This is my first week of summer! Our district got out a little later than most in the area and I work 202 contract days so I had an extra week after teachers. Officially, last Thursday was my last work day. It didn’t feel like summer because we had a death in the family last week and Thursday night was visitation and Friday the funeral. Plus, my husband had been out of town, my dog was sick, it was Father’s Day weekend…..on and on I think I could go. It was crazy.
So, yesterday, Monday, really felt like the beginning of my summer. Time for a little R&R. I have 6 weeks to spend relaxing and soaking up time with my little baby girls (okay, maybe they aren’t babies, but still…). One of the things we did yesterday was go to the public library and sign up for summer reading. I expect my kids to spend time each day reading with me. I let them choose books to check out, and of course, we have a gazillion books at our house). I also picked up several professional books for my personal reading. I am attending the TALL Texans Leadership Academy in July and they have a recommended reading list. I don’t think I will be able to get through all of the books, but I think I will be able to make some headway. I started reading Managing Tranisitions: Make the Most of Changes by William Bridges last night and can already tell that I am going to love this book. I get easily frustrated when people don’t do what I ask — and this book promises to have some strategies to help with that. So, while I go to get my hair cut today, this book is coming with me! Hopefully, I will get some reading in.
This also gave me time to reflect and think about what other ways I am going to work on professional growth. I plan to get caught up on some blog reading, twitter chats, and networking with other librarians and edtech friends. I have a few projects I want to work on for school/work, too. Creating some presentations for training for staff and students, doing a little research on new Google products, and thinking about some creative ways to implement technology.
As I embark on making memories this summer, I will not forget to keep my mind sharp and grow professionally while I soak up some sun and time with my kiddos. I am already looking forward to August when I get to go back to an amazing job of sharing literature and technology with students and staff.