A New Beginning

As this school year is ending I am planning a new beginning.  After 20 years of teaching I needed something different, something to make my job feel new again.  For 15 of those years I taught all subjects to a self contained group of 5th graders.  

Pros - strong relationships

Cons - limited time to plan per subject which leads to stress

This coming year we are departmentalizing and I will teach reading and writing only (still to 5th graders.)  

Pros - time to plan and focus on teaching deeper richer lessons

Cons - less time to build relationships

This will be a new beginning.  This blog will serve as a place to document my discoveries as the year unfolds. Let the journey begin!