Monday Morning Musings: Where is my Couch to Classroom 5K App?!

Principal ponderings...

I hate running. Seriously, I do not enjoy it at all. But since the summer I have been getting up around 4:45 three to five mornings a week to run. Why in the world would I do that? Even though I despise running, I do actually care about my health, and I am trying to make exercise a regular habit in my life. And now that I have been doing this for about 3 months, I still don't like running, but I have actually come to look forward to this time. Don't get me wrong, there are still mornings when the alarm goes off and I think...why is that thing going off?...or I think...what in the world day is it?...or I think...I will just hit the snooze button one or two or five times! But for the most part, I have stuck to my goal of at least three mornings a week. How did I make that happen?

Thank goodness for the Couch to 5K app. I need someone in my ear telling me what to do. If I had just started running without the app...well I probably would have only run once this summer and then this post would never have happened. I love that I can put my earbuds in, tap the app, and this lovely voice tells me to start warming up. Then I start listening to a book on Audible or I select a great station on Pandora, like Pop and HipHop Power Workout Radio. (Don't judge, you know you want to look up this station now and start chair dancing!) And then I just wait for the lady to chime in again and tell me what to do. What's that? Begin running? Ok, will do. Start walking now? You got it. I'm halfway done? Awesome. Only one minute left? Ok, I will go ahead and kick it up a notch for the finish. Begin my cool down? Thank you, I will. After using this app for a while now, I actually run a few miles without really thinking about it. And next weekend, I am going to run in a 5K race. I will not be racing, but I will be running and I will complete it.

I have used the Couch to 5K app several times before. I have also done the Couch to 10K app as well. I have run 5Ks, a few 10Ks, and once I even did a half marathon. And I realized that I still hate running, especially for 13.1 long miles. But I did it, I completed it, and that is something. So why am I sharing my love/hate relationship with running with you? I really wanted to talk about the app and the thought process behind that. By using that app, I was able to go at my own pace, redo days if I wanted to, have someone tell me what to do, and take baby steps (literally...there are definitely power walkers who would blow by me...I am slooowww.) until eventually, I had accomplished the goal of actually running.

When I was running the other morning, I thought how awesome it would be if we had a Couch to Classroom 5K app. What I mean is wouldn't it be nice to have an app that gave us step by step directions, allowed us to go at a pace that worked for us, gave us positive reinforcement (but also held us accountable when we weren't following through...the app will notice when I have not used it in a while and tell me to go for a run), an basically helped us reach our goals? No matter what your goals are...do you want your students' math skills to improve?...or do you want to plan lessons that keep all students engaged?...or maybe you want to get better about integrating technology into your teaching?...or maybe you want to try to help your students set personal learning goals? Whatever your goals are, whether they are student learning goals or professional practice goals, wouldn't it be nice to have an app that guides you?

Ok, sorry to say there is not an app for that. But I am thinking we can apply the same concept of the Couch to 5K app to our goal setting. We can give ourselves action steps that keep us moving forward. We can use those steps as our roadmap and even re-do them if we have an off week. We can let team members or family members or your even your evaluator know that you are going to need some encouragement along the way. Some days I like when the lady comes on and tells me I am halfway...other days I want to yell back at her...are you kidding me?! I have only done half of what I need to do?! But if we think of writing the plan for our goals and working towards our goals in a similar fashion as the app, imagine how we will grow this year!

What goals will you work towards this year? The end result is certainly important, but what's more important is the path you design for yourself. How will you get from here to there this year?

Currently reading:
I am halfway through a new book from Scholastic called Strays Like Us. This would be a good read for 5th graders. The main character was being raised by a single mom, but then she is removed from her mom and placed in foster care. One of the characters is a dog that the girl begins to take care of, and another character is an unlikely friend from school.

I was excited to get another new book in the mail. It's called The Confidence Code. I will be reading it and participating in a book chat with female principals across the state. Looking forward to starting this one!

I got a new picture book in the mail this week called Hello, My Name is...How Adorabilis Got His Name. This picture book was actually inspired by an actual event that happened in 2015. A new species of octopus was discovered...a very tiny, cute octopus. And this picture book tells how he might have received his name!

Events this week:
**Reminder that everyone needs to complete the online mandated trainings by Friday
Monday - District Kindergarten Meeting 4:00 @ Mayo
Tuesday - Liz out of the building @ MSAA Board Meeting all day, PTA Meeting @ 7:00 in the library
Wednesday - Wellness Wednesday! Patty at SPED Meeting at Central Office in the am, Bus evacuation drills in the am, Optional Tech Tutoring session 3:45-4:15 in the library
Thursday - Optional Tech Tutoring session 8:15-8:45 in the library, half day dismissal @ 12:20, We will meet in the library at 1:00. PTA Frozone Fundraiser 4:00-8:00
Friday - Mandated training online needs to be completed. Holden Elementary Principals Meeting @ Mayo 7:45-9:15, Holden Firemen at Mayo during arrival for High Five Friday!

Great things I noticed last week:

When I popped into 3Pz to read, I caught them practicing some mindfulness. They were working on their belly breathing while Mrs. Palazzo was demonstrating how to fill your belly with air with a great visual.
I had fun reading The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors to many 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms. After the read aloud, we played a game of rock, paper, scissors entourage!
The 2nd grade team planned lots of fun, creative activities in honor of International Dot Day. Check out the banner they made and hung up in the pod!
Ms. Hall has the tough job of teaching every single student in the school. She knows the importance of making connections and establishing relationships with all students. When I visited her this week I saw her making a point to learn new things and interests about the 4th graders she was teaching.