Each holiday has a detailed timeline graphic to give you the history of how it came to be (along with some important milestones per holiday)  : 

American Independence Day is July 4th annually. But, did you know that July 2nd is Made in the USA Day. Makes sense given the theme of the holiday weekend and putting our shopping dollars into purchasing American-made items. The day was created by Joel Joseph of the Made in the USA Foundation and first celebrated in 1989. That's also when the "Made in the USA" label started to appear on products.

National Clean Beaches Week falls during the first week of July on the 1st through the 7th. Since beaches are often are the place where folks land for the 4th of July, it makes sense. Sadly too, it makes sense that a lot of people often come with a lot of litter. So definitely a time to spruce up our shorelines, especially to keep that waste from becoming polluting marine debris. This annual event started in 2003 and has the support of many coastal communities to keep beaches, shores, and marine animals healthy!

July 11th is World Population Day. Overpopulation is the cause of many of our environmental issues. The more people we have, the more resources we use. That impacts gender equality, human rights concern, poverty, food, energy, and more. It was named Five Billion Day in 1987 (when the global population hit that number). From there, the United Nations Development Program established world Population Day in 1989, and it was officially voted as a UNDP day December 1990. Here in 2022 at this writing, we are very near 8 million, a number that changes literally by the second. You can discover the exact count by checking out World Population Clock, which shows you that second-by-second count.

World Nature Conservation Day falls annually on July 28. The emphasis on the day is making sure to maintain and preserve healthy environments and take care of our planetary natural resources. Not only does this take care of the flora and fauna, but all of that impacts clean soil, water, and air--and human health! Industrialization, deforestation, and other human impacts diminish our natural resources and biodiversity and impact the effects of climate change. 

July 29th marks International Tiger Day. Our largest of the "big cats," tigers also are faced with habitat loss, hunting, and poaching, and invading human impact, numbers are on a high decline. This day was created in 2010 when numbers revealed that 97% of all wild tigers population had depleted over the previous 100 years, leaving approximately 3000 tigers in the wild and tigers at the risk of extinction.

By noting these dates on our calendar, we can help raise awareness, funds, and potential solutions to these "environmental" holidays.

All banner icons created at www.canva.com.