Traveling the U.S.A. for Professional Development

This year, our school has really focused on professional development. It has given me the opportunity to travel to new places while mastering my craft. Those two are really two of my passions. I always joke about quitting my day job and becoming a travel blogger. But then I know I would miss being in the classroom and making a difference in little lives every day. That is my main passion.

I'm going to let you in on a secret about me. I have always been passionate about teaching, even from the time I was little, I have known what I wanted to be. I would come home from school and line up my dolls and teach them all I could. Even back then, I was creating lessons (worksheets) for them. In forth grade, I wrote a piece of writing about my dream of being a teacher. There was a short moment of insanity when I thought becoming a physical therapist sounded exciting...but that dream came to a screeching halt when I found out that I would have to train in a cadaver lab. It immediately snapped me back to reality and I have never looked back. 

So, I am thankful to have the opportunity to have fulfilled my dream of being a teacher for all these years and also, I am thankful that in this season of my career, that my travel bug is also getting fed. 

Ending up in San Francisco and Napa Valley has been like a dream. It started last year. I knew that I would be changing schools, since our school was closing. The new school was going to be very cutting edge and involve new practices that I would need to learn. Learning on your own through reading books and visiting websites just does not answer all the questions that need answered. It does not allow for as much growth as needs to happen. And so I began searching for conferences and stumbled upon this one, PBL World. 

I had my eye on PBL World for last summer, but it just never came to fruition. However, as soon as I heard that we would be encouraged to do some training, I signed myself up for the summer of 2018. 

PBL World is the biggest conference of Project Based Learning and it is held in California every summer. Here, you get to learn from the leaders in PBL through the Buck Institute. They are the gold standard in all things PBL, so it is a real privilege to learn from the best.   

For the past three days, my colleagues and I have been immersed in learning the tips, tricks, techniques, and practices of PBL. We started at the beginning, being an actual student and working through a PBL the first day, to spending the next two days hearing all about it, and being guided in writing one of our own. I has been the opportunity of a lifetime and I am not taking it for granted. 

This Thing Called PBL

The End and the Beginning

This year marks not only the end of a year, but the end of an era at my school. After 100 years, our doors are closing. This summer, a brand new school is being built. I will be moving to that school next year. 

It felt weird packing up my classroom and moving things out. This school has been my home for the past eight years. My own babies started at this school and now will be going into 5th and 3rd grades. Locking my classroom door for the last time and turning in my keys seemed sad somehow.  There are just so many memories of this place.

I do look forward to the new school. It brings new opportunities. New challenges. It is stretching me to grow and learn. I am spending lots of time learning new techniques and mastering my craft. 

We will be using a Reggio method in the lower grades. We will also incorporate project and service based learning. I am excited to see what the new year holds.