Over the break, I was out driving and I passed a sign outside a business that caught my attention. It said, "One day or day one?" It was one of those moments where I read it, tucked it in my brain, and continued driving, not really thinking about it. Then, after I had finished my errands, and I was driving home, that phrase popped back into my head. And I started to really think about the message behind it.
We have 42 days of school left. It's easy to get stuck in the mindset of counting down until the last day of school, and talking about things you will do differently next year or things that you have not been able to get to this year. That would be taking the "one day" approach. Let's not get ourselves into the mindset of thinking that one day I will try out that new idea or one day I will plan my lesson differently.
We have 42 days of school left. Let's go with the mindset that this is "day one." Instead of thinking about what you will do differently next year or try out one day in the future, let's say that it's day one. Start now. Don't wait. Don't put off making a change for your students. Don't put off trying out new technology because you want to learn more about it one day. Today is day one. What if we treat every one of the last 42 days as day one? Think of the difference you can make for your students. Start each of these 42 days with the enthusiasm and excitement of day one. Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Don't put off for next year what you can do this year.
And this mindset is not just for your teaching and your work with all of our students. What's something personally that you have put off for later or have said "one day" I will do that. I know for me, I kept telling myself that one day I would get back into my morning routine of going to workout. It was vacation week and I certainly would have liked to have slept in. But instead of saying "one day," I decided to make it "day one" of getting back into my morning routine. What is something that you want to do and need to shift your mindset to "day one" thinking? What are you waiting for? Stop waiting for one day and make today day one!
One day or day one, which will you choose?
Currently reading:
During vacation week, I enjoyed reading and listening to several books. How about you? Did you get to spend some time reading? During my morning sessions at the gym, I listened to the book Refugee on Audible. This book is certainly interesting as it tells three different stories of three different children who are refugees during different times in history and from different countries.
I read a book that a principal friend of mine wrote called Be The One For Kids. It's a quick read and gives some great reminders of how we can continue to always put kids first. The author, Ryan Sheehy, is a principal in California who I have connected with through social media; we co-moderate a Twitter chat once a month for NAESP, #NAESPchat.
I am in a Voxer book study and we just started reading the book Visible Learning for Literacy. It's a pretty dense read, but I know the weekly discussions will keep me going. And when John Hattie is one of the authors then you know it's going to be a worthwhile read.
Events this week:
Monday - Dr. Chesson visits FloRo in the am, Elem Leadership Meeting @ 2:15, Staff yoga @ 3:30
Tuesday - 3rd grade ELA MCAS
Wednesday - 3rd grade ELA MCAS, Grade 2 Life Cycle Enrichment program, kindergarten chorus @ 2:20
Thursday - 4th grade ELA MCAS, 1st grade field trip to the Ecotarium
Friday - Liz and Melissa at SLT from 8:30-11:00, District half day, 12:15 dismissal, K-2 Math, 3-4 ELA, Special Olympics!
Great things I noticed last week:
- I enjoyed presenting at the MRA Conference and attending some great sessions. Several FloRo staff attended as well and I know they are looking forward to sharing their learning with the rest of us!
- These K friends wrote a how to book about winning the golden tray. Hmmm...I am thinking we might need to share this story with some of our older grades!
- Thanks to the PTA for showering the staff with appreciation all week! So many great treats. And I loved getting this special cookie from a student...
- I popped into Mrs. Devereaux's class and listened to students sharing "tag" words that they found in their reading and could then go add into their writing.
- Mrs. Wenz's 2nd graders shared some amazing beginning paragraphs for their writing...they really hooked me in and had me wanting to read more!
- Mrs. Cragg's class was having some fun collaborating on some STEM kits when I popped into their room!
- On Friday night, I was excited to start vacation week by picking up Adam Welcome, the co-author of Kids Deserve It, from the airport and take him to dinner in the North End with some fellow MA principals. Adam was in town to run the marathon on the horrible, cold, wet Monday. It was great to talk all things education with him and some of my principal friends!
Check it out:
Some info about Earth Day for you:
https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/earth-day-resources-for-teachers-and-students/
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collections/teaching-content/celebrate-earth-day/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/introduction-earth-day/
Since I started this post with a saying from a billboard, here are a few more inspirational billboards for you...
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