It is summer, the time of year we teachers have “extra”
time. A time when we think about all the things we want to do with the “extra”
time. As the days get longer, so do our lists, as our lists get longer our “extra”
time gets shorter and our deadline gets closer and closer…the start of school!
At times I get a bit overwhelmed with everything on my list.
I struggle to start new projects, procrastinate on “in progress” ones and then
get stressed that there are very few things crossed off my list. I then get mad
at myself for stressing out so much during a time of year that I should spend
more time with my kids.
I’ve got stacks of books, teacher manuals and my blog binder
all staring at me. I see it all and I think of all the work and time I put into
a product and my mind starts to stall out. I create all my own fonts,
background papers, and graphics to go with each of my products (I don’t want
there to be any question about copyright issues) and I get tired just thinking
of it all.
I start a project and I think about all the things I want to
do with it and pretty soon it is a monumental task, a much bigger activity than
I initially thought.
I am inspired and at the same time too tired to do anything
about it, but in the end, when it comes right down to it, I LOVE WHAT I DO!!
I love the in depth study I do with each picture book I
review.
I love drawing a creating clipart to go with each picture
book.
I love working in Photoshop and making the clipart come to
life. I love creating background paper to go with the theme of the book and I
love figuring out what kind of border would work best.
I love creating freebies for stories that might be read and
tossed aside. I love trying to help students dig a bit deeper into a book by
having them find the problem, theme, or main idea.
I love creating a huge packet to go with picture books that we all
know and love. I love offering so many options in one packet so you can use
that book for whatever skill or strategy you are working on, whenever you work
on it.
I love differentiating the skill and strategy pages so that
you can have all your kids working on the same thing at a level that is right
for them.
I love giving teachers ideas, possible questions, and answers
to picture books. I want, in some small way, to help make your planning easier.
It can be a daunting task to find picture books to use for specific skills or strategies
and then taking time to figure out the cause and effect, theme or plot makes
your planning even longer. I love giving you back a little of your time.
I love listing and reviewing books that you have but may
have forgotten about. It makes me happy
to give old books new life.
And most importantly, I love the feedback I get from you,
either from the review information, freebies or packets!
Thank you for keeping me inspired!