When I say summer, you say _____________________!

break, rest, work, play, classes, beach, reading, vacation, travel, workshops, professional development, sleeping in, going out, family, finally,

These are some of the responses I’ve received from teachers.  So, I say… all of the above!

So many educators do quality work (and play) during the summer and for the next two months, our posts at The Inspired Classroom will be about all these things.

Personally, I will be doing three main things:

Teaching and Learning
So many teachers use the time during the summer to keep on working.  Sometimes it is gently mandated by the district for which they work and more often it is pursuing things teachers are passionate about.  Just this week, I’ve been following my Tweeps as they attend the ISTE conference (International Society for Technology in Education) in Denver, Colorado.  It’s been so interesting to read about their exciting discoveries while there!

Other teachers use this opportunity to take classes and workshops or get together with colleagues to discuss plans for the fall.  I have a friend who is taking four classes this summer after just having a baby and switching grade levels for next year… is she crazy?  (Side note: Maybe because we think we have so much time, we overwhelm ourselves…)

I am looking forward to taking and teaching some workshops.  And I can’t forget to mention all the FREE PD I will receive through Twitter.  (If you are not on Twitter yet, what are you waiting for??)

Reading and Reflecting
I am very much looking forward to all the reading I will be doing this summer.  Maybe it’s the Kindle that has put me into this new infatuation, but it may really be all the great material there is to read for both personal and professional reasons.  I’ve already started out by digging into Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  The reading of this book is in conjunction with an online book group Wiki Kristina Peterson, a high school English teacher and I designed.  Other books I will be reading and blogging about are Drive by Daniel Pink and The Shut Down Learner by Dr. Richard Selznick.  There are other books I hope to sink my eyes into, but I don’t want to over-commit myself, after all the other thing I plan to do is…

Family and Fun
I’m hoping that I will allow myself a lot of time to relax and enjoy my family, because, well, it’s well-deserved.  Small trips, long trips, mornings at the beach digging ditches, afternoons in the backyard eating ice cream – it’s all good and it screams summer!

Along the way, some guest bloggers will be joining me to post what great things they are doing this summer too!  If you are interested, please email me, or just join the conversation by adding comments here, on Facebook or Twitter.

So, come on, let me hear you!
When I say SUMMER, YOU say _____________________!