They each have a place on the couch, sitting strategically where the air conditioner blows in just the right spot, and where they can snuggle for hours on end. Look closely at the photo and you can see our summer couch office.
This morning I awoke to the first of what I assume will be many back to school dreams. Educators everywhere know these dreams. It begins with the back to school advertisements on television, then the posts on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram that highlight the perfect classroom environment, lesson plans or those adorable matching file folder stickers and tub labels that will make your eventual student work pile look beautiful as it waits to be graded. Last night I spent much of my dreamland designing changes in my classroom. I am still squeezing out the final days of summer, but when I wake up with my to-do list at the forefront of my mind, I know it is time to get seriously back to planning.
And so it begins… I have slowly been letting work creep into my summer. I have spent at least one day a week working on lessons and posted articles and ideas both on my Pinterest boards and Google Drive. I am creating a blended classroom experience this year for my high school program and been reading a lot about best practices in building a positive digital community. My greatest fear in creating a blended course is to lose the engagement that is built when we are face to face. The next few weeks of this blog will be documenting the work we do to get ready for the school year and begin this digital course. I am hoping you all will engage with us in these final dog days of summer, and post your own ideas and suggestions as we move forward.