I’m writing this post on the plane ride home from a fabulous week in St. Lucia. My family and I spent the Christmas holiday soaking up sunshine and relaxing on the beautiful beaches of the island. I spent the week unplugged — almost completely, just a few email and Facebook checks on the painfully slow, way overpriced resort wifi. I could usually be found laid back in a hammock on the beach reading on my Nook with a fantastic fruity beverage in hand. I had lots of time to read, reflect and relax.

Island life is so different from what I’m used to… it’s so laid back and stress free. That really puts things into perspective! I generally spend a lot of time fretting over things that I have no control over. I want so badly for my school and district to move forward. Technology is so relevant to our students and we are doing them such a disservice when we let our own fear and apprehension hold us back from giving them the best learning opportunities. I get so worked up over slow progress (and often what feels like NO progress) that I often let it overshadow other things, more current and pressing things. In the new year, I’m going to try to focus on balance. Crazy, right?

I’m not going to call it a resolution or anything, I’m just going to make a more conscious effort towards balance. I know that I need to spend more time reading. My husband would scoff at that I’m sure, but I feel like I need to make even more of an effort so that I can make the best possible book recommendations to my students. I recently read “The Book Whisperer” by Donalyn Miller, an EXCELLENT book that really made me think about what I’m doing to instill a life-long love for reading in students. I can’t do my job if I’m not doing everything I can to stay on top of what books are new and relevant to my students lives. There’s nothing like the feeling of satisfaction that you get when a student comes to you after reading a book you recommended and let know know what an impact it had on them. I need to be doing what I can to help all of my students find the books that can make that difference for them.

I also need to make a conscious effort to balance my schedule. I so struggle with this, but I need to find a way to be be consistent when it comes to making circulation dates, digital citizenship lessons, research activities, and cross-curricular projects happen regularly. Not sure how I’m going to make it happen (can I add some more time to my day, or maybe clone myself?), but I’m going to try. I also want to add more variety into programs — involving reading, technology, art, and culture. I’m thinking about doing some lunchtime and/or after school workshops. Coming back from the holidays, I’m thinking that a “How to Use Overdrive” to help new ereader owners learn how to take advantage of the access to Overdrive that we have from our public library…teachers AND students welcome!

2011 has been such a great year for me. This time last year I was gearing up for my mid-year move to the middle school. I’m definitely settled and in my element now, many changes and much success have found a home at the CMS library. More change is on the calendar for 2012…this summer we will be moving to our new school! So much to look forward to and so much to be thankful for…I’m loving life!